Chapter Text
Pepper said it offhandedly one night.
If she’d said it before Peter he’d have likely shut her down immediately, before quickly retreating and then having a panic attack for good measure. But as it stood now it was his weekend with the kid and he was sleeping soundly in his room, while Tony and Pepper stayed up a little longer to catch up on the latest episode of whatever trashy TV show they were into lately.
So instead he responded with a simple, “What?”
Pepper shifted so she was facing him. Her arm rested against the back of the couch, her head leaning against it. Her strawberry locks spilled over her shoulder, accenting the gentle curves of her face. Tony couldn’t help taking in the soft beauty of her. It was late enough that she’d already taken her make-up off, showing him something most others weren’t privy to. That intimate vulnerability that came with seeing her in these types of moments, made his heart swell. It was almost enough for him to forget what she’d said.
“We should see if you have any other kids out there.”
He blinked stupidly at her at the reminder of what she’d suggested.
She shakes her head with a huff, “We both know it’s likely that Peter isn’t your only illegitimate child.” He grimaced at her blunt statement but didn’t stop her. “And before I would have thought it best to just leave it alone, but I’ve seen how you are with Peter. And I see how happy being in each other's lives has made both of you. So I just think it’s something to consider. I’m not suggesting we bust down every hospital and demand their records, just putting your DNA in one of those websites meant to connect family members would be enough. We might not even find anyone, I just think opening the door to that possibility is good”
Tony found himself sort of stunned. He’d never really considered there being any others after Peter. Hell, he hadn’t considered there being any before Peter either. He’d been just about as shocked as he could’ve been when he’d gotten that fateful call from May Parker. Telling him of a son he didn’t know about. She wasn’t even asking for him to be in Peter's life or anything of the sort; she was just asking if he could send over a reasonable fund in child support because his parents were out of the picture and her husband had recently past and she was struggling to make ends meet. At first he and Pepper --after they’d verified with DNA-- had agreed to just set up a fund and have that be the end of it, but he just couldn’t get it out of his head. He had a son. A son who had lived the majority of his life without him. He didn’t know if he was grateful that the kid hadn’t been infected by him, or if he resented the fact that he missed out on his kid’s childhood. In the end he’d had to meet the kid, he wasn’t satisfied with the pictures he’d seen and the research he’d done. And god was he glad he decided to make the leap. Peter was one of the best things that ever happened to him. Along with his beautiful fiance of course.
But he never considered the possibility of there being another. Maybe that was a stupid thought to have, after all his teenage to young adult years had been rather eventful. But it just hadn’t crossed his mind after the kid. And it wasn’t as if Pepper was suggesting there were any others just that he should put himself out there just in case there were. But he wasn’t sure if he wanted to. He didn’t know if he was open to having more children, or having to feel the ache of knowing he missed out on their milestones. He’d already gone through it, and frankly still goes through it with Peter. And to have to go though that times two is a big ask. But the sooner he opens himself up the sooner he gets to be a part of this kid's life. But how many kids could there be? And would he luck out like he did with Peter? Peter was a good kid. A really good kid. Sure he had his issues, and there was the whole spider thing --that had been a rough week-- but he was more than willing to deal with that in order to know this wonderful kid. But there’s a chance that whatever kid he meets through this isn’t as great. But it would also be his, isn’t that worth enough to get to know them?
Seemed Pepper could see the conflict on his face --not that she ever couldn’t-- as she decides to interrupt, “You don’t have to make any decisions today, or even within a month or year. There’s no deadline on this. It’s just something to think about.”
He nodded, but he didn’t know if he agreed with that. With every moment he didn’t meet his hypothetical children he was adding to the time they’d spent apart. If he’d known of Peter sooner he could have helped him in so many ways. Ways that he could help his other kids too.
His thoughts were interrupted again by Pepper's gentle hand on his face. Slowly bringing it towards her and planting a sweet kiss on his lips. When she moves away she doesn’t move far, “stop overthinking it.”
“How am I not supposed to overthink it, Pep?” It was a genuine question.
“Things went much better with Peter once you’d stopped overthinking it.”
And she was right. She always was. All his best decisions regarding Peter was when he’d stop letting his mind run into overdrive. When he’d pulled back and gone with his gut. Hell, the whole decision to meet the kid spawned from him not overthinking.
He gave a soft sigh, “you’re right as always, Pep.”
She smiled charmingly, “Was there ever a doubt?”
He huffed with an eye roll, “Yea, well you're not right about everything.”
She lifts a perfect brow, “Oh? And what am I wrong about?”
“Well…” he drew the word out, “ there’s no way I’m sending my DNA to any cheap ancestry dot com bullshit.”
She looked ready to argue before conceding, “I guess that might not be the best choice.”
“I can already see it now, one of their employees getting their hands on my DNA and deciding to play god and create some weird evil clone of me to do their weird evil bidding.”
She laughed, the corners of her eyes crinkling, “evil you would be blonde.”
He gasped scandalized, “Don’t even think it into existence, if you ever see a blonde me I give your permission to punch it.”
“Was already planning on it.”
He frowns, “what if I’d just dyed my hair.”
“Then You really deserve that punch. I mean blonde? Tony, blonde?”
He gave an exaggerated pout, pulling at a lock of his hair, “I could rock blonde
Her grimace spoke more than words ever could.
“Alright, alright point taken.” he lifts his hands, conceding.
“Good,” she smiles sweetly before getting serious once more, “if that’s out, how do you want to go about this then?”
“Hey! I never said I was doing this!”
She rolled her eyes, “Hypothetically then.”
He gave a big huff, rubbing his face, “Well…hypothetically I could just do it myself.”
“Do it yourself?” it wasn’t said with a questioning inflection.
“Yea,” he shrugged, “I can just test my DNA against others from here. I’ve got my DNA,” he lifted his arm, “All I need to do is ask Fri to start running it against others.”
“Ok,” she said thinking, “where would you be getting the DNA?”
“Friday should have no problem hacking into these sites and stealing the information.”
She frowned, “Tony…”
“Hey, don’t do that, you know this is our best option.”
She let out a long breath, rubbing at her temples, “I guess, when will you start?”
He looked away from her, “This is all hypothetical, remember?”
He glanced at her, she had a soft smile, “I remember.” she lifted the remote and asked, “shall we?”
He looked over to the TV he hadn’t even noticed she’d paused it, “we shall.”
--------
Theo’s fingers played idly with the corner of the page he was getting ready to turn. He’d been getting into reading more fictional books lately, something he’d done as a kid but hadn’t exactly been able to keep up after he’d been taken in by the dread doctors.
Liam’s room was the perfect environment for reading at the moment; sunlight rolling in through the window at the perfect angle, the soft tapping of keys as Liam worked on some school assignment, the fan cooling down the room from the oppressive California heat. Those are the reasons Theo found himself spread out on the beta’s bed reading one of his new books he’d checked out at the library.
