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spikeface · 5 years ago

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rambling about taking pain on teen wolf

I’m 99.999% sure that the writers just used and described this phenomenon however it was expedient for them at the time, but in the spirit of turning it into a somewhat cohesive canon, I’ve been thinking about the evolution of the show’s understanding of what it means, and especially what that means for Theo’s, and to a lesser extent Stiles’, emotional growth.

The phenomenon is first introduced by Deaton, who frames it as a form of painless generosity (“Battlefield”):

DEATON: I know you're well aware of what your new abilities can do for you: improved strength, speed, and healing. You ever wonder what it could do for others?

He doesn’t claim it will do anything but take a little of a dying dog’s pain, but says that that gesture is significant (“a little can make quite a difference”). Incidentally, he is also making boys with abusive fathers/Alphas weep at the realization that they can use their power over small creatures in kind and nurturing ways, because that’s exactly the kind of teacher/father figure Deaton is.

Next up in pain-taking-teaching is Peter, who frames the exact same phenomenon as the pained person taking something from the one helping them (“Alpha Pact”):

PETER: It's that spark of power that makes you an Alpha. When you take her pain, she draws on the power that provides you with those special gifts: the power that heightens your senses, your strength; the power that transforms your body.

Everything for Peter is framed in terms of power and transaction, and crucially, it’s a zero sum game (this is also very similar to the Desert Wolf’s perspective on motherhood in “Apotheosis:” “Talia said it was a gift, that the coyote passes down part of her power to her daughter... I call it ‘theft.’”). Part of Derek’s evolution is not to reject Peter’s framework, but to reject his conclusion. He understands it as giving up power, but doesn’t care about power anymore; he wants to save his sister.

Then, in season 5, Deucalion uses taking pain as a way to consume someone else’s power. This is fascinating! Deucalion has inverted another traditional werewolf thing. He’s made a pack of Alphas, destroyed Betas instead of creating them, and now he turns taking pain into a way to take power instead of giving it up. I think this is why we only ever see Deucalion describe taking pain like this. Unsurprisingly, Theo seems to be his only student, and he understands it “perfectly,” since Theo, like Deucalion, is used to breaking the rules/norms of the supernatural world. It’s very significant to me that Theo subsequently takes pain from Josh, Tracy, and even the Beast. The boy can do it! He just does it in this toxic way that represents everything awful about his pre-Hell outlook on life.

Because, of course, after he comes back, Theo can’t anymore. Mason sees this and claims that it’s because Theo doesn’t care--and certainly, caring seems to be fundamental when Deaton introduces it. That’s why, I think, Isaac does it before anyone has explained the phenomenon (Deaton and Scott only explain afterwards); he wants this dog not to be in pain, so he automatically takes it. But! Crucially! Mason is wrong; caring is not required. Theo has taken pain before, and it wasn’t from a place of empathy.

I think Theo is unable to take pain from Mason post-Hell because he only understands taking pain in this toxic way still, and he’s genuinely trying to move away from it. I imagine him thinking to himself, “Okay, Theo, you got this. Just take pain. Don’t do it as part of this lethal consumption of everything Mason is. Don’t eat this boy who represents everything you’re not, the Doctors’ greatest success, at one point the Beast himself. Don’t. Do. It.”

And, of course, nada. This means, ironically, that Theo can’t take pain anymore not because he doesn’t care but because he does -- he’s trying not to hurt Mason, which is the only way he’s used taking pain before. This shifts Theo’s arc, but to one that I think makes more sense for him. Theo has, imo, always cared--always wanted a pack, and human connection--just in a toxic, destructive way. His redemption arc is learning not to care but how to care, and that’s bound up in learning how to use his skills, which he previously used to hurt people, to help them instead. This fits his friendship with Liam, where he learns to use his ability to manipulate to walk Liam back from the ledge of his anger (when Liam is about to kill Gabe), and use his previously weaponized understanding of the human psyche to helpfully explain to Liam how his fear converts to anger and how emotional triggers work (at the zoo). By the end, Theo has learned how to use his powers for good, essentially, and is in a place where he can confidently take pain from Gabe without also consuming him. Gabe is a fitting recipient for this because, like Theo, he also cares very deeply--he does try to help Nolan--but his caring is ultimately (self-)destructive and doomed.

The last way we see taking pain come up is as a way to spark the healing process, which reverses the initial catalyst for it: causing more pain. Causing pain, it seems, does actually spark the healing process, as we learn from people steeped in old guard werewolf knowledge like Derek and Noshiko. But! That’s not the only way of doing things, and it might not work if the person is already in overwhelming pain. The first person to stumble upon this is Malia, who comes up with it all on her own as a way to help Corey (in “Lie Ability”). This is a fitting symbolic move for Malia, who has been left to come up with her own approach to life as the abandoned orphan of two very toxic parents. In her worst moments, she turns to violence that would make her parents proud. In her best, she thinks of, with almost no awareness of the context, creative alternatives to traditional ways of doing things.

The second instance of taking pain as a catalyst for healing is with Hayden and Liam, after Liam has been hurt by the Beast (“Maid of Gevaudan”). At that point, Stiles represents the old guard knowledge:

STILES: Okay, okay. Okay. Scott did this with pain. He could trigger it. Uh... pain makes you human. HAYDEN: He's already in pain! STILES: Right! Okay, but maybe adding a little more could help take away the pain?

I love Hayden for hearing that advice and immediately rejecting it. Here, Liam and Hayden recall Allison and Scott and the general theme of season one. Allison rejects almost all traditional Argent wisdom in loving Scott. Here, Hayden rejects traditional werewolf wisdom in loving Liam. Causing Liam pain to help him when he’s already in overwhelming agony sounds dumb! She’s going to take pain away instead--and it works! Turns out, some traditions are limiting or even bad and the kids will come up with new, better ways of doing things!

What I really love about this moment is that the old way of doing things is represented here by Stiles, who indirectly quotes Derek’s most destructive philosophy when he says, “Pain makes you human.” Stiles’ entire approach to life is almost always about causing and feeling pain with, I think, largely good intentions. Like the cause-pain-to-start-healing idea, this can work! His willingness to hurt himself and others helps him be brave, and protect people, and make hard decisions he thinks are necessary. But causing pain won’t help anyone past a certain point, when someone is already in a lot of it, and nowhere is this more evident than in Stiles’ arc in season 5.

Stiles starts that season in a lot of pain, most of which imho stems from the nogitsune (which also presented a funhouse mirror version of siphoning pain where the nogitsune “ate” the pain instead, which Stiles experienced). Stiles’ paranoia about Theo and angst about Scott trusting him is, to me, a sign that Stiles is very much not healed from the events of 3b, where Stiles watched (and was forced to enjoy) Scott trusting the nogitsune and paying for it with a sword twisting in his guts and that pain-eating. His explosive “you trust everyone!” is really about how Scott trusted Stiles when he shouldn’t have (because he was the nogitsune), though Stiles can’t bring himself to say that for many reasons. Most of his distrust of Theo, I think, can be explained by the nogitsune--Stiles claims, after all, that Theo “isn’t Theo,” the same way Stiles wasn’t Stiles when he was the nogitsune.

But Stiles’ response to his pain from the nogitsune is to lash out at himself and others, which helps exactly no one. In season 5, Stiles is now constantly presented with the lesson that hurting himself and others ultimately won’t help heal anyone, especially himself. He lashes out at seemingly-innocent Theo and it doesn’t help. He hurts his hand and it doesn’t help. He hurts his car and it doesn’t help. He beats Theo up and it doesn’t help. He hurts Scott at the hospital and it doesn’t help. Like Theo, Stiles is in a self-destructive tailspin, where tactics that have worked before are only driving him further and further into isolation and darkness (tempered only by Scott’s endless forgiveness and his father’s blind love, a topic for another day). The climax for this is, for me, when he’s trying to find Lydia in the tunnels with Theo (in “Lie Ability”). Stiles is doing a fantastic job of hurting Theo (who, to be fair, is a little punk who deserves it!), but is forced to realize that unless he quits that and actually does something constructive with Theo, Lydia is going to die.

But I don’t think he really understands what he’s doing, or conceives of any alternative to it, until the moment with Liam and Hayden, where he essentially voices his philosophy for the first time: pain defines being human as opposed to a werewolf (a sentiment that recalls his rant to Scott about being human), and causing pain is helpful. Stiles watches Hayden reject this, and sees how taking pain away is a much better way to initiate healing. After an initial smile at Hayden’s success, Stiles’ expression, even as he makes a joke about doing things differently (“I’ll kiss him next time”) is extremely morose (see below), as he realizes, for I think the first time, that he’s going to have to find a better way of doing things or he’s just going to be causing more pain. I think this arc is part of what causes him to work with Peter in season 6, after naming him as the epitome of irredeemable evil in season 5.

#teen wolf meta #long post #theo raeken #stiles stilinski #teen wolf

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formerprincess · 4 years ago

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A tale written with fangs and claws || Chapter 58

Chapters: 58/? Fandom: Teen Wolf (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken, Corey Bryant/Mason Hewitt Characters: Liam Dunbar, Theo Raeken, Mason Hewitt, Corey Bryant, Nolan (Teen Wolf) Additional Tags: Alpha Liam Dunbar, Slow Build, Friends to Lovers, Dunbar Pack, Bisexual Liam Dunbar, Werewolf Theo Raeken, Alpha Theo Raeken, Canon-Typical Violence, Smut, Mates, Liam and Theo are mates, Top Theo Raeken, Bottom Theo Raeken, Top Liam, Bottom Liam Dunbar Series: Part 1 of Morning Dew Pack

Liam has to take care of a very important matter. And there is an invitation...

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Liam immensely enjoyed working for Ellie. She was happy to show him her craft, teach him things, but she was also very easygoing, and as long as she saw him trying, she loved him and was thrilled with his performance. Also, Ellie knew about the supernatural, so she completely understood when he looked at his phone after it chimed with a text, just in case his pack needed him. Not that anything had come up in the few weeks since Liam started working for her, but he liked to have this option. He didn't have to hide anything, and Liam realized how much better he felt with that.

When work was slow, they talked about a lot of things and Ellie taught Liam some things about supernatural creatures. She had laughed loudly at the story about the fairies in their garden and proceeded to elucidate the different variations of fairies and elves. There were plant fairies, water fairies, sun fairies, and almost that many elves classes. Just like there were different weres out there. Liam felt kind of silly he didn't know about any of this and one day voiced his thoughts. Was he simply ignorant or just blind?

"Neither. You're from a town where none of those things exist. Don't blame yourself for that", Carlie said. Carlie was one of Ellie's three best friends, the other two being Libby and Simone. All three were at Ellie's age and the friends had a weekly meeting at the shop where they sat together, talked about their lives, drank tea or coffee, and ate cookies. Carlie herself was a petite woman with short spiky hair and big square glasses. From what they had told Liam upon first meeting, they all were elves but Liam secretly suspected Carlie of being a pixie. She was cheeky, witty, always said what was on her mind, and her eyes sparkled with mischief. Needless to say, Liam liked her. "Yeah, but I also feel like I should know more." "You know enough. About Onis and Berserkers and Kitsunes and hell and other terrible things. You're twenty. Most guys your age know how to party and wear their base caps the wrong way." She bit into a cookie. Liam laughed. "My boyfriend likes to wear his caps the wrong way. He looks hot with it. But he also knows other things." "You have so much time to learn still. Don't worry. Even we old ladies don't know about any supernatural being out there", Simone comforted him and filled her cup with some more tea. She was the opposite of Carlie; tall, thin, and the quietest of the bunch. "I also agree with Carlie, you know about terrible things, traumatic things, things one should not know about. Especially not this early in life. But unfortunately, trauma is also experience. " Liam made a face. He sat down on the armrest of one of the chairs Ellie had placed around. "I just could have lived without some of those experiences. I mean, I could have gone without the experience of being homeless but hey. Maybe that's just me." Ellie put her arm over the backrest of her chair and turned to look at Liam. "When have you been homeless?" They talked about a lot of stuff but Liam's life story, she only knew parts of it. Good parts. He didn't want to deliver sob story after sob story. Liam had a good life, he knew some people had it worse. He cherished that. Now he exhaled loudly through his nose and then he told the four women how the hyenas came into town and caused havoc, how they finally destroyed the house and left the pack picking up the pieces. He ended with the move to the new house.

After he finished, his listeners were shocked. "You experienced all this and you still find it in yourself to be such a happy and polite young man?" Libby asked in awe. She was usually full of life and laughed loudly, her afro curls always bouncing around her round face, but now she was stunned. Liam shrugged. "What's the option? Turning bitter? It worked out in the end. Doesn't mean I will ever forgive them for what they did but no one died, at least." "You are a terrific young man, Liam", Ellie praised. He smiled softly. "Thank you."

The store door opened and Angela, Ellie's oldest daughter, stepped into the shop. She was a lawyer and used her breaks to visit sometimes. She greeted everyone happily and hugged her mother. Liam ran to get her a fresh cup and dragged another seat to their circle so he should sit and interact with the group. She squeezed his arm in a silent thank you as she sat down and accepted the cup. "What were you guys talking about? Is everything okay?" She asked good-heartedly. "Liam just told us about those horrible, horrible hyenas who destroyed his house" Libby filled her in. Angela raised both eyebrows. "I hope none of you were harmed." "Everybodys fine. We managed to get out in time before the house exploded. I'm just grateful I got my brother out of town before it happened." "Oh, you have a brother? I didn't know that." Angela loved kids and had specialized in family rights. She claimed she liked to help kids get justice. "Hm." Liam nodded. He walked to the cash register where he left his phone and while he walked back searched through his pictures. "Landon. He's almost ten." She showed her and the rest of the women the picture and they all cooed how much alike the brothers looked. "You said you brought his out of town? So I take he's usually living with you? Your parents must appreciate such a tight brother's bond." Angela was surprised but happy. Liam hesitated. "Landon's not my mother's son. We're half brothers. Same dad. Well, father. Sperm donor. My biological father is...he's a piece of shit. Alcoholic. Abuser. You get it. I didn't even know Landon existed until we met months ago by a pure coincidence. The circumstances don't matter but in the end, Theo and I took him home with us. Not a chance I would have let him stay with that man. So he lived with us in the house. Until I brought him to the lake to keep him safe. He lives there now." Liam missed Landon terribly but they were all still so young, they could not care for a child properly. Byron and Lana were perfect for that task and Landon also liked them. He blinked. "But enough of sad stories. Let's talk about something different, okay?"

****** He was cleaning up after Ellie's friends had left. After he had basically pleaded for a change of topic, the talk had revolved around lighter topics and ended on a very funny note. Now Ellie was in the back, doing some accounting, and Liam manned the front of the store. Angela was the only one still there. Now she stepped to the cash register where Liam was currently filling some jars with bagged candy. "I'm going to tell you something, not as a friend but as a lawyer, okay? And I need you to listen." She looked serious and Liam tensed. What happened? "Did I do something wrong? Is your mother mad at me?" "No. But listen." She tapped both index fingers on the counter. "You need your biological father to sign his rights over to you as fast as possible. What you said about him, having him in Landon's and your life is dangerous and not good for either of you. So you need to act fast. Have him make you Landon's legal guardian." Liam frowned. "I planned on doing so once I turned twenty-one. I wasn't aware I can do it now. Thought I had to be twenty-one." Angela shook her head strictly. "No. You need to do it now. In most states, anyone who is eighteen years old can become a guardian. Look, who tells you your father agrees to it in a year? He still holds guardianship and can make decisions for your brother. If he does not sign over his rights, he has so much time to cause harm. You said Landon's almost ten. That means another eight years of having the right to decide about medical procedures, school enrollment, the living situation. Even if Landon stays with you, all it takes is somebody checking who is the legal guardian for Landon. Could be school, could be a doctor's office, or if he gets in trouble it could be the police. If he's in the hospital. For eight years, you have to always fear for this to happen. If your father does not sign his rights over." "If he does not do it on his own, I will take him to court." Angela shook her head even more firm this time. "Honestly? They will ask you where Landon lived for the past year. Legally, what you and Theo did was kidnapping. If you manage to get a strict judge, that alone will cause you to lose the case. Landon will get sent back to his father and you're probably not even allowed to see him. I told you, I'm not telling you this as a friend. As your friend, I understand why you did it, as a lawyer I have to inform you about this likely possibility. The only chance you have is to have your father make you his guardian." It was a hard pill to swallow and Liam gulped. He had been naive, he realized now, and considered it all easier than it was. And maybe Landon had to pay the price for his neglect. "Thank you, Angela", he mumbled sadly.

****** Liam sat in his car and watched the house across the street. The sun was beating down and these barren landscapes made the air even drier. The dusty roads stirred up sand whenever a car raced by. Bleak. He cast a look at the passenger seat. All documents he needed were laying there, including a pen. Now all that Liam was left to do, was get out of the car, walk up to the door, and get a signature. Angela's stern talk from days ago had left Liam rallied. Once he was home, he had told Theo about everything and the couple had to admit them taking Landon out of the house had been a stupid move from the legal point of view. They had emotions get the better of them and now this potentially harmful situation had arisen. Theo had supported Liam in whatever was needed to ensure he would become Landon's guardian but the Beta was also not a lawyer and as much at loss as Liam.

Thank god for Angela. She had helped Liam set up the documents Emmet had to sign and those documents Liam grabbed now when he exited the car. Theo was not with him, his boyfriend didn't even know Liam was here. Nobody knew. This, Liam felt, was something he had to don his own. Maybe to find a deserving ending. Maybe to test his control. Or maybe this was stupid but then again, Liam could proudly admit he was doing stupid crap now and then. Stiles, according to his own claim, could show Liam a list.

He let out a shaky breath when he walked through the unkempt front lawn. Some new beer bottles and cans had gathered around the chair. Emmet was not there but Liam heard his heartbeat through the ajar window. You're not going to kill him, Liam. He does not deserve you getting your hands dirty. Liam knocked at the door. Inside the house, he heard some bottles falling and Emmet's slurred voice mumbling. Then scuffling steps and the door opened. And the young Alpha had to gasp and take a step back. "God, you stink!" The stench of booze, beer, and sweat made him almost gag. Disgusting, his man. "You. What do you want?" Emmet slurred angrily and grabbed the door for support. Liam turned his head away and took a few breaths. He willed his nausea down and turned to face his father. "How long have you been drinking, alkie?" "What do you care? Why are you even here? I don't want you." "Trust me, I don't want you either. But I need something from you and that means I have to come here. I would rather be somewhere else, believe that." "What? Want money for the little gremlin? I'm not giving you a dime." Emmet swayed on his feet. "I don't need your money. Go inside, before you fall flat on your face. I'm not catching you." Liam pointed inside the house. His father made a step towards him. "I should beat the crap out of you for talking to me like that and not stop til you're whimpering. Do you know who I am?" "A sorry excuse for a worm." Liam pushed his biological father by the shoulder and he stumbled back. As drunk as he was, he didn't stand a chance against an Alpha.

Emmet was taken by surprise but managed to catch himself at the table. He spewed a few curse words in Liam's direction before he shuffled around and fell on one of the chairs with the grace of a sack filled with potatoes. Liam closed the door and followed inside. His nose twitched and he wanted to retch at the smell and how dirty everything was but he kept himself from it last minute. This was not for him, this was for Landon. "How's your mother? Still wailing about how horrible I am? The slut should be lucky an honest man wanted her." "My mother is neither a slut nor are you an honest man. Don't mention her or I break your nose." Liam felt his anger building up. This was a test for his control and he might fail it. "Piss off! She's the reason you're such a weak bastard. Wonder what happened with the other one. He's just as weak. Cried whenever I hit him. Begged me to stop. Just like you. Oh, I remember you. Your mother screamed and cried when the ambulance came. I would have left you on the ground. Would have taught you a lesson." "I didn't need a lesson, I needed a father who loved me!" Liam slammed the papers on the table. "Here! Sign this!"

Emmet grabbed it after a few tries and dragged it over the table. He narrowed his eyes at the print. "What should I sign?" "Those are the papers for you to make me Landon's legal guardian. Sign and we're out of your hair forever." Liam balled his hands and felt his fingertips itch. His claws wanted to come out, his wolf furious at the man in front of him. Years of pent-up rage welled up and dared to spill over. He could kill Emmet and probably nobody would shed a tear. Laughter disrupted his thoughts. Emmet had left the papers on the table and laughed. It boomed in Liam's ears. His blood rushed through his veins. This man was mocking him. "If you really think I'm signing this crap, you're mistaken. Know why? Because you bastard want me to and you get nothing from me!" Emmet was still laughing but decided to underline his words by spitting in Liam's direction. It landed on the carpet between them. His claws almost broke through and he was ready to lunge but a voice in his head stopped him. No. Not like this. Not him. Maybe it was his wolf who was even stronger than Liam's human side burdened with IED but it was enough to make Liam pause. If you kill him, you'll never become Landon's guardian. Keep the little one safe.

