Title: Proof of Life
Author: AppleL0V3R
Beta-reader: N/A
Fandom: Teen Wolf
Pairing: Theo Raeken and Liam Dunbar
Other Characters: N/A
Theme: "i literally screamed at the top of my lungs in the middle of the library and now everyone is staring at me but there was a really big fucking spider, okay? now someone come kill it" AU (Daily AU Prompts on Tumblr)
Summary: As cliche as he knows it is, he can't help but think of the Liam as his own personal sun. Ficlet.
Word Count: 645
Rating: T
Type: Ficlet – Complete
Genre: Character Study (Theo's POV), Fluff/Slash (if you squint), Action (Mild)
Warnings: No Talking/All Exposition
Disclaimer: If you've heard of it before, then it's obviously not mine.
Started: September 16, 2017
Finished: September 16, 2017
Last edited: December 10, 2017
Note: My first foray into the fandom and on this ship. Also done in present tense and it didn't turn out the way I intended. I'm not a hundred and ten percent sure how I feel about this, but I hope it turned out okay.
It's fairly simple math: IED plus fear equaled a lot of Liam on a warpath. As a rehabilitating—if Liam has anything to say about it—serial killer, it's a formula that doesn't particularly bother Theo. What does bother Theo is the expression that etches itself into Liam's face and settles in for the long haul right after the younger boy calms enough to realize the damage his anger has wrought. It bothers him enough to step in and redirect Liam's anger towards something far more durable—Theo.
Because if he's entirely honest with himself—and as someone with more than their fair share of lies, he makes it a point not to lie to himself—Theo enjoys the way Liam's temper brings the boy to life, marvels at the fierce golden eyes and adrenaline fueled heartbeat. When Liam is angry, there is no doubting his vivacity. Oh there's a laundry list of other things, other moments, other idiosyncrasies for Theo to pick from that stick out and endear just as much, but they don't compare to the way having all that fierceness unleashed seeps into Theo.
And to have it all directed at Theo, himself? Well, there's a reason he provokes Liam as often as possible.
So instead of giving reasons why Liam shouldn't tear the throat out of the hunter he's got pinned and scared, Theo antagonizes Liam until the kid with a gun and not a whole lot of sense becomes as important as a fly on the wall. But Theo doesn't stop pushing, mocking, inviting a fight. Not to give the high schooler a chance to get away unnoticed, but because he's got Liam's attention. Werewolf eyes, liquid glowing metal, locked on Theo like the rest of the world doesn't exist.
He knows which buttons to push to make Liam bypass roars and growls and bearing his fangs and go straight for pouncing. But Theo's no inexperienced fighter, and he certainly has experience fighting this particular werewolf when he's out of control.
If it weren't for the strength boost Liam's anger gives him, Theo could have pinned him quicker. But trading blows, watching Liam attempt to invade his guard and get the upper hand again and again only for Theo to set him back on his heels with a few economical moves is far too intoxicating. But eventually he does trap Liam against the door, because a gas station bathroom is no place for the bloody fight it was shaping up to be. Then, for all his struggling, Theo's height and position allow him to keep Liam off the ground with no real wiggle room to work with.
He can feel the anger begin to dissipate from Liam's body little by little, the tension winding muscles tight giving way as reason and awareness began to reassert themselves. Theo's disappointed to see the anger-bright gold leave but can't deny how comforting he finds the stormy blue.
Theo revels in Liam's anger because it's vivacious in a way that death can't touch. But without it Liam is still Liam; a silly, clumsy, complex high school history buff trying to live up to the expectations he's put on himself. And that proof of life doesn't fade with the anger, it just changes form when his eyes turn stormy from realization of what his temper has caused. But Theo has experience with handling that too, knows how to head off any possibility of sulking or guilt with a well-placed snarky comment and a trademark self-satisfied smirk.
It goes a long way in make Liam's cheeks turn an interesting shade of pink and Theo forces himself to finally put Liam back on his feet.
Though Liam has to shove pointedly at Theo's chest before he gives him any real breathing room and the petulant 'shut up' thrown his way only makes it harder not to chuckle.