Or at least that’s what he wanted to believe. That he wasn’t indulging in a guilty habit, that at any point he could leave the beta’s room and simply read in the guest room he has the luxury of staying in. But Theo wasn’t really in the business of lying to himself, other’s sure, but not to himself. And he knew the real reason why he was here was weakness. The weakness of that stupid, whiny nine year old inside him that he could never quite shake even after all those years spent with the doctors. The stupid nine year old that craved the company that Liam’s presence provided him, that relished in Liam’s scent that surrounded Theo when he lay in his bed, that all but preened everytime the beta looked his way. He knew he shouldn’t indulge in these feelings, in that whiny brat that still lives within him, but he was finding it harder not to, the longer he stayed in the Dunbar-Geyer house. And it didn’t just stop with Liam, everytime Mrs. or Dr. Geyer give him parental guidance, or treat him like their own kid; he feels this warm burst in his chest. The longer he stays here the worse these feelings are going to get, and when it all comes crashing down it’s going to hurt. Maybe even worse than anything ever has. So he knows he should get up and just leave Liam’s room, but instead he finds himself sinking deeper into that pillow that smells so much like Liam it wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine it was.
The clicking of keys stopped as Liam suddenly shot up. He twisted around a gleeful look on his face.
“oh! I forgot to tell you the other day I had the thought: we should get you one of those DNA kit things!”
Theo just sort of stared deadpan, “Why?”
Liam rolled his eyes at Theo's lack of enthusiasm, “because me and Mason did one a while back and they're pretty cool! You get to see where you're from and Mason even found out he had like this whole other side of his family he didn’t know about.”
“Yea, no thanks.”
Theo turned his attention back to the book he’d been reading, shuffling a bit to get comfortable again. He hardly got a word in before the sour, citrus of Liam’s annoyance invaded his nose. He let out a huff, dropping the book open faced on his stomach as he turned to face Liam.
“What?” Theo wanted to be annoyed with Liam’s ever present chemosignals-- he really needs to teach him how to suppress that kind of thing, or at least not be so obvious with them-- but he finds it hard to do with Liam's stupid scrunched up angry face. He hardly is able to stop the smirk from pulling his lips, which only seems to annoy the beta more.
“You can't even just, like, pretend to be interested.”
It was Theo’s turn to give a scrunched look, though his was born of confusion, “why would I do that?”
“I don’t know!” Liam raised his arms in frustration. His long hair falling into his face. It was clear a haircut was in order, but Theo would be lying if he said he didn’t like how it looked all overgrown.
Theo let out a long sigh, “Fine.”
He sat up, moving the book from his stomach to the bed slipping a bookmark into it. He sets it beside himself swinging his legs over the side of the bed so he was facing Liam head on.
“Go on, little wolf, tell me why I should care.” he all but bites out.
The citrus scent turns a more acrid ash as Liam’s annoyance morphed into anger. Theo resists wincing, he hadn’t meant to make him angry. He’d been trying to do less of that lately, he knew how much the beta hated being angry. Plus with the new meds he was trying out he’d been more irritable than ever. Which to Theo seemed entirely counter-productive to what they should be doing. But Liam had told him it wasn’t the meds that ticked him off just the awful side effects of them thus far. The insomnia, the nausea, the anxiety; all seemed especially designed to ruffle the poor beta’s feathers. According to Liam’s doctor it should take a few weeks to level out, but Theo didn’t know how much he trusted that, after all his doctor was the one who’d given him these stupid meds that don’t seem to be working. According to Liam that’s how these things always were at first when trying out new prescriptions and doses. It’s times like these Theo wished he still had the resources the dread doctors had provided him, maybe then he could make up a better solution. He immediately forced the thought away, the docters would be more likely to take Liam in as one of their fucked up experiments. The thought made him feel nauseous.
There was an apology on the tip of his tongue for his asshole-ish behavior, but he swallowed up the word in favor of saying, “I just don’t get it, explain it to me.”
Liam scrutinized Theo, still pungently angry, but he seemed to accept the olive branch. He takes a few breaths, muttering his mantra to himself. Theo waits patiently as the ashy smell shrinks back to that awful sour. It’s better than nothing he supposed, and it seemed Liam agreed as he stopped his little ritual to continue the conversation.
“I just thought it’d be cool, and it could do you some good to see if you have any family out there.”
The slightly warm feelings at his not-really-apology-but-apology being accepted seemed to burn like ash at the mention of family. Family was a touchy subject for Theo, beyond touchy, really. With what had happened to Tara --what he did to Tara-- and the subsequent disappearance of his parents, it was something he didn’t particularly like to think about.
They'd gone missing soon after he’d been taken by the dread doctors. He hadn’t known until years into his time with them when he decided to look his parents up. Check in on them, see how they were doing with the loss of both their children. He didn’t even really know why he wanted to know, his time with his parents wasn’t really filled with fond memories. Just stifling regiments and precautions over his weak heart. They were overly cautious to the point of being overbearing, what he’d had with them could hardly be called a life. But even still he missed them, something he hardly even admitted to himself. He missed his mothers soft kiss and warm embrace, he missed his fathers strong hands and clever words. He knew looking them up would end up doing more harm than good, it wasn’t as if he could go back. Not with what he’d done, not with what he’d become. And in the end it had been a mistake to look them up, a big fucking mistake. He could never forget that heart stopping feeling when he’d found the article about the tragedy of his family, at Tara’s death and his and then his parents disappearance. He still doesn’t know what became of them, but he doesn’t doubt that the doctors had something to do with it.
Point is it was a touchy subject. The thought of him having any family out there filled him with unending dread. He fucked up his last family, and if given a new one he’d fuck them up too. There was no fucking shot he was doing this. Even if he did have any family out there, there’s no way he’d do them the disservice of knowing him, the best thing to do for them would be to stay as far away from them as possible.
“Theo,” he was surprised to find Liam crouched right in front of him. Face oozing with concern as the staticky scent of his anxiety invaded Theo’s nostrils.
“You with me, man?” he asked nervously, wringing his hands.
Theo just nodded, he hadn’t noticed he’d spaced. That had been happening more and more lately. Liam had tried convincing him to get checked out by a doctor, but he’d out right refused, and all but threatened to run far, far away if he didn’t drop the idea. Cue them going to Scott’s house, which was supposed to be a pack meeting, but ended up being a ruse to get him in front of Melissa. Liam and the others he’d conspired with had figured it’d be easier on Theo if he got checked out in a more comfortable setting. Not that Scott’s house was really a comfort for him. Maybe it had been in the past, but now it just filled him with a sea of stupid emotions to suppress. Liam likely would have siked his dad on Theo had he been in the know at the time. It was just easier to go to someone who knew some of what Theo went through.
In any case he agreed to let her give him a check up with the limited supplies she had at her house, if only to get Liam to shut up and stop looking at him with those stupid concerned blue eyes. She hadn’t been able to do much but had told him that she suspected ‘his trauma was finally catching up with him’. Apparently he’d been living on a day by day basis before, just trying to survive. And now that he was seemingly ‘safe’ his body felt it appropriate to fail on him. And unlike most people Theo’s fucked-up-ness seemed to manifest in him spacing out, or dissociating.
