Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The locker room was bustling with activity from several players of the team that Scott had no idea who they were, walking to and from the lockers, talking loudly with one another in a whirlwind of excited and nervous chatter.

Scott wrinkles his nose at the pungent scent of nervous anxiety, sweat, worry and excitement, very barely fights the urge to sniff and cough - lucky enough that he has his brief years as a Lacrosse player that helped him get almost used to it.

One distinctive scent overpowers all the others; the comforting smell of wet grass, soft cologne and strawberry body wash. He smiles, hands in his jeans’ pockets, already completely comforted by the familiarity and the warmness the scent of his Beta provided.

“Scott! You're here!” Scott turns his head to Liam's direction as he hears the boy calling out his name excitedly.

Liam is bouncing on his feet when Scott finally focuses on him, smiling widely as the ache in his chest at being so far away from his first bitten beta for so long loosens up.

“Heey, buddy! I missed you!” Scott hugs his beta tightly, breathing in the mixture of scents around the boy that seemed to have become fixated on his body based on how old they seemed to be.

Alec, Corey, Mason, Theo. A faint trace of Nolan. The faint mixture of the boy’s parents, and his mom and Stiles’ dad.

Although Scott knew Theo had changed and was behaving more than extraordinarily different since the whole ordeal with Monroe and the other hunters, as well as the Anuk-Ite itself and Gabe’s death, it was still hard to wrap his head around the fact that he had grown so deeply close to the members of the Puppy Pack after everything that happened that his scent was almost completely ingrained into Liam’s.

But, well, Scott supposes, at least if he was with the puppies all the time he couldn't possibly have time to try to break them apart again. He hoped, at the very least, that if he did try Theo would perhaps consider his closeness with the puppies before acting on any dangerous plan of his.

Scott was more aware of his surroundings now, one hundred percent more willing to listen to what Stiles had to say and less quick to judge others based on their level of humanity. Their pack stood closer than ever before and so even if the former Evil Chimera tried something against them, they would all be much more prepared than before - united.

Stiles would say he was being naive again, giving the chimera that second chance, trusting Liam’s word with very little complaining and doubt, he would say that if Theo did it once he could do it twice and a third and how many times he wanted so as long as he lived.

Yet Scott found it to be a risk he was willing to take, since Liam had only become surer that his decision of not locking Theo into the Skinwalkers Prison again was the best course of action.

In the meantime, where he was in Beacon Hills before returning to college, he would just have to see the proof of Theo's remarkable change - or so his mom said - for himself.

And if he was wrong again? Well. Scott wouldn't dare to go against Stiles instincts ever again.

“I missed you, too!” Liam exclaims when they let each other go, beaming brighter than the sun. Scott smiles, fighting the urge to mess his beta’s hair when it looked so perfectly in place; he absently wondered who had done it for him, because all knew Liam never really cared to do so himself. “Did you find Mason, Alec and Theo alright? They're on the lower benches today.”

Scott nods, looking around briefly, feeling that good old nostalgia which makes him smile softer than before, “Yeah, it was fine. Don't forget we're going home after, okay? To celebrate.”

Liam nods excitedly, “Yeah, bu-”

The beta is cut off before he can even finish, Coach’s loud yelling making them both flinch from the suddenness of it, “DUNBAR! If I wanted you chit-chatting with- MCCALL! You're not a student anymore, get the hell out!” Coach gestures wildly at him and the door, eyes roaming without a determined focus around the locker room to make sure everyone was in check.

Scott laughs quietly at the never changing personality and behavior of Coach Finstock, “Yes, coach!” He tells him loudly, watching amusedly as the man sighs in exasperation before blowing his whistle, starting to yell at Ramirez instead - he absently wonders for how long Coach would remain yelling at another player for, sometimes, no reason at all tan for the pleasure of yelling - maybe for as long as he lived.

“RAMIREZ! What are you doing?!” Maybe this Ramirez was the new Greenberg, as Scott's former teammate had graduated with the rest of their class.

The alpha’s ears ring for a few seconds before settling down. Scott watches on as Liam remains with an uncomfortable but resigned expression. Soon, however, Liam’s uncomfortable expression turns into a soft one, his features melt into themselves, a different type of brightness, one Scott had not seen in a while, overtakes his face.

The beta smiles, something intrinsically soft and adoring. Scott tilts his head to the side curiously, wondering what Liam could have overheard that made him smile so lovingly and softly. A kind of softness, of unashamed love, that hasn't been seen in his features since Hayden left.

The urge to ask who had a hold over his heart in such a way that it made Scott remember Alison nearly overcomes him, but he resists. He shakes his head, letting the curious wondering go away, “Good luck on the game. For Corey and Nolan too.”

“Thanks, Scott.” The mentioned chimera speaks from somewhere within the mess of the room, spooking Scott slightly. He had forgotten that Corey also had the hearing and probably strength of any supernatural werecreature and, by the boy’s laugh, he had realized Scott’s forgetfulness as well.

Liam is once again beaming when Scott averts his eyes back to him from looking for where Corey was, “We’ll see you guys later!” The beta exclaims, bouncing on his feet.

Nodding, Scott hugs Liam one more time before separating quickly, hearing the thundering footsteps of Coach striding in their direction.

“MCCALL! GET THE HELL OUT!” Coach yells as he thunders towards him, face starting to get worryingly red.

Scott turns away, practically running out of the room, “Sorry, Coach!” Scott throws over his shoulder, walking away as he listens to the annoyed mumbling of Coach, who starts reprimanding Liam about getting distracted.

As usual, it doesn't really matter to Coach that the game is just a friendly match; the man remains as demanding and prone to yelling as Scott knew was his common.

Outside it's a complete mess of lost parents looking for a place to sit and other students talking loudly to each other, a never ending mixture of excited and nervous chatter.

It isn't hard to find where everybody is sitting, one bleacher behind the players’ bench, taking over two whole bleachers and probably having annoyed several other people that also wanted to sit somewhere close to the players.

The game wasn't a much important one, Liam had told him so, but it was a lucky day that nearly everyone was in town doing nothing at the same time, and so they had used that opportunity to support the younger members of their pack, and later go back home - to his home - eat, to celebrate that they were all together and alive, whether they won the game or not.

Truthfully, Scott was just happy to see his pack safe and together again after a long time away from everyone - if he dared he could even include Theo in the count! Knowing how attached Liam, Mason, Corey and Alec had gotten to him.

Liam’s parents and Mason’s mom and grandma are sitting on the upper bench besides his mom, the Sheriff, Argent and Peter, with two more people on the werewolf’s side.

(Scott admits he still doesn’t know who Peter had been invited by. It wasn't Malia, because the two of them were still taking small steps towards trying to form a father-daughter relationship, and often tended to give each other as much space as possible unless they were in the same room and happened to be near the other.

The Alpha also fears admitting to himself that it was probably his mom who had invited Peter, hearing the faint sound of her voice in his head of all the times she mentioned Peter hanging around her and Argent whenever they facetimed or chatted on the phone when they had a break of their routine.)

On the bleacher underneath theirs sits Mason, Theo, Stiles, Malia, Lydia and Derek, the latter who, although he always said otherwise, seemed entertained enough in his conversation with Malia and Lydia.

Awkwardly walking in front of Mason and Theo, Scott tries his best to not let on how weirdly he was feeling at having to sit so close to Theo Raeken after everything that happened between all of them - and, more specifically, after he had literally died.

But Liam had vouched for him, Mason and Corey, and even his mom and Deaton and Chris had spoken on how much the chimera was showing extreme signs of change, though they all find it best to add that he still maintained the same sarcastic and mean personality of always, just slightly less murderous.

Scott would love to be a fly and be privy to how that change in behavior came to be, and what everybody’s reactions were.

He sits beside the chimera, tense, while Stiles chatters away on his left side to Malia, who had stopped paying attention to Lydia and Derek and was now only pretending to listen to Stiles, chiming in with uhum’s and cool’s in the right times, as the human spewed information about a new game that had just launched without taking a break to breathe.

Theo was sitting turned slightly towards Mason, though, Scott noticed, he still kept the Alpha in his line vision, as the human talked about some show the two seemed to be watching together.

“Hi. Theo.” Scott says, because he has never been good at dealing with awkward situations, one of the major reasons he and Stiles had spent so long being the weird outcasts of their class with only one friend for the longest times before she moved to somewhere else.

