"You did what?!" Mason yelled, far too loudly in the corner of the Library. Liam really had to stop bringing them here to discuss important, and significant, life events. It was never really a quiet occasion.
Liam took a deep breath, "I said, Theo and I..." he waved his arms around in no particular gesture.
Mason beamed, "Oh. My. God." he looked genuinely surprised and enthusiastic, "Liam Dunbar! You had sex?"
Liam scrambled to cover his mouth with his hand, nearly falling over in his seat. There were a few strange and confused looks from people around them, but most people just rolled their eyes and went back to their work.
"Jesus christ," Liam said quietly, "Come on," he grabbed Mason by the arm and dragged him outside, where they should have started the conversation in the first place. The second they stepped outside and Mason threw his jacket around his shoulders, Liam suddenly regretted not bringing one. Usually when he was outside he was either running into the building, or Theo was with him. But right now it was just cold.
Liam rubbed his hands together and took a deep breath, "Yes?"
Mason blinked, "Why do you sound so unsure?" he paused for a second, then looked pissed, "I swear to god if he did something to you without your co-"
"No! God no. That-no." Liam clarified, sporadically.
Mason sighed, "Oh thank god. Cause I would totally do something but I don't know if I could take him alone. I'm sure everyone else would help me though."
Liam huffed, "Yeah you're probably right."
Mason smiled at him, but then his mind went back to Liam's earlier statement, "Wait, so what did you mean when you said 'yes' like it was a question. Did you two do it or not?"
Liam suddenly felt the rush of anxiety that had been with him since Sunday morning return. He'd spent the night with Theo, much to Isaac's dismay. Nothing else happened. They just made out for a while, Liam periodically fell asleep on Theo's chest. Liam had felt so at peace in that moment. So unbelievably calm, and relaxed.
However, after he woke up and went home had a bit of a crisis. He didn't regret it! Not at all. He felt perfectly safe every second that he was with Theo. Showing him the scars littered on his body was incredibly difficult, but afterward Theo didn't even seem to notice them. They were just another part of Liam to him, and as he had expressed countless times that night, and throughout their relationship, he loved everything about Liam. He did not regret it.
He did, however, have a difficult time figuring out what exactly 'it' was. Was it considered sex? They didn't actually... They did stuff... but was that sex or just... giving each other hand jobs? Did that count? Was he still technically a virgin? Or could he say he wasn't anymore? These were all concerns he expressed adamantly to Mason.
Mason looked a little surprised, and a little bit like he wanted to laugh, but he saw how genuinely confused Liam was, and he pushed that away, "Liam, hey, relax. You have to realize something. Virginity is a social construct." Liam looked at him like he was insane, "I'm serious, listen. Virginity is just something people use to shit on other people. Think about it, seriously. When you think about a guy sleeping with a lot of people, what do you think of him? He's a player right? But society doesn't shit on them for it. Then you do the same with a woman and what do people call her?" Liam grimaced, "See! I don't even have to say it and you already know! Virginity is stupid dude! But if you really want to know if you're classified as a virgin, well that's up to you."
Liam thought for a few moments, everything with Theo was amazing. He was nervous as hell, terrified even, but he felt safe with Theo. He wanted Theo to be his first, "I want it to count."
Mason wrapped his arm around Liam's shoulder as they walked towards the front of the school, "Then congratulations Liam! You're officially not a virgin! Welcome to the club."
Liam rolled his eyes, but smiled as Mason and him walked back into the school.
Theo was sitting in his Algebra class, talking with Corey. He was never really a math guy, but he tried his best. The teacher was going on and on about some 'important' equation that he would probably never use in his life aside from other math classes. He knew how to solve it so he wasn't too bothered about paying attention to notes. Plus, if he couldn't figure them out he could just google it when he got home.
As he was talking to Corey about the test coming up, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Their math teacher was this younger, chill, guy, so he wasn't going to try and take Theo's phone away for checking a text. He slipped his phone out of his pocket and read the message, mildly surprised.
Derek- Hey, I know this is kind of strange, but I need your help. When are you free?
Theo stared blankly at the message, "Derek needs help with something," he said to Corey.
Corey looked a little worried, "Really, is it bad? Is it about the hunters or something?"
Theo types out a quick response.
Theo- Is everything alright?
Derek- No.
Theo- Is it about the hunters? Should we get prepared for something? Is someone in danger?
Derek- No
Theo- Please explain then because your short messages are making Corey and I's anxiety spike.
Derek- You're with Corey?
Theo- Yes, why?
Derek- Bring him too.
Theo- What?
Theo- When?
Theo- Where?
Theo- Derek?!
Derek- After School. I'll send you the address.
Theo looked up at Corey, who had been looking at his phone next to him. The bell rang for their class to end. They had their next class together as well, with Mason and Liam, so they walked together in the hallway.