She’d told him he should probably check with an actual professional because that wasn’t exactly her area of expertise. She’d given him a therapist recommendation --the same one who’d treated Scott after his dads disappearing act-- but he’d yet to cash it in. Even with Liam's insistence he couldn’t square how he’d even begin to explain what had happened to him. According to Liam he could just explain it away as kidnapping, that’s what it was right? That's what the official report says anyway. But it wasn’t that, he’d gone willingly and even if he hadn’t there were so many things that happened to him that ‘kidnapping’ didn't encompass. How could he explain the fucking torture of being experimented on? Of having surgeries performed on him while awake with no anesthesia. How could he explain the fact that he’d killed his sister just because some steam-punk fuckers told him to? How could he explain that every beat of his heart reminded him he shouldn’t be alive? How could he explain that he’d tried to orchestrate the murder of his childhood freind just for fucking power? How co-
Fingers gently massaged his hands from palm to fingertip. The fingers were warm and soft, no, not entirely soft there were gentle calluses that added a much needed realness to the hands. His eyes fluttered, blinking a few times as he watched the hands. He followed them to their owner, finding a now extremely worried Liam. It was a wonder the scent of it hadn’t roused him from his mind's blunder. It had upgraded from the light static to a loud crackling.
His nose crinkled in confusion, “why are you freaking out?”
Liam seemed to jump at the sound of his voice, his hands ripping themselves from Theo’s. Much to his disappointment, not that he’d ever say that. He shook his hands out, the ghost of Liam’s warmth slowly leaching away and filling his chest with an ache. Which was something he was choosing not to think about.
“What was that about,” he lifted his hands to make clear what he was referring to.
“Oh, that.” he shuffled back from Theo. A stale awkward scent taking place of his anxiety. “S’just something I read about, that helps with um…dissociation,” he’d practically murmured the last part.
Theo didn’t bother hiding the scent of his annoyance. Liam shook his head a little annoyed himself, “come on, Theo, you can’t keep denying this.”
“I’m not denying anything, it's just not as serious as you're making it out to be.”
The two stared at each other a while before Liam relinquished. “Whatever, man, but this isn’t over.'' He pointed a stern finger at Theo, reminding him amusingly of the beta’s mom.
“Sure it isn’t,” he rolled his eyes, not terribly annoyed, more enderaed and slightly frustrated at Liam’s unending, stubborn determination. It was the only reason that Theo now found himself living at the Dunbar-Geyer household in the first place. That and Jenna, it was clear where Liam had gotten his irritating qualities from.
“What were we talking about anyway?” Theo would try and remember himself but the fuzzy feeling in his head wasn’t really promising. Theo wasn't stupid, He knew what was happening to him. He'd known before Melissa had even uttered the word ‘dissociation’. He'd seen plenty of people afflicted before during his time with the doctors. He'd just never expected to be on the receiving end. And it was fucking embarrassing. At least with all the people he'd encountered who dissociated they were going through the worst part of their lives. With him the worst was behind him, or at the very least not happening now, so why was his brain failing now?
“Right,” Liam seemed to get a bit uncomfortable, “we were talking about you taking a DNA kit thing, but uhh, we don’t have to talk about it anymore.”
Theo narrowed his eyes at the beta. “And why exactly don’t we have to talk about it anymore? You were all about it earlier.”
“Well, cause- I mean you know.” he wasn’t looking at Theo.
“Because what, Liam.” he growled out.
Liam groaned, a bit ticked off, “You're impossible you know that, Theo? We can stop talking about it because clearly the subject upsets you.”
Theo opened his mouth to protest, standing so he was looking down at him. before he could speak Liam interrupted, “nope! you’re not fucking doing that. Would it kill you to show me an ounce of respect and not lie to my fucking face?” His statement was only punctuated by the too sharp canines and the almost yellow eyes. Liam wasn’t too far off from shifting.
Theo ground his teeth, his own gums itching to let his fangs free, and maybe even duke it out in a full on brawl with the beta. But he held himself back. He resented Liam thinking he was weak, too weak to talk about something as stupid as a DNA test. But of course that wasn’t all it is, and what he really resented the most was that Liam was fucking right to think him weak. He was a sniveling, fucking child who needed to be coddled or else he clams up and gets locked inside his own brain.
He huffed and slipped past Liam and out of the room. They both just needed to calm down before circling back to the conversation. Because he could have this conversation without spacing out, he fucking could. But just the fact that Liam would be completely fine if they just dropped it made him all the more angry. He didn’t need special treatment, he didn’t need coddling. He’d just have to be better and show Liam that.
--------
Jenna felt herself automatically relax as her home came into view.
She pulls up the driveway, easing the car into park and pulling the keys from the ignition. She keeps the keys in hand as she reaches over for her bag in the passenger seat. She walks gingerly up the concreted path.
She’s so ready to just relax as she cooks her family dinner. She enjoys being able to decompress with the mindless task and she’d found with Theo’s help it was especially enjoyable. The boy was eager to help around the house upon being invited to stay, at first she’d been reluctant to agree. Not wanting him to think he needed to be of use to be welcome, but she’d found that he was less stressed out when allowed to help, as much as he denied it. And he’d picked up cooking pretty fast, faster than Liam ever had. She swears he still doesn’t know how to bring water to a boil.
She slips her house key into the lock, smoothly opening the door. The new locks were definitely a life saver, they’d use to snag and get stuck instead of opening. Once she enters she hasn’t the time to lock the door behind her before she hears rapid footsteps coming down the stairs. She turns ready to greet whoever it is, even bringing her hand up to wave at them, when an upset Theo comes storming past her. Head hung low he breezes past with hardly any acknowledgement.
She watches worriedly as he climbs into his car and peels away. A frown sets on her face as she looks up at the stairs. She quickly turns and closes the door, she moves to lock it out of habit, but after looking at the empty driveway she decides to leave it unlocked for his return. She knows he has a key but she can’t help worry. She sets her bag in the kitchen before bounding up the stairs. It doesn’t take her long to reach her son's room, the door wide open and allowing her a peek in. Liam is standing in the center of the room With fists clenched and eyes shut tight as he let out deep breaths in between repetitions of the mantra he’d told her was to control his turn. That certainly wasn’t a good sign.
“You ok, hun?”
He let out a sharp gasp not having heard her approach, which was also not a good sign. His eyes flicked open, locking on her in the doorway.
“Mom?” he asked, a little confused.
He seemed to register himself, he brought his hands up, opening them and peering down at his palms. Her gaze hones in on the blood on her son's palms booting her into overdrive. With a gasp she rushes over pulling his hands towards her.
“Liam..” she couldn’t stop the disapproving in her voice as she lightly traced a finger on his palm, just beside the crescent shaped marks.