Theo turns towards him, raising an eyebrow as his lips quirk up slightly, his scent betrays how much awkwardness he feels, “Scott.” He nods before turning away a bit stiffly, staring out into the field. Mason, after glancing back and forth between Scott and Theo with both eyebrows raised, resumes speaking, gesturing happily

The players had started coming out now, stretching their bodies as best they could with all the equipment they were using, talking nervously with each other even though it was only a friendly match - either Coach had gotten better at his speeches, which Scott doubted, or the yelling and the high of competitiveness had gotten to them, which was more plausible.

“I hope Liam isn't still mad about that thing. Corey says he has been on edge lately.” Mason speaks to Theo with worry coating his words. Scott can't help but listen in - he could have avoided it if he tried to focus on Stiles’ voice, but he really wanted to know more about Liam and Theo and how they were doing and how they're relationship worked.

He could try to feel guilty about it later, after confirming Liam was okay.

“Oh, he is still mad, even though he doesn't like feeling it.” Theo answers with confidence, speaking as if he knew Liam's ways and mannerisms better than his best friend. Scott found it hard to believe, but kept those thoughts to himself.

“What happened?” He asks. Ashamedly he admits to himself that he hasn't had as much time to share long conversations with Liam as much as he wished to, what with the endless college work, extracurriculars and keeping his dorm more or less clean while ignoring his roommate’s recurrent sexual escapades in his room.

Theo gives him a fake minute smile accompanied by a raised eyebrow as he starts speaking, “There’s an asshole bothering Liam and Corey about their supernatural abilities, always making annoying comments about it.” He says, frowning at someone jumping in place near the player’s bench, speaking loudly and excitedly even though some guys were just staring at him with annoyance.

Scott would bet that if he focused he would have been able to scent their annoyance and rising anger.

When Theo and Mason enter a worried silent moment he can't help but feel judged about his lack of knowledge of the situation, even though nothing in their little acts prove anything of the sort.

He winces slightly, turning his gaze from the duo to watch Liam with a renewed interest, trying to see if he was feeling any more on edge than his usual tellings before the boasts of anger came.

Liam is talking with Corey and Nolan, laughing and occasionally twisting his body back to look at where they sit. He waves sometimes, and Scott only realizes that he is waving specifically at Theo after the third time the chimera looks at him with amusement as Scott answers Liam's wave excitedly.

Stiles snorts suddenly after Theo focuses his gaze on Liam again, Scott wonders what those constant waves and searching looks are all about, “You're like a proud mom who hasn't seen her only child in a while.” And he would have never felt offended at being seen as a parental figure for Liam - even though he is way too young to be anyone's parent and does not wish to take the beta's actual parental figure’s place -, so all he does is smile wearily at his friend and shrug.

The game starts soon, and Scott would have been able to hear Coach’s screams even if he weren't a werewolf, he is sure even the humans would have been able to clearly understand him from the other side of the field, where the opposing team is.

Pressing his right ear into his shoulder for a second he turns to check on Derek and Malia to his left, both of whom wince and seem annoyed at the noise, but are overall relatively fine for a Hale. Scott then moves on to observe Theo, who doesn't seem affected at all.

The chimera probably felt him staring confusedly at his side profile, because he turned in his direction with a questioning expression. Scott nearly smiles at the sudden thought that Stiles would have said a scathing comment about Theo always raising his eyebrows for any sort of reaction.

“Doesn't Coach’s yelling bother you?” He asks genuinely, cocking his head to one side. Mason, on Theo’s other side, beams and waves excitedly at Corey, saying “Love you, babe!”, to which the former answers by waving back.

Theo nods, rolling his eyes in annoyance, “Who isn't bothered by his screaming? I just got used to it after all this time.” He then snorts, shaking his head in faux amusement. Absently, Scott thinks he almost hears a noise vaguely similar to Liam’s snort.

Scott makes a confused noise, and if Stiles wasn't so interested by their interaction, watching with narrowed eyes and nearly toppling atop of him as he unconsciously leans closer and closer, he would probably have made a dog-puppy joke.

Theo raises an eyebrow - again -, as if the answer as to why he was so used to Coach’s yelling was obvious, “I'm the one who drives Liam to training, when I don't have work I stay here with Mason to watch them run around uselessly.” The chimera gestures to the field at large, giving Stiles one last look of barely concealed disdain before turning to watch Liam bounce on his feet in anxiety.

The Alpha blinks. Hears more than sees Stiles continuously confused blinking.

Theo, the selfish chimera that murdered his pack mates without question when he deemed it necessary, who lied and manipulated and betrayed their trust without thinking twice, who often preferred to be left alone before they all left for college the first time, was taking the time from his routine - whatever that was like - to drive Liam around and watch him “run uselessly around”?

“Yeah!” Mason butts in happily, smirking widely, “Theo says he doesn't like us in his car and keeps threatening to throw us out of it while he drives, but he always comes to pick us up when he doesn't have work anyway.” He turns his smirk to Theo, who scoffs and looks at happy Mason with an unimpressed expression, “The threat is a promise.”

And Mason snorts, as if Theo's words meant nothing. They both start focusing on the game again, on Liam and Corey and Nolan moving around the field, tuning out Coach’s occasional nonsensical and sensible screams.

The Alpha remains confused but impressed as the game goes on, trying to think back on the interactions he had seen between Theo and Liam, and Theo and the others.

Had they started to behave so intimately towards each other back before he had left for college? Or maybe it was a new development, even though it looked and sounded way too common to be anything new.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Stiles pipes in, whispering close to his ear. Scott wrinkles his nose, both at his friend’s breath smelling of spicy hot-dogs and the fact that he was, in fact, thinking the same thing as Stiles.

They watch the game in overall silence, commenting on foul play occasionally, cheering and booing on the right times.

One thing remains in mind: they would be observing just how close the uppy Pack had become, and just how ingrained in one another’s lives they were.

Things take a bad turn when the guy Theo had been frowning at whispers something to Liam as they pass each other near the player’s bench during the break time Coach had asked for when a guy from the opposite team sent Ramirez to the ground aggressively.

Scott watches on with a stiff body and tense shoulders as Liam freezes, turning slowly to look at the guy with a faint growl on the back of his throat. He doesnt fail to notice how Theo sits with a straight posture all of a sudden, breathing as evenly as possible.

Corey and Nolan approach him, trying their best to dissuade the beta from going after the guy under Coach’s watchful eyes, pushing his shoulders back and speaking in low voices in his ears.

“It's not gonna end well.” Stiles says, fidgeting with the buttons of Derek’s leather jacket that he had stolen earlier, “Gotta do something, Scotty, we know how Liam gets.” Scott feels the human’s eyes moving from his face to the field, but chooses to say nothing.

On the other side Mason scoffs; Scott glances at him briefly, just in time to catch his eyes rolling in annoyance before he turns to watch over Liam, now more tense than before.

They just barely manage to get the beta to sit down and drink some water, mentioning - in a way that Scott doesn't understand why they would do it - how Theo is sitting just there behind their bench when the guy speaks again, malice in his words, “Gonna wolf out, Dum-bar?” He laughs at his own joke, but no-one else does.

Tension is high around them and the teammates and Coach as they watch Liam glare and growl at the guy, pushing Corey and Nolan away from him forcibly - again, Scott notices the way they both flinch at Liam’s reaction, not in fear, it seems, but something else.

Scott is just about to get up and rush towards Liam, as the beta takes one step to very probably break the guy’s face in, when Theo starts speaking, “In front of all these people? Now that's just plain stupid, Dum-bar.” Is what he says, speaking as if he were watching a boring scene of a movie.

Him, Malia, Lydia, Derek and Stiles all look at him with incredulity at the casual way he starts adding fuel to Liam’s already growing anger, wary of the situation that was about to become messy - with the historic those two had of punching one another.

But then something extraordinary happens; Liam, in the height of his anger, growls in the guy’s direction and sits back down, sending a glare in their direction, specifically in Theo’s.

“Fuck off.” The beta says to Theo, causing the chimera to smirk knowingly and relax, just as Coach starts complaining about Liam pulling something like that in almost every game, going on and on about how his boyfriend wasn't always gonna be there to calm him down.

The Alpha feels his jaw drop, looking frantically from Liam to Theo in search for confirmation about what he had just heard.

Stiles sputters beside him, stuttering something about dangerous chimeras and innocent bomb-werewolves.

He turns to see if anybody else is as shocked by the news as he is, but Lydia, Malia and Derek only look relieved that the situation has de-escalated and mildly amused at Scott and Stiles reaction. The adults also show no signs of surprise, and Peter seems to be enjoying his behavior the most.

“Your perception of your surroundings needs an update, dear Scott.” The man says, smirking down at him.