Liam exhaled loudly through his nose and closed his eyes for a second. If even the animal inside him knew better, he would follow. Had to follow. All for his little brother. Landon didn't deserve a murderer for a hero. He opened his eyes and stared at Emmet. Suddenly Liam was seven again, cowering at the floor while his father screamed at him and walked closer and closer. He had put his arms up back then, in a feeble attempt to shield his body from the hits, and pleaded for the man to stop. Fear. Panic. Pain. But this time Liam didn't feel panicked. He was not afraid of this drunkard calling himself a father. Instead, Liam felt disgust and maybe even pity. This guy had nothing to live for. It gave the young Alpha a strange sense of calm. Out of the two of them, Liam was the better man. The better person. IED or not. The condition didn't rule him as much as it ruled his father, and Liam had quite a lot more on his plate.

He sat at the opposite of the table and took the pen in his hands. "And why wouldn't you? What's in it for you? Just to be petty? Just to put one over on me?" Emmet snickered. "It will bug you forever, that's good enough for me." He reached for a bottle of booze and uncorked it to take a swig. Liam glared at him. Then he put the pen down. His glance landed on his bracelet. The bracelet he shared with Theo. Suddenly, he got an idea. Maybe it was time to see if he could take a book out of Theo's playbook. He raised his head and crossed his arms on top of the table. "Okay, fine, don't sign. We will play your game. I will send Landon back to live here." Emmet eyed him. "You're bluffing." "Not at all. He will come and live with you again. But be aware. I will be around every damn day." "And then what? What will you do? Punch me? You're no match for me", Emmet sneered. "If you lay so much as one finger on him, and we both know you will, I will call the cops on you. They will come and they will arrest you for domestic violence. And yes, Landon may be sent to foster care but I will make sure you will be sent to prison. There is no booze, no beer, no schnapps in prison. But the people there love people who abused kids. I know people and I will make sure every inmate knows what you did to two little boys. That's what will be awaiting you. No freedom to get wasted like you're doing now every day. Think about it." His biological father still eyed him suspiciously. "No way you would ever let him live here again." "To get you locked up, I would do other things. Landon too, by the way. All to make sure you will rot in hell. He's tough, he will take whatever you might to do him. Maybe I will move in as well. One happy family. With me comes my boyfriend, obviously. By the way, how's your hand?" He looked at Emmet's fingers wrapped around the neck of the bottle. Father and son stared at each other, accessed each other until Emmet snorted. "Your mother raised you better than this. I call bluff. You don't have it in you, weak shit!" A cold, dangerous smile appeared on Liam's face and he leaned closer. "You call my mom a slut and other horrible names, yet you forget I also inherited DNA from you. We both have IED. Wanna find out how much more alike we are? If I'm as cruel as you are?" He gave his father a death glare. "You want to start a war? I'll raise you World War III. Your choice. Either don't sign and feel the whiplash or sign and you will never have to see us again." Liam placed the pen on the papers and waited. His heart was thundering inside his chest. That was not his usual way to carry on negotiations and he had no idea if it worked. Theo made it always seem so easy and pulled it off without a hitch. But Liam knew he was not that good. Emmet grabbed the pen and fiddled with it. He scribbled his signature at the marked fields, an unruly chicken scratch but his signature nonetheless. "Get the hell out of here. If I see you on my front lawn again, I will shoot you." Liam's hand shot towards and he pulled the documents towards himself after the last signature was done. "I have better people to be around than you. Give your liver a break once in a while." He got up just in time as Emmet's hand shot towards his throat. The alcoholic missed by far and his hand thumped on the table. "Fuck off, you piss baby!" The sound of the splintering bottle hitting the wall was the last thing Liam heard from his father when he now left the house without so much of a goodbye.

It only dawned on him what just had transpired when he was in his car and already on the road. Liam stopped at a red light and breathed a sigh of relief. "Holy shit!" He had faced Emmet Dunbar, that one man he hated with a burning passion, the one who had made his childhood horrible and hurt Liam, Ilona, and Landon so much. Against what he had wanted to do to him, Emmet had left the meeting completely without a cut, Liam was incredibly proud of himself. Even though now, that everything settled, his hands shook and his heart raced, adrenaline pumping through his body. That had the potential to go so, so wrong and yet Liam stood tall. He glanced at the papers safely sitting on the passenger seat. Not only had it worked out without Liam losing his temper, but it had also really worked and he was Landon's guardian. The threat of Emmet interfering with their lives and taking Landon away again was erased. Liam wanted to cry.

His phone chimed and Liam almost hit another car. "Jesus Christ!" He accepted the call over the speaker. "Hey, Theo." "Hey. Say, just out of curiosity, where the hell are you? Nobody knows where you left. It's not like you to disappear like that. What's going on." Liam bit his lip. "I was at Emmet's." "Emmet? Emmet Dunbar? Your father? What the fuck! Is he still alive?" "Shh, let me explain. I told you about what Angela said and I went to get his signature. Yes, he's still alive, I didn't touch him. Even though I wanted to." He heard Theo closing a door and birds singing in the background. "Why didn't you tell me? I would have accompanied you." Yeah, good question. Liam didn't know for sure. "I guess...I needed to burn this bridge alone? Prove to myself I can stay calm around him. I'm not like him in any capacity and while I know you and I absolutely adore you for always being there for me, this was something I had to do alone. You understand? Maybe for my own peace of mind, I dunno." Theo was silent for a few moments. "Yeah, I understand", he finally confessed. "Did it work, at least?" A smile broke out on Liam's face. "Yep. Have all the signatures I need. Thanks to you as well." "Thanks to me? What did I do?" "Well, let's say you're a good teacher, even if you don't want to be one. I'll tell you everything once I get home, okay?" Theo laughed. "Okay. Love you." "Love you too."

****** Landon's face appeared on the screen in front of Liam and as soon as he had a picture, the child waved animatedly. "Hello, Liam!" Videocalls were a good way to keep in contact even if they could not see each other in person. Liam happily waved back. "Hey, Landon, how are you?" "I'm good. Zack and I built a fort." Landon launched himself into a story of all the things his best friend and he had done. Lana and Byron appeared in the background of the call but they simply waved and let the boy talk. Liam put his chin in the palm of his hand and listened with a smile. Seeing Landon so carefree and hearing about him being a normal child was all he ever wanted. It came nine years too late and Liam knew his brother must have been affected one way or another by his upcoming but now that he was out of Emmet's claws, Landon was in for an amazing life. After he was done, Landon asked about Liam's life in Seattle. Now it was the older's turn to talk about college, his pack, the fairies (Landon loved this part and he asked thousands of questions). Theo had joined Liam for a while and laughed softly. "He's like you", he whispered into his mate's ear and kissed Liam's cheek before he disappeared out of the frame again after a wave in Landon's direction. Liam chuckled but then he finished his story. "One more thing, Landon. You know we took you away from Emmet, right?" Landon shivered at the mention of his father's name but nodded bravely. "Do I have to go back? Please, don't make me go back!" "No, no, hey, I would never. That's why I'm telling you. He signed all the papers. I am your guardian now." Lana and Byron appeared left and right from Landon. "He did? Oh, how wonderful, Liam." Lana was touched. Landon scrunched his nose. "What does guardian mean?" "It means Liam is responsible for you now and Emmet can never hurt you again. Say you want to go on a class trip, for example, the school has to ask Liam and not your father anymore", Byron patiently explained to him. Landon considered. "So, he can't get me?" "Never again. He's out of your life for good", Liam promised firmly. His brother beamed at the adults. "That's amazing!" "Yeah, it is." Lana stroked through his hair. "But, Sweetie, you have to get ready for bed now. Tomorrow's a school day." "But I want to keep talking to Liam. I'm not finished." Yes, Landon could be stubborn. "We can talk tomorrow, Laddie. After school, yeah? Now you have to get ready for bed. Sleep is important. I'm going to bed now too. Theo does too. See?" He rolled to the side and tilted his screen so Landon could see Theo brushing his teeth with the bathroom door open. Theo waved. It wasn't that he actually wanted to go to bed but he had tried some licorice Mike had brought home, not from Ellie though, and after eating it Theo claimed to have a bad taste in his mouth. Landon huffed. "But we talk tomorrow", he insisted. "Werewolf promise." Liam raised his hand solemnly to swear. "Good Night, Laddie." "Good Night, Liam. Good Night, Theo." Landon stood up. "Good Night, you two," Lana called out and then disappeared with Landon.

Byron sat on the desk chair. "I know he signed but did the meaning with your father go well?" "It did. As well as possible with this man. I was pretty surprised at my control. At a certain point, I was ready to snap but somehow my wolf made me pull back and I got more level-headed." "That's the Alpha in you. Even if our personality or our urges say otherwise, sometimes the Alpha part can balance it out to keep the peace. It is impressive how well you learned to work with your wolf." The praise was nice because Liam tried. Sometimes it felt like all he did was running in circles but then he proved to everyone (and mostly himself) he was a good person and improving. "Speaking of Alpha and peace, Liam I forwarded an email to you just now. Have a look at it, maybe Theo should do so as well."

Theo had dried his mouth and now walked over to lean on Liam's chair while Liam opened the mail Byron had forwarded. It included a word document and when Liam opened it, it turned out to be an invitation to a meeting held in a hotel in Seattle. "Liam, part of being an Alpha are pack politics." Liam whined. "I told you I'm not good at that! What is this? An Alpha congress? I can't go there." "Maybe let the man talk before you cut and run", Theo suggested and smoothly avoided the contact between Liam's elbow and his stomach by moving aside. "I know what you said, Liam, and this is no pressure but I wanted to inform you. The invitation is indeed for an Alpha meeting. No congress, just a few Alphas coming together and talking." "About what?" Liam saw himself on a stage, in front of hundreds of Alphas, a whole auditorium filled with them, and making a fool out of himself. People would laugh. It would be a degrading experience. "Life. This and that. No one is expecting a speech from you, Liam. See I've been to a few of those meetings. There are only packs living close by attending these meetings. They're mostly boring. You stand around, do some small talk, maybe eat a quick snack, and leave. But they can also help you get a better idea of which packs are around yours. In the area. It can be interesting, if only so for scouting. But, of course, that does not mean you have to attend. It's no declaration of war not to go there. Just like you cannot declare war by saying a wrong word if you go." "Those are all Alphas, experienced Alphas probably, and then I show up. Junior McJunington. What will they think?" "Screw what they think. So what if they're older or more experienced? You're you and that's awesome" Theo passionately declared. "Thank you, Dr. Seuss", Liam hissed. He frowned and scratched his cheek. "I have to think about this." "As it is your right. Don't do anything you're not comfortable with." "If I should attend, there will be no problem? I can just show up there?" "The invitation is addressed to the Alpha of the Morning Dew Pack. They seemingly didn't get the memo about the change in our pack but that doesn't matter. The invitation is for you, not for me. Actually, no Beta can attend the meeting. And no Alpha mate either unless they're specifically invited." "I have to go there alone??" Liam shrieked. In his mind, he had Theo by his side. Maybe Brett and Caden since both could be real charmers and have intellectual conversations. Corey would have also a good match despite him being as insecure as Liam in those settings. Byron rubbed his hands together. "Those are the rules. But I know, alone or not, you will be just fine. Should you go or not. This is not something I can do for you. The decision is all yours. Just one more thing, to be fair. you will be the youngest in this group. By a few decades, I suppose. That's why I don't think they will pay you much attention. They're just curious." "Great", Liam said sarcastically. "Given my track records with strange Alphas so far, this will be a marvelous experience."

****** "I don't think you should go. What if that's a trap?" Tim worried about Liam's safety. Liam had informed his pack about the invitation right the next day and after classes, they were sitting in the living room and discussing this. "I think he should go. Just to check the others out. Maybe he can make allies?" Brett opposed. "I also think Liam should go. Byron said he has been to a few of those meetings. I don't think it's a trap", Sadie tried to dissolve Tim's worry and he gave her a grateful look. "The two strange Alphas I met in the last year have both tried to kill me. You understand I'm not keen on walking in a room full of unfamiliar Alphas?" Liam questioned. "I think that should be the reason you go", Ever stated, "to show all of them you're not afraid. If they plan on messing with you, you will look them in the eye. Maybe then they won't underestimate you." "I just don't see the purpose of those meetings. From what Byron said it sounds pretentious." Corey looked peeved. "Oh, it is", Lori confirmed. "But they are not that rare. I don't think you have to be scared, Liam." She offered a genuine smile. Liem returned it cause he knew she was trying to make him feel better. "What do you mean by not rare?" "Well, they're not, if you have Alphas of the old school" Brett took over from his sister. "Modern Alphas just meet up, talk, like Scott with Satomi. They don't even call it an Alpha meeting and send out fancy invites. Those are practices of the old guard, mostly well-esteemed werewolves who love to use those meetings to gossip. Ever seen those movies with scenes in Gentlemen Clubs? Country Clubs? Those are the people to expect at those meetings. Byron's not that far off when he says they won't spare you a look. You're - and don't take this the wrong way - not their type of person, if you know what I mean." "The Alpha from my parents' pack also attends such meetings. They always gush about the delicious and expensive things they eat there. But this woman also has a rich husband and considers herself playing tennis and golf as labor. So, pretty much pompous, entitled snobs", Sadie said. Maya rolled her eyes. "I also know about those meetings but I'm so glad I never met an Alpha going there before. Eh, no offense, Liam." Liam groaned. "Okay, just the danger of becoming the new hot gossip for the elite wolves around. Yeah, I think I'll pass." "I would still go", Caden chimed in. "It's a good opportunity to get to know how many are around. Do you know that? They invited Byron so their radius must be quite large but how many packs live between Seattle and the lake? Wouldn't it be good to know in case we need help? What if the hyenas come back? Having some werewolf allies would not be that bad."

He had a point. They all did. Liam was still torn. For once because he was afraid of making a fool of himself, then for the reason not to offend another Alpha and start a war, and on top of it, he now came to the realization just how different those Alphas seemed to be. He looked at his boyfriend. "What do you say?" Theo had listened to everything and had made up his mind. "You should go. For all those reasons. Byron said there will not come anything bad from it. He would never let you go to any event if he feared something might happen to you. If he says you can go, I believe him. And yeah, it is a good way to get information. Maybe there are not that many packs around. But you will only find out if you go." Since most of his Betas said he should go, he considered. Maybe it was a good idea indeed. Only one problem: "If it's that high class, what should I wear?"

Fifteen minutes later Liam regretted that question. He stood in his bedroom while Theo, Brett, Mason, and Sadie sat on his bed. Sadie throned between the other guys, one leg crossed over the other, and looked like she was having the time of her life. Liam was the poor victim and had to model several outfits for the self-proclaimed fashion experts of his pack (he knew Theo could dress good but at this point, Liam felt betrayed) who all had other ideas of the perfect outfit. "That dress shirt is perfect for you. Not too out there but also not too normal" Mason praised Liam's current outfit consisting of black pants and a dark grey dress shirt. Liam hated it. It was not even one of his shirts but one of Theo's Mason had just grabbed. His boyfriend had not protested (see, there was the betrayal) but now shook his head. "That's not the outfit to go." "Absolutely right. Liam, grab the one I hung there." Sadie pointed at the clothes and Liam grumbled but grabbed them and stalked into the bathroom. When he emerged again, he was wearing jeans, a blue slipover with a white button-down shirt underneath. Liam felt like he was a kindergartener dressed by mommy. "Now you look like back in Devenford. Then again, maybe this private school flair is exactly what you need", Brett snickered. Liam glared at him and Theo scoffed before he handed Liam the third outfit. Liam glared at him too for good measure and disappeared into the bathroom again.

The outfit Theo had picked for him, Liam didn't even know where he got it. He had never seen Theo wearing this particular combo. Cloth trousers, a polo shirt and a sports jacket over it. "How the hell do you get this? And why do you get this?" He asked once he emerged from the bathroom. Interesting, Theo became a bit sheepishly. "I got it for some occasions? Maybe a job interview?" "This is so not you." Liam eyed himself in the mirror. "This is so not me either. What were you thinking, guys? None of your outfits were good." "You wanted us to help you", Mason defended himself. "I wanted to get suggestions, not become your dress-up doll", Liam replied sharply. Sadie sighed. "You're being difficult. Don't you want to make a good first impression?" "A good impression as himself, shouldn't that be the goal?" Caden had walked into the room and crossed the arms in front of his chest. He looked at Liam. "You look strange. Actually, you look like me whenever my aunt visited the family. Horrible." "How do you look when your aunt visits?" Brett had to know. Caden pulled out his cellphone and searched a bit before he handed the phone over. Brett snickered. "Okay, thanks for the laugh. So dapper, oh my. One would not think that since you're almost only ever wearing more casual clothing." Sadie giggled. "Does Ever know you can look like that?" "As a matter of fact, yeah. She doesn't like it. I can relate. But my aunt is quite old-fashioned and conservative. She came to town, we dressed like that, covered up our tattoos, the whole shebang. We just never liked it. Liam doesn't like dressing up either." "Tell me about it. That's a topic we have had since we're friends." Mason rolled his eyes. Liam wanted to glare at him but if he was honest, his best friend was right. So he raised his shoulders. "I have dress shirts. I just happen to like t-shirts and jeans more." "Hence why I think you should wear that", Caden stated. "You are not like the type of Alpha who wears expensive clothing and the latest brands. You're Liam. We like Liam. Why do you want to be somebody you're not? Just to impress people you probably will never see again after that one time?" "That's true." Even Theo had to admit that. "I know when you're comfortable and you never are when you dressed up to a certain extend." "I still think if the occasion calls for it, you should make an effort", Sadie insisted. "It's not about what you want; it's about what our Alpha wants. Liam goes to the meeting and Liam has to represent himself and our pack. He should do it as his truest self possible", Brett retaliated. She pouted.

But then she got up from the bed and walked towards Liam's open closet. She dug around there for a while before she pulled out a pale blue t-shirt. It was a new one, Liam had only worn it twice and he loved how soft the fabric was, it felt good and comfy on his skin. Sadie handed it to him. "The color makes your eyes pop. That and that one light blue jeans you have. If you walk into a room full of strange werewolves, bright colors make you look friendlier." "That's Sadie. If you can't dress them up the way you want, at least get into chromatics", Brett praised.

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Quite a Liam-centric chapter but then again he's the Alpha and Landon's brother. And he had to make decisions. Now the question is, what will happen at the meeting? What do you guys think? All I can say is, I'm excited about the new chapter.

#Thiam #A tale written with fangs and claws #alpha!liam #My writing #Morning Dew Pack series

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tickletastic · 5 years ago

Text

Everything’s Growing In Our Garden

Fandom: Teen Wolf

Ship: Thiam

Summary: Theo learns what it's like to finally have a family, and Jenna, David, and Liam are more than happy to help him along the way.

Living with the Dunbar-Geyers was… different for Theo, to say the absolute least.

Before the dread doctors, he was always coming second to his sister. He was sick, and asthmatic, and terrible at sports. Tara was the star of her middle school’s soccer team, and in the off-seasons she juggled piano lessons and debate team. Theo had things of his own: he did dance when his asthma wasn’t acting up, and he could write circles around the other kids thanks to his reading addiction, but it was never enough for his parents. They wanted trophies and medals to show off, and cute pictures in uniforms, and Theo could just never give them that. He didn’t really understand it as a kid. He thought that most kids were vying for the attention of their parents and Tara was just an exception. He wanted to feel special too.

When the dread doctors enticed him to join them, they had made him feel special. They said that he was so unique for being chosen by them, and once he gave them what they needed he could have everything he ever wanted.

The doctors never fulfilled their promises. Instead, Theo was threatened on a daily basis, and prodded with needles and x-rays until he was blue in the face.

Theo never did feel special. At least, not until he started living with Liam and his parents.

Liam was constantly around, bubbly and jumpy as always, making sure Theo was comfortable. Liam spent two days trying to figure out the perfect plan to convince Theo to move in when he found out that Theo was homeless. In the end, he took the easy way out and stole Theo’s truck. He refused to return the keys until Theo promised he would take the Dunbar-Geyers’ guest bedroom.

Liam’s parents welcomed him with open arms. They both did everything they could to make sure that Theo would be comfortable after Liam described the older boy’s flighty nature to them. It wasn’t hard for either of them, they both took a liking to the boy instantly, and Jenna found it easier than Liam had described to read Theo’s emotions. Mothering a teenage boy will do that to you.

Dr. Geyer loved talking biology with Theo. He even offered Theo an internship at the hospital before the Geyers had found out that Theo needed to graduate high school. The second the doctor came home, he would often talk with Theo while helping Jenna with what was left of dinner. The two of them got along very well, and Dr. Geyer found it refreshing discussing medicine with someone who wasn’t a colleague.