"That was weird, right?" Corey asked.
"Definitely." Theo said, "He's texted me before but he's never sounded this... vague? I mean... he said it wasn't an emergency so maybe it's just something stupid, y'know. Something that has nothing to do with being in danger."
Corey nodded, "I really hope so. I'm stressed enough with exams. Being hunted again would just add a bunch of other shit for me to think about."
"I do too. I just want to be able to relax for once, y'know." Theo said, Corey nodded.
They made it to their next period. The second Theo stepped in, he found Mason glancing at him with a smirk. He was sitting on Liam's desk talking to him. When they walked in Mason moved to his usual seat two rows ahead of Liam, and next to Corey's. Theo moved to his seat next to Liam
Theo sat down and turned to Liam. "Hey," Liam said. Theo was greeted with an amusingly wide smile.
"Hey. You look happy," Theo said smiling.
"Yeah," Liam smiled, "I am."
Theo smiled, and kissed him.
Theo and Corey weren't sure what to expect when they knocked on a strange door in the middle of a run down apartment complex. When they had originally made it to the front they'd sent Derek a text asking where to go. He'd just responded with "Open the door." So Theo opened the door.
The door to Derek's loft opened and, said man, was standing in front of them with the most peculiar expression on his face. He looked nervous.
Theo immediately knew that this was about Stiles. The only time he'd seen Derek nervous was when Stiled was involved. Which is exactly what Theo said to him.
Derek glared slightly at them, but Theo just smirked.
"Tell me I'm wrong and I'll drop it," Theo smiled.
Derek was silent.
"Yup. Knew it."
"Did you do something?" Corey asked, mildly concerned.
Derek was silent.
Corey sighed, "What did you do?"
Derek started to pace, "It's more... I need your help. I-I haven't gotten Stiles anything for Christmas."
Corey raised an eyebrow, "Really? Dude you have, like, two weeks. I wouldn't worry too much, unless you wanted to get something specific. I already got Mason something, and Liam, but that's kind of different. What about you, T?"
Theo, however, was now standing wide eyed, completely unaware that he was being spoken too.
"Theo?" Corey said, waving a hand in front of his face.
Theo snapped back, "Fuck. I haven't gotten Liam anything."
"Well I feel better," Derek mumbled.
"Seriously, you guys don't need to freak out. Just think of something. You both haven't been dating too long, it doesn't need to be a huge gesture, just something cute. Or, I don't know, it doesn't have to be a thing, like an object, it could be something else." Corey explained, sitting down on Derek's couch.
Theo sat down next to him, and Derek sat in a chair. "I just can't think of anything... right," Derek said.
Corey thought for a second, "Okay, well I wouldn't get anything too drastic, or expensive. How about you think of stuff you've done together? Maybe there's, like, a place or thing you did, and you can get something based on that. What do you and Stiles tend to do when you hang out? Where do you go?"
Derek thought for a second, "He likes talking about cases. Serial killers and stuff, we watch a lot of those documentaries," Corey nodded, "We don't go many places. Neither of us are really the 'going out on a date' type, so." Derek was silent for a minute, "He likes the stars. Sometimes when he stays over he'll go stand out on the balcony and look at the sky, while reading some wikipedia page about some axe murderer," Derek sort of laughed when he said the last part, he turned his head and his eyes traile dout the window, a fond smile on his face. Theo and Corey both smiled at each other.
"I'm sure you can think of something from all of that," Corey smiled at him.
Derek nodded, "Thanks."
"I didn't really do anything," Corey insisted, "Now," he turned his body to face Theo, sitting next to him, "Tell me about Liam."
Theo felt kind of weird saying it all out loud, but something had seemed to click for Derek, maybe he could think of something. "We go to the water a lot," he said, "There's this little, like, beach, in the woods. It's where we first met... sort of," he smiled fondly. "He always steals my clothes, I do the same though, so I can't really complain." Theo's mind faded back to a few days ago, "He likes flowers, but mainly the ones that grow in winter."
"I didn't know flowers grew in the winter," Theo said, looking at Liam as picked one of them.
"Most don't, but some do. Like these," Liam ran his hand over a cluster of little purple flowers, "They actually only like it when it's colder, they're called crocuses. They look even prettier when it snows" Liam paused for a minute, "They're my favorite."
Theo kneeled down next to him, "Why?" he asked, genuinely curious.
Liam thought for a moment, "They're different. It's like... like their stronger, y'know? Most plants are dead by now. But these... they keep going."
Theo starred, infatuated. He ran his hand through Liam's hair, and kissed his temple.
"They're beautiful," Theo said quietly.
"Well," Corey said, making Theo tune back in, he was smiling at him, "I think you'll both be fine."
