A/N: Nolan struck me as an interesting and conflicted character who struggled to do the right thing despite making some bad choices, so I decided to write this story exploring his feelings in the aftermath of the hospital scene. Naturally I couldn't resist taking my favorite cuddlewolf along for the ride, especially since Nolan and Liam's dynamic on the show was fraught to say the least. Spoilers for 6B and the series finale.

Held Together by Werewolf Hugs

Nolan's heart caught in his throat as the gunman fired at Gabe and Liam. He snatched the fire extinguisher off the wall as the shots kept coming. Liam was on the ground now, and Gabe– Oh god, Gabe.

Nolan slammed the metal canister against the back of the hunter's head, and he crashed to the floor. Nolan didn't look at him; he couldn't take his eyes off the horrifying sight in front of him. Blood gurgled from Gabe's lips, and he looked right at Nolan as he fell to his knees, then tumbled face first to the hospital floor.

This couldn't be happening. It had to be a mistake, a sick joke, a cruel initiation the hunters were putting Nolan through.

Gabe gasped and sputtered as he slid around on his stomach and crawled toward a supply cabinet along the back wall. There was no mistake. No one could make sounds like that unless–

Shards of ice tore through Nolan's blood vessels and his gut twisted violently as Gabe cried out, sobbing about how much it hurt as he propped himself against the glass and metal cabinet.

Theo stepped forward, following the thick swath of blood smeared across the white tile until he was standing in front of Gabe. Theo could fix this, right? He could heal Gabe. He was a werewolf. They had special powers. Gabe was going to be fine.

Theo held Gabe's wrist and asked him if it still hurt. Gabe whispered that it didn't – and Nolan knew. He knew that Theo had helped, but he couldn't fix this. Gabe was...

Time stopped. Theo walked away, shoulders heavy. Melissa McCall said something to Nolan in a soothing voice. Mason and Corey passed in front of him, eying him with a mix of suspicion and pity. None of it seemed real. Nothing seemed real as Nolan stood in front of Gabe...in front of his body. It was horrific, the most gruesome thing Nolan had ever seen, and he couldn't look away from it.

"Sshh, come on. I'll take you home." Strong hands closed around Nolan's shoulders, and he realized he had been shaking, that his face was wet and his eyes hurt.

Nolan turned and buried his head against the chest of the person with the strong hands. He didn't look up as he was guided down the hallway. One of the hands rubbed his back while the other remained on his shoulder, anchoring him to this nightmare. Should he be grateful? He wasn't. He wanted to slip away. He wanted to wake up.

The elevator chimed, and as he boarded it, Nolan finally raised his head to identify the strong-handed person. Liam.

Nolan let go and backed up. Liam hated him. He wanted to kick Nolan's ass, and Nolan couldn't blame him, not after the way that he and Ga– after the way Liam had been jumped at school. Nolan turned his head as a sob racked his body. He clenched his mouth shut, clamping down around the pathetic sound and trying to retain whatever shreds of dignity he had left.

Liam squeezed Nolan's shoulder and let his forearm rest across Nolan's back.

Nolan turned to Liam with bleary eyes. He hated himself for it, but everything hurt and he couldn't resist winding his arms around Liam's chest and laying his head there. He didn't understand why Liam was being nice to him, but he had already made the mistake of touching Nolan. He already broken down too many of Nolan's fragile walls; it was Liam's fault Nolan was a blubbering, quaking mess against his chest.

"Nolan, come on, man. It's gonna be okay." Liam's tone was thick with discomfort, and he held his arms rigidly by his sides.

Nolan was about to let go when Liam sighed and patted his back, then rubbed it, and then Nolan was sobbing again and clinging to Liam just as tightly as before.

"Okay, we have to walk through the lobby," Liam said as the elevator chimed. "Do you wanna pull yourself together?"

Nolan shook his head.

"Ohh-kay. Well I guess crying in a hospital isn't that weird."

Nolan closed his eyes and refused to open them as Liam led them through the lobby and out of the building. Nolan finally composed himself as Liam put him in the passenger seat of the car and went around to the driver's side. He resoled not to cry again until he was at home, alone in his room.

It was an awkward ride to his house. He had embarrassed himself in front of Liam. Only the fact that Liam's opinion of him already couldn't sink any lower kept him from freaking out about it. That and the fact that Nolan didn't have any friends Liam could embarrass him by telling.

"Thanks for the ride," Nolan mumbled as Liam pulled into his driveway.