Jenna and Theo had many, many things in common: they both loved to read, they both loved to cook, and they both loved to annoy Liam to wit’s end. Jenna was actually one of Theo’s favourite contemporary authors before the two had even met, and he would be embarrassed to admit to the fanboy moment he had when they first met. Jenna had written a popular fantasy children’s series under her maiden name, Tate, before transitioning into adult fiction under her current name. Liam hadn’t even known that Theo was a fan of his mom until Theo met her. Jenna barely had time to introduce herself before Theo was turning bright red and gushing: “I have read Noire Kingdom seven times!” Jenna laughed, and Liam swore that he would never let Theo live it down. Liam quickly learned not to mention it when his mom and his new housemate had started to gang up on him with the teasing.

It was really strange to Theo to be treated like he was part of the family. It was weird to have two parent-figures that had grown to love him. Theo didn’t really know what he imagined parents to be like. He couldn’t remember much of his own, and fake parents never quite fit the bill.

Dr. Geyer was understanding and pensive. He would check in on Liam and Theo when the security bell would alert his phone of their homecoming, and he would bring home sweets from the bakery near the hospital once a week. When Theo first arrived he had believed it was already a tradition: Dr. Geyer would bring home an assortment of treats every week; tarts for Liam, muffins for Jenna, cookies for himself, and an assortment of others. One week, Dr. Geyer’s usual box of goodies changed from an assortment to just four. The tarts, muffins, and cookies remained the same, but instead of the usual variety of extra sweets, there were sprinkled donuts. Dr. Geyer never mentioned it, so Theo never did figure out how the doctor had realized they were his favourite. It wasn’t until months after that Liam let it slip that the sweets hadn’t been tradition before Theo’s arrival, but his dad had instead decided to create new traditions to include Theo.

Dr. Geyer showed his affections through small, silent acts of kindness, and even that was a bit overwhelming for Theo.

Jenna? Well.. some of her maternal habits were kind of strange, Liam was completely willing to admit it. He had filled Theo in on a few of them:

- Simply for her own peace of mind, Jenna would try to make Liam smile at least once a day - Jenna called Liam by his first name only when she was angry, otherwise, it would always be some variation or nickname, and last but not least; - Jenna packs Liam’s lunch, always slipping a little note into it

Theo didn’t really see what the point was in Liam telling him all of this, after all, Theo was definitely not planning on passing judgement on the woman who had given him a home.

Theo didn’t understand until he had been helping Jenna cook dinner one day.

“Baby face, could you pass me the flour?”

Theo hadn’t heard Liam, or even smelled Liam enter the house, so he turned to the entrance of the kitchen, his brow furrowed. When he turned around, the entrance was empty, the house only occupied by Theo and Jenna, as expected.

Theo’s brow furrowed, and he looked over at Jenna, who was humming peacefully as she mixed the dough in front of her. She looked up at Theo when she realized he had yet to pass her the ingredient.

“Theo, sweetheart: the flour?”

Even Theo’s crazy ability to hide his emotions couldn’t help the furious blush that made its way over his face. He nodded frantically before turning around and handing Jenna the bag of flour.

“Are you okay, honey? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Theo nods frantically again, “yup, perfectly fine, Mrs. Geyer.”

“How many times do I have to tell you to call me Jenna?” She tuts before continuing dinner.

Some of the nicknames do get absurd, but others are so cute and fond that they force a blush to rise over Theo’s cheeks no matter how many times he’s called them.

Theo finally understands why Liam felt the need to fill him in on all of the strange maternal habits that Jenna has developed when Theo opens his backpack one morning, finding a brown paper bag in it. He eyes it strangely, but it doesn’t smell suspicious... In fact, it smells delicious.

Three periods later, Theo sits down for lunch with Liam and the puppy pack, taking out the bag and placing it on the cafeteria table in front of him, eyeing it with suspicion. He’s so deep in wonder that he doesn’t even notice when Liam stops his conversation with Alec mid-sentence, eyeing Theo with the same suspicious look that Theo is giving the bag.

“Dude, it’s just the lunch my mom packed for you, I promise she didn’t lace it with wolfsbane or anything.”

Theo scowls, looking down in an attempt to hide his embarrassment. When he finally does open the bag, the effort to hide is rendered completely worthless as he reads out the note written on a heart-shaped sticky note stuck to the container of his sandwich.

The rest of the table certainly notices, and Corey, the little shit that he is, grabs for the note, tearing it straight from the container.

“Have an amazing day at school, sweet boy. I know you’ll do perfect on your biology midterm. Xoxo Jenna.”

Theo grabs for it, but of course, that doesn’t stop Corey from reading it out to everyone else present at the table. His face is bright red, and Liam jokingly leans in to pinch his cheek. Theo glares before hastily grabbing the brown paper bag, getting up and tossing his backpack over his shoulder as he grumbles under his breath.

The moment that Liam realizes that he has forgotten to fill Theo in on everything comes a moment too late, but Liam ends up being grateful in the end.

Jenna has a habit of touching her family on whatever body part happens to be closest to her. Liam thinks that she doesn’t even know that she’s doing it, it has just always been a calming ritual for her. Usually, it would be a normal body part, she would scratch Liam’s scalp while asking him about his day at school, or she would rub David’s shoulder while asking him to pick up groceries. Today, David was on a shift at the hospital and, while Jenna was actively working on her next novel, she was home for the time being. It was after school on a weekday, so she figured she could spare the night away from her office to feed her favourite boys.

When the two teens had arrived home, they had greeted Jenna in the kitchen before heading to the living room. Liam had gravitated to the floor directly in front of the TV, playing video games on his PS4, and Theo had gravitated to the couch behind the younger teen. Liam was sitting with his back against the couch, and Theo was curled up on the couch, trying his hardest to keep his eyes open despite his long day at school.

Jenna rounded the couch from the kitchen, standing next to Liam in front of the couch. She started to absentmindedly scratch Liam’s head, and he leaned into the touch, practically purring. She stopped when she realized that Theo’s eyes were closed, and she cleared her throat. Theo’s eyes squinting back open.

“Hey, kiddo, long day at school? You should head up and take a nap before dinner,” Jenna started, smiling softly at the boy that she now considered her second son. “What do you want for di-”

Jenna was interrupted by a frantic giggle from Theo, as he quickly rushed to cover his face with his hands. Liam hadn’t been paying much attention, but he starts to when the sweet sound of Theo’s laughter floats through the air.

While she had been preparing to ask Theo what he wanted for dinner, her hand had wandered down to his socked foot, pulling at his toes without even realizing.

Jenna repeats the action and smiles fondly when Theo tries to curl up, calling out through giggles, “Jenna!”

She stops when the boy tries to scramble off the couch, moving her hand to his shoulder in a calming effort to ensure that he stays comfortable. She can’t help but coo, the flush on Theo’s cheeks worsening in response. “That’s adorable.”

Liam was confused as to what had happened, his back to Theo, until Jenna had rounded the couch and leaned over to whisper in Theo’s ear, “don’t worry, Liam’s ticklish too.”

Now both Liam and Theo were blushing, Liam because his mother had revealed his secret, and Theo because Jenna’s words could confirm Liam’s suspicions of his own sensitivity. When she pulls away, she ruffles Theo’s hair. “What do you want for dinner, honey?”

Theo stammered for a moment, his brain a cloud of embarrassment and anticipation, “could we have pasta?”

“Of course, babydoll.” Jenna walks back into the kitchen, Liam sure that she would make bowtie pasta since it seemed to be Theo’s favourite, even though Liam preferred rigatoni.

As much as Theo would like to test out Liam’s ticklishness, his tired brain doesn’t even think of it until Liam is pinning him to the couch, his game abandoned completely as Brett and Alec’s voices sound out through his headset.

Theo had a nervous smile on his face, his tiredness still unceasing. Liam was grinning like he had just discovered Atlantis. “You’re ticklish? Mom’s right, that is adorable.”

Theo couldn’t prevent the blush that grew to line his cheeks. He shook his head, his voice breathy in anticipation, “I mean, not r-really?”

“‘Not really’ as in you’re not ticklish?” Liam pinched Theo’s ribs, the older boy writhing beneath him, “or ‘not really’ as in you’re not adorable? ‘Cus they both seem to be true according to my information.”

Theo had gripped Liam’s wrists and was attempting to push them further away without trying to push Liam off altogether, failing horribly. Liam had always been stronger, though the chimera was usually faster, not only on his feet but with his mind as well.

Theo groaned, a look in his eyes that Liam couldn’t quite place, a look that would’ve signaled that Theo was frustrated had he been with anybody else but Liam. “If you’re going to insist on doing this, can we just get it over with? I’m exhausted Li.”

“Sorry babe, I’m about to make it worse.”

Theo didn’t even have the time to respond to the abnormal nickname before he was trying his very best to stay silent. As good as he had always been at handling interrogation methods, the dread doctors never did teach him how to handle this. He was trying to make his brain think quicker, but his thoughts were starting to fog up. He tried to decide between masking his chemosignals and masking his heartbeat, but his heart had quickly betrayed him in its pace.

He had always found it so easy to mask his heartbeat and chemosignals, it had always come so easy to him, but trying to hold in his laughter while hiding his chemosignals felt like he was running a marathon. He thought that he was doing a pretty good job until he saw the wicked smile on Liam’s face.

He wondered what kind of chemosignals he was sending out, because the only thing that he felt was panic. Liam’s fingers poked over his toned tummy, wiggling and twitching against Theo’s skin. He couldn’t let his laughter escape him, he needed to have at least one thing under control, but he was quickly losing it beneath the younger boy.

Theo almost bucked Liam off entirely when his fingers moved to his ribs, absolute terror running through his mind. He didn’t even realize he was shaking his head until Liam’s own beautiful laugh cut through the air.

“No, Theo? No what? What is it that you don’t want me to do?”

Theo frantically reached around, managing to grab both of Liam’s wrists and pushing them away ever so slightly, forcing Liam to stop. Liam just looked amused, a hint of glee in his eyes and a soft, pleased smile on his lips with his head quirked to the side.

Theo wanted to grimace, but instead he couldn’t stop a smile from spreading across his own face, breathy giggles escaping as he tried to reason. “Liam. Li. Just leave me alone. If you keep touching me then I swear I’ll make you regret it. I will break your nose in more ways than you could even count. I will-”

Liam stretched his fingers and wiggled, the corner of his lips further quirking when Theo let out a soft giggle when Liam’s fingers barely even brushed Theo’s skin. Liam’s fingers were just barely close enough for Liam to do anything but brush Theo with the very tips of his nails, yet there were enough to get the chimera on edge. “I swehehear I will- Holy shihit Liam don’t!”

Jenna was swift with her scorn, a quick call of ‘Theodore Karl Raeken’, reminding Theo to watch his language. In a swift movement Liam had gathered both of Theo’s wrists into one of his hands and pinned them above his head. It was enough to catch Theo off guard, giving Liam time to surprise him with his newly planned attack.

Theo’s eyes crinkled at the corners, and he started to giggle despite himself. Liam was also hit with a wall of scent as Theo unknowingly lost control of his chemosignals. Liam felt something warm simmer in his chest, and he let it bloom until he found himself momentarily releasing Theo’s wrist and reaching for his phone. He opened his phone to his desired application and tasered Theo, snapping a quick photo as the chimera squeaked, his nose scrunching up in a way that made Liam’s heart skip. When the distinct snapping resounded from Liam’s phone, he was hit by the distinct scent of embarrassment from Theo.

“Delete it!”

“I really don’t think you’re in a position to be making any demands, T.”

Liam’s fingers resumed their scritchy scratching over Theo’s ribs: stuttered, carefree giggles softly flowing from the older boy.

Theo’s laughter adopted a panicked tone the higher that Liam’s fingers rose. A spot between two of his top ribs had him snorting softly, words completely dying in his throat. When Liam’s hands slipped under Theo’s arms, his eyes, which had been just barely open, shot wide, giving Liam a look similar to his own infamous puppy-dog eyes.

“Fuck, Liam stahap!” Theo’s laughter had risen an octave, and Liam was satisfied that he had been able to force the older boy to lose control. Liam hadn’t realized until now how satisfying it would be to see Theo as anything other than completely calm and collected.

Theo had gone limp for a moment when Liam had been tickling his ribs, but now his fight was back in full force. Theo had managed to pull his wrists down from Liam’s hold and was now desperately flailing his arms in defense as Liam poked and tickled wherever he could reach.

“Aww, someone’s a giggly mess.” red hot embarrassment scented through the open air once again as the colour of Theo’s cheeks began to rival that of tomatoes.

Theo had his head thrown back, his eyes shut as he blindly tried to defend himself. Could Deucalion train him on this? Liam took a moment to quickly film a video on snapchat, making a mental note to send it to Mason as proof that Theo, the big, bad chimera of death, does in fact giggle, and he looks pretty fucking cute while he’s doing it.

Liam had admittedly gotten a little carried away with tickling Theo silly, not even detecting another heartbeat near him until there was nimble, knowing fingers poking him in the tummy from behind.

“H-hey!” Liam fell backwards onto his back on the couch, bringing his knees up in an attempt to curl up while his mother hovered over him, rapidly poking him in one of his most sensitive areas.

“I think it’s time that you let Theo get his nap, don’t you think?” Jenna threw a wink Theo’s way that he just barely caught as he curled in on himself, still giggling softly.

Liam nodded frantically as a cacophony of sounds spilled from his lips: snorts, squeals, and cackles. To Theo, he resembled a turtle stuck on its back, desperately trying to flip over, as Liam flailed his arms in an attempt to protect himself. “Okahahay, mom! I’ll leave Theo alone!”

“That’s more like it!” Jenna exclaimed, blowing a raspberry to Liam’s neck before backing away. “Dinner will be ready soon boys, hope you’re hungry.”

Jenna walked back into the kitchen while Liam recovered, scratching and swatting at himself as if he could still feel his mother’s fingers. When he finally sat up, a small smile breached his face. Theo was curled up in a ball, facing the inside of the couch, fast asleep.

His breathing was slow, and his expression was soft and worry-free. Liam could once again feel the familiar flutter in his chest as he reached for the throw blanket folded on the arm of the couch, softly placing it over Theo as the boy softly snored.

A year ago, Theo barely felt safe sleeping in Beacon Hills at all, but now, Liam was glad that he finally had a place to call home, and that he finally had people he could call family.

#ticklish!theo #teen wolf #thiam #liam dunbar #theo raeken #david geyer #jenna geyer #corey bryant #alec #brett talbot

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jq37 · 5 years ago

Text

The Royal Report– A Crown of Candy Ep 12 Rescue at Buzzybrook

The Peppermint Knight Rises

Welcome to an extremely wild two minutes in the lives of the Rocks family and all those assembled to witness the insanity about to take place.

The gang (along w/ Cara, Manta Ray Jack, and Rina’s crew) have poofed into Buzzybrook where Liam’s dad--Joren Jawbreaker--is about to be executed. They’re able to stay relatively stealthy on their group stealth check (despite Rina’s Nat 1) and, peeking outside, the group sees Bulbian priests, Imperial soldiers, and Ceresian soldiers (like, Ciabatta’s men, not Imperials). Their flags are stationed outside of various cottages in the area (which Ruby uses Mage Hand, her rogue skills, and a grudgingly accepted help action from Rina to unlock). Rina also helps Cara with her concentration checks on the teleportation spell by casting Wall of Ice (the special ability of her staff, Winterscoop) to give her a protected area which Cara just lets happen because sure, why not?

Just to set the scene a little more, it’s dark outside except for some lit braziers, the village has been largely burned down except for the cottages I mentioned before, and the citizens are being forced to march to the gallows to watch the execution, though Joren hasn’t been brought out yet. With all the banners of the different factions gathered together, it seems almost celebratory. They’re within the standing stones which is in what’s called a sugar hut--basically, just a kind of house built over the standing stones so they can claim it’s a Candian cultural thing and not witchcraft if Bulbian missionaries show up.

Liam and Ruby decide to check out the cottages to get a better idea of what’s going on. Liam, in his cottage, finds Oliver Onionpatch (the Bulbian Archbishop) speedily transcribing information into his book including pictures/schematics of monsters, Ceresian constructs, war engines like Lazuli was working on, and liquid daggers. It seems like Ciabatta gave Alfredi’s notes to the church and they are expanding on them. He’s being guarded by Bonathan Flashfry (fry guy from Jet’s fight). Liam casts Hunter’s Mark on Onionpatch. In her cottage, Ruby sees Grissini speaking to Spearia Mentha (Liam’s mom) who is chained up. Ruby tells Liam who tells her what he found and then Ruby fills in Theo.

While they’re working on a plan, Jawbreaker is led to the noose and they start to read his crimes. Liam casts Disguise Self to look like Onionpatch. They pull the lever and Jawbreaker begins to hang and the gang rolls for initiative!

Because of the circumstances the party gets a surprise round.

Jawbreaker succeeds on his first death save but, even if he hadn’t, he would have been in good hands because Theo Misty Steps to the gallows, and cuts him down before running for cover.

Liam, on a Nat 1, shatters the glass while trying to attack Onionpatch fully giving away his position. That single mistake out of his system, Liam once again goes full Peppermint Batman and hits Onionpatch (and, judging by his reaction, Brennan by proxy) with two more attacks--one of them being a Nat 20--for a total of *84 points of damage*. He uses his movement to hide in the next house over where he has great line of sight for another attack (and he hides with a Nat 20 plus his natural plus 10 plus Pass Without a Trace for a total of 40 which is the DC for things that are nigh impossible).

Ruby casts Jump to help with her movement and gets into position to help break Spearia out. Grissini who was snapped out of his surprise when Theo did his thing starts yelling orders to his men outside.

Reap the Whirlwind

And then it’s Saccharina’s turn.

Yeah, I know I said her full name was annoying to type out every time but she deserves to get her full name for what she’s about to do.

Rina runs through the crowd, uses her Storm Sorcerer ability to Fly (which she can do before she casts a 1st level spell or higher which is such cool flavor and good for utility as well--in this case it means she doesn’t take opportunity attacks). She casts Thunderstep at 4th level (which is like Misty Step but you can take someone with you and it does AoE damage when you poof away) and uses her Channel Divinity from her Tempest Domain Cleric levels to auto do max damage (40 or half if they save) and they also get another plus three because it’s lightning damage (she has some kind of aura that does that) *and* she uses Quicken Spell (a Sorc thing that lets you cast a spell that takes an action as a bonus action) to cast Spare the Dying on Jawbreaker as she brings him to safety.

If Liam is Batman then Rina is Storm, for sure.

Brennan is ruined but everyone else is *loving it*--me included. She takes out a bunch of weakling enemies even at without seeing if they save and the few (I think 4) who are left are not doing great. She hands over Jawbreaker to Amethar and has Gooey and Swifty go to Theo and help him out.

Cumulous rushes in, finishes off two more of the injured guards, and dives into the hole under the gallows for cover.

Amethar starts herding the civilians into the sugar hut so they can all escape together, tells Jack to help start cleaning up these soldiers, and goes to work himself, going into a rage and killing two Ceresians. Jack kills one too and the citizens start running to safety.

Theo sees that the house he’s hiding behind is full of sick ass weapons so he kills the single guard and Gooey and Swifty (Swifty very gleefully) help him with some looting.

Grissini leaves his cottage to order around his men which Ruby is very happy about as it makes the sneaking she’s about to do a lot easier.

Back in John Wick, staring Liam Wilhelmina, he does another 23 points of damage to Onionpatch and yells at him in Bulbosi (while disguised as him mind you), “You have made a big mistake.”

Ruby springs Spearia and casts Invisibility on her so she can safely make her way to the others.

Grissini whistles and a soldier lights a signal fire. Some bread guys crowd Amethar but he doesn’t take much damage and actually kills one with a Riposte reaction--one of Jet’s old tricks.

Saccharina--I gotta give her her full name again--clocks a very convenient straight line of enemies and casts Lightning Bolt at 4th Level (using another Sorc trick, Empower Spell, to reroll her low damage dice) for 39 damage + 3 for her aura. Even without rolling saves for half damage, this fully kills everyone but Grissini who is badly injured. And just to make things worse, she uses Grissini to conduct the lightning and has it set his banner on fire.

Cumulous whiffs a couple of attacks, jumps on a roof and then (along with Liam) fails a Perception check, which is always fun as a player.

Amethar runs over to Grissini, attacks of opportunity be damned, and says, “Do you remember my daughter?” Grissini who has just been electrocuted, is a little out of it but Amethar says that Jet might be dead but he just met his new daughter (except, in the heat of the moment, he says it less coherently) and attacks him. Rina (or really Emily who knows exactly what she is doing) calls it a daddy-daughter special. Grissini is F’d up but not near death.

But speaking of people who are near death, Onionpatch yells, “Bulb protect me!” in Liam’s general direction, causing the house he’s in to catch on fire. Liam takes 18 points of fire damage.

Jack kills another baddie and the rest of the civilians run into the sugar hut.

Mom Said We’re Leaving!