Scott looks at Theo, who watches him with a beaming smile and an amused glint to his green eyes, “Is there something wrong, Scotty?” He asks in irony, causing Stiles to start complaining.

“Oi! Only I can call him that.” Stiles yelps.

“You're not that special, Stilinski.” The chimera rolls his eyes, going back to watching Liam.

Stiles scoffs, mumbling and complaining, but Scott does his best to tune him out.

He could have never predicted that outcome, not with the big gaps in their group interactions that stopped him from realizing the way Theo and Liam probably looked at one another.

“That’s cool.” He tries to say, hesitating but trying his best to sound genuine.

Because it was! Cool, that is. There was literally no problem in them dating, in fact Scott was happy that they could move on and start a relationship with one another.

It just would have been nice to hear it firsthand from Liam, and not second-handedly from Coach, of all people, right after Liam almost worked towards breaking someone’s nose - probably.

But that’s a slightly selfish thought, and Scott always tries his best not to act selfishly. Instead, he turns his gaze towards Liam, who watches him with a reluctant and curious expression.

Scott smiles at him, trying his best to reassure Liam that he had nothing against his relationship with Theo.

The rest of the game passes on without any major incidents, with Coach assigning the guy, who Scott discovered that the name is Eric, to the bench for the remainder of the match.

When the game is finished and they are all eating pizza in his mom’s living room while the “adults” talk in the kitchen Scott can't help but observe them; the way they flaunter to each other, pressing their arms together, sharing soft glances and teasing one another about something or the other.

It reminds me of Alison, he thinks with a pang in his chest, the grief that never truly went away, probably never would. It reminded him of how she was his anchor and his whole world, the way that just the mention of her name would have him calmed in an instant, how much happier he was when around her, when he thought of her.

The Alpha hopes that Liam and Theo’s clearly strong and beautiful bond will not end up as his and Alison’s did, Scott hopes that they get to live out the rest of their lives together - hopes that chance follows them until their dying breath if that was what they wanted.

It wasn't to say he wouldn't still observe them before going back to college! He was now extremely curious to watch their dynamic through another perspective.

Honestly, he just hoped they wouldn't be as… excited, about one another as he and Alison had been.

(A fool’s hope, he would think later on, several times, after catching them in moments he was not supposed to!)

Chapter Text

“Liam.” Theo growls angrily, throwing the empty toothpaste tube inside the empty sink. All he had wanted was to brush his teeth to wash away the odd taste of pineapple in the pizza that his stupid boyfriend had insisted they try the night before.

And hours had passed; they had argued about the taste, brushed their teeth and fallen asleep on their dark blue couch while watching Merlin - because Liam had gotten addicted to it and now they weren't watching anything else.

Except that the taste hasn't faded from his mouth, and now Theo couldn't even brush his teeth to try and get rid of it.

He rolls his eyes when Liam only yells an, “Sorry! I'll buy more tomorrow!” from the living room just before a crashing noise is heard.

Theo doesn't even want to check what Liam is destroying, instead choosing to set the toothpaste matter aside and finish loading their laundry into the washing machine, taking care to check the pockets because Liam always forgot bills on his back pocket.

The chimera works with Liam’s humming and scribbling his winter work from one of his most difficult classes, enjoying the opportunity of having his boyfriend near when, during most of the year, he was away at college.

During the months after the Anuk-Ite and the hunters Theo had worked extremely hard to try to become a working citizen again, accidentally attending group therapy, voluntarily helping in social work and getting hired as cashier in a small restaurant near where he currently lived.

Sometimes, when he looked in a mirror, he could barely see the chimera of death he had once been - and that was the most rewarding thing that had ever happened to him.

Eventually, he had grown closer to the chef of the kitchen of the restaurant - who was, coincidently, also the owner - and got hooked up into learning how to cook so he could serve as a helping hand in the kitchen instead of only barely surviving on the minimum wage salary of a cashier.

After he got promoted and had a raise in his salary Theo had finally been able to get out of Peter’s empty apartment and rented his own at the Burdeaux Petal Residential, a simple four store building of red bordeaux color where the apartments somehow fit two bedrooms and also had balconies - with the exception of the first floor.

It was his first ever legal and genuine accomplishment, where he went through socially acceptable means to achieve something; the day Liam, Mason and Corey finally helped him move in - not that he had that many belongings - was one of the few times Theo remembered crying of happiness.

Theo couldn't be prouder of himself and he truly believed the one other person that had cried with him was, ironically, Peter Hale, who started meeting with Theo a few times and never stopped.

Life truly was full of surprises, even if it had given him years of sufferment before the sun ever shone for him.

Arms encircle his waist, that special type of warmth Theo had come to love was pressed into his back, making him sigh in pleasure. He throws the last striped shirt into the machine haphazardly, trying to bite his smile away as Liam presses warm kisses into his neck.

Turning around Theo puts his arms around his boyfriend’s neck, watching with fondness as his clear blue eyes move around his face. Liam smiles, pulling him in and brushing his nose with Theo’s, their breaths mingling.

Theo chuckles, nibbling at Liam’s bottom lip, sighing as he moves lower to his ass, squeezing both cheeks with greedy hands - the sting of his claws passing through the material of his black tactel shorts barely registers for him.

“Done?” Liam whispers in his lips, moving sideways to his neck, leaving kisses and nibbles on every trace of skin his teeth can find. Theo hums, cocking his head to give him more space to work with, “Your stupid friends will be here soon.” He tries to say; truly, Theo attempts to press his head onto the side of Liam’s, tries to make him back away a little so they can finish cleaning the living room for their visitors, but it is useless.

His boyfriend growls, annoyed at his attempts of pushing him away, biting hard on the junction where his neck meets his shoulder. Theo gaps and groans, melting into the warm body that now holds him up.

Theo grabs at the hair at the back of Liam’s head, gripping tightly and pulling the other’s face up until he can bite down on the soft lips hard enough to draw blood.

Liam shows no aversive reaction other than moaning and the widened movement of his pupils that blocks out way too much of the beautiful blue he loves so much.

In a bold move Liam crashes his lips into Theo’s, uncaring at attempting to be sweet or to take things slow. Wet noises fill the bathroom as they kiss, tongues moving in a wet and damning dance that Theo is all too happy to participate in.

They grip at each other’s bodies, they kiss so desperately, so wetly and with barely any breaks; they kiss like they hadn’t spend the evening of the day before fucking and thanking whatever entity was out there that the apartment downstairs had yet to be rented.

When they separate to breathe, chests moving up and down in fast movements, Theo nearly feels dirty watching the string of spit connected between their wet lips break and hit Liam’s chin with a growing stubble - but it'll never be nearly enough to make him stop wanting the beta as bad as he is wanted back.

There is barely any hesitation in the space between the two of them before Theo and Liam are separating and harshly taking their shirts off, practically running back to their room in an effort to keep their promise of ‘sex only in the bedroom because cum is a pain to clean off things’.

The door isn't even fully closed when Liam pushes him into the bed and kisses him again in between gasps, moan and groans.

Their hands roam each other’s bodies, Theo holds no hesitation, moving his claws on Liam’s back and shivering as his back moves underneath his hands, muscles tightening and twisting as his arms move to form a cage around Theo’s head.

The next time they separate isn’t only to breathe. Liam moves his wet lips down Theo’s naked chest, kissing the area around his nipples but never truly touching them.

In a ordinary day the chimera would not have minded the wait, the build up of the tension and the anticipation to be touched in his most sensitive parts, but this time they have the pack arriving - again - in at least half-hour if not less, so they can't afford to take their time now.

He doesn't waste his breath trying to speak, instead forcing Liam’s head down the length of his body to the tent in his black shorts, growling in annoyance as the beta laughs and looks up at him with his stupid darkened blue eyes filled with desire and anticipation.

“In a hurry?” The little shit asks, licking around his cock with a smirk firmly in place. The beta has several tells, so many that the only thing Theo does is relax back on his pillow and wait.

Smiling lazily at his boyfriend Theo watches as Liam’s eyes predictably flash in barely concealed lust, hands moving to grip tightly on the hem of the shorts.

Theo barely has any time to stop him before Liam is kneeling and ripping his shorts apart, throwing the remains somewhere on the floor near the bed.

“Those were new, you little shit!” He exclaims, kicking Liam’s ribs with nearly no strength at all. It's almost pathetic how he sighs in relief as the constricting material is removed from his sweaty skin and his dick springs free, hitting his stomach in a wet and pulsing mess.

