#sceosecretsanta2024

[jjsstars]

I’ll pull the weeds from my heart

|| for @sceosource secret santa event // gift for @rinnielove

|| on ao3 | word count: 1.2k+ | teen & up rating

|| a/n: title from silver spoon demo by erin lecount on soundcloud

|| tags: theo raken/scott mccall, light angst, post canon, established relationships, fluff, idiots in love, slight nsfw implications, past canon relationships mentioned

It’s been a rough couple of days… okay maybe weeks, but point being, things haven’t been easy. Between trying to juggle hunting down Monroe and Scott being in school while Theo works extra hours at his mechanic job, the couple hasn’t had time to spend together or even sleep properly.

Which is why Scott has spent the entire day decorating their very small yet very homey studio apartment for Christmas and baking treats for them. It took three days of preparation to get his homework done in advance, make sure Theo’s schedule would be free after his shift, meaning telling Liam and Malia he couldn’t go to Beacon Hills this weekend to help follow a lead on Monroe, and to get all the ingredients for the dinner and deserts Scott wanted to prepare.

It’s really nothing crazy in his opinion. A beef stew he knows Theo loves, some pre-packaged biscuits for dipping, a plate of sugar cookies with a messily applied layer of frosting Theo definitely would’ve done better, and a small lemon and coconut cake that Melissa had to send the recipe over for. He halved it thinking it’d make the perfect amount for the both of them, turns out it made the perfect amount for one of them. Scott’s already decided to give it to Theo.

He thinks his boyfriend deserves it after putting up with Scott’s moodiness after pulling all nighters (more than usual) and drinking too much caffeine even for a werewolf like Scott. It’s not that Scott’s meant to snap at Theo once or twice, or forget to do his side of the household chores, or even forget about that microwave meal he left in too long that exploded that Theo had to clean up because Scott was so absorbed in his studies he didn’t hear it- it doesn’t matter what happened. What matters is that he’s making it up to Theo now and they will have a nice Christmas if it’s the last thing Scott McCall does.

“Scotty? I’m home!” Theo calls and Scott instantly stills in place, hands gripping the tray of cookies he just laid out in a nice formation as anxiety fills him. It’s something he’s still yet to shake since leaving Beacon Hills- the anxiety of hearing someone enter his house without him opening the door to see who it is.

“Babe?” The tension leaves Scott’s body when Theo rounds the corner to stick his head into the rest of the apartment. It’s not just the kitchen, because everything about this apartment is open and there’s not even a full wall between where their bed is and where the stove is.

“Whatcha got there?” The nonchalant tone doesn’t go unnoticed by Scott, he appreciates it, Theo not making a big deal about Scott’s anxious habits always helps things even if he knows Theo is keenly aware of them.

“Cookies. I- I made soup too, and cake, for us. Merry Christmas.” That was supposed to come out a lot smoother but Scott’s never been good at romantic gestures or even dirty talking.

“I almost forgot it was Christmas.” After learning that Theo almost never celebrated the holiday when he was with the dread doctors, Scott has made it a point to do something for the holiday, but that doesn’t mean Theo is used to it yet. And to give him credit, he spent nearly a decade under the dread doctors and it’s only the second of him and Scott celebrating together.

“I’m sorry for being such a jerk lately.” Scott admits hushed but Theo’s padding over to wave him off in seconds.

“You haven’t been a jerk, just stressed. I’d expect nothing less from my future doctor boyfriend.” A kiss is pressed to Scott’s cheek that he instantly melts into. It’s not warm, not like when him and Kira would kiss or even with Allison; Theo’s always too cold for his kisses to be any type of heated but Scott runs hot enough for the both of them.

“Still, I let lasagna explode in our microwave and got annoyed when you had to ask where the cleaner was to clean up my mess.” Truly not Scott’s proudest moment.

“That was like two weeks ago, have you been stuck on that this whole time?” Maybe.

“What am I gonna do with you McCall.” Theo is grinning when he cups Scott’s face in his hands with a small head shake.

“You worry too much.” It’s been said to Scott so much in the past few months it has to be engraved on his brain at this point- the way Theo’s eyes turn sad as he says the words, how he speaks softer than normal, trying to cover it with fake nonchalant, the genuine concern in every word- it won’t leave Scott’s head because he knows it’s true. He does worry too much. But he’s also lost too much to not worry about things.

“You’ve said that before.” And they’ve talked about it in depth before too.

“You didn’t need to do all this, takeout would’ve been just as good.” Theo takes the prompt and drops the topic to instead look over to the counter where Scott has the soup and biscuits cooling.

“You know we eat takeout too much.” The tray of cookies Scott forgot he was gripping in his hand is set down finally.

“It’s good.” McCall lets himself relax as he rolls his eyes playfully and moves to grab a bowl to dish the soup out in.

“It’s not good for you though. This is handmade and will last us a couple days.” They might be able to squeeze a whole week out of this one batch if they’re lucky.

“What’s this?” The small cake tin that was sitting by the window gets picked up carefully by Theo, as if he could break it somehow.

“It’s just cake.” It is Theo’s favorite kind of cake but still just a baked good.

“Is it the coconut one Melissa makes?” He tips the cake a little to stare at it like it’s a science experiment. Scott can’t suppress his chuckle as he sets his bowl down and slides up behind Theo to wrap his arms around his waist.

“Yes it is. Things have been so stressful lately I thought you deserved a treat.”

“Thank you, I bet it’s great.” It’s a fifty-fifty chance if it’s good like Melissa’s or another one of Scott’s failed baking attempts, he’s hoping for the former.

“No cake til after dinner.” Scott kisses Theo’s neck softly and breathes him in, pleasantly smiling as he takes in the comfort of his boyfriend’s presence so close to his own after being away from one another so much.

“You smell like motor oil.” And wolfsbane cigarettes Theo thinks Scott doesn’t know about, and the peppermint shampoo he uses, and the faint scent of the lavender laundry detergent Melissa bought them in bulk- he smells perfect. He smells like home.

“Want me to shower before we eat?” Theo twists his head to try and look at Scott but only really lays back into him.

“No we can wait til after.”

“We?” A mischievous grin grows across Theo’s lips when Scott blushes, not realizing he had said that but not taking it back either.

“Yeah, we can. Let’s eat first.” One more kiss to Theo’s neck before they part and move to eat the dinner Scott can’t be more happy they’re having. And if the cake isn’t good, at least they’ll still have each other, and maybe they can ask Melissa to make one next time they visit.