And then, suddenly, these huge, terrifying, bread constructs arrive on the scene (along with a giant corn monster that everyone immediately insists is cute because Brennan will never win this one and should really stop trying unless he’s a fan of futility). Amethar takes some hits and then has to make Con Saving throws. He fails one of them which reduces his HP max by the damage of the first hit he took from this thing (4 pts). One goes for Rina but she Shields and takes nothing. One goes for Jack (doesn’t hit) and one goes for the Standing Stones. Theo casts Compelled Duel on one of the constructs to draw fire but can’t hit (2 Nat 1s in a row!)

Grissini does a bunch of damage to Amethar and then grants an attack to the nearest bread monster who crits on Rina for 31 points of damage, bringing her down to 18, but she passes her Con saving throw (she only has to do one for some reason).

Liam busts into the house with Onionpatch and demands to know who’s in the military tent with a Nat 20 Intimidation check. Onionpatch, who’s basically pissing himself, says that it’s Kerradin’s tent but he’s not in there at the moment because he’s tracking down escaped prisoners. Onionpatch blubbers that all the different factions are there on behalf of the Pontifex and are in talks with Plumbeline to create a new Concord. There are tons of letters and maps and information in the tent and he can tell them everything. Guess what idiot? You already did. Liam ices him with another Nat 20 and takes his book. As he does so, he basically speedruns the entire rest of puberty and sheds his teenage awkwardness (I mean, allegedly. I’ll believe it if he can talk to Annabelle without getting slapped). The pages that have ripped from the book are effortlessly placed back in with shadow magic. He also fires an arrow at Bonathan as he exits because why not? He lets Ruby know about the info in the tent so, on her turn she sends Spearia away, and goes for it.

Cara basically yells at everyone and they have one round to get into the car because the meter’s about to run out and she’s gotta go.

Ruby takes 34 points of damage from archers. Rina gets Amethar to safety with Fly plus another Thunderstep and sends Swifty to help Ruby if necessary. Cumulous gets to safety as well (killing one more guy for the road). The constructs try to crack the standing stones but fail.

Amether, channeling Jet yet again, does some Maneuvering Attacks to give Ruby some instant movement to get into the tent and grab the map with all the Imperial/Ceresian military troop movement info and start to run back. Jack gets to safety.

The constructs try and fail to crack the stones again. One of them attacks Theo for 45 points of damage and then he fails one of his saves, dropping his HP max by 30. Theo holds his turn until Liam and Ruby make it to safety. Gooey and Swifty make it in.

Kerradin suddenly shows up and Liam has to summon all of his self control to not go after him. He instead taunts him by showing him the book he got from Onionpatch, and (taking damage as he does so) slides into the sugar hut. His mom, invisible, places a hand on his cheek and says, “Oh no. They took my sweet baby and made him a war guy.”

Grissini Nat 20’s to attack on Amethar but Theo takes the 38 points of damage which drops him dangerously low for Theo standards (like low 20s or the teens). Theo runs in. One of the archers Nat 20 on Ruby who’s hit for 4 points after she Uncanny Dodges (she’s at 21).

Like Liam, Ruby very reluctantly does the smart thing and, instead of going for Grissini so she can get at least one kill this fight, dives into the hut. Cara let’s the spell go off right as Grisini tells the constructs to charge and Jawbreaker regains consciousness, looking proudly into the face of his son, Preston. No wait, that’s not right.

Medal of Honor

EMILY AXFORD LET’S GOOOOOO

Saccharina really said, “First impressions? Don’t know her. SECOND impressions are where it’s at.” Like, dare I say, instant legend? First fight of the game and she instantly fulfills the win condition, frying a bunch of dudes just, incidentally (but w/ surgical precision from an out of game point of view with all that deft use of action economy and sorcerer mojo). What and ENTRANCE. And then that Lightning? Brennan said it best on Adventuring Party. If you saw her do that, you would have no choice but to follow her.

But honestly, she lowkey deserves a medal just for joining the party with two levels of cleric. That alone is damn near heroic at this point.

I can’t believe Brennan let *Emily Axford* have spell cards in his gritty, low magic setting. My guy really served himself his own dice. Bon Appetit dude and, again, welcome back Emily!

Things I’m Concerned About

I mean, I can’t say that I’m surprised about the collusion going on but I don’t love it. I really hope the group gets to talk to Plumbeline again before the end of this. Just to see what she has to say to Amethar and visa-versa. It was an interesting dynamic before she decided to turn traitor and it’s even more interesting now.

Since when can Bulbian priests do magic? Miracle working is supposed to be super rare, right? Like the Pontifex could heal herself but that was the only thing we knew of that was real Bulb magic (along with Citrina’s book I guess but she’s dead). But Onionpatch used magic against Liam and a different priest did some abjuration on Theo. Are they using Bulbian magic or faking like Lapin was? Or is this something new?

Really don’t love that those bread constructs were making people roll Con Saves. I instantly thought it was a water dagger thing (since they did have those plans too) but then he said 2 saves and not 3. Not sure what the other save was since I think we only saw the “drop max HP” effect. And I don’t know why Rina only had to roll 1 and not 2. Either way, I hope Liam stealing that book at least slowed them down because this is Bad Info for them to have.

Five More Things

Just so you know, Rina’s build is 6 levels Storm Sorc, 2 levels Tempest Domain Cleric.

The dynamic of Swifty and Theo is low-key the funniest thing. I want them to team up always. Also funny was Brennan’s straight-faced “Correct” to being asked if what Onionpatch just saw was himself pull a crossbow on him.

Listen, I need to know if Grissini has enough information to know that he’s working for the bad guys. Like, if he has the information and he chooses to be complacent then cool kill him, that’s fine. I’ve seen The Sound of Music and we all hate Rolf. But I gotta know. What are the odds that Amethar invoking Jet will pay dividends later? (Again, it did not work in The Sound of Music. And now I kinda wanna watch Sound of Music).

Grissini knows Jet is dead. Has the news fully spread? Does Primsy know? If so, sad! If not, even sadder but on a time delayed fuse!

I already mentioned this earlier and when the episode aired but the absolute DUNKING of Brennan this episode by Emily and Ally. Man oh man the LOOK on the dude’s face? The glee from everyone else? All those dice Ally rolled? All the people Emily iced without even having to roll dice? The gang sorely needed a win and, folks, this was it.

AN ANNOUNCEMENT!

Listen, we all know Wednesdays are for D20. And, for a lot of y’all, I’m sure Thursdays are for CritRole and/or Naddpod. But what are you doing Tuesdays (or at least every other Tuesday)? Well, I’m gonna tell you what. @drinkingdeadpeopletea (who you’ve probably seen around as she’s active in all three of the aforementioned fandoms) is launching a D&D podcast called Ship of Fools and it drops TOMORROW with a two episode premiere. It’s D&D! It’s nautical! And it’s being DM’d by her so I can confidently say that it’s gonna be hilarious and a super fun time! So if you want even more D&D in your life (rhetorical question, all of us do) check it out!

#a crown of candy #a crown of candy spoilers #dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #the report card

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peachy-lemon83 · 5 years ago

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I really hate when people assume that everyone only loves Stiles because he’s the white best-friend. Like yeah I’m not gonna lie some people honestly probably do like Stiles better than Scott because Stiles is white, but like.... to just say that about everyone who loves Stiles?????

Like for me personally I know it isn’t because of skin color or anything because I fell in love with Stiles from litteraly hearing some quotes from the show (it was a like complication of some of Stiles’ sarcastic quotes and stuff) and it was just the audio. I didn’t have the actual scenes from the shows (it was on Tik tok so people were like lip syncing to it and stuff).

I fell in love with him even more when watching the show because I can relate to him a lot.

Stiles is a sarcastic boy who literally doesn’t stop talking. I seriously just post a freaking long as hell rant and said in said rant that I tend to just ramble on (even if it just rambling thoughts in my head and not actually speaking). Like I come up with whole speeches in my head. I’m pretty sarcastic, I’m honestly not that witty but I wish so hard that I was because I love witty, sarcastic comments that litteraly come out all the time, even if really bad moments.

No one really listens to Stiles. Like in the beginning I kind of get it, I mean like the supernatural?!? Crazy! But like Stiles says Scott’s a werewolf, Scott doesn’t believe him until he literally tears up Stiles chair after like slamming Stiles against the wall.... so like yeah didn’t listen or believe in Stiles. And then again when Stiles swears Lydias not the Kaninma (and like okay even Stiles starts to question that, but mainly because everyone else was certain it was Lydia). No one believe Stiles when boi immediately was like “the killings are sacrifices”. I can’t currently think of anything from season 4 (don’t really remember it that much tbh), but I like Stiles actually said something about a kill list or people targeting Scott and everyone else (once again don’t remember and could totally be wrong on that). Season 5? Stiles litteraly called Theo out from the very very beginning. And no one believed him. And then right before Theo actually showed his true colors he accused Stiles of brutally murdering someone and Scott didn’t even check to see if they were actually talking about the same story???? I mean I understand Acott was probably hella confused and shocked but still???? Also Stiles never even said anything about how he knew Theo was evil the whole time. He never said I told you so. I can really relate to people not listening to me.

Scott tried to kill Stiles on his first full moon, then on his second told Stiles absolutely horrible things. Stiles never held it against Scott. Never once brought up that Scott said those things, and the only reason he brought Scott trying to kill him was to 1) convince him that I was dangerous not to chain him up for the full moon and 2) to remind him that Scott did that when Scott was upsetting and refusing to listen to Liam.

Stiles is litteraly like the only person for most the show who is entirely human and has had no training for fighting, nor does he have a gun or litteraly any weapon at all except a baseball bat (that I honestly don’t even remember him using that often). Like boy is litteraly the least prepared and incredibly vulnerable to everything. Like I can kind of relate to feeling like you’re the normal one while everyone else is like special.

Almost everyone under estimates how smart he actually his. Like boi litteraly searched about werewolves for Scott, and it looked like he did a lot of it. He’s normally the one who makes the plans, and he tends to be the one who puts the pieces together, and finds quite a few of said pieces. Honestly don’t really know if I can really relate to this one. Like I can relate but at the same time I feel like it’s the opposite.

Stiles is really loyal. Stiles isnt a werewolf, he isn’t a banshee, he isn’t anything related to the supernatural. Boi could have left a long time ago. He could’ve left when he had to litteraly die to save his dad after his dad (the only family he had) had been kidnapped and was gonna be a sacrifice. He stated after he’d been kidnapped twice. Hell he even stayed after Scott basically told him to go turn himself in for murder and to go away. He stayed when Scott kind of abandoned him for Allison. He always stayed.

I haven’t finished the show (I just finished Season 6 pt 1) so like maybe things happens that I don’t know about but there a definite thing I wish they would have done. Like I would have loved to see Stiles actually try be affected by what the Nogitsune (??? Idk how to spell it) did??? Like could Stiles see was the Nogitsune did when they were in separate bodies??? Can Stiles remember Allison dying and knowing that his body was the one that ordered the Oni to attack??? Another question does the fact that Stiles’ actual body, his original body died do anything to him???? Like is he effected by having like a fake? Copy body or something???? Also Stiles be traumatized by those few minutes were no one remembered him, and him being stuck in that stupid train station????? Like I would have loved to see how things things actually affected them and them working to overcome them instead of it seeming like it never even happened.

Honestly I don’t really like Scott’s character. I personally have nothing against the actor I haven’t looked into him or anything so I have no opinions on him. But like Scott?? I personally don’t like him. He raises a couple (read: quite a few) red flags in my brain throughout watching the show. Like I can see how people may like him, or like not see a lot of the red flags (honestly I saw them but didn’t like really acknowledge them until I actually thought about it) and it’s like kind of small thing for me personally

Scott abandoning Stiles for Allison... quite a bit.

Like him kind of ignoring Stiles to hang out with Allison, Lydia, and Jackson.

Scott hanging up on Stiles when Stiles was holding Derek in the pool in season 2

Scott and Allison letting Jackson escape (and put a straining order on Stiles and Scott, but honestly it effected Stiles more as the Sheriffs son) because they were to caught up in each other

Scott skipping with Allison, not telling Stiles, soon (if not right) after Peter attacked two of their peers (Lydia and Jackson), and then turning off his phone so that when Stiles had really important information on it, Stiles couldn’t reach him.

I’m not saying that Scott’s an absolute terrible character, doesn’t deserve to be on the show, or anything. I’m just saying I don’t think they really wrote his character the best??? Like I think he was unintentionally given quite a few red flags and the writters didn’t notice, but a lot of the fans did.

Like I loved Scott’s “save aleveryone” attitude. Did I always agree with it??? Not really tbh but I appreciated it. I love Scott’s and Stiles’ relationship in how I think they were trying to portray it (because honestly they kind of messed it all up multiple times, but I feel like I get what they were trying for and I loved that)

(Also I just have to point this out because it’s been bothering me. Some one anti-Scott said that Scott has people kill for him, and a Scott lover said pointed out that Stiles says that they should kill Jackson but never offered to do it himself. And I just like wanted to point how How was Stiles supposed to kill Jackson???? Stiles the human... without any weapons or training.... kill Jackson... the kanima.... with paralyzing vemon.... and who lived through a whole barrel of bullets???? Not saying anyone was wrong or right in that arguement because I don’t want to get hate or start a fight... but that one small detail was bothering me)

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parttimehuman · 5 years ago

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Thiam by the river first date

Theo is pretty sure that the last twenty-four hours before his death have already started. Isn't that what you always hear? That statistically speaking, if you're being kidnapped, you won't make it through the the first twenty-four hours? Theo is convinced he's heard that somewhere.

If he's being honest, he's a little disappointed. Given his history, there have always been countless possible ways for his life to end. To think that he's survived torture, war and literal hell only to be thrown over Liam's shoulder and dragged into the woods is beyond ridiculous.

The thing is, Liam smells really weird. His chemosignals have always been difficult, clouded by a layer of anger at almost all times, so Theo generally doesn't think Liam is as easy to read as others, but now? There definitely is a whole lot of nervosity, and that's already unlike Liam. Usually, when he's intimidated by a situation, he gets into fight mode. Now, Theo can smell a certain determination, but it has nothing to do with fighting.

"You know, I really didn't think it would end like this between us," Theo says, trying to distract Liam and win some time to figure out what in all seven hells is going on.

"Frankly," Liam replies, "you thought you were recruiting me for your evil army or whatever, so I don't really care about your disappointment."

Liam grabs Theo by the thigh and adjusts the way he carries his body on his shoulder. Theo has to hand it to him, his physical strength is impressive. And technically, it doesn't feel terrible to be so firmly pressed against Liam's muscles while staring at his ass.

Theo sighs. He really thought what they had was special. Sure, he might have returned to Beacon Hills with a lot of bad intentions, but a lot has happened since then. He found what he was looking for, but none of it was as imagined. And then there was Liam, and that's a whole other story, but recently it has kind of developed in a not so terrible direction. Theo thinks that one could even call it friendship, and then he thinks, yeah, okay, if that's the case then he understands why Liam is getting rid of him. Friendship. What is he, twelve?

"You know, there was a moment a couple of months ago where I was sure you were about to shove me against the nearest wall and start making out with me," he says, remembering the elevator at Beacon Hills Memorial as if it happened just a minute ago. "I mean, you could have at least gotten some before this. I would have made it worth your while."

Liam stops and stands still for a minute. Theo looks to the ground, wondering whether this is where his body will be buried, a peaceful looking spot between trees, soft ground covered in leaves.

"Shut up," Liam growls, and then he continues walking.

"Yeah yeah, I know, you're Scott's little puppy and you've got morals. But seriously, just because you hate a guy, doesn't mean you shouldn't let him blow you. You never know what you're missing out on, I'm just saying."

"You've been saying a lot of things," Liam points out, "when I specifially asked you to be quiet and wait until we're there."

Liam isn't wrong, but if Theo is going to be murdered by the guy he thought he had a chance with, he will definitely be complaining about it. A lot.

"Why are you even going that far?" Theo wants to know. "You do realize that makes zero sense, right? Everything has looked exactly the same for the last fifteen minutes. And now we're not only in the middle of the woods, but practically almost out again on the other side."

As he says this, it dawns on Theo. Oh no. Liam will dump him in the river. Theo is way too pretty to be a water corpse. They always look terrible.

"I'm really starting to think this was a terrible idea," Liam murmurs.

"Starting?!" Theo echoes. "What took you so long?"

"God, I have way too much patience with you."

Except, is the whole point of this that Liam's so-called patience has come to an end? And that Theo will never be pinned against the wall in an elevator with a tongue down his throat and a hand down his pants? And that their undoubtedly beautiful and smart children will never be born?

"Such a shame," Theo whispers to himself as Liam comes to a halt. Behind him, Theo can still see trees, but the ground has changed from dark forest ground to a mixture of pebbles and sand. He can smell the river, wind is messing up his hair. Great. Liam isn't even letting him die with dignity.

"We're here," Liam says. "Can I let you down? Can you be serious? And like, behave like a human?"

"You know I'm not just a human."

"You're part human," Liam says quietly. "I know you like to pretend that you're not, but I'm not falling for any of that anyway."

Theo contemplates his options: First, slapping Liam on his bouncy ass. He thinks he really deserves that and his hand is itching with the urge. Second, promise he'll behave and then run as soon as Liam lets him down. At least that way he would get Liam to chase him, tackle him down and possibly pin him to the ground. Not exactly the way he imagined their first time to go, but he'll take it. Third, not saying anything at all, making himself as heavy as possible, not helping Liam carry this out at all. Test Liam's patience one last time.

"Fine," Theo says.

A moment later, he has somewhat solid ground beneath his feet again.And Liam smells even more nervous than before. Scared, he almost wants to say. They exchange a brief look before Liam's eyes drop to the ground.

"You can turn around now," he tells Theo.

Wow. So he isn't even going to look him in the face while he ends it.

It seems insane that Theo turns around anyway, but he does. He holds his chin up high, stares into the sky and over the water, into the green. And then he looks down after all, because at his feet, there's a blanket spread out on the ground, weighed down by Liam's backpack and food and drinks and-

"Holy. Shit."

Liam takes a step forward and stands next to him. "Do you hate it?" He asks quietly.

Theo hates a lot of things. He does because it's what he was taught and trained to do for a long time. It's why he assumes the worst, why he's prepared for every worst-case scenario, why he never trusts good things, especially not good things, why even when his knows deep down inside that he has no reason to, he's a little bit afraid of the new life he has now.

He shakes his head.

Liam releases a long breath. "Good," he says, "that's good. Because, you know, you kind of have a tendency to complain."

Theo smiles. "About you?"

Liam thinks for a moment. "No, actually," he decides, "just everything else."And there you've got your answer, Theo thinks.

"How about you let me see what kind of food you brought," he says, already sitting down. "I sure hope your mom helped you prepare this. No offense, but she's the best when it comes to these things. I don't think you put lettuce on sandwiches with the same kind of love. Call me pedantic, but you can taste that."

Liam rolls his eyes before he joins Theo on the blanket. "Maybe I really should shove you against walls and shut you up more often."

"No walls here," Theo points out. "Only trees. Which totally works. Just let me eat something first."

"You're the worst," Liam says. "Has anyone ever told you that?"

"Aww, Liam," Theo replies, "I think you're the worst too."

"One of these days," Liam says with a smile, "I will simply murder you."

"But not today."

Liam shakes his head. "Not today."

And if that isn't the most romantic shit Theo has heard in his life.

#teen wolf #thiam #liam dunbar #theo raeken #drabble #my writing

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officialthiamlibrary · 5 years ago

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2019 THIAM REVERSE BIG BANG MASTERLIST

Below is the masterlist of all of the creations by the amazing artists and writers for the Thiam Reverse Big Bang… four months of fantastic work, preparation, organization and collaboration between the creators are in this list, and we’ll never stop shouting about how thankful we are to everyone who participated this year for the work that you’ve put in to these!!

Some of those participating were even creating for other events (including our Halloween event) in between this one… and they still have these fantastic works ready to show everyone... so PLEASE show them some love for their hard work by commenting, reblogging, and giving likes/kudos/comments where you can! <3

All fics are arranged by the date each collaboration was scheduled for posting, titles for both each artwork and fic will take you to each individual creators post.

Special Thanks to @manonisamelon for creating this event’s roundup banner!

16 December 2019

The Price of Freedom + Artwork 1, 2

Author: @volsungar-the-mighty Artist: @moondrunkmonster56

[41k Words | Rated: M | No Warnings]

When the McCall pack find out that Mason is the Beast of Gevaudan, the Dread Doctors plans go awry, and Theo is left in the firing line. He goes on the run, only to be captured and paralyzed by them before he gets too far.

Liam, a Fallen Angel turned demon, is convinced to leave hell for the first time since his Fall. When he comes across Theo, paralysed, wounded, and about to be tortured and punished by the Dread Doctors, he offer's the Chimera a deal.

Theo's freedom, in exchange for his soul. But something goes wrong when Liam makes the deal a reality, and he becomes stuck on Earth with Theo.

