one. bullet wounds and kisses
liam dunbar and theo raeken

Liam had never felt so much pain and regret in his life. Not when the Beast had clawed him, not when Hayden had moved away, not when Brett and Lori had died in front of him because he just wasn't fast enough to save them. But here he was, alone and bleeding out in the hospital room, no one around to save him from the dreary end he could see coming. He wouldn't get to say goodbye to anyone, he wouldn't get to think about those feelings he had started to develop for a certain were-coyote, he wouldn't get to do anything ever again. Maybe a part of him had accepted this was going to happen the second Gerard came back to Beacon Hills, but he didn't want it to be like this.

The pain is unbearable and the wound isn't healing, blood seeping through the fingers he has pressed against the bullet hole. His ears still work perfectly, apparently, because he can hear someone running through the halls of the now deserted hospital, but he can't work up the energy to yell for help, can't get more than a whispered named to fall from his lips, the name of the person he had found himself caring for more than he ever imagined. And apparently that's enough.

"Liam!" their voice shouts, making his eyes flutter open. "Liam, where are you?"

"Here," Liam whispers. "Help me."

Theo may have been two floors down, but he had heard Liam loud and clear. Adrenaline is coursing through his body and his main thought is find Liam, save Liam, and it's as if all of his senses are heightened to help him succeed. And so he races up the stairs, taking them two or three at a time, just wanting to get to Liam as soon as he possibly can. The scent of the younger beta's blood and the sound of his faint heartbeat lead him to a hospital room, empty except for the boy who is bleeding out on the ground.

"Theo," he sighs, opening his eyes when he hears someone enter the room.

"Liam, oh my God," he says, falling to the ground in front of him, reaching out for him and lacing his fingers through Liam's while placing his other hand on the boy's cheek. "What happened?"

"Monroe," the younger boy breathes out. "You aren't going to be able to take my pain, you know."

"And why not?" Theo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You can't take pain if you don't care," Liam tells him, repeating the words that Mason had said to him not that long ago. "And you don't care, not about anyone but yourself."

Those words had haunted Theo the moment that they had slipped off of Mason's tongue. It hadn't been long ago that he really didn't care about anyone or anything but himself. But here he is, gripping Liam tightly and praying that the younger boy would be okay. Liam watches in confusion as Theo's eyes flutter closed and, even then, a look of concentration covers his face. And then surprise floods his body as he feels the pain begin to cease, floating away. A few moments later, it's gone and the blood flow has begun to slow down.

Theo's eyes open and there's tears there, something else that surprises Liam, and neither of them know if it's because of the pain or something else. It takes the dirty blonde a moment to remember Scott's advice, that in order to heal if it's not happening, you have to trigger the healing. You have to shift. So he closes his eyes and focuses on the anger, the anger he has that's at Monroe and Gerard and even Theo for making him care about him. Theo watches as his eyes open and shine yellow.

"Calm down," Theo says gently, his hands still gripping the younger wolf. "Calm down, you're going to be okay. It's okay."

And so Liam blinks a few times, feeling the bullet wounds start to heal, and calms himself back down to normal. And once it's clear to Theo that Liam will be okay, he lets go. Liam didn't think he'd ever mourn the loss of Theo's touch, but in that moment, he did. With a small moan, he pushes himself up and stares at Theo with wide eyes as he sits down, raking a hand through his hair and shaking.

"You took my pain," Liam whispers, his hands also shaking and his heartbeat doing something funny. "You... you took my pain."

"Thought I couldn't do that unless I care," Theo says, trying to play it off, but the hitch in his voice suggests otherwise. "I really thought I was going to lose you."

"Why do you keep saving me?" Liam asks, running his hands through his hair as he stares at the boy he had fallen in love with.

"I found someone I care about other than myself," he mumbles, looking away, at anything but Liam. "I'm always there to keep your ass from getting killed because it would kill me if you died."

"That's not... You..." Liam mumbles, surprised by the revelation.

And then surprising them both, he throws himself at the older wolf and grasps his face, then presses his lips against Theo's. The kiss is a surprise to them both, something both had wanted for so long, but never made the move to initiate. Until now. And God is this worth it, the way their lips move together, the way their hands grip each other and roam, almost desperate but mostly just exploratory, the way Theo moans into his mouth, the way Liam whisper moans Theo's name when his lips move from his lips to his jaw, down to his throat. In that moment, the two boys have found bliss in each other. And when their lips reconnect, Liam can't help but wonder why they ever waited so long to do this.

Eventually, Liam breaks the kiss and rests his forehead on Theo's shoulder, eyes still closed. Theo's hand brushes up and down the younger boy's back, trying to ground himself and remind himself of the real world and all the dangers in Beacon Hills.

"You know, Scott probably needs us," Liam whispers, peeking up at Theo.

"You're probably right," Theo nods, looking down at the boy on top of him. "We should go make sure the rest of our pack doesn't die."

Liam doesn't fight him on the use of the word "our", as it just seems natural coming from Theo now. And really, how can Scott tell Theo that he isn't a part of the pack when he's the reason that Liam is still alive, the one who has saved his life more times than anyone could even count? So when he stands up, he holds out a hand to Theo. When the older boy took it without a second of hesitation, not letting go, even after they start walking away, they know that everything has changed but two things will remain the same: Theo will always be there to save him and Liam will always need someone to keep him from doing something stupid.

written in 2017
also posted on ao3