Theo stood with his shoes in the sand, staring out over the water. It wasn't quite cold enough for the water to freeze over yet, but it was getting closer by the day. The water was perfectly still, a clear sheet of reflective glass. The trees around the pond had lost their leaves. Many of them were scattered around the edges of the pond.
He was usually very alert, but he had managed to completely zone out. He jumped slightly when he felt a hand slip around his waist.
"Sorry, you usually notice when somones around," Liam apologized quietly, "Everything okay?"
Theo sighed against Liam. Liam rested his chin on Theo's shoulder. He looked up at Theo's face and saw his eyes trained on the water.
"Yeah," Theo said quietly, a soft smile growing on his face, "I'm okay."
School had gotten out at the end of that week. With the end of the year edging closer, temperatures dropped drastically into the thirties. There hadn't been any snow yet, but Liam and Isaac were positive that it was coming. They'd all decided to hang out around the fields at the school. It was cold, but not in a way that made you uncomfortable, in a way that said that the Christmas season was steadily approaching. The field was a, seemingly, random idea Liam had had a dew hours before. None of them had anything to do, and it was always nice to get outside, so they all gathered around the field and the bleachers.
No one else was around. Derek was sitting with Stiles in front of him, pressing his back to his chest. Stiles, Lydia, Malia, and Mason were arguing about whether or not star signs were a valid reason to stop being friends with someone. Apparently Mason had met a sting or 'not so nice' gemini's his freshman year. He also argued that now that they were basically dating werewolves, or similar supernatural creatures affected by the moon, that it was a possibility that it could affect your mood or temperament. Derek didn't say anything, just rolled his eyes and huffed whenever he felt like one of their arguments was stupid.
Isaac and Scott were sitting together and talking with Corey and Theo, when Liam approached Liam with something he'd grabbed from the car. Liam tugged on the sleeve of Theo's jacket with a nervous and excited smile.
Theo turned to him, "Yeah?"
Liam shifted slightly and then held up his hand. He was holding a tennis ball. Scott burst out laughing. Corey and Isaac both looked a little surprised, but they were nearing laughter. Theo, on the other hand, looked genuinely intrigued.
"You wanna play a game?" Liam asked.
Theo raised an eyebrow and then looked between the others, then back to Liam, "Wouldn't be the first time." He stood up.
"Wait what?" Scott asked.
Theo smiled and rolled his eyes, "Yeah, sometimes I would get out of that fucking place, but I couldn't turn back for a while. I went to a park once. Turned out it was a dog park. According to them I was just another one. Sure it was a little weird, but seriously, any human interacting when you're basically in prison is worth it."
Scott huffed, "That's true I guess. Go for it dude, no one is around. If anyone else shows up we'll just say we adopted you."
They all laughed as Theo moved to the bathrooms next to the field. He was gone for about a minute. Then a large black wolf trotted out of the bathroom. Carrying, in its mouth, the clothing that Theo had previously been wearing. They all knew he could turn into a wolf, and most of them had seen him, but it was still a bit surprising. Except for Derek, who just looked on with a stoic expression on his face.
The wolf, Theo, ran up to Liam and jumped on him. Liam stumbled back but caught himself, laughing. Liam ran his hands through the fur around the wolf's neck. He bent down and kissed its forehead, between its eyes.
The wolf jumped down and stepped backwards toward the open field, a silent signal for Liam to throw it. Liam reeled his arm back and threw the ball as high, and as far, as possible. They all watched on, in mild amazement, as Theo sprinted after the ball and jumped, at least a few feet, into the air, catching it in his mouth.
He ran back towards Liam, as he approached he moved slower, holding his head high. He looked at the dumbfounded expression on his face with amusement. He dropped the ball at Liam's feet and ran around his legs in a circle. Liam snapped back into reality and picked up the ball with a smile on his face. Theo barked, and ran further out into the field as Liam threw it again.
Derek smiled, fondly.
Stiles turned to look at him, "What is it?" he asked, the others turned to look at him.
Derek shook his head, "Nothing. I can just understand what he said.'
They all looked a little surprised.
"Really?" Liam asked, 'What did he say?"
Derek's smile never left his face, "Nothing. He just asked you to throw it again... and he called you 'love' which was just cute."
"Did Derek just say something was 'cute?'" Scott asked.
Stiles laughed, "I mean if there's anything he's gonna admit to finding cute, Theo and Liam's relationship is a good choice."
Derek rolled his eyes, "Hey, Theo, 'cmere!" Derek yelled.
The wolf turned to look at him and then ran back to the group, the tennis ball still in his mouth.
"Did you know Derek could understand you?" Liam asked with a smile. The ball fell from the wolf's mouth and it stood, somehow portraying shock.
The wolf made a weird high pitched noise.
"Yes I'm serious."
Another noise.
"'Cause I can shift too."
Silence.