And thats when the fun begins.

~~~

Making The Pieces Fit + Fic Aesthetic , Thiam’s Story Aesthetic , Aesthetic for Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4,

Author: @bookwyrm07 Artist: @manonisamelon

[7.5k Words | Rated: Teen and Up | No Warnings]

When Theo was hired to rob a bank he knew he could do it, but now that two of his crew have taken themselves out his only option left is to get help from his ex.

~~~~~

17 December 2019

Eyes Unclouded + Artwork 1, 2

Author: @wolfenboyb Artist: @marauders-mess

[6.5k Words | Rated: General Audiences | No Warnings]

Inspired by Princess Mononoke... Theo leaves his remove village after it is attacked by a mysterious dark god. Cursed, he ventures out into the world to discover the source of unbalance in the land. He discovers a wolf prince at war with an encroaching town of humans making iron out of sand and destroying the sacred forest. As tensions rise, Theo must find a way to end the conflict and protect the one he loves

Archive Tags: AU | Inspired by Princess Mononoke

Those Who Wait + Artwork 1, Aesthetic 1, 2 , 3

Author: @lovelylittlegrim Artist: @tabbytabbytabby

[6.5k Words | Rated: Explicit | No Warnings]

Theo finally gets what he's always wanted.

Like The Trembling Heart Of A Captive Bird + Artwork 1, 2 , 3

Author: @impalachick Artist: @osirismind

[9.5k Words | Rated: Explicit | Warnings: Underage]

Liam is head boy for the Juniors at Beacon Hills Preparatory Academy, and Senior Theo Raeken gets in trouble a lot. They don't exactly get along.

Everything changes when Gerard Argent shows up. Liam finds out that the supernatural seniors are to be drafted and sent to Vietnam on Gerard’s orders. Liam is determined to keep the pack safe and is surprised when Theo agrees to help. When they work together, Liam realizes there is much more to Theo Raeken then the bad boy stereotype implies.

*The underage tag is checked because in this story, Liam is 17 (and Theo is 18). There is discussion about the Vietnam War Draft Lottery and the drafting process, and the pack seniors face the stress of possibly getting drafted.

~~~~~

18 December 2019

All The Broken Pieces (you chose to love) + Artwork 1, 2

Author: @flyde Artist: @marauders-mess

[22k Words | Rated: Mature | No Warnings]

Life fell to pieces, not suddenly, not violently, but slowly. Softly, the broken parts were caught. Safely, they were held. Lovingly, they were protected, although they could never be put back together.

Or: a childhood friends to tragic lovers AU

The Strangeness In You Is The Strangeness In Me + Artwork 1, Artwork 2, Artwork 3

Author: @eneiryu Artist: @18-sweet-poisoned-heart

[28k Words | Rated: Teen and Up | No Warnings]

Theo’s life is never boring, considering where he works, but he’d have to say that his job doesn’t truly get exciting until the day that their entire station gets taken hostage by the Fae King of Northern California, pissed off that Theo arrested his murderous little protégé prince.

(Not) Dying For Brew + Artwork

Author: @nabawrites Artist: @snaeken

[7k Words | Rated: Teen and Up | No Warnings]

Liam graduated from college, and now he’s back in Beacon Hills. He didn’t expect to run into Theo again, especially not in a coffee shop. It stirs up some old feelings he hadn’t ever really forgotten about…

~~~~~

19 December 2019

When the Day Met Night + Artwork

Author: @imjustafangirl-nobodylovesme Artist: @lightfiretomypaperwings

[8.2k Words | Rated: Teen | No Warnings]

The day finally arrives where Theo is told he's officially joining the family business. He's not happy to hear the news. Life under his father's thumb is a nightmare come true.

On his last day of freedom, he meets Liam Dunbar, a human ray of sunshine that changes everything.

Archive Tags: Original Genderfluid Character | Organized Crime | Mob Boss's son Theo | Photographer Liam | Theo and Tara hate their lives

Saw the shadow of the valley but the shadow was mine + Artwork

Author: @eneiryu Artist: @colder-bones

[17.3k Words | Rating: Mature | No Warnings]

No one ever trusts Theo, but then again: they’re not supposed to. It’s Liam they never see coming.

Archive Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence | Dread Doctor Spy!Liam

Caput Mortuum + Artwork

Author: @imjustafangirl-nobodylovesme Artist: @moondrunkmonster56

[16.3k Words | Rating: Teen | No Warnings]

Liam had pretty much resigned himself to never leaving his home, but then HE moved in. Or

The one where Liam is a ghost (but not really) and Theo buys the house he haunts (but not really).

~~~~~

20 December 2019

Melting The Ice + Artwork

Author: @extrasteps Artist: @snaeken

[30k Words | Rated: Mature | No Warnings]

Liam's entire world is shaken up when Scott McCall, the captain of the Los Angeles Rams and Liam's mentor at the club, unexpectedly asks to be traded to the Dallas Stars. As Liam struggles to deal with this in both his personal and professional life, his teammate and friend, Theo Raeken, is there to help him in any way he can.

Archive Tags: Ice Hockey AU | Liam doesn't handle his ied very well | Scott is a prick (sorry) | First Kiss

The Memory + Artwork 1, 2

Author: @tabbytabbytabby Artist: @lovelylittlegrim

[5k Words | Rated: Teen and Up | No Warnings]

When Theo's away and can't reach Liam he gets worried. Especially when neither Liam's parents nor Mason will give him answers. When he gets back to Beacon Hills he's able to quickly find Liam. The only problem is, Liam has no idea who he is.

Be Free With Me + Video

Author: @ethereal--jeonghan Artist: @underthegallowws

[20k Words | Rated: Mature | Graphic Depictions Of Violence]

After being recaptured and dragged back to Eichen House, the place he's been running from for years, Theo vows to do whatever he can to escape instead he finds himself being drawn towards Liam, someone who was deemed as a 'high-level threat' within Eichen.

~~~~~

21 December 2019

You Just Need To See The Signs (Quite Literally) + Artwork

Author: @marauders-mess Artist: @wolfenboyb

[9.5k Words | Rated: Teen and Up | No Warnings]

Liam is used to not notice most things.

Like when Mason gets a new shirt or his mom gets a new haircut.

The usual, y'know.

But not noticing he got a boyfriend is kind of a new level, even for him.

Blue + Artwork

Author: @flyde Artist: @li0nh34rt

[10k Words | Rated: Teen and Up | No Warnings]

Every werewolf has a soulmate.

Every werewolf has a soulmate, and this is how it happens: On every day you spend on earth, the stars move a little closer together above your head until they form a line - the curve of a closed eye that will one day open to look upon you. From that day on, you will have someone to watch over you in life and death, and you will never feel complete without the soul that the eye belongs to.

But what if your soulmate's eye opens to reveal something you didn't expect?

You've Got Nothing Left To Lose (I Have Even Less Than You) + Artwork

Author: @snaeken Artist: @theraeken

[3.5k Words | Rated: Mature | Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death]

After everything that’s happened in Beacon Hills, Theo really shouldn’t be surprised soulmates exist. He just never thought he would have one of his own.

(Still to be completed, word count below is as of 1st chapter)

