Scott normally liked to sleep in on Saturday's. Most of his lacrosse games usually happened on Friday nights, and he always found himself completely knocked out afterwards, even with the werewolf strength (which he didn't let himself use when he played). They'd lost last night's game, but it was close, 14-12. Immediately after, everyone piled into Stiles Jeep and Isaac's car. They made their way back to Isaac and Liam's house, stopping to grab pizza on the way. Scott ate quickly before he found himself growing increasingly more and more tired. He let himself get dragged up the stairs by Isaac and Theo after he almost fell asleep at the kitchen island.
Scott would have slept in until 3:00 in the afternoon. He would have slept through the entire day, if it weren't for the most fucking amazing thing he'd every smelled wafting it's way through the house from the kitchen.
Scott stirred. The smell overcoming his senses. His face was resting on Isaac's chest. He could hear the sound of his steady heartbeat, he was still asleep. Scott sat up slowly, and huffed a laugh at the state of Isaac's unruly hair. He slid off the bed, careful not to wake Isaac, and made his way out of his room.
As he made his way closer to the stairs the smell only continued to grow. He slipped down the stairs, quietly, and rounded the corner at the base. Like most mornings after everyone's hung out, those who stayed over were asleep in the living room. Scott had no recollection of Derek coming over last night, but there he was, asleep on the couch with Stiles.
When he turned the corner and looked down towards the kitchen, he was fairly surprised to see Theo standing there. Something was cooking in a skillet on the stove top. An arrangement of food was scattered around the counter. A plate of pancakes was sitting in the corner next to an impressive pile of bacon and a surprising number of various eggs.
Scott noticed the earbuds Theo had in his ears, he waved an extravagant hand in front of Theo to get his attention. Theo jumped slightly in surprise.
He pulled one of the earbuds from his ear and smiled at Scott awkwardly, "Oh, hey, morning."
Scott smiled, "Morning. What's all this?"
"Uh, I guess it's sort of a thank you?" Theo said, moving another pancake over to the pile. "You all helped me deal with those guys, and you, Scott, you're letting me live in your house. I just felt like I haven't really done anything to thank you all for it. The least I could do is make you guys food."
"I think that's fair," a voice said from the living room. They both turned to see Stiles sitting up from the couch, still basically sitting on Derek. Derek's eyes blinked open and landed on Stiles immediately. He growled slightly and pulled Stiles back down. Stiles chuckled. "Yeah, yeah, I get it you're a possessive asshole, but I'm hungry!" He maneuvered his way out of Derek's arms, falling on the floor in front of the couch with a thud. Derek groaned but closed his eyes again.
Scott raised an eyebrow at him. Despite the whole Derek and Stiles thing being a relatively common occurrence, Stiles had not once spoken about it to Scott. He was initially waiting for Stiles to bring it up before he said anything, but at this point it had been weeks and still nothing. He was going to bring it up. He was. But... maybe not with Derek in ear shot.
Theo wasn't as subtle. "When did he even get here? I went to sleep last and he wasn't here before I went to sleep."
Stiles face reddened and Scott picked up on the slight jump in Derek's, usually steady, heartbeat.
"He, uh-" Stiles stuttered.
"I was bored, figured things would be more interesting here," Derek's voice came from the other room as he sat up, semi-reluctantly.
"Aw, were you lonely?" Theo asked with a smirk.
Scott actually thought he was going a little bit crazy. Because there is no way. Absolutely no possible way that Derek Fucking Hale just blushed. Scott would have laughed if he wasn't so shocked.
Theo didn't get to appreciate the look on Derek's face, which was stoic as usual, aside from the blush. He was looking at the french toast in the pan, but he did hear the speed of Derek's heart pick up for a split second, and that was all the recognition he needed.
Stiles just averted his eyes and grabbed a pancake with his hands, eating it as a supposed distraction.
The room was quiet for a few moments.
"Anyway," Scott said, "Should we wake up everyone else?" He looked at the time on his phone, 'It's almost 12. What time did everyone else fall asleep?"
"You were out around 10. I'm not sure when Isaac fell asleep but he stayed upstairs with you. Malia was out next, maybe two hours later. Then Stiles, and apparently Derek at some point." He paused, for just a split second, but Scott registered it, "Liam didn't fall asleep until almost 5." He was still looking down at the pan.
"Really? Is he okay?" Stiles asked. Speaking with his mouthful.
Theo stiffened visibly.
"Y'know, I was joking when I told you to throw it at him. You could have killed him!" Liam laughed.
"I wouldn't have killed him," Theo countered, "I guess I could have, but I wouldn't. I know my strength."
They were sitting on the back deck, looking up at the stars. Everyone else in the house had gone to sleep about an hour or two ago. After picking up a little, and throwing blankets over sleeping shoulders, Liam and Theo had made their way outside. Liam had suggested that they could go out to the water. They decided to stay near the house after Theo expressed his distaste for needing to carry Liam back to the house in the dark when he, inevitably, fell asleep again.
"I'm sure you do. But seriously, how do you not just, y'know, wolf out at random moments. Like you could shift and run into the woods right now. How easy is it to control?" Liam asked.