"Are you parents not home?" Liam asked, eying the dark house and tilting his head as if listening.

Nolan didn't look up as he unbuckled his seatbelt. "My mom died when I was a kid. My dad's outta town on a business trip."

"Wait." Liam stopped Nolan as he reached for the handle of the door. He took a weary breath. "Do you wanna come to my house?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, I guess."

Nolan thought it over. Normally he would have jumped at the chance to spend time with someone away from school, but tonight he just wanted to be in a familiar place as he tried to get his head around everything that had happened. "I think I better stay here."

"Okay." Liam sounded relieved, and Nolan was an asshole because he decided not to let Liam off the hook.

"But you could stay over if you wanted?"

Liam frowned and Nolan was sure he was going to say no. Instead he turned the car off and pulled his phone out of his pocket. "I'll call my mom and let her know."

Liam followed Nolan into the house. It was a surreal experience listening to him talk to his mother on the phone. Nolan had never really considered the fact that Liam had a family, a family that cared about him based on the length of the conversation and the way Liam had to reassure her that he was okay and that the Anuk-Ite threat was over. Liam's step-dad even got on the phone for awhile. It made Nolan feel like even bigger sociopath for trying to kill Liam.

Nolan took a ragged breath and leaned against the wall by the front door as he thought about how devastated Gabe's family would be when they found out. His parents would be crushed; his little sister would fall apart; his older brother might start doing drugs again. Should Nolan be the one to tell them? If he didn't, who would? Ms. McCall? A random doctor at the hospital? At least they knew Nolan. Maybe it would be slightly less painful coming from him.

Dread settled in Nolan's gut and he knew he couldn't do it. What had happened to Gabe was his fault. If he had knocked that hunter out faster...

No, there was no way Nolan would even be able to look at Gabe's family. He was going to take the coward's way out and he knew it. He was going to let some stranger break the news because he didn't have the courage to be a decent human being and face up to what he had done.

"You okay?" Liam asked as he hung up. His hand once again landed on Nolan's shoulder.

Nolan shook his head and resisted the urge to hug Liam. It wouldn't have been fair, not after all the crap he had done to Liam.

"C'mere." Liam tugged Nolan against his chest and wrapped him up in a tight embrace. It still wasn't fair, but he didn't have the will to protest. No one had held him like this in a very long time.

"I'm sorry about everything," Nolan whispered, turning his face so his words wouldn't be muffled, although Liam probably could have heard them anyway.

"Yeah, I know." Liam walked them to the couch and rubbed Nolan's back as they sat down. "It's okay. I'm not mad anymore."

Nolan sat up enough to look at Liam but continued leaning against him. "I thought you wanted to kick my ass?"

"Not anymore."

"How come?"

"'Cause you did the right thing before it was too late. You, uh..." Liam frowned down at his lap. "You even saved my life tonight. That hunter would have, uhm...I mean after he was done with, uh...He would have turned the gun back on me."

"Oh."

"Yeah, and earlier in the hall when you warned me and Theo about..."

"Right."

"So thanks." Liam settled back against the couch and gave Nolan a questioning look as he spread his arms.

Nolan collapsed into Liam's embrace, his elbow resting on the back cushion of the couch as he draped his arm around Liam's neck.

"You saved my life too," Nolan whispered. "You know, by not taking it."

Liam laughed and squeezed him. "I don't think it works like that."

"I thought you were gonna kill me at the zoo, but you were trying so hard not to."

"You hesitated too. You coulda shot me before I got to you."

Nolan sat up and looked into Liam's bright blue eyes. "I never meant for any of this to happen. I never wanted anyone to die. I thought...I thought you guys were monsters, but I was wrong. I made a mistake trusting Monroe and..." Nolan took a trembling breath and forced the words out. "And it got Gabe killed."

Liam's jaw twitched, and he answered through tight lips. "Gabe made his own decisions."

Nolan shook his head. "I introduced him to the hunters. He got involved because of me."

"He still made his own decisions, Nolan."

Nolan didn't want to argue, so he stood. "Let's get cleaned up. I'll lend you some clothes."

They took showers. Nolan spent most of his sitting in the tub crying and hoping Liam couldn't hear him. When he emerged from his bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, he found Liam sitting on his bed, dressed in the sweatpants and t-shirt Nolan had lent him.