“Shit-” at her look, he sheepishly added, “sorry.” for both the wounds and his curse.
She just gave a disbelieving hum before leading him to the bathroom. She brought him over to the sink, turning it on and checking the temperature with her hand. Once it was to her liking she took his hands and held them under the spray. He winced at the sting.
“I can do it myself, mom,” he whined a bit at her overbearing.
“You could.” she simply states not letting go of his hands.
“You know it’ll just heal itself,” something which she had actually forgotten.
“Doesn’t mean you should walk around with blood on your hands.”
He rolled his eyes at her, fond.
“When did you get home anyway?”
“Uh-uh mister, I get to ask questions first.”
“But I-”
“Nope, I’m the adult I pull rank.”
He just shook his head at her.
“What happened with Theo, sweetheart?” she asked as gently as she could.
She watched as his face twisted in guilt, which only worried her more. He shuffled his feet as she let go of his hands. He almost immediately pulled them back toward himself, pulling at his fingers and twisting them. She frowns at this, quickly grabbing a towel and pulling his hands back towards her to gently dry them.
“Why do you ask?” he mumbled, at the stupid question she raised a brow at him, he looked away, sheepish.
“Because, I come home to find. My one son rushing out of the house looking pretty upset and then my other struggling not to..wolf out." She still struggled with the werewolf terminology even after two months of being in the know.
He sighed as she finally let his hands drop, watching closely to make sure he didn't do any further damage. He dropped his head onto her shoulder, mumbling out “I messed up mama.”
She hummed, moving one arm to wrap around him and the other to lightly pet his golden brown locks. “I’m sure it couldn’t be that bad, not with you two.”
He lifted his head giving her a look at that, reminding her of his and Theo’s history. They hadn’t always been so amicable, and honestly sometimes they still weren’t.
She grimaced, conceding, “I mean anymore, you guys always bounce back.”
He hummed, dropping his head back to her shoulder. “I was just asking if he wanted to take one of those DNA tests, like me and Mason did, remember?” She hummed agreement. “I thought it could be neat to see his history and whatnot, and maybe we could find out if he has some family out there…” he trailed off.
Jenna winced at that, her son might be well meaning but even she knew you had to act with the utmost care when it came to family with that boy. His first few weeks of living with them he had been very temperamental with wild mood swings. It had taken her more time than she’d like to admit to realize he was jealous. Jealous of their familial relationships, angry that he’d never quite had that, and angry that he wasn’t a part of it now. It took her sitting down with him and explaining that he was just as much part of their family as any of them were. And even then it took him a few more weeks to digest the news and cool down. And sure at that point she hadn’t known him that long but she had invited him to stay with their family and she never did anything half-assed. And she had to admit she had a soft spot for the boy, especially after hearing how he’d protected her son on multiple occasions. Yes, proceeding that he’d tried to manipulate him into killing his alpha --which is something she’s still trying to wrap her head around-- but it was clear to her he was trying to turn over a new leaf. And who was she to deny him that.
“It was stupid,” he continued, “A stupid thing to suggest, I should've realized how it’d make him feel, but I just thought he might be happy to find out if he has other family out there. I still don’t even fully know why he’s upset, I know it’s complicated and maybe I won’t ever get it but it’s just frustrating.”
He pulled away from the embrace then, he looked sullen, and pouty. “And then he started dissociating, and it scared the shi- it scared me. And it shouldn’t have because I should be used to it by now, and I know that it’s not gonna hurt him or anything but..” he trailed off but she knew what he meant.
He kept talking after a beat “But I learned this technique to help where you try and tether them to their body by rubbing their hands and it seemed to work. But of course he just got mad at me. Cause he can’t just admit he’s struggling.”
She rested a hand on his shoulder upon hearing the growl entering his voice. He blinked surprised at her before looking away sheepishly. He muttered a soft sorry, continuing before she could reassure he didn’t have to apologize.
“The point is: I got mad, and I shouldn't have gotten mad. And it just made everything worse like it always does.”
“Oh, hun,” she murmured, rubbing his shoulder.
“Why do I have to be so fucked up,” he groaned, rubbing vigorously at his face. No doubt tears of frustration had budded up.
And that was her last straw, she pulled him into a tight embrace. “None of that, we’re not gonna talk about ourselves like that. You’re not fucked up. You hear me? Yea you’re wired differently, and it sucks and, sweetheart? Frankly it might always suck. But you’re doing so much better than you used to. So much, baby. You should be proud of that. Even if you slip up sometimes, you should be proud of that. And fucks sake, Li, give yourself a break, you’re on new meds and they aren’t making things easy. And Theo is the way he is, and it is frustrating at times, baby, it is. But we keep trying. That’s what matters, you keep trying, ok?”
Liam nodded from the crook of her neck, warm tears spilling down to her shirt. He sniffled a bit, lifting his head slightly, “I just hate that something so stupid got so out of hand.”
She nodded in understanding, “I know, baby.”
She let him rest there a while til he pulled away, “how long ago did he leave?”
She checked the time on her phone, “About a half hour ago, but you should wait for him to come back. You know he likes to process by himself.”
He looked like a kicked puppy at her words, which is apparently very apt for her werewolf son. What had her life become?
“Tell you what, if he’s not back before sundown you can go get him, ok?”
He nodded but she could tell he wasn’t entirely happy about it. She ruffled his hair, much to his squeaking protests.
“Now how ‘bout you help me get started on dinner, hm?” she didn’t wait for his groaning protests before she turned on her heels and headed back down stairs.
--------
Liam waited anxiously in the entryway, pacing back and forth. His arms wrapped around himself, playing with the sleeves of his hoodie. His shoes squeaked on the wood floor, his eyes flicking every few seconds to the window in the living room. Trying to discern if it was dark enough for him to get Theo yet. It wasn’t too unusual for Theo to disappear for hours at a time when upset, but this time it was Liam who’d made him upset. Not that, that never happens, but it was getting dark. Not that Theo could take care of himself, he’d been doing it for years. But it was getting dark and Liam had upset him, and he was out running around in the woods. The woods where every single supernatural occurrence seemed to hone in on. And it was getting dark and he was alone. And he was mad at Liam. What if he didn’t want to come back? He took his truck, his truck that still had most of his things. Liam had noticed how bare his room still was, and that there was a bag in Theo’s truck that could only be his belongings with how strongly it smelled of the chimera. If he’d really wanted he could just take off. And it was so fucking dark outside.
Fuck! He was losing it. He squeezed himself tighter, checking again how dark it actually was. It wasn’t enough for him to justify leaving just yet. He’d never felt so anxious before, he could practically see that stupid face Theo makes whenever his chemosignals are too strong. It was honestly pissing him off how jittery his insides felt. He felt like his organs were going to vibrate out of his skin. He fucking hated his new meds. It's been a week of this. This fucking confusing clusterfuck. Whatever these meds were supposed to be doing it wasn’t fucking working. He honestly feels so much worse than if he wasn’t taking them. And if it wasn’t for his parents he’d have likely stopped a while ago. He hated this, he hated feeling like this. He hated his dumb brain and how it couldn’t just act normal without regulating.