"It depends," Theo started, "I found it difficult recently because I've been shifting for so long, so trying to keep it together becomes a little more difficult. Some people are naturals, some people need practice, or-" Theo hesitated, "yeah, practice is usually the most common."
Liam raised an eyebrow at him, "'or' what?"
Theo sighed, "Well, a lot of the time people have what's known as an 'anchor.'"
"Anchor?"
"Yeah. It's something that keeps you grounded. Sometimes it's a memory. A mantra. A place." Theo looked over at Liam, "A person... It's different for everyone for the most part."
"Oh, that's cool. Do you have one?"
Theo stiffened, "Uh, yeah, I did... for a while."
Liam could sense the tone of his voice, the way he tensed, he was guarded, "Sorry," he said, "I didn't mean to cross over a sensitive topic."
Theo smiled slightly, "It's fine, I just... don't really want to talk about it."
"That's okay," Liam smiled. He yawned, "I think I wanna go to sleep anyway."
"Okay," Theo stood up from the deck. He reached his hand out towards Liam and pulled him up off the ground as well.
"Do you, uh, want to borrow something? Sleeping in jeans isn't super comfortable." Liam asked.
Theo looked down at the pants he was wearing. They weren't uncomfortable but you would rather sleep in something a little less restricting. "Uh, sure, if you're offering."
"Of course," Liam smiled.
They both made their way up to Liam's room. Liam made his way over to his dresser and started looking for something. Theo just glanced around. "I don't think I've ever actually been in your room when the lights were on. Which sounds insanely creepy out of context."
"A little creepy in context too," Liam laughed.
Theo walked over towards the window, his eyebrows raising slightly. A low set of drawers were pushed snuggly to the wall beneath the window. Effectively pinning the curtains to the wall. There were three safety pins keeping the two curtains together in the middle. On the sides of the windows, there were two lines of clear packing tape, both keeping the curtains stuck to the wall. He studied the set up curiously.
"Here we go. These used to be Isaac's sweatpants, they'll fit you a little bit better than-" Theo noticed his sentence was cut off right when his heartbeat quickened. His head shot around quickly to see what had freaked him out, but he was looking directly at Theo, or moreover, where his hand rested on the wall next to the window.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Theo asked.
Liam seemed to step out of a hase, he shook his head and cleared his throat.
"I-I'm fine, everythings fine." Liam's words were stiff.
Theo wasn't sure if he should push. He figured a simple reach would be fine, "Okay, but if you want, we can talk about stuff. It's not like since our whole lake conversation we have to pretend like everythings fine. Anytime you wanna talk I'm here."
Liam sighed, "I know. I just- I don't want to talk."
Theo thought for a few moments, "What if I talk?"
Liam was puzzled for a moment, he sat down on his bed and looked at Theo, "About what?"
"You've told me a lot about you, and the past. And I've spent time with you, so I know the present you. You also know a lot about me in the present. But I feel like you don't know a lot about... before." Theo said.
"You mean, like when you were taken? You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Liam stressed.
"I know. I kind of just want to though. I've just felt so on edge for so long. I feel like maybe saying something to someone, anyway. Maybe it'll help."
"Okay. You can talk to me if you want to, I just don't want you to feel like you're obligated to."
"I know. I think I want to."
"Okay. Well from what I know so far this isn't going to be a very positive conversation so come sit down."
Theo smiled, he stepped over to Liam's bed and collapsed. Lying horizontally at the foot of the bed. Liam was leaning against the head of the bed, one of his knees tucked into his chest.
"I wasn't the only one they took."
Liam's heart stopped.
"What?"
"I wasn't the only one they took. They took my sister too." Theo said the words so smoothly it was like he'd been waiting to say them for years. Liam's eyes widened in shock. Liam could hear years of pain behind them too.
He thought about it, but chose not to speak. He just watched as Theo's mind seemed to be elsewhere. He wasn't a werewolf, but Liam could tell that his heart was beating loudly in his chest.
After a long moment of silence Theo spoke again, "Tara," his voice was painfully stoic. "She was my sister." While his face remained constant, Liam watched as his hands balled into fists, and his nails dug into his palms. He didn't care that Theo might get blood on his blanket. He just wanted him to be okay.
He shifted slightly. Leaning forward more and rested his hand gently on Theo's forearm. His hand relaxed just slightly.
Theo continued. "I didn't want to."
Liam looked at him confused. But Theo was still looking up at nothing, he suddenly looked in so much pain. Liam's worry only grew.
"They told me..." Theo's voice broke, "They told me they were going to torture her."
Liam felt an overwhelming sadness and anger, but he tried to keep himself relaxed, in the moment, for Theo's sake.
Theo's eyes closed, "They told me they were going to torture her and then kill her. If I didn't kill her myself."
Liam felt like the breath was stolen from his lungs. His hand went tense on Theo's arm.
"I didn't want to. But I knew it would be less painful if I did it than if they did. We'd been there for two years at that point. My parents were already dead. I knew we weren't getting out anytime soon. They gave me three days. So I waited for her to fall asleep." Tears were falling from his eyes now. They ran down the sides of his face and onto the blanket he was laying on.