Nolan hesitated with his hands hovering over the towel. He had changed in front of Liam plenty of times for lacrosse, but it felt weird doing it alone with Liam in his bedroom. "I have some extra toothbrushes under the sink if you want to brush your teeth."

"Yeah thanks." Liam hopped off the bed and stepped past Nolan, pulling the bathroom door halfway shut behind him.

Nolan quickly dressed in a pair of pajama pants and a loose t-shirt and was sitting in the same spot Liam had occupied by the time Liam came back into the room. "Wanna order a pizza or something?"

Liam smirked at him. "I just brushed my teeth."

"Oh yeah." Nolan's cheeks warmed.

Liam chuckled. "But it looks like you have plenty of toothpaste and brushing again won't kill me, so sure, let's get a pizza."

Nolan nodded, wishing they would stop talking about people getting killed.

They ordered their food on Nolan's tablet and went back to the living room to wait. Liam flipped through channels while Nolan sat next to him on the couch, trying to fight the rising nausea in his gut. He didn't want to eat; he had only suggested the pizza because it seemed like he should offer Liam something.

"There's nothing good on." Liam said, clicking off the TV.

"Gabe was my boyfriend." Nolan wasn't sure why he had blurted out the revelation. It might have been because this was the only chance he would ever get to tell someone.

Liam's eyes widened, and his lips parted in surprise. "I didn't know that."

"It just started. He didn't want to tell anyone because he thought Monroe and Gerard might use it to manipulate us."

"Oh." Liam nodded, his face neutral. "Yeah, good call."

"I met his family. We were gonna tell 'em after all this..." Nolan swallowed and looked away. "After everything was over."

Liam didn't say anything, just squeezed Nolan's shoulder.

"We had sex too – twice. He topped."

"Uhm...cool."

Nolan rubbed his burning face. "I don't know why I told you that."

Liam shrugged. "I think what you're really telling me is that he mattered. He was important to you."

Tears burned Nolan's eyes as he nodded. He turned away from Liam on the couch, embarrassed to be crying in front of him, again. He was about to get up when Liam rubbed his back and whispered that it was okay, and he found himself lying back against Liam's chest instead.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Nolan asked, staring down at Liam's hands folded over his stomach. He tentatively squeezed Liam's hand and snuggled deeper into his embrace. Gabe hadn't been much of a cuddler.

"I feel sorry for you."

Nolan cringed. If he had any dignity whatsoever he would get up. He stayed put.

"And ever since the whole Anuk-Ite thing started, I've been having trouble controlling myself. Now I'm not, and it feels really good that I can be around" –Liam hesitated and took a breath, his chest expanding against Nolan's back– "around you and not feel any urge to hurt you. It's pretty cool that you seem to trust me too."

Nolan laid his head back against Liam's shoulder, proving Liam's point. He felt safe, really safe, safer than he had in months. "I think I was only afraid because of it."

"Maybe we can be friends."

"You mean it?" Nolan turned his head and looked at Liam. It was weird that their faces were so close, but Nolan liked it. "No one ever wants to be my friend." Crap. Nolan needed to stop saying stuff like that. He knew how pathetic it made him sound.

Liam shrugged and tilted his face away.

Nolan's cheeks burned as he lifted his head and faced forward again. Gabe used to hate the close eye contact thing too.

"I know I'm weird. You don't have to be my friend."

Liam laughed and hooked his chin over Nolan's shoulder. "Dude, Mason is like my only normal friend. Everyone else is either a werewolf, werecoyote, chimera, or banshee. Scott told me we were brothers on the second day I knew him...after he had kidnapped me the night before. Corey used to turn invisible and eavesdrop on my conversations. Lydia sees visions of monsters and dead people. Malia wants to attack anything that moves. And Theo...is Theo. I'm not judging."

"Wait, so you and Theo are friends?"

"Of course – but don't tell him."

Nolan laughed and Liam stroked a soothing line across Nolan's stomach with his thumb. It felt so good that Nolan opened his mouth to tell Liam his secret. The doorbell rang, cutting him off and signaling the arrival of their pizza. Nolan groaned in disappointment before he could stop himself.

"It's okay," Liam said softly near Nolan's ear. "I'm staying all night."

Liam gave him one more squeeze, and they got up to go get their food.

-000-

End Notes: I hope you guys enjoyed this story! Feedback would be greatly appreciated. I have quite a few projects going, so I'm curious if there's any interest in this one continuing, or if I should end it here and focus on something else. I'd also just love to hear you what you thought of the story in general.