The beta catches his foot, pulling it up to kiss along his calf up to his inner thigh. Liam moves up and up and up, but his eyes not once leave Theo’s dick, which greedily drips with pre-come at the more than wanted attention.

He doesn't bother answering him, instead using both hands to spread his thighs in a manner that makes his right leg nearly fall off the bed while the other hits the wall.

Theo’s whole body flinches when Liam licks up the length of his dick. His head unconsciously moves up on the pillow, face tilted to the beige ceiling as his eyes focus on nothing and everything at the same time.

His hands move on their own accord, passing through Liam’s messy hair as he kisses lower and lower until he finally reaches his rim, pressing wet open-mouthed kisses on it.

Tightening his hands on the brown-blonde hair Theo pulls his boyfriend back up, chuckling at Liam’s startled moan, “We don't have time for that.” He tries to explain when Liam glares at him, blood red and wet lips pushed together in a pout.

“I promise I can control myself.” Liam tries, moving his head down to finally finally lick on his nipples causing shivers to run through his body as he gasps and tries not to give in to that beautiful tongue of his.

Theo raises a skeptical eyebrow in between small gasps; the beta doesn't even need to look at him to know Theo doubted his word. Liam sighs in disappointment around his right nipple, biting and kissing it until it's thoroughly wet.

The chimera moans loudly in pleasure as his boyfriend pushes two fingers inside of him suddenly, forcing the two fingers down into his prostate again and again until his eyes roll back into his head and his legs quiver.

Gasps and groans and moans escape, but Theo doesn't care enough to tone down when his sweet spot keeps getting hit again and again mercilessly - their neighbors should be used to it by now, they hadn't stopped touching each other since the start of Liam’s winter break.

His whole body locks up as he reaches near his orgasm, only for Liam to stop moving and remove his fingers from inside him. Theo makes a mixed sound through his dizziness, a whimper and an angered growl mixed together, sinking his claws and dragging them over the beta’s back, enjoying the way it makes him hiss in pain.

“Sorry, baby.’ Liam whispers into the skin of his stomach, kissing it softly as an apology.

The chimera huffs and refuses to look down at his boyfriend, crossing his arms over his chest and stubbornly not moving them even when Liam tries to uncross them.

The beta sighs, amused, “Please touch me?” He tries, pouting and looking at him with clouded puppy eyes, but Theo is pretty pissed off that he couldn't cum right away and now they only probably had fifteen to ten minutes before the most pontual of the pack members’ arrived.

Liam chuckles, pressing kisses into every bit of skin he can find until he reaches Theo’s lips and then stops, waits.

Trying and failing to hold back the smile creeping over his lips Theo circles Liam’s neck with his arms, tilting his head up and kissing the beta.

It's a soft thing, their kiss. They laugh into it, green and blue eyes closed and their lips moving softly into the other’s, sighs of pleasure leaving both of them as their tongues move wetly making smacking noises that fill the pleasantly warm bedroom.

Theo crosses his legs around Liam’s waist as his hands massage the place in his boyfriend’s head that he had roughly pulled in a momentaneous anger. The beta’s hand moves downwards, lining himself at Theo’s entrance.

They sigh in pleasure as the head finally crosses the rim, foreheads resting together and their eyes closed - the only time they kept their eyes open with their foreheads so close together they hadn't been able to stop laughing, so much so that they had given up on sex and moved on to cuddling nakedly instead; they didn't try it ever again unless they were feeling like laughing.

Liam doesn't stay still for too long when he enters all the way in, knowing Theo hated the wait and preferred to be tortured by having his orgasm held back at the same time as any sort of action happened.

At first, he moves slowly, pulling all the way out before painfully slowly moving back in - Theo is thankful Liam had brought another box of condoms just in case they wanted to go at it again after yesterday.

The steady rhythm remains for only so much time, and soon Liam’s hips move faster and faster, up until the point where they couldn't be more silent even if they wanted to try to.

Filthy noises fill the room; the wet noise of Liam’s dick moving in and out, his balls hitting Theo’s ass, the repetitive smack of their hips together, their moans and gasps and growls growing louder and louder the more the beta thrusts in a relentless rhythm.

It’s only when Liam moves Theo’s hips up in just the right angle that Theo’s green eyes roll back and his mouth opens in a silent scream. Liam chuckles breathlessly, gripping his side tighter as he settles on a cruel pattern of movements, grunting with barely any effort as he hits Theo’s prostate again and again.

It doesn't take much else for Theo’s body to lock up and make him desperately grip his dick, moving his hand up and down and inadvertently make his orgasm much more overwhelming.

His breathing is ragged and there are tears gathering in the corner of his eyes as he dirties himself with his own cum, squeezing around Liam to keep him moving when he threatens to slow down when he notices Theo is done for.

Liam thrusts only a few more times before his hips lose its rhythm, becoming a stuttering mess while the beta groans and whimpers in pleasure. Theo can't help but hum in satisfaction at the warm sensation inside of him despite the growing sensitivity.

Falling into Theo, Liam settles comfortably, both of them taking deep breaths and trying to calm down enough to get up and shower again.

Theo shivers as Liam starts biting his neck, pushing his head away as it starts to make his dick perk up at the lazy bites. He could go again, but they shouldn't.

The asshole laughs, moving his hips back and pulling out, making them both hiss. The beta almost gets comfortable on the bed beside him before Theo pushes him to the ground, smiling happily at the thud and his boyfriend’s startled yelp.

“T!” Liam tries to exclaim, sitting up and glaring at him with a pout on his lips, glaring without any heat.

Getting up, Theo checks the analogical clock on the bedside table, noticing the very little time they had left to shower and move Liam’s books from the living room’s center table.

“We talked about this, the sheets are already wet and sweaty as they are,” Theo speaks, moving towards the corridor. He turns back, watching in amusement as Liam removes the condom while looking at him with sad blue eyes; his smile widens, “If you're quick we can shower together.” Then he turns around, listening as Liam gasps and moves desperately to follow him.

Theo would never treat his boyfriend as a shallow fuck, not even when they were still starting to date and were unsure how to behave around each other, growing through awkward first weeks of relationship.

Although he did not like to broadcast their business around he had gone to Corey - sigh - to know more about what he should and shouldn't do in a relationship, in regards to sex and other things.

Some of the other chimera’s answers were very vague and guided Theo into figuring for himself what Liam liked and disliked, but others, like aftercare, were very useful.

Liam and he tried to be as soft with each other after sex as possible, both of them afraid of making one wrong move and flaring the other’s temper, or worse, making the other upset about something.

As Liam hugs him from behind as the water falls into them Theo can't help but think they were doing something right, for the love he felt for Liam only grew everyday, despite his insecurities.

They end up getting sidetracked with wet kisses and wandering hands dirtied with soap again, getting startled when there’s a knock on the door and Stiles’ aggravating voice resonates through the walls, as the bathroom was on the wall that led to the hall outside.

“I know what youre doing, you dirty fuckers!” He exclaims, pounding on the door again. Theo sighs in annoyance while hearing Scott’s low laugh outside and the noise of shuffling feet.

Liam kisses his cheek, washing his body quickly before moving the dark green curtains aside to step on the carpet. “Relax, Stiles.” He says as if the human would hear it; Scott probably tells, for as soon as his boyfriend crosses the threshold of the bathroom door Stiles is complaining again about werewolf stamina.

Theo rolls his eyes and huffs, closing the curtains, moving his eyes away from Liam’s round ass to finish his shower and pretend he cares about social politeness and didn't just go to pound town with his boyfriend.

God forbid Stiles arrives late for once.

Stiles was not being overzealous and paranoid. He was sure he wasn't.

All of the other times where he told Scott and Lydia and anyone who stopped for more than one minute to actually listen to what he had to say that the bad guy was the bad guy.

But did they listen? No. Nobody ever listened, and, in the end, Stiles was always right, always correct in following his instincts and not giving in to the pretty facade they could put on without hesitating, twisting the metaphorical knife in their guts just so they could have an underwhelming win.

So, when Theo had first come back Stiles had trusted his instincts and believed himself when he said with certainty that that person that stood in front of them wasn't the real Theo Raeken.

The problem was that Theo behaved like Theo. He was worried for Scott, he tried to befriend Stiles, knew how much he had difficulty in trusting others, Theo was sarcastic but not in a totally bitch way.

And that was why he was ignored, because the facade was good, almost perfect even, but the inside was rotten and twisted and the person that Theo Raeken once had been no longer existed in that body.

In the end, when Stiles was proven to be right, again, apologies were made and they moved on to try to be better for each other - and Scott, bless his innocent heart and cruel words, was genuinely trying to do different and be better.