Theo's voice broke when he spoke again, "I'm sorry."
Liam's breath returned in an instant, and he was pulling Theo into a bone crushing hug before either of them could even register that he'd blinked.
"Don't. You. Dare. That was not your fault. You were a kid." Liam's voice was stern.
"I still killed her." Theo's voice was more steady now, and it killed Liam how easy it seemed for him to control his emotions.
"You helped her," Liam said, "You saved her so much pain. I don't even want to think about what she might have had to go through if you didn't get to her first."
Theo didn't say anything. He just stayed there, in Liam's arms. He was so angry, and disconnected, but he felt a strange sense of relief. It wasn't a secret anymore. What he'd done. And even if he still blamed himself. There was one person in the world who didn't.
Liam held him in silence for a while. But as his own eyes started to grow heavy, he whispered quietly, "c'mere."
He helped pull Theo up the bed more so he could rest his head on one of the pillows.
"I can just go-"
"Shut up and go to sleep," Liam interrupted him. He wrapped his arms around Theo and pressed his face against his back.
He could hear the sound of his heartbeat in his chest. It was fast, just like Liam thought it was.
It took a while for them both to relax, but they eventually both fell asleep, listening intently to the slowing pace of each other's heartbeats.
"Theo?" Scott was wary, "Everything okay?"
Theo snapped back into the present, "Yeah. Yeah, everything's fine. Liam's fine."
Derek, Stiles, and Scott all glanced at each other, but they all collectively agreed, silently, not to mention it.
"These pancakes are really good," Stiles said. They were all grateful for the subject change.
"Thanks, I tweaked an online recipe I found," Theo explained, he was still a little tense.
Scott reached over and grabbed one, "Shit. These are delicious. I didn't know you could cook."
Theo smiled, Scott found himself relaxing as the tension seemed to slowly seep from the room.
"Yeah, I used to cook a lot with my mom."
"Dude you live at my house now, where has this been?" Scott asked, pretending to sound hurt.
Theo huffed out a laugh, "I don't know. I guess I would feel bad if you didn't like it."
"Scott and Stiles will eat anything," Derek chimed in.
"He's not really wrong," Stiles said, reaching out to grab a piece of bacon, "Shit. Why is this better than bacon at my house? Did you cook it weirdly or something? Are you supposed to season bacon?"
Theo huffed again, "I mean you don't have to. I just added a little bit of brown sugar."
"Can I hire you to make this for me every morning?" Stiles asked, grabbing more pieces.
"How much are you willing to pay me?" Theo asked. Putting the french toast on a plate and sliding it onto the counter.
"I'm broke dude," Stiles whined.
"Then I guess you'll just have to enjoy it now."
Stiles grabbed a plate and shoved some of everything onto a plate, "Gladly." He went and sat back down on the couch. Derek grabbed a couple things and followed him.
"Isaac still asleep?" Theo asked.
"Yeah," I think he might be out for a little while longer.
"How are things going, if you don't mind me asking," Theo asked hesitantly.
Scott smiled, "Good, really really amazing..." Scott paused for a moment, he turned his head up to where the stairs are.
Theo raised an eyebrow, 'You sure?"
Scott turned back to look at him, "I-I think I might love him."
"Holy shit!" Stiles called from the living room, "You serious?"
Derek hit the side of his head, "Shut up."
"Really though, that's great!" Theo said, "I don't wanna be that guy, but you've only been together for about three months,"
"I know, I know, but it just... it feels right y'know?"
Theo paused for a moment, "Yeah... yeah I know,"
Scott smiled giddily and grabbed another pancake.
"So... are you gonna tell him?" Theo asked.
"Tell who what?" a voice came from the stairs.
Scott stiffened.
"Just telling Isaac that the food is ready," Derek lied, calmly.
"Yeah, Scott wasn't sure if he should wake him," Theo added.
"Scott, come on, you've spent enough night here, surely you know waking him up isn't a good idea," Liam grabbed a slice of bacon, "unless," he added, "food is involved."
Scott smiled, "Yeah, that's true, I'll go get him." He made his way to the stairs.
Liam glanced over to Derek and Stiles on the couch. They were having a quiet conversation. Liam moved closer to Theo and rested his hand on his shoulder, he spoke quietly.
"I know it's kind of stupid to ask, but how are you feeling?"
Theo smiled fondly at him, "Good," he said simply, Liam raised an eyebrow, "I promise."
"Okay, good. Thanks for the food too, it's delicious" Liam smiled, grabbing a piece of french toast.
"Oh. My. God." Isaac's voice came from the stairs, "I thought Scott was exaggerating."
He ran to the kitchen, grabbing a plate and piling everything on.
They all, eventually, sat around the living room.
Theo sat in the arm chair. Liam sitting on the ground by his feet. Isaac and Scott were next to each other on one side of the couch, Isaac's arm draped over his shoulder.
They all silently ignored the fact that Stiles was sitting on the other side of the couch with his legs draped over Dereks lap, throwing pieces of bacon into his mouth.