The knob of the front door began to twist. He stopped dead in his tracks and turned towards it. He took a deep inhale smelling Theo on the other end of it as it swung open. He should probably be more worried about the fact that he hadn’t detected him beforehand but he was just so elated he didn’t really care. As soon as the door was fully open Liam wasted no time in practically tackling Theo. He paid no mind to the shout from the chimera, as he wrapped him in a tight embrace. He pressed his nose to Theo’s neck taking in deep inhales of his scent. He could feel Theo trying to pry him off but he couldn’t let him go, not when he was back home.
Finally Theo seemed to stop fighting against it, going limp in Liam’s hold as he groaned out, “can you let go of me already.”
Liam seemed to remember himself, pulling off Theo with a bright flush. His face was hot as he took a couple steps back from the chimera. He couldn’t bring himself to step too far away from him though. He muttered an embarrassed apology.
“It’s fine.” Theo’s voice sounded weird.
When Liam looked up at his face. He looked completely disheveled, not unexpected with how he’d spent the last few hours running around the preserve in full coy-wolf mode. What was weird was the slight flush to his cheeks, and the fleeting wisps of an undefinable emotion wafting about. Liam really wished he was better at discerning chemosignals.
“Are you ok?” he asked, taking a step closer and raising a hand to touch Theo’s arm.
Theo took a small step back from the touch, which wasn’t completely unheard of but still totally soul crushing all the same.
“I’m fine, just tired.”
“Ok,” Liam responds, unable to hide the hurt from both his voice and chemosignals. He really needed some pointers from Theo on how to better mask his emotions, because it was getting embarrassing. Then again Theo’s proclivity to hide his emotions is one of the things Liam found most irritating about the chimera.
“I’m not..” Theo trailed off a moment, “I’m not too tired to talk to you, I’d never be…”
Liam waited for him to finish but he never did. He didn’t really have to, Liam knows what he was going to say. So with a soft smile Liam nods his understanding.
“Oh Theo, you’re back”
The two jumped apart from each other in surprise, they hadn’t realized just how close they’d gotten. Liam found his dad standing in the archway of the living room, eyebrow raised at their reaction.
“Am I…interrupting something?”
All Liam could do was rapidly shake his head. Leaving it to Theo to actually answer.
“No, Dr. Geyer, you’re not interrupting anything.”
Liam’s dad simply hummed with a knowing smile before adding, “Didn’t I tell you to call me David?”
Theo glanced away nodding.
“Why don’t you go ahead and shower, I’m sure running around the preserve isn’t the most cleanly activity.”
Theo nodded, turning to go before stopping and facing Liam, “We’ll talk when I’m done, yea?”
Liam’s head bobbed enthusiastically, “Yea, of course.”
He couldn’t stop the smile on his face as he watched Theo go. He was stopped from looking as his dad cleared his throat.
“Real subtle,” his dad teased.
Liam’s face heated up even more as he whined, “Dad! He can hear you!”
“Right, right, super ears,” he said, tapping his own.
“Werewolf hearing,” Liam corrected with a huff and an eyeroll.
His dad laughed lightly, returning to the living room as he called, “You wanna watch deal or no deal while you wait for your boyfriend to finish?”
“Dad!”
He felt sweaty and hot and just knew he was probably beat red. He really hoped Theo couldn’t hear him over the sound of the shower’s spray, but knew with Theo’s honed in senses that wasn’t likely. He rubbed his face as he took a step toward his room, stopping at the sound of his sneaker squeaking. He glanced down, before crouching to undo the laces and stuff his shoes in the rack beside the door. He headed up the stairs as he removed his jacket. He walked into his room, tossing his jacket on the desk chair, and sitting down on his bed. He let his body relax from all the tension it’d acquired waiting for Theo to come home.
He needed to think of what he wanted to say to Theo, in all his worrying he hadn’t actually thought of anything past finding the chimera. He’s glad then in that regard that his dad had sent Theo to shower, maybe he’d known Liam hadn’t had the opportunity to process anything since his departure.
He laid back in his bed, and rested his hands on his stomach as he stared up at the ceiling. He wanted to apologize for getting mad first and foremost. He shouldn’t have, and that’s what it always comes down to with Liam, isn’t it? but it was just so frustrating how Theo constantly lied straight to his face about how he was feeling. As if Liam was too stupid to know he was bullshitting. And especially with his new habit of dissociating, it was more clear than ever that Theo wasn’t doing well. If he could just accept the help that Liam was trying to offer he’d be so much better off.
Maybe Liam should tell him that? Tell him how frustrating it is and how shity it makes him feel that Theo doesn’t trust him to help. Then again maybe it’s not fair of Liam to demand Theo trust him. It wasn’t like the guy had, had ample opportunity to develop a healthy relationship with trust. Or maybe trust had nothing to do with it, knowing Theo he might just as well be denying his struggles as to not be a burden on the Dunbar-Geyer household. Lord knows that boy hates being a burden, that’s why he was homeless living in his truck all those months when he knew there was an open spot for him at their home.
Liam just wanted him to feel comfortable to come to him when he needed help. Maybe Liam just needs to work harder to build that trust and get to a point where Theo doesn’t think twice about going to him for help. Make it more than obvious that he was a person Theo could turn to. That’s how he felt with Theo, Liam wasn’t shy when it came to sharing his problems with the chimera. He practically tells him just about anything these days. Theo was nearing Mason levels of confidants. But that’s not the fairest comparison, is it? Of course he had no problem airing out his dirty laundry, comparatively to Theo’s his was clean. He hadn’t gone through nearly as much as the chimera did. Up until the whole werewolf thing his life had been relatively normal, shitty bio dad and IED notwithstanding.
He let out a sigh as he rolled over to be on his side. He was being unfair. Of course it’s not as easy for Theo to open up, he shouldn’t have expected that. Or gotten mad about it. He resolved to try and be more understanding toward the chimera. More considerate of his emotions. Starting with maybe not suggesting he take a stupid DNA test to connect him with family when that was a touchy subject.
His room door creaks open, revealing a squeaky clean chimera behind the threshold. Liam sat up, a smile lighting his face as the scent of his soaps and Theo’s scent intermingled in the air. He’d never not get all giddy at his and Theo’s scents mixing, not that he fully understood why it made him so happy.
“Ready to have a stupid, serious talk?” Theo’s attempt at humor sort of fell flat with how uncomfortable he clearly was.
“I mean it doesn’t have to be all stupid and serious.” Liam said with a shrug.
Theo looked at him with a small huff and shake of his head. He finally entered the room, shutting the door behind him and then sitting himself at Liam’s desk. Which didn’t totally disappoint Liam. Something which he’s sure Theo scented with the confused smize he sent his way.