The wolf sat down and made a series of weird noises, then it stood up and walked in a small circle.
"I don't know, it just never came up. Didn't seem appropriate to bring it up during the whole Liam getting kidnapped thing," The wolf growled, "Yeah I know right? Anyway, after that I never saw you shift again so it didn't seem necessary."
Theo growled.
"No."
Another growl, and a whine.
"No, definitely not."
The wolf seemed to glare, and stalked closer then sat down and made a weird mix of sounds, like he was trying to speak.
"I'm not giving you sympathy points. I'm not-"
"Christ, this is the most annoying conversation I've ever witnessed. Derej what the hell is he saying?" Stile finally asked, breaking the silence of the rest of the group.
Derek was silent, and the wolf made a noise, sort of like he was mocking him. Derek sighed, "He wants me to shift. He's never met another full shifter.... And he wants me to play with him."
Theo made another sound.
"I don't care that you think it would be fun! I don't want to play fetch with you."
Theo growled and moved to lay down by Liam's feet, he pointed his head away from them with a frustrated huff.
"Aw," Stiles said, "you made him sad."
Derek looked dumbfounded, "You do realize this is a fully grown person asking another person to play fetch like a dog, right?'
"Yeah, he said it was fun, and he's trying to include you," Stiles said, a hint of a smirk on his face, "C'mon, maybe you'll like it."
"Yeah, c'mon Derek!" Liam encouraged.
The others all did the same. After about two minutes of everyone tormenting him and telling him to "be a good friend," and to "let loose" for a change, Derek finally stood up, sending Stiles falling to the ground.
"Well that was rude," he mumbled.
Derek left, moving to the bathrooms.
A few minutes later, another, slightly larger, black wolf appeared. The only other difference was that Derek didn't have the white spots on his stomach.
Theo's tail was literally wagging as Derek approached slowly. The stood, nonchalant, expression was not lost in Derek's wolf form. Theo eventually ran up to him and... okay, Stiles had to film this.
Theo did that thing that dogs do when they want to play, where they sort of bow down and jump around. Derek wasn't having it. He stood there, like an annoyed older brother. Liam picked up the ball that was left near his feet. Theo's head snapped over. Liam threw it. He ran. This time he brought it back towards Derek instead. Both stood in front of each other. The other looked on in interest and confusion as they barked, whined, and growled at each other. Theo's muffled by the tennis ball in his mouth.
"What do you think they're talking about?" Corey asked.
Stiles squinted at them, "I don't know, but I can't tell if I find this cute or sort of weird."
There was a long pause of silence.
"I think it can be both," Isaac chimed in.
The wolves were both silent.
Then Theo jumped on him. Derek fell on his side, he growled low and snapped at the other wolf. Theo growled back.
The others all looked worried for a second, Scott, Malia, and Corey all standing up.
"Oh god," Isaac said, exasperated, "Do we need to stop them?"
Malia moved to step forward but Scott held out his arm and laughed. The others all looked at him, concerned.
"We don't need to stop them," Scott said. He gestured to them, "They're playing. Like play fighting. They aren't even actually biting each other," The others all turned to look, "See, Derek's tail is wagging."
It was. Derek and Theo were literally acting like two puppies. Theo would try to bite at Derek and he would growl and move out of the way. Theo got off of him and Derek started running, Theo close behind. The others looked on in confused joy at the sight.
Stiles got up from the bleachers and moved to Liam, "Y'know, I think we're gonna need to set them up on a play date."
Liam laughed, "When are you free next, then?"
"Tomorrow around 2?" Stiles said, with an amused smile on his face.
"Perfect, I'll see you then," Liam and Stile shook hands and laughed.
They moved to sit down on the bleachers. They watched on as their 'boyfriends' ran around, chasing and tackling each other. Theo bounded through the grass, panting like a dog as Derek followed after him. Derek moved to jump but Theo darted out of the way. Derek made a noise similar to a sneeze and then kept chasing him. When Derek finally managed to catch him he tackled him to the ground.
They suddenly froze, and Liam was worried one of them might have gotten hurt. Instead they moved apart and tilted their heads towards the sky. Liam tried to follow their eyes, but saw nothing but the waving gray winter sky. He looked down again in time to see the two of them darting back toward the bleachers.
Derek moved to sit at Stiles feet, he rested his head on Stiles leg. When Theo made it to Liam he jumped, his front paws resting on Liam's knees and he looked up barking towards the sky. Liam looked up again, expecting to see nothing, but this time he was met with the sight of a small white fleck, falling from the sky. Then another one. And another.
Theo bit the sleeve of Liam's sweatshirt, or rather, Theo's, and pulled him to stand. Liam held out his hands and caught snowflakes. Theo running around him in circles.
Liam woke up the next morning wrapped in Theo's arms, and with a thin blanket of snow covering the earth.