When Liam vouched for Theo to not be put back on the ground he was skeptical, not only that but he had not forgotten the way the chimera had seen their flaws and used them to his favor, pushing them away from each other, isolating them and breaking them apart.

Stiles lost count of how many times he had told Scott to overrule Liam’s request and put the guy back on the ground, where he belonged, suffering for what he had done to them the way he deserved.

Regarding Theo, Stiles could admit that Liam’s decision was right and, apart from helping them deal with the hunters, Monroe and the Anuk-ite, the guy seemed to have some sort of aura that calmed Liam down and drew Mason and Corey - Corey! - back towards him while barely trying to do it, which appeared to make them more relaxed than Stiles had seen since they first entered the supernatural world.

And so, only because of that - and only that -, he had kept his eyes on him for the brief time he remained in Beacon Hills up until the moment he had to go back to college. That was how he eventually figured out that Theo was homeless, barely eating and looking like death was following his every movement.

The guy was so paranoid and broken - to a point where Stiles could see it - that, sometimes, he seemed to unconsciously shift to his wolf-coyote form and run through the preserve, hunting and bathing in the river just to return to his car and shift back, looking like he couldn't understand why he was sitting naked in the driver’s seat.

He didn’t like admiting it, but the decision of pushing his dad and Derek and Peter in Theo’s fucked up direction was too easy - way too easy.

Because Stiles, despite still holding mistrust and believing the chimera would only need one opportunity to fuck them up again, was still as soft and caring and, unfortunately, willing as his parents had raised him to be.

When Derek had told him Theo had lashed out severely against them before ultimately accepting a very minimal help, less than Stiles expected him to accept, he wasn't really surprised.

Stiles didn't want the guy to believe he trusted him completely, nor that he was always watching over him to a point where it got creepy - because he wasn't, he was just keeping an eye on him from time to time! -, so he had asked Derek and his dad to not mention, to let Theo believe that they had figured it out themselves and only wanted to help.

He knew, in the end, that if it came from him Theo probably wouldn't have accepted, and it would have driven him away from Beacon Hills and far away from Liam, Mason and Corey, which he knew the puppies did not want.

And so they kept quiet, and he kept quiet, and when the chimera got back on his feet and rented his first apartment through legal means Stiles was controversially happy, though still mistrustful and worried.

Liam and Theo dating was not something he had been expecting, despite the way he could see the two behaved around each other. But he wasn't in Beacon Hills all the time anymore, and so he couldn't have been completely sure that was the direction they were going with.

(Although he should have seen that coming. They were each other’s anchors after all like the way he was Derek’s.)

Stiles also wasn't expecting the puppies to spend so much time around Theo and to be so close to him, going out, hanging out in Liam’s house with him, watching movies, playing games and talking about music.

Of course they were close! But… he hadn't expected that much closeness. Stiles didn't truly know how to feel about it, couldn't even begin to describe what he was thinking.

So, when the opportunity presented itself in the form of Mason saying he and Corey were going to Theo’s apartment after having breakfast with his mom, Stiles didn't waste any time in adding himself to the equation and confirming his and Scotty’s presence as well.

(And if the face Theo had made at the prospect of having Stiles and Scott inside his apartment filled him with joy, then he could not be faulted for it.)

Malia didn't want to go, some coyote unwritten rule that neither she nor Theo seemed to want to cross, and Lydia had taken the opportunity to drag her one hour away to LA for shopping - taking Peter with them for input because, and Stiles quoted, “the man has a good sense of style, Sti.”

That was how he ended up there, moving past Liam while avoiding touching him as much as possible because he did not want to be touched with those body members that were very close to Theo’s naked body.

Stiles had then stood in the middle of the room, turning in himself to be able to get everything through his brain, to see if he could find anything that would prove that Theo wasn't as innocent as he acted to be.

(Because the very real probability that the chimera was being genuine scared the shit out of him for reasons he did not want to talk about, Sourwolf, thankyouverymuch.)

The apartment was small, smaller than the one he was sharing with Derek in Washington, but held so much knowledge about the day to day of the place that it nearly made Stiles overwhelmed with thoughts and observations.

To the right was the living room; it had a dark blue couch with many colored pillows spread around, with a dark green comforter lying on one of the arms, the armchair placed to the left of the sofa was of a mustard yellow, a book resting on its cushion. Directly in front of the blue couch was a fireplace with a relatively sized TV atop of it, the centerpiece table was a light brown color, and the rug underneath was beige.

To Stiles’ left was another rug, this time differently shaped and in a myriad of light blue, dark blue and grey-blue color, on one corner there was a circular white table with two chairs, while on the wall of the door were a large bookcase, nearly completely filled.

It sounded simple, when describing it in such a way, but it was the little details that got to him.

While Scott and Liam passed by him to the kitchen with the boxes of pizza they brought - that Scott had insisted on buying -, Stiles remained hooked on the desperating details that made him want to chew on his nails.

There were plants all around, on the center table, on the area above the fireplace, on the back corner, hanging from the ceiling, beside the floor coat rack and the shoe rack with several sneakers of different sizes that Stiles just knew were from the other puppies.

Stiles could see Liam’s class books and assignments on the round white table, could see a yellow shirt thrown over the yellow armchair, the water bottles close together on the center table, the box with things that needed to be moved but were still forgotten to the right of the fireplace, the group pictures on the fireplace mantle, the forgotten mugs with leftover coffee and juice, the small box open that held several used CD cases of games.

Everywhere he looked had the telltale sign of a well lived place with memories and thoughtful decorations, thoughtless decorations and forgotten things; so many that Stiles had to sit down and just breathe for a moment.

When he came to Theo was standing to his left, arms crossed over his white T-shirt and the usual questioning raised eyebrow.

Pretending that he didn't almost have a breakdown because he realized Theo Raeken was, in fact, a human being that took over the space he lived in, Stiles scoffed while looking at him, rolling his eyes in faux annoyance, “What? I can't sit now? I'm your guest, y’know?” He asks ironically.

Theo laughs humorlessly while shaking his head, walking away from him to sit on the other side of the blue couch, legs criss-crossed, “I don't remember inviting you.” The chimera says, frowning his eyebrows and pretending to think.

Faking offense he fires back, “Are you actually saying you don't want me here? Scott is just right there, okay?!” He says, pointing to the opposite wall where he knows his supposed best friend is ignoring him in favor of his favorite child.

The chimera scoffs and turns away, mumbling under his breath. Stiles is genuinely surprised he didn't say anything offensive even though he looked like he wanted to.

Liam probably told him to play nice.

He smiled mischievously, eyes moving from an bored looking Theo to the open doorway of the kitchen, moving his hands through his pants. If the baby beta had forced his little boyfriend to play nice then Stiles was really going to enjoy the evening.

“Sooo, buddy,” He starts, moving an inch closer to Theo. The chimera turns his head and narrows his eyes, glaring at him and watching him with sharp green eyes, “How've you been? Good work?” Stiles asks innocently. He swears he does! It's just so much more fun to pretend otherwise just to see the way Theo gets his feathers all ruffled, shoulders rising in tension.

It's good, he thinks, for the chimera to feel tense around him when he himself always felt the same around him. It wasn't fair for only one of them to suffer through their interactions.

“I want to choke the life out of you.” Theo says next, a huge smile on his lips. And he says it with such genuinity that, even though Stiles knows he won't do it, just the fact that he said it to his face offends him very much.

It's then that they start bickering.

Scotty and Liam come back from the kitchen with empty hands and amused expressions, Liam moves Theo forward a bit where the chimera rants about Stiles’ nonexistent habit of giving unsolicited opinions on other people’s business - which he doesn't do! Shut up, Scott! - so he can sit behind him, arms holding him tight.

They do stop arguing eventually, instead choosing to do rock, paper, scissors to settle the debate over which franchise of movies they would watch next.

Stiles wins, and not through sheer luck alone despite everything that Theo says about him which are lies, and they end up settling for Star Wars while they wait for Corey and Mason to arrive and hope for the pizza to not get cold.

Halfway through the first movie the couple arrives, with more boxes of pizzas on hand because supernatural creatures do not have a low appetite and thus cost way too much money.

He has to admit, Stiles is having fun hanging around Theo’s apartment.

They laugh, Theo and him bicker again about their favorite characters, they eat pizza and Liam retells them on how he and Theo brought pineapple pizza only for the taste to be shit - which Stiles already knew.