“How do we make this not stupid and serious?” Theo asked.
Liam opened his mouth to answer before drawing up a blank. He idly twisted his fingers in an awkward shuffle as he realized he didn’t know, “I’m not really sure,” he muttered.
His head lifted as he heard a snort come from Theo. His hand covered his mouth, as mirth danced in his eyes. It was, sort of like, the prettiest thing Liam’s ever seen.
“You’re so stupid.” Theo admitted through chuckles.
Liam puffed with offense, “Hey! I’m just trying to help, I know you hate anything to do with emotions.”
Now it was Theo’s turn to be offended, “I do not!”
Liam gave him a deadpan look.
Theo could only stammer before finally spewing, “Can we just get this over with so I can go to sleep?”
“Ugh fine,” Liam groaned, “I just wanted to apologize-”
“Why?” Theo interrupted, seeming genuinely confused.
“Well because-” he let out a breath, “I shouldn’t have gotten mad at you.”
“I mean it’s not like that was your fault.” Theo said with a shrug.
“Just let me finish,” Liam said, a tad exasperated at that point.
Theo raised his hands in truce.
Liam scrutinized him a bit longer before accepting that Theo wouldn’yt interupt again. “I’m sorry for getting mad, and for bringing up the whole DNA thing in the first place. I should’ve realized how you might feel about it. About…family” He tacked on a bit reluctant. “And again I’m really sorry for getting mad, it just frustrates me sometimes how you don’t trust me enough to be real with me. But that’s my own thing. I know trusting people is hard for you and I shouldn’t expect you to just get over that.”
He stopped talking then, looking at Theo and trying to gauge his reaction to his apology. Like usual both his face and chemosignals didn’t reveal a thing. That is til a smirk made its way onto his lips and he spoke.
“Did Mrs. Geyer coach you on that speech?”
Liam’s mouth hung open in shock and outrage, “Theo! I’m trying to be serious here!”
“I thought you said we weren’t gonna get all serious and stupid.”
“Well- I-” he let out a frustrated shout as he flopped back onto his bed, “You’re so impossible sometimes!” Liam fumed.
After a few seconds of stewing and muttering to himself he felt the bed dip beside him. He glanced over to find Theo laying beside him.
Theo faced the ceiling as he admitted, “I don’t distrust you, you know?”
Liam turned to fully face him, stars dancing in his eyes as he asked, “Really?”
Theo nodded, not daring to look at the beta, “It’s just- I want to- It’s just complicated, ok?”
“Ok.” Liam responded softly.
Theo glanced at him then, before quickly looking away his heart beating strangely a moment. Which worried Liam a bit, should he tell his dad about that?
“Stop looking at me like that,” he grumbled.
“Like what?”
Theo rolled his eyes. A silence fell between them before he spoke again “I’m sorry too by the way.”
Liam sat up quickly in surprise. He stared down at Theo, who’s eyes still expertly avoided him.
“What? Why? I was the one who fucked everything up.”
“You didn’t fuck things up, Liam,” he looked into Liam’s eyes then. A stern seriousness about him. All Liam could really do against the force of him was nod. After a minute Theo nodded his acceptance and continued, “I’m apologizing for being an asshole.” at Liam’s confused look he added on, “for antagonizing you.”
“Oh,” Liam said, shifting his sitting position, “s’not really your fault, I always feel like I’m being antagonized. It’s why I need meds.”
Theo sighs with an eye roll, “You know that’s not why you need meds, and anyway I shouldn’t have been such an ass to you especially because of the new meds you’re taking.”
Liam frowned, he didn’t really agree. Sure the new meds were kicking his ass but his anger issues weren’t on anyone but himself. And he was the one who’d been insensitive about the whole thing.
“Just accept my apology, it’s not like you’ll get another one for a long time.”
Liam rolled his eyes at the comment. “Did you even accept my apology?”
“Yours was stupid, you didn’t actually have anything to apologize for.”
Liam screwed up his face in annoyance, “well neither do you!”
“I-” Theo was cut off by Liam’s look, “Fine let’s both just accept each other's unnecessary apologies, ok?”
Liam smiled, “ok, I accept your unnecessary apology.”
“Same,” Theo responded.
“No, do it right, man.”
Theo rolled his eye’s sort of over the whole thing, “I accept your unnecessary apology, now can I go sleep?”
“What, no!” Liam said, standing up and grabbing the chimera’s hands to pull him up as well, “You haven't eaten yet! You’re not going to sleep on an empty stomach!”
“Come one. I’m tired.” Theo groaned, trying to use his weight agaisn’t the smaller were.
“Mom made your favorite,” Liam said in sing-song as he dragged the unwilling chimera toward the door.
Theo immediately lit up, “Really?”
“Mm-hmm, she knew you were upset so..”
Theo looked at him weirdly, “so were you?”
“Yea but we had a whole talk about it, you guys didn’t.”
Theo quirked a brow, “You talk to people about me, little wolf?”
Liam felt his body flush at the flirty tone Theo seemed to take on.
“Shut up!” he growled, shoving the laughing Theo away.
--------
“I've made up my mind.”
Peter looked up at Tony from the sauce he was stirring. He blinks a few times trying to understand what the unprompted phrase could have meant. He glanced over to Pepper who seemed just as baffled, her hands having stopped mid cut on the onions. The two share a look with each other, both clearly unaware as to what he was talking about.
“Uh, Tony, hun?” Pepper started, “what exactly have you made up your mind about?”
Tony then looks up from his preparations of noodles, giving them a confused look. Before realization seems to take over his face.
“Right, sometimes I forget you guys can't hear my thoughts.“
“And what a blessing that is.” Pepper intones as she sinks the knife into the onion.
Peter hides a snicker at Tony's offended sounds.
“I'm gonna pretend you didn't just say that, and totally hurt my feelings.”
Pepper gives a playful eye roll.
“Are you gonna answer her question, dad?”
Tony blinks at him a few times, “ oh! Right, right, yes.” He turns to Pepper, “remember a few weeks back when you brought up the idea of me putting my DNA in one of those ancestory.com type dealios?”
That hadn't really cleared things up for Peter but it seemed to for Pepper as she responds, “don't think that's how I phrased it but yea.”
Tony waved a dismissive hand, “point is I've made up my mind about that.”
“And the decision you came to is..?”
Peter had noticed that sometimes having conversations with Tony was more akin to pulling teeth than anything.
“I've decided I want to do it.”
Pepper smiled warmly at that, “that's great.”
“Yea, yea, I know I'm the best,” that seemed to turn her genuine smile into exasperation, “I figured if I had any other kids out there I want a chance to know them.”
That last comment brought Peter back to the conversation, him having checked out after it was clear that it didn't necessarily involve him.
Head whipping away from the sauce, eyes wide as he sputters, “what?”
Both adults look at him, seemingly remembering that he was there at all.
“What's happening right now? I thought you just wanted to, like, see your family history? Not- not- what are you doing exactly?”