Archive Tags: Soulmates | Time Loop | Temporary Character Death

~~~~~

22 December 2019

Darkened Skies + Poster, Aesthetic for the fic, Theo aesthetic, Liam aesthetic, Liam with his dragon tattoo, Theo with his dragon tattoo, Theo and his dragon

Author: @lightfiretomypaperwings Artist: @manonisamelon

[3k Words | Rated: Teen and Up | No Warnings]

In a world where black dragons are a sign of evil, Theo Raeken was automatically an outcast. Coupled with a tragedy from his childhood that he was responsible for, it was easy to understand why everyone was afraid of him. But not Liam Dunbar, the friend from childhood that Theo hasn’t seen since the fire that claimed his family.

Archive Tags: Dragons | alternative universe

I don’t suffer from my sanity, I enjoy every minute of it + Artwork

Author: @lightfiretomypaperwings Artist: @moondrunkmonster56

[8.4k | Rated: Teen | No Warnings]

When Theo Raeken became the new therapist at Eichen House, he didn’t expect a collection of secrets. His high priority patient, Liam Dunbar, won’t speak a word to him during their sessions. But when Theo uncovers a stash of notes from a previous doctor, he finds more questions than answers.

Archive Tags: Eichen | Echo House | insane asylum | Secrets | Alternate Universe

Your heart or mine (we’re running out of time) + Artwork

Author: @lightfiretomypaperwings Artist: @snaeken

[3.8k | Rated Teen | No Warnings]

Theo Raeken knows it’s a long shot. Finding the heart of immortality feels like an impossible task, but it’s an adventure he has to pursue if he wants to survive. He doesn’t expect to meet Liam Dunbar along the way, a man with a record of violence that wants the heart just as badly. When circumstances force them to work together, Theo discovers there’s a whole lot more to Liam than his mercenary past. Can these two manage to get along on their quest or will they tear each other apart?

Archive Tags: Treasure Hunt | some steampunk vibes | Enemies to Friends to Lovers | Angst | Alternate Universe

And that’s it! Thanks again for a great event and we will see you all at the next one ;P

OTL Team

#thiam #thiamrbb19 #teen wolf #theo raeken #liam dunbar #officialthiamlibrary

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martinskis-lydias · 5 years ago

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don’t want to fight you

pairing: liam dunbar/theo raeken

word count: 2353

warnings: slight non-con? (guy gets handsy after liam tries to move away but it’s stopped almost immediately), slight (undiscussed) daddy kink (but it’s okay with all parties)

summary: Liam is annoyed at Theo (what else is new) and has had a long week, so he goes dancing to take his mind off everything.

Liam was dancing in the crowd. Not with anyone, just letting the music flow through him, letting his mind drift so that he could relax and forget the week he’d just had.

It hadn’t been the worst week ever or anything. It had just gotten… stressful. Probably more so than most people’s but such was his life. He’d had a couple midterms, and then yesterday he’d had to help the Pack with a rogue wendigo. It had almost killed him, but Theo had clawed it’s throat open at the last second, saving him.

The chimera had been pretty pissed and breathing really heavily before he’d started screaming at Liam.

“You need to be more careful! God, can’t you do anything right? I’m tired of always having to save your ass!”

Liam had left pretty quickly after that. He didn’t even care if Theo was pissed when he got back to the apartment they shared. He was tired and he’d been studying almost non-stop for a week and had almost gotten killed tonight.

So fuck Theo. Fuck his inability to not be a jerk. Fuck his midterms. Fuck everything.

He was just going to dance and let his brain stop for an hour.

He suddenly felt hands on him, hands that he didn’t know, hands he didn’t want. He opened his eyes and saw the girl that was trying to dance with him. He mouthed ‘sorry’ and moved away from her. She shrugged and moved to the next guy – who seemed a bit more receptive.

After another ten or fifteen minutes he felt someone getting handsy again. When he tried to apologize and move away again he wasn’t as successful. The guy grabbed him again from behind and Liam could feel him grinding against him, his hands hard on his hips and his mouth on Liam’s neck.

“Come on baby, there’s no need to play hard to get,” the guy said in his ear. Liam started to feel a little nauseous. “There’s no way you’re dancing like that and don’t want someone to take you somewhere to show you a good time.”

Liam was about to pull the guys hands off him – maybe break a few fingers and knee him in the nuts – when there was suddenly nothing against his back. He turned around to see what had happened.

“Theo?” Liam was a little thrown that he was here.

Theo was holding the guy by the collar of his shirt and his toes were just brushing the floor.

“I’m pretty sure he’s not interested,” Liam heard Theo growl over the pounding bass. He wasn’t sure if the other guy heard him but Liam thinks he got the point.

The creep looked so terrified that a guy at least three inches shorter could easily overpower him.

As much as Liam was touched by Theo trying to protect him (not that he needed it), he could see that Theo was starting to lose control. And that could only end badly.

“Theo,” Liam said calmly, touching Theo’s arm to get his attention. “I’m okay man, put him down.”

After a second of staring at Liam’s face, Theo nodded and dropped the guy.

“You know this guy, baby?” The handsy guy asked Liam, moving to grab him again and trying to act like he hadn’t just been pissing his pants in fear.

Liam grabbed his hand and bent a couple of his fingers back far enough that he felt them break. “You really are a special kind of stupid, aren’t you? Hands off!” Liam yelled in the guys face. He still didn’t have perfect control over his anger, if he was being honest with himself.

And Liam grabbed Theo’s arm, pulling him out of the club with the guy’s pained screams following them.

When they were finally in Liam’s car, he whipped around to look at his friend.

“What the hell are you doing here, Theo?” He demanded, turning his annoyance on him.

Theo shrugged, defiance written all over his features.

“So what? You bitch yesterday at the fact that I’m useless and you hate saving me or whatever, but when it has nothing to do with you and I can definitely take care of myself you come swooping in like my knight in shining armour? What the hell man?” Liam was yelling, his anger still boiling under the surface.

“I don’t think you’re useless,” Theo responded. His composure irritated Liam further.

Liam was yelling at him! He’s pissed and wanted to punch something! And Theo can’t even have the decency to fight back?

“Well you could have fooled me! Yesterday you were down my throat about not being careful and not being able to do anything right! And that’s not the first time you’ve been pissed because you saved me,” Liam told him. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you wanted to let me die and save you all the trouble.”

Liam saw anger, pure rage, flash in Theo’s eyes at that last comment. “Fuck you,” Theo spit out before throwing his door open and slamming it shut behind him as he stomped away.

Liam was a little confused – that was the comment that got Theo riled up? – and scrambled to follow him. Theo was already halfway down the street, so he had to run a little to catch up and grab the back of his coat.

“Dude, what the hell is your problem? I scream at you, try to bait you into taking a swing, and that’s what pisses you off?” Liam asked.

Theo was completely still, like he was forcing himself not to move and do something stupid, but he relaxed after a few deep breaths. Liam let go of his coat when he started turning to face him.

“How can you… How can you even think that I want you dead?” Theo asked quietly, and Liam was bewildered to hear so much emotion in Theo’s voice. “After everything you’ve done for me, after everything we’ve been through… Liam, you’re the most important thing in my life and every time you get hurt or almost die it scares me so fucking much that I can barely breathe,” he confessed quietly.

Liam didn’t know what to say. He really hadn’t been expecting anything close to that. It had almost sounded like… No, he was just hearing what he wanted to hear. They were just friends, that was all.

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t realise… I’m sorry, Theo. I’ve just had a really terrible week, and it’s not an excuse, but what you said yesterday really hurt and it just pushed me over the edge. You’re my best friend, of course I don’t think you want me dead,” Liam admitted, hoping to reassure the man standing in front of him.

Theo’s face fell for a second before he seemed to force an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, I really shouldn’t have said that. I was just so scared and I lost control for a second,” he admitted.

“Yeah, about that. You lost control yesterday, and you were about to lose it with that loser in the club. What’s up with that? Are you okay?” Liam asked, concerned. Theo was usually the one that had to talk Liam down, he had almost perfect control – it annoyed Liam sometimes, if he was being honest.

“Uh, it’s nothing, I’m fine,” Theo lied. His heart was pounding and his cheeks were turning red and he looked at his feet while he rubbed the back of his neck. All signs that Theo was embarrassed and hiding something.

“No seriously, you know you can talk to me dude. I just want to help with whatever you’re struggling with,” Liam promised. He put his hand on Theo’s shoulder because he knew that Theo liked to have a little bit of contact when he got like this.

“I… Liam, it’s not important. You can’t help me with this, just drop it. Let’s just go home,” Theo sounded so upset that Liam was silent until they got back to the car. Theo must have thought he’d ended the conversation because he looked a little relieved, but he still smelled really upset.

“You do know that I’m not dropping this, right?” Liam inquired, eyes on the road so Theo didn’t feel pressured.

Theo groaned, putting his head in his hands. He didn’t say anything though, waiting for Liam or still hoping that ignoring the conversation would make it go away.

“Theo, whatever it is, I want to help! And I know you said I can’t but what if I can and you’re just being stubborn or something? You can tell me anything, I won’t ever judge you,” Liam said, knowing his heart was steady and that Theo would be listening to it.

After a second Theo mumbled something quietly, but it was muffled behind the hands over his face.

“What?”

Theo sat up and put his head against the seat. Liam had stopped the car, in their driveway already, and could see that Theo’s eyes were closed and his face was scrunched up like whatever he was trying to say caused him pain.

“I said… I love you,” Theo whispered. “That’s why I keep losing control, because seeing you in any kind of danger sets me off,” he added, a little louder.

Liam was quiet for a minute, probably longer than he should have been if the anxiety come off Theo in waves was anything to go by.

“So I wasn’t imagining it… you really were saying… I wasn’t just hearing what I wanted to hear,” Liam whispered almost reverently. He knew that he probably wasn’t making sense but he was ecstatic.

Theo loved him. Theo loved him. Theo loved him! The words were running through his head over and over, like the best song he’d ever gotten stuck in his head.

“What-what you wanted to hear?” Theo questioned, but Liam didn’t answer him.

He was too busy throwing himself across the car into Theo’s lap to kiss him senseless.

The next few minutes were a bit of a blur. He knows they turned off the car and got in the house, locking all the doors behind them. He knows they were both slammed into quite a few walls in their eagerness to get to Liam’s room. He also knows that they both somehow ended up in his bed, their clothes thrown all over the room.

But the biggest thing, the best thing he remembered was Theo. Theo kissing him, moaning his name, groaning when he was pushed against any surface, the taste of his skin, the smell of his arousal.

“Liam, please, please,” Theo was begging under him. He threw his legs around Liam’s hips and whined when the new position brushed Liam’s cock over his hole.

Liam felt like he was going to explode out of his skin if he didn’t get in Theo now.

“Lube-where?” Liam asked, proud that he’d managed to string those two words together with his brain melting out of his ears.

He felt a tube being pressed into his hands and he immediately got to work coating his fingers and sliding the first one into Theo.

He was hot and perfect around Liam’s finger and he slid a second one in almost immediately when Theo was begging for moremoremore.

The third and fourth fingers he took a little more time with but Theo was impatient and desperate to get Liam inside him so it wasn’t as long as it probably should have been.

Thank god for supernatural healing.

The first thrust in was better than anything Liam can ever remember feeling. But even better than the feeling of being inside Theo? Seeing Theo under him. His back was arched, his face was scrunched up in bliss, and he was the most beautiful thing Liam had ever laid eyes on. And he really didn’t think that opinion would change any time soon.

“Liam if you don’t move I am never going to speak to you again,” Theo growled. He was trying to ride Liam but the position wasn’t exactly conducive to that.

They didn’t really speak again after that. Liam kissed Theo while he started up a slow, deep pace but eventually that picked up and they ended up panting and groaning into each other’s skin. Liam kept trying to mark Theo’s neck but each one disappeared while he was working on the next.

Theo was a writhing mess under Liam, all groaning and pleading and incoherent babbling.

Theo’s begging got a little more insistent after a while and Liam could tell he was close. So he set a brutal pace and started stroking Theo to push him over the edge faster.

“Come on baby, I wanna see,” Liam encouraged, panting beside Theo’s ear. “Are you gonna come for me, sweetheart?”

Theo whined, arching into Liam’s touch. “D-Daddy please,” Theo pleaded desperately.

Liam’s hips slammed into Theo a little harder at that. “Fuck!” He growled. “That’s right beautiful, come for daddy.”

And that was it, Theo was coming and screaming Liam’s name and it only took a few more thrusts before Liam was spilling into Theo, groaning into his neck.

When Liam finally came down from the high of his orgasm, he rolled onto his back beside Theo. They both lay there, silent apart from their heavy breathing.

“So,” Theo broke the silence a few minutes later. “That was… intense,” he said nervously.

“Intense is one word for it.”

“Do you have any others?” Theo asked, the nervousness ratcheting up immensely.

“Phenomenal? Mind-blowing? Fucking amazing?” Liam supplied, turning to grin at the man laying beside him.

“10/10?” Theo asked, rolling to smile back.

“Well, I’m sure if we practice we can improve a few things,” Liam smirked, rolling back over Theo to kiss him again.

“Well, we should practice then,” Theo agreed, predatory smile on his face.

“I love you, too, Theo,” Liam whispered. “If that wasn’t obvious.”

Theo’s smile grew and he wanted nothing more than to show Liam how grateful he was to have him in his life. So he rolled them over and did just that.

#thiam #liam dunbar #theo raeken #teen wolf #fanfic #writing #i made this

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geekeryandsentiment · 5 years ago

Note

I remember you telling us, you know quite a bit about all the kiddo’s rooms. Can you describe them for us? And why did Liz wanna rearrange her room? (as mentioned in the silent treatment) Also, You had mentioned chalkboard paint once, and I found that idea so cool😍

Hey there! You send this in about four years ago and I just didn’t have the time to answer when you sent it in and then idk, I just got lazy and let it sit in my inbox for a while...however, here’s your answer, sorry about that. This one is below the cut and I’m warning you it’s loooooong. Sorry lol, I got a lot carried away. I hope it was worth the wait lol. Sorry again.

Before I forget...Lizzie just wanted to rearrange things. Sometimes moving the direction the furniture is facing can help spice things up a bit. If i remember correctly she was 11/12ish during the silent treatment and around that age Arthur pulled out his old desk from storage and put it in her room, so possibly she thought of a better way to rearrange her furniture to put that desk in the place she wanted it?

Liam’s room is like his happy space. There is no theme or reason to anything. It’s all completely random. He’s still got posters and trinkets from his first year attending school and even before that. Alby’s art is plastered on his walls and he has old birthday cards and little notes that he and Alex used to pass back and forth in lessons tacked up on his walls as well. He has repainted it 4ish times since he was eleven and his parents repainted one of the other rooms (the one that would eventually become Alby’s room) and he decided it looked fun and wanted to try it. One time, when he was sixteen, he endured his room being pink for almost three months over the summer because Elizabeth dared him to do it when he was discussing possible color changes and he didn’t have anything else to do that next day (and has absolutely nothing against the color pink) so decided to take everything off his walls and paint them pink just to show her that he would. His room is currently green and the wall that had chalkboard paint on it is accented a darker brown (the green did NOT properly cover up the chalkboard with only two coats and he didn’t have any more green so he had to improvise). For several years he had a whole wall of chalkboard paint (the around his door) and he and Alex were entertained by that for many many hours in their preteen years. He is the only one of the kiddos to have a TV in his room. He didn’t get it until he was thirteen and he had to practically trade away his soul to convince Waverly to allow it, but he and Alex also had a lot of fun playing video games on that throughout the years. He has Theo’s old room, and Theo is very crafty with his hands. When he was younger he installed bookcases into the same wall his two windows are on, so William has bookcases surrounding his two windows that go from his ceiling to his floor. They are covered in books, some of which he will never read but owns anyway simply because he likes the cover and think they look cool. The other furniture in his room doesn’t match all all. Like at all. For the most part that is because he has broken a lot of the pieces that used to match and instead of doing what Waverly wanted to do and reordering the pieces or even picking something that matches the remaining stuff, Liam just picked out things he liked as replacements, even if they clashed with the other things in his room already.

Alex’s room is a bit more themed and put together, but it’s also always messy. It’s not dirty. It’s regularly cleaned and he makes his bed every morning (and if he dared leave food wrappers or any food in his room Waverly would have his head) but it’s cluttered most of the time. He doesn’t really mind if things are on the floor or if his desk is stacked three feet high with different files and textbooks and Lord knows what else. He knows where everything is. He manages to stay ahead with his schoolwork and keep everything straight, so Arthur and Waverly don’t hound him too often to make sure his room is as neat as they would like. His room is pretty typical. It’s painted a dark, navy blue and he has a whole lot of red (his curtains and bed sheets) and grey (his comforter and bean bag) accents. He does have a giant beanbag in the back corner behind his bed that Alby loves to fall asleep in sometimes, though. His bedroom used to belong to Beatrice when she lived in the palace when Arthur was younger, but her pink walls were painted over when he was about one years old and Arthur and Waverly decided to stick him in the room beside William’s. It’s nothing too fancy. William’s room is definitely far more interesting with the built in bookshelves (and wait until you hear about Lizzie’s room...🤭) but it’s his home. That’s his safe space. When he feels like the whole world is against him, the only place he wants to be besides maybe on his piano bench, is his own bedroom.

Elizabeth’s room has changed colors a few times throughout the years too, but it’s stayed purple, just different shades. Her room is across the hall from Liam and Alex’s and on the same side of the quarters as the sitting room, meaning her windows overlook the palace gardens. She has a large, three window set up with a small cushioned seating area that extends out from the wall a little bit. When she was younger she had a few cushions and a mattress pad there and her and Alex would have sleepovers in her room all the time. They would look up at the stars and she would try to point out constellations. Now, that mattress pad is used every once in a while for Alby if he wants to spend the night in her room, but more often it’s tucked away and she just uses the area to sit on her laptop or read. In the corner she has a large corner desk with a desktop computer with two monitors. She doesn’t have a TV, and she doesn’t really need one because she has a pretty sweet set up there. Her desk belonged to Arthur when he was younger (no, none of the children are in his old bedroom. Too many unhappy memories. That’s used as a guest bedroom now, and only if there are too many guest to fill up the other two rooms) and still has his initials carved into the corner from when he got bored and engraved them one day when he was about twelve with an old key he found. Her room is more themed than Liam’s, her furniture matches, even Arthur’s desk fits in really well with the other black pieces, but there isn’t really a color scheme or anything. Lizzie doesn’t really care about that. She just fills it with things she likes. Oh, she also has a blacklight in her room and an epic solar system hanging from her ceiling as well as markers that she can draw all over that massive window with. When she was home full time it used to be schedules and count downs until special dates and to do lists. Now it’s not quite as busy as it used to be and more often than not the windows can actually be seen out of because they aren’t covered in marker...but every once in a while she’ll feel a sudden urge to draw on them again and fill them with chemistry or math or biology...or even music.

Alby’s room is stand alone and surprisingly the farthest away from Arthur and Waverly’s because he was born last. He is on the same side of the hall as Lizzie, but he does not have the room connected to hers. He’s actually one more down. ((Oh, this is actually relevant so let me talk about it for a moment...The room that is connected to Lizzie’s is currently used as a lab or sorts for her. She has all kinds of old technology in it that she tinkers with a lot, it’s pretty empty and none of the others are jealous that she has the extra room or anything. They do call it Lizzie’s “lab” though sometimes, and there is a proper key to it that she has and she regularly locks it when she doesn’t want Alby to go in and touch anything she’s working on.)) His room is still really kid-ish. He has toys and a little chair that hangs from his ceiling that he can sit in when he reads. His room doesn’t have the same bay window that Lizzie’s does. He doesn’t spend a lot of time in his room. He’s almost always in one of his siblings’ rooms or he’s lugged a handful of toys down to the sitting room/Arthur’s study/wherever someone else is to sit and quietly play near them. He doesn’t really like to be alone, and his room reflects that. There isn’t a lot of personalized things in his room, instead he likes to leave an impression on the other rooms of the house (leaving drawings on the walls in Liam’s room, pictures on Lizzie’s windows when she lets him use her markers, and leaving stuffed animals and small toys on the shelf where Alex’s stuffed crocodile spends his lonely days now that he’s a teenager and he doesn’t play with him anymore). No one seems to mind, in fact, William regularly tells him when he’s away at school that he wants a whole new set of pictures hanging in his room for him when he gets home to help keep the baby busy. Alby has his own shelf full of books that has slowly started to overflow as his siblings slowly hand the boy more and more books to read. His favorite toy when he was younger, and to this day, is trains. He looooooves trains. So if his room has any theme in the chaos it’s definitely trains. He has those stickers on his walls of little cartoon trains and he almost always has some giant town built with the little wooden train sets across the back half of his room on the floor. His parents gave up trying to make him clean those up every night a long time ago. Some battles just aren’t worth fighting, especially when one little town of his creation could keep him occupied for days.

I don’t know if you meant Elaina too but you’re going to get her because I’m on a roll at this point, lol. Elaina’s room is...well kind of boring. And she hasn’t had too much freedom to change anything either which kind of stinks. She has Brielle’s old room and it is exactly how you would expect a princess’s room to look. Light baby pink walls. Her furniture is white. It’s adorable. She HATES it. I mean, I shouldn’t say it like that, it’s her room and she likes it because it’s her space. But she doesn’t like how it looks. She doesn’t really like how it looks like a nursery (because it kind of does) but her parents aren’t really feeling the whole re-painting thing and her furniture belonged to her grandmother and so it’s staying in the family and she can’t get rid of that either. She really loves all three of the English kids’ rooms. They all are a little darker and the paint and the colors are cooler and not as bright and blinding as her pink and white. She is just a touch jealous that despite Arthur and Waverly’s dictaror-ish tendencies, they let their kids decorate their rooms how they want. She’s an artist, as you all know and she loves to sketch and paint and draw. At one point when she was about 11 or 12, I forget exactly but it’s written so perhaps I could share it one day, she used a sketching pencil to draw this really pretty floral design down the side of her nightstand and her parents saw it and lost their shit (old family antiques are not for drawing on, Elaina. You know better!). She hasn’t dared try to do that again, but she’s also always wanted to get all new white furniture and paint over it and cover it in her own drawings. One day she promises herself that she will. In the meantime, she has one single poorly shaded drawing on her nightstand that she managed to convince her parents to let her keep and not erase.

That was a LOT. However...sprinkled in there is a few really relevant pieces of information. The story arch I am currently working on directly involves some of this information and you know how my brain is...I can’t think of anything without figuring it out for everyone...so you’ll see some of this brought up in the actual story again too, eventually.

#my writing #alex #Liam #alby #lizzie #elaina #aaaaaand now I'm going to bed #Feel free to send in more questions any time #I apologize if it takes me literal weeks to get to it #bedrooms

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formerprincess · 6 years ago

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A tale written with fangs and claws || Chapter 55

Chapters: 55/? Fandom: Teen Wolf (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken, Corey Bryant/Mason Hewitt Characters: Liam Dunbar, Theo Raeken, Mason Hewitt, Corey Bryant, Nolan (Teen Wolf) Additional Tags: Alpha Liam Dunbar, Slow Build, Friends to Lovers, Dunbar Pack, Bisexual Liam Dunbar, Werewolf Theo Raeken, Alpha Theo Raeken, Canon-Typical Violence, Smut, Mates, Liam and Theo are mates, Top Theo Raeken, Bottom Theo Raeken, Top Liam, Bottom Liam Dunbar Series: Part 1 of Morning Dew Pack

Now that Theo knows about the house he and Liam can mend their relationship. Happy times ensue.

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“Tell me again how you got the house.” Theo pressed a kiss on top of Liam’s hair and then leaned his forehead against his boyfriend’s temple. He had his arm wrapped around Liam’s shoulders while the couple cuddled in the backseat of the truck after their passionate encounter. Only dressed in boxers this was quite cozy, Liam had to admit. He chuckled. “Didn’t I tell you before?” “I was distracted by this awesome house. Don’t blame me for that. Next time you jump something like that on me, maybe plan this beforehand.” “I doubt there will ever be something as big as this.” “You could bring a kid in the relationship.” Theo shrugged. Liam was stunned. “I thought you didn’t want kids or were not sure about wanting at least.” Theo shrugged again and looked over to the house. “I’m still not sure but we have to fill all those rooms when everybody moves into their own places.” “But we don’t have to fill it with kids.” Liam shook his head and cuddled closer to Theo. “We have all the time in the world for that. For now, let us just enjoy the thought of moving into our new home soon.” Theo smiled softly. “It’s kinda funny. You know how everybody has this image about their future, how they want it to look, no matter how distorted that image might be. If I had to choose a house for my future, I would have picked a house like that, surrounded by nature and so very beautiful.” “You’re turning into a softy,” Liam mocked Theo but he meant it with all the love and respect in the world. Theo knew that and he just teasingly poked Liam into the ribs as retaliation. The Alpha yelped and slapped his mate’s hand away. “Also, I already brought a kid in this relationship. His name is Landon.” “Ah yes, the mini-version of you.” “He is not a mini-version of me.” “Oh, he is. You two are so much alike, it’s heartwarming to see.” “I just want the best for him and his future. If the works here are done, I want him to pick all the furniture he wants for his new room. He may live with Byron and Lana but he should know he also has a home here. And it will be a room suited for a child.” “A good plan,” Theo nodded and stroked over Liam’s arm. “Back to my original request, tell me the story, in full detail now. Don’t be shy.” “I searched online for all kind of realty and came across this agency. They are specialized in finishing houses the way the buyer wants and I liked their past projects so I contacted them. After a phone call and a visit to their office, they accepted me as their client and searched for houses with my preferences. Big gardens, enough rooms, not too luxurious. I didn’t want a mansion.” “Maybe I’d have wanted a mansion with a big pool,” Theo joked. “The house has a pool,” Liam dryly remarked and started to laugh when Theo looked absolutely flabbergasted. “I’m not kidding, there’s a pool in the garden. I have no idea how the original builders planned on doing the thing, seems they started with the fun things first.” He shrugged. “You mean to tell me, our new house has its own pool?” “And a whirlpool.” “And a what??” “Halfway done but it’s there and we decided not to waste the outlets.”