Overall, it's nice, and, again, Stiles can't possibly know how to begin starting to know how he feels about the fact that Theo Raeken’s apartment is as alluring, comfortable and warm as Scott’s house.

Mason and Corey are clacking about something Stiles did not care to pay attention to as he fought with Liam over the last piece of pepperoni pizza when the last bit of Theo’s rant catches his attention.

Theo huffs between laughs, trying to appear stoic but failing in his attempt, “Who invited all of you again?” He asks, scoffing through a smile as he pushes his body down the length of Liam’s.

Stiles fakes throwing up, yelping in pain as the little shit kicks his chin. They had all retired to the floor, in a moment or the other, and were all sitting in all kinds of relaxed positions while SCott, mother hen that he was, kept on taking pictures of them to send to the pack group chat.

“C’mon, Theo, you love it when we come to annoy you.” Mason says, also smiling, brushing his hands through his boyfriend’s hair. Corey nods in agreement, hugging Mason’s leg with a small smile on his lips.

Everybody was smiling, even him, though he refused to admit it or look in Scott’s direction where he held a knowing aura.

Stiles raises an eyebrow, munching on his slice of pizza he managed to win from Liam, who was now pouting on his beloved’s hair, “You guys come here often?” He asks, brown eyes moving from Liam to Theo to Mason and Corey.

“Uh, yeah? Since the first time Theo rented the apartment we were always here.” Mason says, looking like it was an obvious answer.

Corey laughs, “Remember the time that we forgot my phone in the guest room and…” And Stiles tunes out most of the retelling of how Corey caught Theo walking over Liam’s body and other various stories about how much fun the younger part of their pack had while hanging around Theo’s apartment and around him as if he had never tried to ruin them all barely a few months ago.

When Scott talked with him after the game, and after everybody had gone home, about how this chance they - not they, because Stiles had vehemently voted against it - had still to be wasted, and how even his dad seemed to believed that Theo Raeken, chimera of death, had genuinely changed and was doing voluntary work, and had charmed his way into being an ally of their pack and wasn't behaving murderously at all.

He didn't like it, Stiles hated the way everybody was softening up, hated how his dad had started hanging out with Peter and was eating more healthily without him having to beg him to, hated how Aunt Melissa now had softer eyes whenever she looked at Theo and hated how Argent no longer fake relaxed his hands on his thighs near his guns anytime the chimera entered the room or got too close to him, Aunt Melissa or Scott.

Hated how Lydia started looking at Theo curiously, how Scott had given him space in their pack, how Malia only held onto her anger because she had an image to maintain and not because she was still, completely and irrevocably, furious still. Hated how Derek, who had been angry with Scott and stood by him when he found out no-one had believed him about Theo, had sat him down and forced him to talk about how he was feeling and face the changes that were happening at rapid speed.

And, most of all, Stiles hated how his instincts were telling him that that stupid chimera was actually being genuine.

“Hey, Theo, what's that written on your sock?” He asks, simply because it didn't matter that he was finally accepting that Theo was changing and could perhaps even be trusted, Stiles was still going to be a little shit out him like he was to everyone else.

Theo looks down on his socks, feet resting over Corey’s legs. The word SLUT written in bold black letters, “Something you are.” The chimera looks up at him, eyes shining happily.

Stiles sputters indignantly. Theo happily looks away, smiling with satisfaction and leaning more, as if it was physically possible, into his boyfriend as Liam kisses his cheek in praise.

The beta steals a nibble on the cheek, causing Theo to yelp and start fake complaining while his boyfriend laughs away, followed by Mason who also nibbles on Corey’s cheek to the chimera’s giddiness.

Stiles has never felt more reassured that, despite the graduate change in evilness, Theo Raeken still remained the same bitch of always.

He shivers, genuinely distraught that he is thinking of Theo as a normal person would, and not his usual murderous plans and thoughts.

What has the world become.

Chapter Text

Lydia sighed, resting her chin on her left hand as she scrolled through the shopping website, pondering considerably on whether to purchase the cute white leather Mary Jane heels, or the wine red high heels.

She ends up adding both to the cart. Turning her phone off and letting it fall carelessly into her open bag Lydia turns to watch the habitual scenery of Beacon Hills pass by.

The new semester would soon come and Lydia couldn't possibly return to MIT with a collection of last season's clothes. Not even the threat of the amount of new classes she would have to take - caused by her own ambition of always wanting more - could dampen her desire to buy cute outfits every once in a while.

(Stiles and Malia would argue that it was certainly not every once in a while, but, truthfully, sometimes the best course of action was to ignore them and simply move on. Derek, to her major surprise, had actually agreed with her and encouraged her, amidst Malia’s complaint of having to go shopping with Lydia, to indulge herself.

It proved no surprise that they had ended up growing closer after that.)

As the driver stops in an intersection a blurring blue car catches her attention from the corner of her eyes.

Curious, Lydia puts her head out of the window, mindful of the cars coming that way, to watch as Theo’s truck drives past to take a turn in the direction of Beacon Hill’s Hospital, where Mrs. McCall worked at.

Now, in her funded defense, Lydia was not in the habit of indulging her boyfriend's paranoid behavior, nor did she agree with the way Stiles would let his wild thoughts get the best out of him; but, it wasn't to say she didn't listen to what he was mumbling and ranting about, and left it in the corner of her mind for later consideration.

Stiles’ topic of endless ranting and complaining, and grumbled compliment, of the moment was Theo Raeken - of which Lydia was not at all surprised by. Ever since Theo had arrived in Beacon Hills again, and even before he had left, Stiles could be found loudly talking about the guy, be it complaining about his shadiness or of the way he followed him and Scott around the school.

Back then his complaining, at least the bits and pieces Lydia could hear as she passed by the then three nerds, was completely harmless, and Theo had the tendency to fire back colorful answers without hesitating.

It was what their dynamic was like, a trio that was always close together up until the moment Theo and his family suddenly packed everything and left town, days after his sister’s death.

The truth of the hasty departure was now known to them all, and certainly added to the chimera’s purple bags under his eyes and shifty behavior.

Lydia sometimes wondered how no adult had seen Theo’s gradual change, when it was one of the first things she had noticed about the pretty boy in school.

Regardless of past musings, after having spent an entire afternoon in the chimera’s apartment in the company of Scott and the boys, Stiles had gone back to her and Derek’s late movie marathon - after her afternoon with Peter and Malia, Derek having gone somewhere he told no-one of where - uncharacteristically quiet, just to later claim that Theo wasn't a “villain” anymore.

His switch had then been broken, and he had started to go off ranting about how Theo was still a bitch and that his decision to accept that the chimera had genuinely changed did not, in fact, mean that he liked him in the slightest. So, she and Derek had to pretend they did not see their boyfriend planning to reacquaintance Theo with the entire franchise of Star Wars as soon as humanly possible.

Since Derek hadn't been in Beacon Hills during the time that everything had gone wrong between them, he wasn't intimately aware of just how deeply the roots of Theo’s manipulation ran inside them all.

Lydia was now advocating, since after Monroe and the hunters and the Anuk-Ite, that they should, at the very least, procure a professional that could maintain enough of a poker face and stitched lips and fix their fucking mental problems.

They could not, and Lydia meant it wholeheartedly, go on with the lingering nightmares of what they had all gone through following their every move like a nightmarish shadow attached to their very being.

She had yet to convince Stiles, Derek and Malia, but herself and Scott were now having online - for their own safety - sessions with a school friend of Peter’s, who owed him a favor and was, apparently, very trustable.

But, still, Lydia clinged to the lingering anger that had built up since the moment Peter bit her, that festered through Alisson's death and and grew into Theo’s manipulation, holding it close to her chest and letting it consume her in a way she knew could never be considered healthy, or even relatively safe to herself and others.

It was her right to feel angry at Theo, none could take that away from her, but Lydia had become a self-controlled person, enough to not allow her anger to cloud her judgement towards the former chimera of death and his growing gradual change.

Lydia was inherently aware of how deeply and irrevocably Theo’s years with the Dread Doctors had broken something inside of him almost beyond repair.

Sometimes, before they had caught on to the chimera’s manipulation, not even his perfectly crafted facade of a relatively normal supernatural teenager could hide the depth of the pain that clinged to his shoulders like a physical heavyweight, of which made his green eyes look dead and empty, his body nothing but a vessel to his broken soul.

Reasonably, Lydia saw through clear eyes that broken nine year old boy whose parents neglected, who loved his sister more than anything and always spoke highly of, who despised his heart condition and his constant visits to the hospital, and trailed behind Scott and Stiles like a lost puppy who was always trying to fit in somewhere, but never quite managed to stop people from leaving.