“Right, we had that conversation while you were sleeping, huh?” Tony said scratching lightly at the back of his head.
“You think?”
Tony chuckled at his dramatics, which was only slightly offending.
“Well, like I said, sometime last week Pepper floated around the idea of putting my DNA into one of those family things, so I'd know if I had anymore…” he didn’t seem to know exactly how to phrase it.
“Illegitimate children?” Pepper provided, only slightly mirthful.
Tony seemed to accept his fate between Peter's giggles, “Yep, thank you Pepper for the apt description.”
Pepper only responded in a thumbs up as she returned to her cutting.
“So..” Peter started unsure, “Do you actually think you might have other kids out there?”
Tony glanced over at Peter who was --not necessarily actively-- avoiding eye contact. Finally the billionaire shrugged, “It’s a possibility that I’m open to.”
Peter nodded, somewhat in his head now his thoughts buzzed about actively. He’d never really considered the possibility of having any siblings. Well that wasn’t entirely true, he’d had the wayward thought back when he was a lonely kid without friends. But now he had plenty of people in his life. Friends, family, a random and ever growing list of not-really-but-sort-of-really aunts and uncles. Why add to the already too long list. Did he want a sibling? The idea of meeting someone entirely new that would inevitably be a part of his life forever was a little daunting. If there was some other unknown Stark out there they’d likely be around Peter’s age, if not older. A little kid he could handle easy-peasy. But a teenager? He knew how ruthless they were. He was still actively being bullied in highschool. What if they didn’t like him? What if they full on hated him or something? He doesn’t know if he could cope with that. But he didn’t entirely hate the idea of having a sibling? Like it would be kind of cool, no? A sibling is like a built-in friend, or at least that’s what Ned always says. But there was no telling how they would be, what if they ended up being some super villain? Was that a crazy thought to have? His kind-of-but-not-really girlfriend's dad ended up being a super villain. With his Parker luck the possibilities were truly endless.
“Are you open to it?” Tony asked, breaking Peter out of his impending spiral.
Peter shrugged, still unwilling to look at the billionaire.
“Kid, look at me,” with great reluctance he turned, “we don’t have to do anything if you’re not ok with it, ok? I just wanna know your thoughts on this. No wrong answers”
Peter nodded, still a bit unsure. He takes the sauce pot off the burner, and shifts to face Tony again. “It’s not that I’m completely against the idea, I’m just kind of nervous I guess.”
“What are you nervous about, sweetheart?”
He glances over at Pepper at the question. He shrugs, a hand reaching up to pull lightly at one of his curls. “I dunno, just- it’d be a stranger. What if they hate me or- or what if they end up being a re-do of the vulture?”
He watched both of their faces harden at the name. Maybe not the best thing to bring up.
“It’s ok to be nervous about it,” Pepper says, finally finished with the onions she walks over with the cutting board and knife. Scraping them into the saucepan, she returns it to the burner. Brushing Peter aside so she can take on stirring. Peter feels just a tad embarrassed that he hadn’t really been thinking clear enough to realize she hadn’t added the onions yet and therefore shouldn't take it off the burner.
“It’s a scary thing, adding someone new to the family. And things could go wrong, but things could also go right. Like with you.”
Tony nodded his agreement, “couldn’t have asked for a better kid to end up being my illegitimate son.”
Pepper rolled her eyes at the call-back, “what I mean is: don't think about the worse case scenario especially when nothing's set in stone. There's still the possibility that you were the only one. Also for the record I don’t think anyone could hate you.”
Peter winced a bit at that, “ehhh, you’d be surprised.”
Tony chimed in, “criminals don’t count.”
“Well what if they’re a criminal?” Peter asks, gesturing wildly with his arms, “then I’m really screwed.”
“Bu, bu, language,” Tony scolded, wooden spoon held aloft.
“Screw is not a bad word,” Peter argued.
He made a winced sound before saying “yea, as you're dad I get to decide what constitutes a good or bad word.
“That's totally unfair,” Peter muttered.
“I'm afraid thems the rules, kid.” Tony responded as if it was out of his hands.
With an eye roll Peter turns away from him then. Electing to set the table since his job had been taken over by Pepper. He goes over to the cabinets, pulling out the appropriate amount of plates.
They lulled into a silence, allowing Peter some time to stew. The more he thought about it the more sort of excited he felt at the prospect of having a sibling. There was so much that could, and probably would go wrong but Pepper was right he shouldn’t think about that yet. It was kind of exhausting honestly, constantly thinking about how everything could go wrong. Maybe he should bring that up with his therapist? He’d put a pin in that. He should just wait for the shit to arise first and then act accordingly. Plus it wasn’t exactly fair of him to hog Tony all to himself when there might be another kid out there who needs him just as much.
“So..” Tony spoke up, “How are we feeling now? Definite no? Yes? Soft maybe? Need more to think about it?”
Peter gives a mild glare, the guy wasn’t exactly subtle with which one he wanted him to pick, based on tone.
Peter sighed with a nod, “ yeah go ahead with it.”
Both adults seem a little surprised at his response, which was fair. It typically took him a bit longer to come to decisions.
“You sure, honey? You’re not just saying that to placate your dad?” Pepper ignores the offended guffaw from Tony, “You can think about this some more, you know?”
“Yea I know, and I’m not doing this for dad’s sake. I kind of like the idea of having a sibling.”
Pepper smiles warmly at him, while Tony let out a hoot, pumping his fist, “Let’s bring out the cotton swabs!” He cheers.
Peter's face scrunched in disgust, “Wait, you're actually gonna use one of those sites?”
Tony pointed at him with wide eyes, “see, Pep! It’s totally weird!”
She rolled her eyes, “It’s what normal people do.”
“Well yeah but what if someone makes an evil Stark clone with his DNA?” Peter asks emphatically.
“Pep! The clone!”
“Oh whatever.” she laughed, “we already agreed on this anyway.”
Tony dropped the act suddenly, “Yea, we did.”
“Oh? So how are you doing it then?” Peter asks.
“Well I’m glad you asked, young underoos,” he wraps an arm over his shoulder, “all we need to do is get a sample of my DNA and have Friday run it across any DNA she can get her hands on, which will be a lot once she hacks into all those DNA websites.”
Peter's brow furrows, “Is that…legal?”
“Eh, don’t worry about it.” he pats his shoulder as he lets him go.
When Peter looks over at Pepper the look on her face isn’t promising.
“So now, without any senseless interruptions-” “Hey!-” “Let's bring out the cotton swabs!!”
“Not now,” Pepper scolds, swatting his arm.
Tony pouts exaggeratedly at her before looking to Peter for help.
“You’re on your own, old man,” Peter says, arms raised.
“One day you’ll face retribution for the way you mistreat me,” Tony mutters mostly to himself. As he returns to his pasta.
“Sure, hun,” Pepper playcates, patting his back. Which only receives daggered stares and mutters.
Peter laughs to himself, as he moves to grab the needed silverware next.