Theo narrowed his eyes at Liam. “How much did you play for this house?” “Let’s say it that way, the amount would have normally made me dizzy but it was not nearly as much as I feared it would be. I even could add some more money to the future fund and the everyday fund. Like I said, if the house would have been finished, it would have been expensive. But with so much work left to do, it was cheap. Cheap for everything you get, I mean.” “Anyway, you hired the agency to look for the perfect house - they did a remarkable job there - and they found you this? Then what?” “I got some information on the house and then I drove here to visit it with the agency lady. Told you about the feeling I had when I saw it. The more she showed me, the more I needed to buy this house. We made a project contract. I paid half of the price in advance, the other half will get payed after everything is done. Which reminds me: I bought this house for us. I want you to own it as much as I do. Wasn’t kidding when I said it’s our money.” “Yeah, I know.” Theo turned his head and kissed Liam’s temple. Liam let himself enjoy the caress for a while, then his stomach grumbled. “Have not eaten much in the morning and I’m starving. Aren’t you hungry?” “I am,” Theo confessed. “Something to eat sounds fine.”

****** They had decided on fries and now sat on the tailgate of the truck in the parking lot of the nearest fast food place a big serving of fries between them. “When Sadie complained about you being picky, you already had this house, right?” Theo questioned and loaded a few fries with ketchup before guiding them to his mouth. Liam would forever question how his boyfriend managed that without dripping ketchup on his shirt. Even physics loved Theo, it was unbelievable. “I am committed to surprises, what can I say?” Liam shrugged. “She later apologized for being overbearing. Mike seemingly told her in not so kind words how pretentious it was for assuming I am going to pay for everything. She didn’t mean to come off as leech but I said I’d pay for a new house. It was a part misunderstanding, part annoyance with the current situation. I was just glad to clear the air with her and Mike as well.” “You did pay for a new house, she just doesn’t know it yet.” He sighed. “I know, T.” Stuffing a few fries in his mouth, Liam chewed and considered what was still going to happen to the house. Still so much to do. “I just hope the workers finish fastly and we can move in as soon as possible,” he finally said after he swallowed. “Liam, you did everything you could. Now we just have to wait as long as it takes. Compared to the thought of forever living on Isaac's couch, this is a piece of cake.”

Theo used a napkin to wipe his greasy fingers and looked around. “Such a pretty car,” he suddenly exclaimed and Liam curiously leaned forward to see what car his mate had spotted. A beautiful black antique car, convertible hood pulled back because of the warm weather, stood at the stoplight and waited for the green light. It was brightly polished and Liam had no idea about cars but it looked in good condition. He glanced at Theo. “I wasn’t aware you’re into cars.” “I’m not.” The twenty-two-year-old shook his head. “But those cars are beauties and very impressive. I’d love to drive one of those.” “Well, why don’t you?” The looked Theo gave him bordered on scandalized. “Do you have any idea how expensive those cars are? Not so much the cars itself but all the parts. If you have such a car you either take extremely good care of it or you don’t care about it at all and that would be a total waste of money. But most parts are not even available commercially and you need a special merchant for it. Keep in mind those cars are not made for today’s time.” Okay, Liam had not known that. He hesitated. “I didn’t know that, no.” “Always happy to educate you.” Theo reached out, just to be an ass, and petted Liam’s hair. The smirk on his face quickly turned into a frown when Liam pushed him off the tailgate. He sat on the ground and glared at the young Alpha who just smirked himself and slipped off the tailgate. “I’m going to get a milkshake, want something too, honey?” “Don’t call me honey, I hate that nickname. It’s okay when your mother says it but I don’t need it from my partner. Strawberry.” “You want your new nickname to be strawberry?” Liam teased and giggled when Theo threw a napkin at him. The older had gotten to his feet again and was gathering the garbage from the tailgate. He threw it away while Liam went into the restaurant to order their shakes.

He just had accepted the little cardboard tray with their order when his phone rang and Liam fumbled to open the door, not drop the tray, and pull his phone out of his pocket. “Hello?” “Hello Mr. Dunbar, this is Peyton Russo.” She was the interior manager responsible for the new house. “Oh, hey, Mrs. Russo, what’s up?” “I’m just calling to inform you the white low couch you picked out is out of stock.” “That’s unfortunate.” Liam had picked the couch for the gallery and it had already been his second choice. He originally went for a dark blue one, exactly the shade of color Theo favorited, but it had been out of stock as well. Theo curiously tilted his head when Liam now made his way over and Liam drew a tiny house in the air to make him realize what the call was about. Theo raised both eyebrows in acknowledgment and accepted the tray from him. “But, here are the good news, I found another company who has almost the same couch and it is in the shade you wanted from the beginning. I sent you the pictures to your email, just give me a quick okay and I can pursue it.” “That is cool, thank you so much. I will check it out as soon as I can. Thank you, Mrs. Russo.” “It is my pleasure. I’ll keep you updated on the progress.” Liam hummed and she ended the call. When he pocketed his phone, he smiled at Theo and Theo laughed. “You’re happy!” “Hm, how could I not? Everything turns out exactly how I wanted it to be.” “That sounds perfect.” Theo handed Liam his banana shake and took a sip of his own. Liam watched him but made no move to drink himself. Theo frowned. He didn’t need to voice his question, the young Alpha already knew. “The most perfect thing is I have you by my side. Roughly a year ago Maya asked if I was okay with her setting up a date for you and I told her we would never be more than friends. I was never happier about being wrong,” he explained. Theo took his sweet time swallowing his sip. “Instead of going on that date, I should have grabbed you and kiss you but I was scared. I was just as wrong as you.” Liam wrapped one arm around Theo and nuzzled his neck. “Glad we could turn it around,” he muttered against the skin and pressed his lips down. Theo sighed happily and his hand slipped in the back pocket of Liam’s jeans to squeeze his ass.

****** Liam hummed to himself when he cut cucumber and stole some sliced to pluck into his mouth. After their visit to the fast-food place, Theo and he had taken a trip to the grocery store to buy food and now they were in Isaac’s kitchen and prepared dinner together. It was a rare occasion for the two of them to cook together but it was nice nonetheless.

Theo stepped behind him and wrapped both arms around Liam. “Aren’t you supposed to cut tomatoes?” The young Alpha questioned teasingly but Theo just tightened his hold. “That can wait. This is more important.” He nuzzled Liam’s neck and kissed his shoulder. “I love you so much.” The pack wasn’t at home anyway so yes, food could wait. Liam wiped his hands off and leaned against Theo. “I love you too. This day, just us, was needed.” “You can say that. I hated this void between us. It was killing me.” He loosened his grip and Liam could turn around in the embrace to wrap both arms around his mate’s neck. “Me too. But we made up and it’s all good now. Soon we can move into our new house, with our own room again. I am excited about that one.”

He kissed Theo, fingers momentarily tightened in his boyfriend’s hair, and Theo pressed closer to him. His lips parted when Theo nibbled on it and he used his hold in Theo’s hair to pull him even closer. His eyes had closed the moment their lips touched first but this was all instinct by now. Liam knew what he liked and what drove Theo wild, which spots o pay close attention to, where to grab or bite. And he trusted Theo so closing his eyes was never a problem, had not been a problem for years. The ex-chimera truly earned Liam’s trust and had never disappointed since he got it.

Strong hands grabbed him by the thighs and lifted him up to sit him on the counter. Liam immediately wrapped his legs around Theo so his mate didn’t get the crazy idea of pulling away from him. With how easy it was, Theo followed willingly and leaned into the Alpha. His hands dipped under Liam’s shirt and ran over his spine, goosebumps followed in their wake. Liam’s hands stroked from Theo’s hair to his neck, the other grasped at his shoulder and lower to grab Theo’s arm and pull it up so Theo’s hand rested on the inside of his thigh. His mate gave his leg a soft squeeze while his hand on Liam’s back dipped lower and his fingers played with the seam of Liam’s boxershorts peaking out from his jeans. He pulled from the kiss to give them both time to breathe but then pressed open-mouthed kisses over Liam’s neck. Liam tilted his head to the other side to give Theo more room to explore.

“Hrm, hrm.” The Alpha Couple stilled. Oh, come on! “You are fucking cockblocks,” Theo complained when he slumped against Liam and hid his face against Liam’s shoulder. The young Alpha didn’t want to open his eyes but he knew he had to sooner or later and opened them. All his Betas stood in the kitchen and gave them amused looks. “Nice to see you decided to make up and not kill each other,” Mason praised and shot his best friend a toothy grin. Liam narrowed his eyes. “I agree with Theo, you are cockblocks. We didn’t think you would be home that early.” “Rather you forgot the time with your past time activities.” Maya chortled. “Just to be warned beforehand, did you fuck on the couch?” “We didn’t have sex in this apartment. We actually have regards to how close we all live together, you little shit.” Theo turned around and glared at her with not half the heat his words seemed to hold. She just gave him a thumbs up. Liam chuckled and loosely wrapped both arms around Theo’s shoulders. The way his boyfriend leaned against the counter and therefore against Liam put him in the perfect position to do so. Nolan watched them and snorted. “Somebody ever told the two of you how picture-perfect you two look together? Theo looks on fleek most of the time anyway and you two together are just one of those perfect aesthetical couples.” Sadie nodded. “Nolan’s right, you two even have the same color concept. And the worst part is, you don’t even realize it which makes it all even more perfect.” “We have a what now?” Liam never heard of this before. Mason had listened to Nolan and Sadie and now crossed his arms before he raised one hand and tipped against his chin with his index finger. “Yeah, I can see that. Theo’s favorite color is blue and the darker shades of blue on top of that. Liam likes muted colors more. He has bright colored clothes but I personally know he prefers dark red or blue, green. Theo is more daring in colors but he favorites the muted ones as well.” “And since becoming a couple they never wore things which clashed in color,” Sadie added. “Also, their hair colors fit the aesthetic as well. Not too dark but also not too bright. Like Nols said, perfect aesthetical.” The couple stayed silent and let that sink in. Then Theo scoffed. “You three have lost your mind. How do you have time to think about that? You need a hobby!” “Don’t give them ideas, Dore. Although I agree, you three are nuts. We don’t have a color concept as a couple.” Liam shook his head.

****** “I see your Full House, Mickey, and raise you to my Straight Flush which means I win! Pay up!” Theo threw his cards on the table and raised both hands in victory while he leaned back in his chair. Mike stared at the cards then he groaned. “You can’t be serious! Is there any game you’re not good at?” Theo laughed. “Told you I’m good at Poker. Shouldn't have put it to the test.” He reached out and gathered the candy on the table. The pack sat together and took turns in playing Poker. Since nobody wanted to play for real money, Tim had suggested candy as stake. They all participated in playing but it was crystal clear Theo was the best of them all. Probably because he had the best poker face of the group. He even cracked Mike, Maya, and Isaac. “I’d like to believe you’re cheating but then again, I’m not good at Poker so you probably won fair and square.” Lori had tried her luck and failed miserably in the first round, therefore, decided to be a spectator rather than a player. “T doesn’t cheat, he is naturally good at those games.” Liam eyed the amount of candy on the table and made a lazy attempt to grab one. Theo gave him a questioning look. “Which one?” “Taffee, please,” Liam ordered and his boyfriend handed him one of the desired candies over. “If you want a rematch, I’m game,” Theo then offered Mike who grumbled. “How with Liam eating the pool?” “I just asked for one taffy,” Liam mumbled because his mouth was occupied by the delicious candy. “What about the licorice?” “Handed it over to Ever and Lori.” Ever raised one piece of licorice to confirm Liam’s statement and then took a bite from it.

"We should have played Strip Poker, that would have been more interesting,” Mike mumbled quietly. Brett hooted. “That would have been awesome, yeah.” “The night’s still young.” Cade shrugged. “If you’re so wild on showing off your bodies, why don’t you guys make a sexy calendar for the pack?” Sadie suggested immediately. “Forget sexy firemen, we have our sexy pack mates.” Mason made a gurgling sound when he sipped his lemonade at the moment of Sadie’s offer and had to slap his hand in front of his mouth to avoid spluttering his drink over the table. “Mason, you’re okay?” Nolan asked alarmed. The emissary just coughed and wagged his hands around while he nodded. “He would totally put this calendar on his wall,” Corey translated dryly, “I would too. “Seriously? I would get nightmares,” Maya mocked the male members of the core pack and got very indignantly replies yelled in her face. She laughed. “I mean, I didn’t see all of you without shirts on, the only ones I have seen are Theo and Liam, both even completely naked, but I’d say you others are not really cut out for Mr. September.” “First of all, I may not be a total beefcake but I’m in shape, okay? I would be good as Mr. September,” Cade declared, “Then, when have you seen Theo and Liam totally naked?” He sounded slightly disturbed and not sure if he really wanted to know the answer. Sadie took it upon herself to answer. “Theo when he shifted in the campus parking lot and Liam after he showed us he too could shift into a real wolf.” “Please, explain further I shifted in the parking lot because we were tracking a wendigo! I do not shift randomly to parade around naked!” Theo cried out and they all laughed. “Liam I also saw naked, Theo happened before I became part of the pack, right?” Ever realized. Upon Caden’s funny look she grinned and put a hand on his leg. “Both could not compare to you. Because, Maya, I have to agree with him, my boyfriend looks amazing.” She kissed him under the wolf whistles of the pack.

Liam sat in his chair and observed his pack. Since he had announced his new fortune, the mood had been better. Yes, they all wanted a new home, but the spirit was higher. It had been the good news they all needed and now they were able to goof around, talk about sexy calendars and stuff. He still hoped the house would be finished soon and he could announce moving day, but for now, this was as good as it could get. Theo leaned closer to him and kissed his jaw. “In thoughts, baby?” “Just thinking about how happy we are at the moment and how it’s only getting better,” he whispered back and leaned further into his boyfriend. It was natural to search Theo out since they had been at the house together, he didn’t want any separation between them again. “Hm, can’t wait.” Theo suckled in Liam’s earlobe and tugged on it with his teeth. A shiver ran down Liam’s spine and then a second one when he heard his mate’s low chuckle because of that. “What do you say about paying a visit to the truck before sleeping?” Theo asked quietly and Liam bit his lower lip. That was soo tempting...

“Liam, Theo, stop whispering cute things into each other’s ears and pay attention to us. We want to play another round!” Ever called. Theo sighed but then straightened his back. “Bold of you to assume those were cute things.” He smirked. Liam laughed. “You walked into that one, Hecate.” She rolled her eyes but smiled in the end. “You really want to play again? We all know I’m going to win anyway but okay, your choice!” Theo shrugged. Liam smiled and put one arm on the backrest of Theo’s chair. When offered cards, he raised his hand and shook it. “I’m fine with watching and being your biggest fan.” “Okay.” Theo smiled at him. “Let’s start playing, I want some more candy.”

****** The days were just passing by without anything important happening. No hyenas back in town or other supernatural baddies lurking around. They all could focus on college and still finding a new place to live. To keep the surprise, Liam didn’t keep his Betas from finding new places and looking into realty but he proceeded to turn everything down.

And then one day he got the call he had been waiting for. It was a short call but enough to put the biggest smile on Liam’s face. It had happened on his way home and he had taken a detour to gather the sale contract (thank god he had been alone or the surprise would have been ruined). When he finally made it into Isaac’s apartment, he found Theo alone at the living room table and marched over. “You are in a fantastic mood,” Theo realized and pushed his chair away from the table so Liam could sit on his lap. “Hm.” Liam wrapped one arm around Theo’s shoulder. “Got a call from the agency, the workers are done,” he whispered into his mate’s ear. A few seconds passed, then Theo beamed at him. “Really? Already? That is awesome!” “Oh yeah, sooner than expected but this is more than just amazing. I cannot stop smiling.” He pecked Theo’s lips. “We have a new home.” “We do.” Theo smiled and leaned his forehead against Liam’s. “I can understand why this makes you so happy. When will you tell the Betas?” “I thought we’ll wait for this Friday. That way we have the whole weekend to settle in the house and buy all the stuff for the bedrooms.” “Yeah, yeah, good idea.” Theo tightened his hold on Liam’s and kissed him. “Fuck, this is the best news!”

“You two lovebirds are always whispering recently. What’s up with that?” Brett had wandered into the kitchen and looked over to them. “We just decided on a date night tomorrow,” Liam said, “The last one had been way too long ago.” “Ah, well, in that case, continue with your pink lovely world.” Brett grinned and disappeared into the guest room again. Theo chuckled. “We have a date night tomorrow?” Liam grinned. “Now we have one.”

****** Next day found Liam dressed in dark blue jeans and a white t-shirt under a black leather jacket leaned against the wall outside of the bathroom. “Theo, seriously, hurry! I’m getting impatient!” He called out for his mate. The older took his time tonight and it made Liam’s skin crawl. He had plans tonight and while they didn’t have to be somewhere at a special time, he still wanted to go. Mason leaned on the opposite wall and grinned at his best friend. “Your man is a tiny bit vain, isn’t he?” “You take just as long to get ready, Mase!” “I do not. I just get distracted easily.” “Sure.” Liam shook his head and laughed.

And then the bathroom door opened and Theo finally stepped out of the bathroom. "I am not vain, I just have to keep up with Liam!” The Alpha felt his cheeks burning from the compliment and he just made some uncertain sounds. His boyfriend wore black jeans and a grey shirt underneath a dark blue cardigan and wow, he looked fantastic. Mason shook his head when he saw Liam’s blush. “One would think after living together for years and being mated for over half a year, you have gotten used to this. Now go off and have fun, don’t forget protection, my young ducklings.” “I hate you,” Liam mumbled when his cheeks burned even brighter. Theo just had looked at him and smiled the private smile only reserved for Liam. It made his heart rate accelerate more than naked Theo could do. “Y...Yeah, let’s go. Bye, Mason.” Liam took Theo’s hand and pulled him out of the apartment.

“I have a surprise waiting for you outside,” he told Theo in the elevator. Theo looked curious but when he stepped outside and saw the highly polished oldtimer convertible parked in front of the house, he drew in a sharp breath. “Liam!” “It’s rented.” Liam knew where Theo’s mind had gone. “There is a company where you can rent oldtimers for 24 hours and it’s not that expensive. I thought it would be nice for you to drive around during our date. Even though the other car we saw was black and this one is midnight blue as I was told, I hope you don’t mind.” “I don’t mind, I don’t mind? This car is as beautiful as the other one and I get to drive it! I would drive this car if it was pink! Give me the keys.” Theo had switched into an excited young man and when Liam threw him the keys he all but ran to get into the driver’s seat. That alone was enough for Liam to consider this date one of the best they ever had and it had only just begun. He followed his partner into the car. The fawn leather seats were comfy and he leaned back with a sigh. Theo ran his hand over the steering wheel in wonder and then looked at Liam. “Where to? You said you had plans, right?” “How about a private house tour?” Liam suggested with a soft smile. It only intensified when Theo beamed at him, leaned over the console to kiss Liam, and started the car. “Wow, do you hear that Liam? The engine sounds so smooth!”

Theo continued to praise the car for the whole drive and Liam just leaned back and enjoyed his boyfriend so happy and excited. Theo’s green eyes sparkled and he rarely talked that much about something in one go. He could have spent hours listening to Theo talk. His mom had once said she was falling more and move in love with her husband every day and now Liam discovered the same with his mate.

He was also curious about what Theo would say to the now finished house. It looked different, Liam knew that, and he really hoped his pack would appreciate the choices he made. When they parked in front of the house, Liam vibrated out of his skin with excitement once again. He unlocked the door and let Theo step in first. “Oh my god, Liam.” The wall on the right and leading up the stairs had been decorated with pictures from the pack. Vegas was there, the lake, Christmas, New York, a few from them just hanging out. They were either framed with silver or blue frames yet the wall was still relatively empty. “Those are just some I had on my phone. We can put the pictures you guys have there as well, it’s just a start.” Theo stepped closer to two pictures. “Is that...?” “Our graduation,” Liam finished the sentence. It had Mason, Corey, Nolan, Theo, and Liam all in their red robes and smiling brightly in the camera in the first picture, in the second picture they all held out their diplomas and made silly faces. Theo chuckled. “Memories,” he muttered.

He then continued walking around and stopped at the reading corner on the left. The shelves were now fully stocked with books, there was a comfy looking wing chair in the corner and next to it a tall lamp. Somewhat further into the middle of the niche, the dark blue low couch Liam had decided on had found its place. Enough place for several people to read and relax.

The kitchen had not changed that much but Liam knew the closed shelves were stocked with food, cutlery, and dishes, enough for the whole pack. The windows were freshly cleaned as well and let in the evening light perfectly.

And then Theo saw the room which had been completely empty when he been to the house for the first time, the living room. Paint buckets and ladders had made room for two big couches, one facing the flatscreen above the fireplace directly, the other facing the window front. A smaller couch and several ottomans were places around the room to give enough seats for everyone. Next to the fireplace stood a chess table. The furniture was kept in a very light grey tone, almost white, and had dark blue pillows as an accent. The couch table in the middle was black and a soft blue carpet beneath the couches and the table completed the picture. Theo gaped at the room. "I picked out the colors and the grey spoke to me, I don’t really know why. It is soft but not cold, you know? Guess that’s why. And the black table was a recommendation from Mrs. Russo. It was great working with her and see my fantasies come to life,” Liam babbled and stopped when he saw Theo looking at him. “You’re looking at me the same way you looked at me at the zoo when I talked about Mykonos.” “Because I am just as impressed as I was back then. You’re good at this whole interior design stuff, you realized that?” Liam blushed again. “I had help.” Theo shook his head. “Don’t be so humble and take the compliment.” He cupped Liam’s face. “You’re definitively in charge of the interior for our coffee shop.” And he kissed Liam to stop further discussions. Liam pulled him closer and returned the kiss softly. In his head, he was dancing happily that Theo liked what he picked out.

“Want to go upstairs and see the gallery?” He asked when they stopped kissing. Theo licked his lips and shook his head. “I want to see the pool.” He let go off Liam and opened the door to step outside. The garden was not finished and probably would not be in the nearest future but Liam considered that a pack project. The only things completely finished were the patio they currently stood on, the pool area, and the whirlpool.

The patio had beautiful wooden flooring and a big seating area on one side, with a white fireplace right in the middle to huddle around and sit there, even during the winter, and a barbecue. The couches were white with brownish-red wood. On the other side of the patio was a round metallic table and chairs for having breakfast in the summer or playing board games. Liam was sure his friends would find a good use for the table. Five steps led from the patio to the rectangle-shaped pool, currently covered so the water didn’t get dirty. The pool area was also had wooden flooring but it was slightly brighter than the patio itself. Liam had decided on it because it was advertised as warm wood when the sun shined on it and perfect for pools. The only thing not covered with wood was the whirlpool area. Large quarry tiles led from the pool to the right down a few more steps and there was the pool, outside covered with grey stones. A stone wall had been built around half of the pool to shield it from the house and give the people in the pool some more privacy. Liam saw the way Theo’s eyes darkened mischievously. It was clear they would use the pool for good at least once. “Want to take a dip?” He inquired and Theo laughed. “I am tempted but not tonight. I mean, it is there, we don’t want to waste it.” “No, we don’t want that.” The couple smirked at each other and Liam winked at his mate.

He took Theo’s hand in his and they left the pool behind them while they wandered into the house and upstairs. The gallery area was kept in the same colors as the living room. Like Liam had said on their first trip here, the shelves were placed along the wall, comfy seats and overstuffed benches were placed in the middle of the gallery, a large desk stood right against the banister to get all the light from the big windows. Modern stereo equipment had been installed between two shelves. Enough to either sit and read comfortably or get some work done or listen to some music. Sleek floor lamps made sure you got enough light even when the sun had disappeared.