Theo was broken.

He was broken before he was taken, broken during his captivity with the Dread Doctors, broken as he was dragged by a twisted and terrifying version of his older sister to the Skinwalkers Prison to suffer through God knew what, and had remained uglily broken after Liam let him out of the ground with Kira’s sword and into the chaos that was Beacon Hills.

Anger wasn't the only thing Lydia felt towards Theo Raeken.

Pity was often the only thing that surpassed the rage boiling inside her from the chimera’s machinations, as she watched the boy try to rearrange himself like an abandoned young bird with broken wings, on the verge of giving up.

Reasonably, Lydia Martin knew Theo Raeken, former Chimera of Death and reformed human being, was trying to do better, be better.

Irrationally, further proof was needed to prove her conclusions.

His friendship with the boys wasn't enough, Stiles’ words weren't enough, Scott’s willingness to believe weren't enough.

Lydia needed to see and claim the proof of the chimera’s change with her own eyes, let it be absorbed into her mind and maybe, just maybe, she can finally start believing that they weren't going to be stabbed in the back again the second they gave the chimera too much trust and allowed him in again.

And so, with irrationality clouding her mind and that thrill of adrenaline she refused to acknowledge even existed in the first place, Lydia asked the driver to take the next turn and follow the redirection route towards Beacon Hills Memorial in search of one Theodore Raeken.

She either would be very right or would have to force a scream up her throat, for the best of everybody.

────────────────────

Walking through the sliding doors, after having left a rude, disgruntled and annoyed Uber driver behind in the parking lot, Lydia observed cautiously and as silently as she possibly could as Theo did something that left her more than just mildly surprised.

Shock made her stop frozen in her place, almost not noticing, and frankly uncaring, the nurse that guided her stiff body to the side and safely out of the way, too enthralled by what she saw in front of her, with her own green eyes, at the entrance’s reception.

Theo stood completely relaxed, resting his arms on the reception counter, brown jacket thrown carelessly over his shoulder, casually engaging in conversation with two nurses that seemed to be on break as a see-through bag with a tupperware inside sits glaringly beside him.

They laugh together at something Theo says. The nurse with dirty blonde hair and an apparent pregnant belly rubs her hand, that wasn't resting above her belly, on the chimera’s arm, looking at him with something that is akin to fondness, even though Lydia is too far away to be confidently sure of it.

In response Theo smiles and inches closer and stares down at the woman’s protuberant stomach, poking the belly with a finger, laughing as he apparently gets a response back. The nurse doesn't seem bothered by his behavior, instead giggling and bumping her shoulder with the man’s beside her.

The other nurse, a man with dark skin and beautifully defined dark-brown coils, gestures wildly and laughs hard, seeming to enjoy the growing red taking over Theo’s face. He rests his left arm on the counter, doing something with his face that Lydia cannot see.

Rubbing a hand against his own face Theo laughs awkwardly, saying something back to the man that makes both nurses laugh softly at him. It is in times like that that Lydia wishes being a Banshee had granted her super hearing as well, instead of just dissociated sleep-walking towards dead bodies and deadly screams.

As she gathers her courage to unfreeze herself and stride up to them with a charming smile, the man points with his chin at something-someone walking in their direction, removing his arm from the counter Theo rested on to instead lean back on the counter to his left side.

The new clear sight in her direct line of vision allows Lydia to observe Mrs. McCall walking hurriedly towards the happy trio, coming from somewhere she had not been able to see.

The woman rolls her eyes - or, Lydia thinks she does - and gestures to something behind her, walking closer and closer. As the two nurses laugh softly at her behavior Theo simply pulls the transparent bag and slides it across the counter towards Mrs. McCall, saying something Lydia is just dying to hear.

Mrs. McCall shakes her head but doesn't appear bothered or uncomfortable with what appears to be Theo Raeken bringing her food in her workspace. Lydia knows Scott is the one to usually do it when he is around, and if not him Mr. Argent picks up the work.

She had never stopped to wonder what the older nurse did when they were both away, out of town or in college, and she forgot to pack her lunch and bring it to work.

Lydia now knows the answer. In the absence of her boyfriend and her son, Theo Raeken instead picked up from where they left and took it upon himself to give Mrs. McCall, the woman he had deeply hurted, her lunch and who knew how many other meals.

The older nurse pats Theo on the shoulder as she grabs her packed lunch with her other hand, looking distractedly at the bag with growing curiosity. Mrs. McCall asks him something with an easy smile on her face, and the two nurses smile and laugh and everything is so casual and normal and Mrs. McCall is right there, after everything that happened-

Lydia…does not know what to do anymore.

It’s hard to say what she had been expecting to see when she decided, in the heat of the moment, that following Theo to Beacon Hills Memorial and doing something she had not yet planned was the best decision possible.

(It reminded her of Stiles and his impulsive boosts of action. Of Derek and his need to act first, think later. Lydia could not join their impulsivity - she needed to have a clear head to think things through.)

But it wasn’t that.

It wasn't Theo, chatting comfortably and amicably with hospital nurses as if they were his long-dated friends, poking softly a pregnant woman’s belly and intersecting with her baby and laughing at inside jokes with a man old enough to be the same age as his dead sister. Calling out hellos and how are yous to some people and more nurses, that Lydia couldn't recognize, and Doctor Greyer, Liam’s dad, that passed by him as if he did that everyday. As if it had become routine.

Mrs. McCall leaned away from where she had rested her side on the counter, bag with her food in hand and patted Theo’s shoulder affectionately again. She said another thing to the chimera and the nurses, waved goodbye and left as if she had all the time in the world - still, that easy smile remained on her face.

Still, Lydia did not know how to feel, how to react or what she should do now.

She had seen the estate Scott was left in after Theo happened, his dead body still warm, claw marks unhealed in his chest, shirt torn from Theo’s unforgiving claws. Had watched as Mrs. McCall herself did CPR on her own son, desperate and wild and furious, like nothing Lydia had ever seen before.

Had witnessed time and time away as her anger at Liam still festered and barely relented, had seen the way she kept to herself, silent but still angry, whenever Scott insisted on asking Liam to bring Theo around for Pack Meetings about Monroe and the hunters and patrol schedules.

But now…

Now Mrs. McCall took food from Theo’s hands willingly, probably even made by the chimera himself - based on Stiles’ complaints that he had had to eat an early diner the chimera himself had prepared (roasted broccoli, chicken wings, rice and puree), admitting it was good and not poisoned, and good.

Now she laughed and smiled sincerely and patted him affectionately like she would Lydia, Stiles, Scott, any-one of them that she was fond of.

Lydia had never thought, at least not seriously enough, that Mrs. McCall would ever be able to even reach a level where she could begin to unravel her feelings and move towards forgiving Theo for what he had done, let alone speak with him as if it was any other Tuesday and there weren't gallons of metaphorical blood dripping from the chimera’s hands.

Melissa McCall would never behave that way with someone she considered a danger to herself, to her son and to her family, so the way she acted now could only truly mean that Theo did change, and that this time it was not a lie perfectly crafted by himself and the Dread Doctors.

Which should be a relief, Lydia should be happy that they weren't going to be betrayed a second time by the chimera. So why wasn't she relieved?

Just how deeply had Theo changed? What had happened in the meantime Lydia and the others had been away at college? How could they be truly sure of it?

Lydia was ready to forgive and move forward - not forget, not yet and maybe not ever -, but the expectation that others had also been ready to do so, that they saw the change forming and that was making Theo become who he had always been meant to be, had never quite crossed her mind as something realistically tangent.

Lydia accepted that people could change, that Theo could change - as all the other “bad” guys they had faced before had done so as well. So why suddenly she couldn't move past this heavy weight on her chest? What differed Theo from all of the others that tried the same thing he did?

As if drawn by her confusing thoughts, the hairs of Lydia’s body stand on end, a chill of fear runs through her body, unparalleled to a shiver caused from a simple cold weather. Theo turns his head towards her, slowly and in a way that reminds Lydia of a predator watching its prey where it stands frozen in fear, scent rolling off in waves, stuck in a repetitive consideration of fight or flight.

And she could fight - Peter, of all people, had been teaching her physical self-defense, alongside the use of her voice -, she just didn't want to.

He watches her for a mild second, green eyes so dark that they almost seem black from where she stands, focused and sharper than they had become normal to be.

Absently, judging by the way the chimera raises a questioning eyebrow, Theo disregards her presence by turning back to the two nurses that were still maintaining a casual conversation between themselves and with him.

