After expanding their pack with another werewolf, Scott and Lydia had finally decided to leave for college. Malia left for a short vacation in France (although she wasn't interested in French men anymore), Stiles went back to the FBI and Derek… Well, no one really knows where Derek went exactly. But Liam was pretty sure he would find his way back to Stiles eventually. He always did.

It was obvious that the two of them were meant to be together.

Almost everyone had left, but they knew it wasn't over yet. They were all very much aware that they were going to have to fight against Monroe for the rest of their lives. She had run off for now, but she hadn't given up yet. Her and her loyal army of hunters would never stop chasing them.

But it still felt like seeing the first rays of sunshine after a bad storm. Or maybe the opposite - feeling that first raindrop on your skin after days of extreme drought. Or, you know, finally feeling relief after defeating an Anuk-Ite, and after a bunch of people decide to not hunt you down anymore because you're a werewolf and they thought you were planning on killing them even though all you wanted to do was save their lives.

You know.

Liam wanted to celebrate this short period of freedom by laying in his bed and playing video games, but he knew that there were other things that needed to be done. Words that had to be said to a certain person before it would be too late.

So he had followed said person's smell to get where he needed to be. That's how he ended up at the parking lot of a store he had never been before, knocking on the black SUV's window.

Theo sat up slowly and groaned, thinking it was yet another police officer to tell him to move his car again. That's literally all he had been doing after coming back from hell. He never went back to his 'parents' because he knew they would never let him back into the house. Not after what he had done to them.

"Yeah, yeah," he murmured, taking the car keys out of his pocket.

Without looking out the window, Theo crawled to the front of his car and took place behind the wheel. Right before turning on the engine, he sniffed the air. The all too familiar smell of nervousness and constantly suppressed anger filled his lungs.

"What are you doing here?" Theo groaned. He kept his eyes on the steering wheel because for some reason, he was too afraid to look out the window. Liam had just discovered a side of Theo no one had ever seen before: homeless and lonely. Theo had always been an outcast, but loneliness and being lonely are two completely different things.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Liam asked, as if it was that obvious.

"It looks like you're disturbing my night rest," Theo deadpanned. "Go away."

Liam sighed. "No, we need to talk."

Theo finally looked out the window, trying to give Liam a deathly glare. "There's nothing to talk about, Liam. The Anuk-Ite is defeated. The hunters are gone. Gabe's dead. Gerard might as well be. Nolan miraculously changed sides - and for the record, I still don't trust him - and I really don't care where Monroe went. It's over. We don't have to work together anymore."

"What do you mean?" Liam asked, and he sounded genuinely confused.

"I mean that you don't have to come knocking on my window for whatever reason. I did what I had to do to save my ass. The job's done. There's no need to act all friendly toward each other."

"Act all friendly? What's that supposed to -" Liam let out a frustrated groan. "Theo, just get out of the car. Please. I'm serious, we need to talk."

"I don't want to talk."

Liam sighed and made a fist, digging his fingernails into his own palms. It was the only way to cope with his anger issues; they had gotten worse over the past few weeks. Maybe, even after all of it being almost over, he hadn't found peace after all.

"Then don't talk. Just listen to me, okay?"

The two of them kept their eyes locked on each other, both heartbeats steady because they knew to control it. For a split second, Theo dropped his eyes and glanced at Liam's lips.

And then he opened the door rather violently. "Fine."

(x.x)

After walking for what seemed like forever, Theo stopped in his tracks. "Lookout Point?"

Liam shrugged as he turned around to look at him. "Yeah. Scott and Stiles once drove me here. It's been my favorite place ever since. It's calm and things look less… dangerous and messy from up here. It's beautiful."

"Okay?" Theo shoved his hands in his pockets and went to stand next to Liam. Part of him wanted to tell him what a waste of time this was and how he could've had a few more hours of sleep. He wanted to turn around and walk away, and never come back again.

But another part of him wanted to stay. Liam was right, it was peaceful up here. It was a side of Beacon Hills he had never seen before. The street lights lit up the town like a Christmas tree, and even to Theo's eyes it looked beautiful.

"So why did you bring me all the way up here?" he asked, still looking over the city.

Liam shrugged again. "Because."

"I thought you wanted to talk?"

The werewolf walked to the end of the cliff and sat down, feet dangling over the edge. "I do, I just don't really know where to start."

"Just start with the beginning," Theo suggested calmly as he sat down next to him. "What's the very first thing you want to tell me?"

Liam swallowed. "I guess I just wanted to thank you for helping all of us." He paused, letting out a long and shaky breath. "And I also wanted to thank you for saving my life. Multiple times."

Theo chuckled and bumped his shoulder against Liam's. "I told you we would end up on the same side."

Liam rolled his eyes and smiled at the memory. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"What?" Theo asked. "No punching me in the balls this time?"

"Yeah, well, things have changed," Liam responded, still smiling.

Things really had changed. When they had first met, Liam took the opportunity to threaten Theo whenever he could. He had genuinely hated him. But then he had caught himself risking his own life for him. He had never really hesitated to help him, and neither had Theo. They had grown together and learned how to work together. They had started to trust each other.

"Everything has changed," Theo said quietly.

Liam looked up at Theo. "So have you." He paused and tried to catch Theo's eyes, but he wouldn't give in. He had his eyes locked on his own hands in his lap. "You've changed," Liam continued. "I can see it. I mean, everyone can see that now, but I saw it before. When the Ghost Riders came for us, you pushed me in the elevator to save my life. Mason told me how you tried to take his pain. Yesterday, you literally took a bullet for me. You took Gabe's pain and gave him a peaceful death."

"Liam," Theo whispered, voice low and very unsteady.

"You never stopped trying to prove that you are trustworthy, no matter how shitty we treated you. You wanted to show us that you had changed. It took a while for everyone else to realize, but I'd seen it. And I was little surprised that you weren't with us after the fight."

Theo glanced up at Liam. His eyes were red and puffy, as if he had just been crying. "I'm not part of the pack."

"You are. I hope you're not expecting a 'welcome to pack McCall'-card, because none of us got one. But you do belong with us now. You're not alone anymore."

Liam sat a little closer to Theo, their shoulders and hips and knees now touching each other. His hand trembled a little when he placed it on Theo's, and his heart was out of control. "You have me now," he whispered so quietly that Theo had to use his hearing sense to understand what he had said. Liam let his head fall onto Theo's shoulder, hoping he wasn't crossing any lines.

Theo immediately confirmed that he wasn't; he tangled their fingers and smiled at their hands. "I know," he said.

And both of them finally felt at peace.