“That’s all furnished right now. The bedrooms are empty and so is the gym, I wanted to decide with all of you what to get. There are other rooms down in the basement currently empty, we have to decide what to do with them. Mrs. Russo suggested a playroom? With a pool table, maybe a little bar, a poker table. But I wasn’t sure and didn’t think it was important right now.” “We have all the time in the world to figure that out, you said it yourself. You managed to create a home where we all can live and have everything we need to live a happy life. And you wonderfully implemented the more luxurious aspects like the pools into this home. Do we need a whirlpool? No. Will we have sex in this pool? Bet on it. Is this the greatest thing ever? It sure is.” He had to laugh at Theo’s excitement. “The pool really settles it for you, huh?” “I like the pool. Especially for us wolves, it is nice to have quick cool down on a hot day and the core pack is quite large, we don’t have to worry about disturbing anybody now. And the whirlpool, well, it gives me ideas.” “I bet I know your ideas.” Liam snickered. He knew Theo after all. “Is sex in a whirlpool on your bucket list or something?” Theo’s smile turned a bit more lewdly. “Since we got together my bucket list grew. There are things I’m planning on doing with you, sweetheart,” he declared huskily and it went straight to Liam’s core. Hot lust mixed with incredible fondness and love for the older man stirred up inside him and his eyes flashed. Theo’s eyes flashed in return and he smirked, exposed the hint of sharp teeth.

The mated couple stared at each other for a while until Liam cleared his throat. If they kept this up they would land in the pool or against a flat surface sooner than later and he had other plans for now. “I, uhm, I brought some picnic. Just some snacks.” He pointed at the picnic basket he had placed on the table earlier when he went to fetch the oldtimer.

“Well, in that case, let’s sit and eat, shall we?” Theo smiled at him, grabbed the basket, and settled on one of the couches with Liam. It was not much Liam had packed, just some cucumber slices, tomatoes, little meatballs. And: “I thought we should toast to our new home but didn’t think we would like wine so I brought beer.” He pulled the two bottles out. “Want some music?” He stood up and walked to the stereo to turn it on a random channel. Soft instrumental music started to play and for background noise, this was good enough.

When he walked back to Theo, his boyfriend had taken the black document folder out of the basket and turned it in his hands. “Liam, what is this?” “It’s the sales contract for the house. I bought this house but I said it when I talked about the money being ours. I bought it with our money so I want your signature on the contract as well. I want the house to belong to both of us.” Theo stared at him thunderstruck. “Liam, I can’t do that.” He grimaced. “Why not?” Liam asked softly. “You agreed when I said the money is our money. We are mates, the house should belong to us both. The Alpha Couple giving their Betas a new home. I don’t see any reason why you can’t sign the contract.” Theo worried his lip with his teeth and flicked the folder open. Liam reached into the basket and pulled out the elegant ballpen he had borrowed from Isaac. He held it out for Theo but said nothing to not pressure his partner. If Theo really declined, he would accept it, no matter how differently he thought about it.

Theo stared at the contract Then he took the pen in his hand. “You are too good for this world but I am too selfish to say no,” he declared and put his name next to Liam’s on the small line. Liam smiled warmly. “You are not selfish, it is okay to want this. I offered it to you, you didn’t force me.” He kissed Theo’s cheek and then stored the contract back in the basket. When he turned his attention back to Theo, his boyfriend had a weak smile on his face. “Hey, you okay?” Liam put his arm around Theo’s waist. Theo huffed out a soft laugh. “I went from being homeless to a house owner. It’s a big step and a lot to wrap my head around.” He turned his head and looked at Liam. “But I am really, really happy.” He kissed Liam softly. Both men closed their eyes and enjoyed the soft display of love and affection. This was really one of the best, they both knew this. Tonight life was pretty much perfect and they were in their own romantic little bubble. After all those weeks, the pain and the fear, the reality of being homeless, they finally had a new place to live and start a new chapter in their lives.

Liam gasped in surprise when Theo suddenly took his hands and pulled him to his feet. He opened his eyes. “What are we doing?” “It’s a special occasion and we should do something we never did before. I can’t remember that we have ever slow-danced,” Theo explained his actions while he led Liam in front of the stereo. Liam laughed. “Oh my god, Theo.” “No complaints, puppy.” Theo pulled him closer and who was Liam kidding? Of course, wrapped his arms around Theo’s neck and pressed close to Theo. They began swaying and he leaned his head against his mate's shoulder. “I love you so much,” Theo mumbled. “Thank you.”

****** Liam woke up and heard his cellphone ringing. He groaned and rubbed his eyes while he located his jacket on the floor and reached for it. Mason’s caller id flashed on the screen when he finally fumbled the phone out of his pocket and Theo behind him groaned. “Hello?” “Thank god, we thought you were kidnapped or something, Is Theo okay?” Mason didn’t even bother with a greeting. “Yeah, he is.” Liam sat up and looked around. Theo had spooned him from behind, one arm over Liam’s hips after they had fallen asleep on the couch at on the gallery. The music was still playing in the background or had played before but Theo had now gotten up and turned it off. “We fell asleep.” “Did you sleep in the car? We were worried cause you didn’t come home after your date and we all agreed you would not take a hotel for the night.” “No, no hotel.” Liam yawned. “We will be home in a bit. Bye.” He hung up and ran a hand through his short hair. Theo stretched. “Guess our pack missed us. Good to know we can’t stay away for one night. A nice feeling to know people notice your absence." “Yeah.” Liam yawned again. “I need coffee.” His shirt was rumpled from sleeping in it and Theo didn’t look much better. Well, as bad as Theo could look. Even in rumpled clothes, he looked like a supermodel. "I didn’t expect our first night at the new house to take place on a couch yet again but okay.” Liam shrugged and Theo laughed. “It’s a different couch than Isaac's and I slept well. That’s the important part, right?” “Right.” He checked his watch. “Fuck, we have to go and get change before classes start!”

****** Friday finally came and their classes dragged on and on. Liam waited eagerly for the college day to finally end so he could meet with his pack in the parking lot and then finally show them the house. When it was finally time, he bounced on his feet and could not stand still while he waited. Brett who had been ordered to also meet them after his shift grinned. And he had brought Isaac with him who Liam also had kindly invited to tag along. “An excited Alpha puppy, would you look at that.” “I’m just in a good mood.” “You are in a good mood for several days now. Share your secret.” “Well, for once, a large part....” Liam gestured to Theo who leaned against his truck. “I have that one as my mate.” Theo smirked but any further praise of him was cut off by the rest of the pack arriving.

“Okay, Lee, we are all here and you made it clear we should not have any other plans this weekend. What’s this about? We are too curious, we need to know,” Corey said. Liam grinned. “Just get into the cars and follow Theo’s truck. You will see soon enough.” “We’re going on a trip? But we didn’t pack,” Sadie mused. “Relax, Sadie, you won’t need fresh clothes for that one,” Theo promised. He tossed Liam the keys. “Here, do the honors. Drive.” “Oh, oh, it’s special when Theo lets Liam drive his baby,” Lori was stunned. But then she quickly climbed into the truck, just like everybody else. They all wanted to know what the big surprise was.

On their way, they all tried to guess what it could be but funny enough none of them guessed the right thing. Either his pack didn’t even try to hope or the Alpha Couple became insanely good at covering things up.

Then the house came into view and they all fell silent. Uncertain what to say. “Are we visiting someone?” Maya inquired. Theo and Liam shared a look and then parked in front of the large garage, capable of holding two cars inside next to each other. They all got out and the Betas still looked unsure what to make out of this. Liam and Theo stepped on the front porch. “To answer the question, we are not visiting somebody.” “But there was a sign regarding private property when we passed the gate,” Nolan chimed in. “Are we trespassing?” “Guys, come on, you are not dumb. What do you think this is?” Cade shrugged. “A house to visit that could become the new pack house?” Maya shook her head and glanced up the house. Her eyes were a little bit glassy. “No, not a house that could be the new pack house.” She glanced at the other born werewolves in the pack and they all seemed to understand what the rest was missing. Lori finally clarified: “Guys, listen to your wolves. This is the new pack house. And it’s theirs.” She looked at the two Alphas and smiled shyly. Liam raised his shoulders casually. “I hope you forgive me for sending you on a hunt to find new places only to turn them down but I had to stall in order to keep up the surprise. Yes, this is the house Theo and I bought. Took a while to get finished but now it’s almost done. Only the bedrooms are missing cause the plan was for each one of you to choose a room and then we go to IKEA and buy the furniture every single one of you wants,” he explained. The pack stayed silent. Theo pointed at them. “That is the moment you should rejoice,” he prompted.

Silence.

And then...

Loud screaming and suddenly Alpha and Second Alpha found themselves in an ambush of happy Betas all yelling above each other, asking millions of questions, praising Liam and Theo, and just shouting their thoughts. This was probably the most uncoordinated pack hug they ever had and normal persons would probably stay back with broken ribs but Liam laughed freely and enjoyed the chaos.

Theo unlocked the front door and then jumped aside last minute before he got run over by the pack. He almost landed in the bushes planted next to the front porch and only Liam’s grip on his arm kept him from it. The Alpha smirked at his mate and Theo flicked his nose in retaliation. And then they also stepped inside their new house. They made their way to the kitchen and waited for them to calm down. It almost happened once but then Tim spotted the pool and a new wave of euphoria swept over the Betas. “None of them is younger than twenty and they act like little kids. It will be fun to see Landon’s and Zack’s reaction,” Liam said thoughtfully. Theo laughed. “They will be just as excited.”

Excitement, the whole house burst with it. It was palpable and exactly what Liam had hoped for. The surprise was completely successful and it had been good he had waited until everything was finished. They could move in and finally be out of Isaac’s hair. Only slowly the pack calmed down enough to gather everyone in the living room and have a conversation about the rooms. Liam started it. “To begin, we already chose a room for ourselves.” “Can I guess? The room up the second pair of stairs?” Mason said out loud. Liam nodded. Maya awed. “The first time you didn’t want to take the biggest room and now you already decided on one. I am proud of you.” “What happened the first time?” Caden wanted to know. “Mike and Sadie fought about the biggest room until Theo stated the biggest room was for the Alpha. Liam was very hesitant to accept it, only did in case he would find a mate and then could use the private bathroom. Which worked perfectly,” Ever explained and pointed at Theo. “Good times,” Sadie said and smiled. “A lot of good things happened in the first pack house. But now we have this house and we will make just as many good memories here if not more.” Liam was sure of that. “Now, who gets which room?” Theo asked and started a loud argument over who and what and when and where and why.

Tim was the only one who didn’t participate and just listened. Until he suddenly whistled. “Guys, can I say something? I get it, you all want your room to be the best but let’s face it, all rooms are amazing. However, there are two rooms on each side who share a bathroom each. Does it not make more sense when one of the couples takes two of these rooms? Just asking.” Ever and Caden shared a look. “We would take one set of these rooms, the ones on the left if that’s okay,” they finally decided. “I’d like the room close to Liam’s and Theo’s staircase. What do you say, Mason?” Corey asked his husband. Mason nodded. The room had a little balcony and would be perfect for the two of them to sit outside and enjoy nature.

“If you two take that room, I’d like the first room in the basement. The one with the niche. I always wanted a hammock in my room and it would fit perfectly in there,” Mike claimed. “You want to live downstairs?” Nolan could not believe it. "You look at me as if I moved in the cardboard under the stairs. The house is built on a hill, you know, therefore it’s not really a basement since the rooms there also have windows and a lot of light.” “I wasn’t downstairs in the basement.” Nolan shrugged. “Also, I can blast my music and disturb nobody with it,” Mike found yet another reason why he liked the room so much. “If you want that room, I’d like the room next to yours,” Tim pleaded. “It reminds me how the common room from Hufflepuff is described in the books. I would live in my own Hufflepuff common room, that is awesome!” “Oh my, Timmy, you’re too precious for this world.” Mike smiled and the two best friends fist-bumped.

After that, the others fell in line. Lori took a great liking to one of the two rooms you came across when you walked upstairs, Nolan and Brett settled next to Corey and Mason on one side and had Sadie on the other. Maya took the first room on the left side of the hallway. When everyone was settled, Liam looked at Isaac. “What about you?” “What about me?” He looked puzzled. “You said your apartment gets lonely. You are welcome to drop by anytime if you want. You can choose a room as well. It’s yours then.” “That...Oh wow, I don’t know what to say.” “Hey, you hosted us and gave us a roof over our heads. It’s the least we can do for you.” Theo smiled at his friend and Isaac returned the smile. Isaac contemplated it. “I take the room next to Lori then. Thank you, guys.”

“Perfect.” Liam clasped his hands together. “Now this is settled, I think we should pay a visit to IKEA:”

_____________________________________________________________

We deserved happy Liam and happy Theo, don't you think? And they deserved to be happy. I ship them with happiness and I am absolutely in love with the two of them being all cuddly and soft with each other. They can barely take their hands off each other and I'm living for it. The pack finally has a new home and can turn a new page in their books. I am sure it will be an awesome time. Let me know what you think.

Have a great week ♥

#thiam #A tale written with fangs and claws #alpha!liam #Morning Dew Pack series #My writing

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extrasteps · 6 years ago

Photo

Stacked Chapter 7

See previous photoset here.

Theo woke up with dread burning in his stomach. He just knew that taking that one amazing, perfect day with Liam was going to blow up in his face in a big way. He wasn’t allowed to be this happy - the universe wouldn’t allow it.

He got ready for the day with extreme reluctance, and Liam picked up on his mood immediately, wrapping his arms around him and pressing a kiss to the back of his neck.

“It’ll be fine,” he soothed.

It wouldn’t, but he appreciated that Liam was trying.

They were meant to meet Scott and the others at Scott’s place in an hour, and Theo told him he’d meet him there. He wanted to slip into his house and steal some more clothes. Liam meant well, letting Theo borrow some of his, but Theo was wider in the shoulders than Liam, and his shirts were uncomfortably tight. He gathered that that was the point though, with the way Liam’s eyes often drifted to his shoulders, gaze turning dark with lust.

Theo somehow managed to leave Liam behind as he drove to his house, pausing in front of his door and taking a deep breath before opening it.

It was like he’d known this was going to happen.

He stepped through the front door, head tilted to the side, listening.

There was no one home, no heartbeats. His fake parents had probably bailed after he hadn’t come home again, figuring it was safe to do so. It was. He had no intention of hunting them down. His cover was well and truly blown now.

Just as he’d managed to fill a bag full of clothes, he felt it. The hum of electricity. They were coming. There was no point in running. There was nowhere he could go that they wouldn’t find him.

Closing his bedroom door behind him, he made his way into the lounge room where they were waiting.

“What do you want?” He demanded.

On the coffee table there were three dossiers and he moved forward, swaggering with a confidence he didn’t feel as he scooped them up, flipping through them.

Three teenagers. Three new chimeras. Three new graves.

“Find them,” they intoned. “Train them.”

And then with a crackle they were gone.

“Just a brief visit then,” he muttered, plucking out the three photos and examining them with a sigh. He wasn’t sure if this was a good sign or not. Was he under suspicion? Were they testing him?

He picked up his bag, slinging it over his shoulder. Looked like he had a few stops to make before he made it to Scott’s house.

***

Liam paced in Scott’s kitchen, wearing a track into the floor.

“Liam,” Mason said, sounding concerned.

“He’s coming,” Liam snapped, eyes fixed on the clock. Theo was almost half an hour late now. Stiles was already making snarky comments about how Theo had skipped town and the urge to throttle him was growing stronger by the second.

But it wasn’t because he was angry. It was because he was afraid.

What if it was true?

What if Theo really had left him?

He’d like to think that after the day they’d spent together yesterday that Theo could never do that, but how well did he know him really? Was their bond stronger than Theo’s fear? Liam wasn’t sure.

By the time an hour had passed, he was sitting on the couch between Mason and Scott, ignoring the conversation going on around him, staring down at his hands.

Before Theo had left earlier he’d used those same hands to cup his cheeks and kiss him, telling him he’d see him again soon. Surely that hadn’t been their last kiss. Surely fate wasn’t that cruel.

“Theo doing a bunk doesn’t change the facts,” Stiles was arguing, “these doctor guys are a serious threat. We have to do something.”

He’d come today despite his suspicion of Theo, which Liam appreciated, but he was also getting on his nerves, and he didn’t have many nerves to begin with. His IED was simmering in his chest, getting close to boiling point.

He looked at Mason. “I think I need to go,” he said quietly. “Mase-”

“Punching bag, got it,” Mason said, jumping to his feet. “Go out back. Me and Corey will bring it out.”

Ever since his diagnosis, Mason had been more than supportive. He had his boot filled with a large punching bag and gloves, kept it in there every single day despite the inconvenience, just so Liam would have something to hit that wasn’t a wall, or someone else’s face.

Liam stalked outside, ignoring the others calling after him. If he went back, he would do or say something he would regret.

Corey set up the bag on the nearest tree, and they left him to it, grunting as he took out his aggression on the bag, blood rushing in his ears, seeing red.

He punched the bag again and again and again, taking out all of his fear and frustration on it until his arms and shoulders were aching and he was panting for breath, his anger spent.

When he turned toward the house, exhausted and covered with sweat, his eyes fell upon Theo, sitting on the back step.

Theo looked concerned as he slowly rose to his feet.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

Liam shivered. “You didn’t leave,” he said, voice flat. He didn’t have any emotion left in his body. He was wrung out.

“I had to make a few pit stops,” Theo said with a sigh, walking towards him. “I’m sorry I didn’t text you.”

Liam considered him. There was nothing about the way Theo was looking at him that suggested he was lying, and Liam didn’t know what to think.

“I’m used to being on my own,” Theo continued when it was clear that Liam wasn’t going to say anything. “Mason chewed me out when I got here, told me off for worrying you. And he was right. It was a shitty thing to do. I’m sorry, Liam.”

Slowly, Liam nodded. “Okay,” he said.

He walked past Theo into the house, stripping off his gloves. His knuckles were red and sore. He hadn’t had time to strap them before the need to hit something had overwhelmed him. But they would heal.

Liam came to a stop at the kitchen door, looking at the three strangers with suspicion.

“Theo’s extra pit stops, I assume,” he said to Scott, continuing inside.

“Yeah,” Scott sighed, rubbing a hand through his hair. “The Dread Doctors are making more chimeras.”

Theo came to stand next to Liam, hesitantly placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Liam, meet my new chimera pack. Corey, Josh and Tracy.”

He looked between the three of them, a twinge of fear breaking through the numbness. The Dread Doctors were making more chimeras. What did that mean for Theo?

***

Theo felt like a complete asshole. Liam had had an attack, and it was all his fault. How had he not even considered sending him a text? In his own defence, he hadn’t realised that it would take so long to convince the three new chimeras to come with him, and they’d all demanded explanations from him about what was happening to them, but now he had them more or less on board, accepting him, somewhat reluctantly, as their leader.

It wasn’t that he was any more thrilled than them by this state of affairs. Not even two weeks ago he would have been ecstatic to have his own pack, but now it meant nothing to him. The only thing that mattered was Liam, and hopefully somehow being able to gain his freedom.

Liam walked away to go and clean up a bit in Scott’s bathroom, leaving Theo standing in the lounge room with Scott’s pack and his three new pack members all staring at him.

“What now?” Theo asked, looking at Scott.

“I think we need help,” Scott said. “We need more information about the Dread Doctors.”

Theo sighed. “You need the author.”

“McCammon?” Scott asked, looking at him intently.

“That’s not his real name,” he said. “It’s Valack.”

“He’s the one who it’s dedicated to,” Stiles pointed out, holding out a copy of the book, showing the relevant page.

Theo nodded. “He wrote it under a pseudonym. The book makes you remember them. The Dread Doctors. That’s why he wrote it.”

“If you know so much,” Stiles said, a sneer on his face as he stalked closer, “then why don’t you tell us everything there is to know about them.”

“He already has,” Scott said, voice terse. “He told me everything he knew.”

Stiles scoffed. “Sure he did.”

“I trust him,” Scott said, finality in his tone. “Liam trusts him.”

Stiles glowered but didn’t respond. Theo couldn’t even blame him. He’d come here with the intention of infiltrating their pack and destroying it, making it anew with him as the alpha. That wasn’t his goal anymore, but Stiles had been right not to trust him, then at least.

Now, it’d be nice if he would give Theo the benefit of the doubt.

“Okay,” Scott said, turning and looking around. “We have questions, let’s figure out exactly what we need to know before we decide who is going where.”

“Alright,” Stiles said, speaking up again now, glaring at Theo. “First question, what do the Dread Doctors want?”

“They want to resurrect the Beast,” Theo told him. “For that, they need a genetic chimera.”

“Why didn’t they just use you?” Stiles asked, moving closer. “This all seems pretty convenient.”

“It didn’t work with me,” he said with a sigh. “Believe me, they tried.” For years, they’d experimented on him in every possible way while he was strapped to their gurney. He’d been pathetically grateful when the pain had finally stopped and they’d started using him in other ways instead. It had made sense to him. Hurt others so that they didn’t hurt him.

He knew better now.

“So they made more,” Scott hummed. “Why these three? What’s special about them?”

“It’s like Finch said the other day in class,” Theo explained. “Chimeras have more than one kind of DNA. Maybe it’s a transplant, a blood transfusion, whatever. I stole medical records for them a few months ago. They want young people, children and teenagers. They survive longer in their experiments, generally.”

“How old were you?” Liam asked quietly. He was standing at the door, rubbing a thumb over his red knuckles.

“When?” Theo turned towards him.

“The first time they experimented on you.”

His hand flew to his chest automatically, rubbing over the non-existent scar. “Eight,” he admitted.

“Next question,” Stiles interrupted, drawing Theo’s gaze. “What exactly is this beast?”

Theo shrugged. “Ask an Argent,” he said. “It’s something from their lore.”

Scott’s gaze dropped, his jaw clenching. Theo studied him, feeling a twinge of guilt. Of course Scott couldn’t ask Allison, she was gone.

But there was still her father. Although Theo wanted to stay far away from him. He had a feeling that the hunter was far more dangerous than any of Scott’s pack realised.

“Stiles and I will go to Eichen,” Lydia said, walking up to grasp Scott’s shoulder, squeezing it. “You should speak to Argent.”

“And Theo?” Stiles asked.

“He has his hands a bit full right now, don’t you think?” She asked gently, head tilting towards the new chimeras. Theo grimaced, following her gaze to where Corey, Tracy and Josh were all sitting on the couch, Mason hovering near them, looking uncertain.

Yeah, he had enough to deal with.

“I’ll stay with Theo and Mason and the others,” Liam said to Scott. “You guys go.”

Kira walked up and took Scott’s hand, leading him away, and Theo watched them go, feeling frustrated. Divide and conquer was a classic tactic. These idiots would have fallen right into his trap without so much as a blink. Why were they all so naive?

“Hey,” Liam said, nudging his shoulder. “Earth to Theo.”

He shook his head, pushing his frustration aside. They were paired up at least, and with Kira going with Scott to see Argent instead of to Eichen, the Dread Doctors wouldn’t be able to get to Valack.

“Don’t give him what he wants,” he said quietly to Lydia as she started to move past them.

She startled, looking at him. “What?”

“Valack. He’s dangerous. He’ll try to bargain with you, he’ll want something for his information. Don't give it to him.”

The intelligence shone in her eyes as she searched his face. “Why?”

“It’s in your best interest,” he said simply. “Valack’s known your family for a really long time. He used to work at Eichen.”

Her gaze sharpened further. “My grandmother,” she said, lips pressed tightly together.

Theo nodded. “Your grandmother. He’s a sick son of a bitch, and that’s coming from me. Don’t trust him. Don’t let your guard down.”

“Don’t worry,” Stiles said, his voice cold. “We won’t”

The implied message was clear. And we won’t trust you either.

But Lydia nodded, letting Stiles guide her out of the kitchen.

Liam stirred beside him. “The things you’ve done,” he asked, voice low. “How bad are we talking here?” He sounded nervous.

Theo looked at him, guilt making his borrowed heart twist in his chest. “It was them or me,” he said, voice level. “I chose me.”

“And now?” Liam asked.

“Freedom or death. It’s the same thing really,” Theo muttered, pushing past him and taking one of the free seats. Either he’d be free or he’d be dead. And he had to do everything in his power to ensure that he stayed alive.

The only thing he wouldn’t sacrifice was Liam.

He hoped he wouldn’t regret it.

***

Liam’s heart was troubled as he watched Theo.

Theo had opened up to him so much over the past week, but he was starting to realise that Theo didn’t really think he’d survive the Dread Doctors. There was a resignation to his gaze as he looked between the three chimeras and Mason. He didn’t have many answers for them, looking as lost as they were.

He wanted to help, he did, but he didn’t have much of an idea of what to do either. Most of the supernatural world still baffled him. Before Theo had come on the scene, he hadn’t even known that werewolves could be created on an operating table.

Let alone whatever these three were. According to the files Theo had shown him, Corey was a chameleon who could turn invisible, Josh was a raiju who could absorb and manipulate lightning, and Tracy was a kanima, a creepy lizard that could paralyse. All very powerful, and very scared.

“What’s going to happen to us?” Corey asked, looking at Theo after browsing through his own file. “They said to train us? For what?”

“Test your powers, see how strong you are,” Theo explained wearily. “They want to see if you’ll survive being the host.”

Josh scoffed, leaning back against the couch. “So what? We just wait around for them to find us? Fuck that.”

“No,” Liam agreed, stepping forward to stand in front of them. “Sticking your head in the sand won’t achieve anything. You need to fight.”

Corey visibly blanched. “I don’t know how to fight. I mean, look at me.”

“You’re stronger than you realise,” Liam assured him. “And I don’t mean that you need to run in all guns blazing. I just mean that you can’t give up. If we work together, we can defeat them.”

Tracy finally spoke up, looking at Liam with wide eyes. “How?”

And wasn’t that the million dollar question.

“We’ll figure it out. Together. Scott is a true alpha and our pack has faced down alpha packs, berserkers, hunters. We can beat a couple of scientists.”

The three of them look reassured, but Theo looked at him. His eyes said clearly that he wanted to believe Liam, but that he knew better.

“We’ve got this,” Mason said, speaking mostly to Corey, if Liam wasn’t mistaken. “Liam’s right. I know you’re all scared, but we’ll stick together and we’ll get through this.”

Corey smiled at Mason, and Liam looked away, biting back a smirk. He met Theo’s gaze, who waggled his eyebrows at him.

Liam felt relieved. The pack that they were building now was strong. They could do this.

They had to.

#thiam #liam dunbar #theo raeken #stacked

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