It left her to wonder if Theo had never quite intended for his behavior to be regarded as dangerous - yet it was.

She forgot that Theo may be changing and attempting to atone for his past actions, but fact stands that he was raised to be a predator, was manipulated, twisted and punished until his behavior left his prey wishing for death upon taking sight of him.

Lydia almost shudders, suddenly extremely aware that they had all once been under the murderous intent of Theo Raeken, and had barely come out alive and whole.

She wondered how the boys - Liam, Mason and Corey - could stand to be around Theo when he seemed to, sometimes, act like he was ready to pounce and hunt - a question for later, one she knew Liam, in his protective and, frankly, possessive stand, would not appreciate.

In front of her, Theo rolls his eyes at something that is being said by the pregnant nurse on the other side of the counter - she gestures to her belly and to Theo; Lydia, once again, wishes she had super-hearing -, laughs and turns away from his nurse friends, waving goodbye without turning around to face them, smiling happily as they answer in equal enthusiasm before going back to talking to each other and organizing some papers.

Theo walks in her direction, eyebrow raised and head cocked slightly to the side. Lydia crosses her arms and stands firm, as if she hadn't felt a flicker of fear crossing through her body at the endless possibilities that could have happened if Theo truly was inherently evil.

“Lydia.” He greets as he stops near her, a considerable space left between them. Lydia almost feels angry at Theo for aiming for her comfort by staying an inch or two away from her; she could always handle herself, now more than ever, there was no need for him to act that way.

Instead, she clamps that anger behind thick walls and fixes her posture, smiling as best as she can to the chimera, who watches on with growing skepticism.

“Theo.” She starts, sending that wave of unsureness far away from her, unwelcome thing that it is, when Lydia herself had approached the chimera with other intentions in mind. “Why don't we go to eat something? I sent my Uber away when I saw you driving by.” Lydia says, cocking her head a little, bold and unwavering as she had taught herself to be.

Theo scoffs, looking amused judging by the tiny smirk in the corner of his mouth. He gestures towards the sliding doors of the reception with a comfortable stance, but tense shoulders; time and time again Lydia is impressed by how deeply she needs to look to find the chimera’s true feelings under his mask of comfort and indifference, “After you, then.”

They walk out to Theo’s car in an uncomfortable silence. As Lydia claims the passenger seat for herself and gives Theo her various bags to put somewhere else, she watches the space around her with glaring curiosity.

There is a pair of large shoes sitting far down on the car floor in front of her, Lydia can only guess they are Liam’s. In the space between the driver and passenger’s seat are several bubblegums, a light blue water bottle and a few handmade bracelets.

She doesn't dare open the compartment in front of her, but licks her lips in quiet curiosity, staring at it as Theo returns to the front seat.

Theo drives them around Beacon Hills, having said to be following his habitual pathway towards a small chain restaurant belonging to the family of a work-friend of his. She notes that he does not say what he works with, or where.

Lydia does not probe, but she eventually will.

A common trait Lydia finds amusing that she shares with Theo - and that Theo shares with Stiles, not that either of them would like to have that pointed out to them - is stubbornness.

Neither of them give in to the awkwardness that fills the blue truck. Lydia will not be the one to break the silence and try to fill it with awful small talk she doesn't care about, and Theo doesn't seem anymore inclined to try it either.

Lydia isn't even sure the chimera knows how to properly make small talk like a normal teenager.

There are so many unanswered questions about Theo and his upbringing, as turbulent and violent and not at all safe for a growing teenager, that she barely even knew where to start looking for answers. Or if she should even ask them.

The restaurant is a surprisingly cozy open space with warm industrial lights, a private parking spot to the side that Theo seems to be more than comfortable with.

Inside there are several dark wood tables and chairs scattered around in seemingly strategic placements, as well as pots with plants, floor-lamps and cute frames with beautiful pictures of landscapes - that Theo claims his friend and her family had taken themselves.

His friend isn't in when he asks after her, but her mother coos over Theo on how thin he is - he isn't -, how he should eat more because young werecoyotes needed strength - Lydia almost gasped in surprise at her knowing about Theo - and that he should bring his cute boyfriend around that evening for a second round of karaoke night - Lydia raised an eyebrow at the competitiveness in the woman’s expression.

Theo took her probing and worry in stride, as if he was used to her concerned behavior. Lydia held no doubt that he probably was.

The woman - “How many times have I told you to call me tía, Theodore Raeken?” - had gestured to a table on the far end of the restaurant, near a big set of windows that gave view to the cars driving past and the people walking on the sidewalk.

They sit, place their orders with Theo’s friend’s cousin, who bumps a fist softly on the chimera’s shoulder and asks after his puppy boyfriend, and return to the awkward silence that had overcome the car on the ride over.

Once the steaming food is placed on the table they continue to refuse to break the silence and instead eat quietly. Lydia looks outside the window every so often, pursing her lips and moving her head in her usual habit, overtaken by the sight of an antique shop on the other side of the street.

She turns back when Theo clears his throat, watching as the chimera places his glass of orange juice on the tablecloth, “So,” He starts, usual eyebrow raised in question, “I thought you had something you wanted to talk about.”

Lydia also raises an eyebrow in question, only because she is so curious to know why he did it so often, “Why would you think that?” She almost denies, brushing a hand through her strawberry-blonde hair.

Theo’s expression turns skeptic and annoyed, “You kept staring at me back at the hospital reception. Dante kept asking me who you were.” He says, picking up his fork to shovel a mouthful of Beef Enchiladas in his mouth as if there was no tomorrow.

Humming Lydia picks up her fork, messing around with her small portion of Braised Beef, “He’s new, isn't he? I was unsure how to approach.” She settles on for saying the truth, staring at Theo as she chews.

The chimera observes her with an expressive face filled with uneasiness and curiosity. It was a bold contrast to his past carefully manicured expressions.

Eventually, Theo says, “Is there a reason why you wanted to speak with me? I tried my best to give you space.” He shrugs, as if what he just said is nothing worth mentioning. And if that didn't make Lydia’s head twist into an overly complicated knot, she didn't know what else would.

Abandoning her fork Lydia settles back on her chair, watching Theo with an expression so mixed with so many different emotions and feelings she doubts he could ever decipher it - for even she didn't know what was happening.

While Lydia spend months mulling over Theo and the way she was ready to move on with her anger and pity and doubt over him, sticking to the background of the picture and allowing the boys, Stiles and Scott to take the lead, Theo had noticed it, and given her an ample space to think for herself.

She knows the other Theo would have done the same thing, and twisted it around in a show-and-tell play so that Lydia could see how thoughtful he was. But this Theo simply glances at her and away again, shoveling food in his mouth so he doesn't have to speak anymore.

This Theo has date nights with Liam, opens his apartment for Mason and Corey and his work friends to hang-out at, brings Mrs. McCall eats when she forgets hers, attends mandatory therapy sessions and community service and who knows how many things more.

Lydia certainly didn't.

Lydia didn't know anything about this Theo, too stuck on forgiving the other him that she forgot to forgive this one that sits in front of her with an uncomfortable expression.

This Theo doesn't bring up the topic of forgiveness at all, does not play the victim nor hangs around forcibly in the background of her life lurking and waiting.

He just lives. And anything that comes his way is just a consequence of the new oath he is choosing for himself.

She moves forward, picking up her fork to finish her lunch. “Do you like puzzles?” Lydia asks.

Because she likes puzzles, because she hid the fact that she loved puzzles as much as she loved shopping and fashion from everyone that wasn't her mom and dad for years, and maybe it was time for her to get to know the actual Theo Raeken, like Scott, Stiles and Alison had gotten to know the real Lydia Martin.

Theo smiles, a small tentative thing, shrugging in response, “I don't think I ever had time to care much about them, but maybe?” He says.

Lydia uses her opportunity, drinking a sip of her own orange juice before speaking, “Then I'm inviting myself over on saturday.” She affirms, cocking her head self-assuredly as she watches Theo’s raised and, thankfully, amused eyebrow, “I have some new ones I've been dying to put together.”

Her therapist was right. Lydia really had been needing to open her eyes to new possibilities.

Oh, well. They had many years ahead of them now.

Chapter Text

Hello everyone. No, I am not abandoning this, I just came to say that I'm going to take a while to update because of college work - i hate group projects with a passion - and exams that are driving me insane again TT

The next chapter is halfway done and the layout is all laid out, but I haven't been able to finish it, and when I do I'll post it right away.

Sorry for the fake hope of an update and I hope you can understand the delay.

Peace out S2