--------
“Could you.. Can you stay in my room tonight?”
It had become sort of a thing. With Liam’s new found insomnia, Theo had found the beta often asking him if he could sleepover. Them talking late into the night until he managed to fall asleep. And although Theo knew he should say no, knew that sleeping in the same bed with Liam was the absolute last thing he should do, and was only further entangling and endangering an innocent Liam into the shit sandwich that was Theo, he has yet to deny the request. And tonight was another one of those nights.
“Just let me grab my pillow,” he pointed towards the guest room.
Liam nodded, a diasied scent spilling off him in his joy. Theo couldn’t help shaking his head, Liam was so easily pleased. He probably would be just as happy with anyone staying up with him. Though that whiny part of Theo sort of hoped he was happy that it was him specifically. He tried not to indulge the hope. All his life experiences had taught him that hope only makes things worse.
He grabs the pillow, the only thing not pristine on his bed. Alluding to the fact that he hadn’t slept in his own room for quite some time. He honestly didn’t know why he bothered returning the pillow to the guest room anymore, he always gave in. At this point the pillow smelled more like Liam than anything, it’d fit right in, in his room without anyone being any the wiser. Something in Theo liked the idea that the pillow he used belonged in Liam’s room. And yet like clock work he returned it to the guest room without fail. It was a guest pillow, it didn’t belong in Liam’s room to begin with.
When he entered the room he found Liam already in bed, scooched over against the wall to allow room for Theo. Liam had learned quickly Theo’s preferred spot. He liked the access being on the outside allotted him, he also prefer he be closer to the door in case anything were to happen. Him being the first line of defense just made more practical sense, despite not being an actual were he was much more experienced than Liam.
He set his pillow down and crept into the bed. He shuffled about trying to make himself more comfortable, which wasn't terribly hard with Liam’s scent surrounding him. He hated to admit it, but he found a certain comfort in the beta’s scent, something which was stupid and embarrassing and that he’d take to his probably early grave.
Once Theo’s shuffling died down the two lapsed into silence. Comfort accompanied this silence, it hadn’t at the beginnings of this arrangement. Originally the whole point of this was for them to talk and tire Liam out until even his meds couldn’t keep him up, but slowly it had morphed into the comfort of each other's presence.
Liam shifted so he was facing Theo, something which wasn’t recommended with the size of the twin mattress. He could practically feel his breath tickling his cheek. Theo glanced at the beta, not finding it hard to locate his soft blue eyes in the darkened room due to their proximity.
“What?” he whispered, the late hour all but demanding a quiet tone.
“Nothing,” Liam mumbled, “Just wanted to lay on my side.”
His heart belied to hide the fact that he’d lied. Theo elected to ignore it, might as well give him some confidence that his lying skills were improving. Truthfully there were some things even Theo’s impeccable skills couldn’t fix, and Liam's ability to lie was one of them. Not that Theo wouldn’t still try, the beta’s inability to lie was extremely aggravating to Theo. he was aggravated by just how open the beta was. Wearing just about every emotion right on his sleeve for everyone to see and take advantage of. His stomach twisted at the idea of someone using that to hurt Liam. Theo already had, proving that it wasn't especially hard.
Theo blinked away the thought, he didn’t like thinking about it. About how he was before. About how he still is now. Theo let his mind wander to the events of the day. And it inevitably snagged on one thing.
The DNA test.
Now that he thought about it he wasn’t even sure if something like that was wise for a coy-wolf such as himself. He didn't even know if that sort of thing showed up on those cheap tests. Or if it’d show up for him at all, he wasn’t actually a real were. He didn't really know what that actually meant for his DNA. he didn’t even really know how that sort of thing presented itself in a real were’s DNA. Maybe he should look into that. Could be his next project to preoccupy his mind.
He hated how idle he felt now that he wasn’t with the dread doctors. Back with them he’d always had something to do, something to accomplish. Now his days were filled with mundanity and idle tasks to pass the time. With little to think about and little to do something had to fill the space, and if he didn’t give himself little projects his mind would eat away at itself. It’s why he’d stuck around with Liam’s little puppy pack. If he couldn’t find anything to fill the empty space in his brain then he’d settle for their company. If he was truly honest with himself he preferred the company to the mindless tasks. Back with the doctors he’d relied on them to get him through his days. And now he relied on people. And wasn’t that fucking scary.
He just didn’t want to be alone again. He’d do anything to not be alone again.
“Hey, Liam?” he whispered.
Liam hummed soft.
“I think I want to do the DNA test.”
That immediately had Liam sitting up. He peered down at Theo with those big eyes, mouth hung slightly ajar.
“Really?” he breathed.
Theo hesitated before confirming. Did he? He hadn’t even really known he was going to say that until he did. The idea of him having any family out there, and them meeting him still scared the shit out of him, but he couldn't deny that he sort of wanted to know. Call it a bad judgment call, stupidity, masochism. He didn’t really care anymore. He was just so sick of being fucking alone. He’d spent so much of his life watching his own back and he didn’t really want to do it anymore. And sure now he had people, but it was only a matter of time til things blew up in his face. And if that happened he’d have fucking nothing. He needed to give himself other options. As much as he hated it, and as much as he knew he shouldn’t indulge that weak part of him, he needed people. So he needed to prepare for this shit to come down, and this was his opening to do so. So despite knowing it was a bad decision, maybe even one of the worst ones he’d made in a while he nods.
Liam lets out a squeal, that Theo reluctantly admits to himself is kind of cute but also really fucking loud and it was late. Liam opens his arms wide and says, “Theo get up here and give me a hug right now!”
“Yea, gonna have to pass on this one, buddy.”
“Nope! No way, I’m too happy about this breakthrough right now to accept that.”
Before Theo can even ask what he meant by ‘breakthrough’ Liam was flopping down on top of him. Trying to hug him as best as he can with their horizontal position. The beta manages to wiggle his way into nosing at and scenting Theo’s neck.
Theo has so many regrets. His body feels like it's on fire and he was pretty sure he was sweating because it was taking all his will power to control his heart's beating and block any chemosignals from slipping through, not that Liam would be able to parse through any. He was just so bad at it, which was as annoying as endearing.
“Liam if you don’t get off I’m going to tear your throat out.” he grit.
“No you’re not,” Liam responded with a sort of smug confidence, that was somewhat undercut with how muffled it came out with his face smushed into Theo’s neck.
The feeling of his lips moving against Theo’s pulse point definitely didn't make his heart spike, or at least he hoped the denial would stop Liam from noticing. Said beta took one last deep inhale before scooching off him. Leaving Theo with a confusing mix of disappointment and relief.
“Ok, ok I’m done you can go back to being a loser loner now,” he said it dismissive, as if what had just happened was the most normal thing, but the daisies clouding him spoke differently. “We can look into getting one of those kit thing’s tomorrow,” he added as if an afterthought.
All Theo could do was nod, mouth not seeming to work