𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐇𝐈𝐌

T H I R T Y F O U R

It's warm when he regains consciousness.

He doesn't open his eyes yet, but feels that his body is coiled in blankets. The dense felt is heavy against his legs, his waist, his chest; it's a pressure against him that doesn't make him anxious, instead, he feels protected. He's wearing fuzzy socks—he can feel it; someone must have put them on for him. Someone is talking but he isn't sure of who it is, and he's slightly unnerved of the unrecognizable voice. But after a few sentences, he can recognize it as his boyfriend, probably speaking over the phone.

       His voice is just a whisper, but Liam can make out his words. Something along the lines of "he's only sleeping" and "he should be fine". The concerned thought about him sends a happy vibe through his chest, feeling cared about at the moment. He assumes the other person is Mason, given that it was three of them there at the scene. His head hurts thinking about it, so he lets the recalled event go and let's out an incoherent sigh.

       Liam's eyes open slowly, automatically noticing a dim light in the corner of his eye. He glances at the window and sees that it's day still, but the curtains are closed, the sun attempting to seep through. No one is with him despite the voice, but he sees a shadow figure outside the bedroom door which is obviously Theo. He doesn't stare for too long because something else catches his attention; it's his room. Liam feels comfort in the familiarity of his own bed, his own walls surrounding him with the ridiculous posters that cover it.

       He notices Theo start to walk in while hanging up the phone. He intently watches without a word, noticing his boyfriend is in the same clothes as the morning and has a dried bloody nose that hasn't been cleaned up; it signifies he most likely fought the man from this morning and didn't bother cleaning himself up. His hair falls in front of his eyes that are glued to the ground at the moment, not observing that Liam is awake. Liam cherishes the moment for a minute, just taking a good look at him while he doesn't know someone is gazing. It's interesting to observe someone who thinks no one is looking.

       Theo ends the call and strides in the room with a small sigh. He takes two steps into the room and looks up at Liam's aroused state, sneakers squeaking against the wooden floor as he halts in his place, clearly startled. He stands there for a moment, unsure of what to say as the two just gaze at each other for a moment.

       "You're awake," says Theo, finally.

       Liam nods solemnly and sits up slightly, balancing himself on his elbows. "Yeah." He sits there for a moment before furrowing his eyebrows and tilting his head. "You should clean up the blood on your face."

       Theo raises an eyebrow and shoots him an amused grin. He then goes into the bathroom in Liam's room and begins to wash off the blood, which comes off effortlessly. Once clean, he walks back in slowly with a small smile. He moves to sit down on the edge of Liam's bed. "You're the one who was knocked out and you're worried about me?" His voice is merely a whisper with a hint of mockery grazed upon the surface.

       "Oh please, I'm always worried about you, and you know it."

       This makes a chuckle escape Theo's lips as he jokingly rolls his eyes. "Right, how could I forget. It was just yesterday when you stopped me from running a yellow light." He grins that it hurts and Liam finds it very welcoming.

       Liam smiles slightly, exhausted. "What can I say? I'm a caring person to the people I love."

They laugh, and then it is silent. A comfortable silence entices them and it isn't the slightest bit of awkward. The duo admires the other's features, taking a little bit of time to observe each other in the silence that is brought to them. After a moment, Theo moves forward and sits right by Liam, leaning down to place a reassuring kiss on the top of his head. Theo keeps himself there for a moment, neither minding it at all. He pulls away after a little bit, noticing that Liam had grabbed his hand and was toying around with his fingers.

With a small tug, Theo gets the hint and takes off his shoes, walking around the bed to climb in to the other side. He slithers underneath the covers and lays right next to his boyfriend, on his back and facing the ceiling. The beta doesn't hesitate to curl up against him, wrapping a protective arm around his waist and staying put there. They stay like that for a while, warm and comfortable. It's reassuring and it feels like home—a place that doesn't have a stationary state, but can be a person or object.

Liam almost falls asleep like this but is brought out of his coma like state when Theo blurts something out.

"You don't believe any of that crap that the guy was saying, right?"

       The beta says nothing. He knows it isn't true—the derogatory name calling, that is—but there's always the voice in the back of his mind that tells him that some people out there won't accept him for who he loves. There are some people who will die screaming discriminating vernacular because they believe that tradition is best. The ghost of a thought haunts Liam at times, and he sits for a moment sometimes and thinks about it; he thinks about how some people hate him despite never meeting him. It terrifies him. Sure, he's a werewolf, but there's always something more powerful about personal attacks, especially verbal ones.

       It pains him to know that there are people out there like that—people who are incapable of seeing the beauty of love. No matter what time era, there are always going to be people who believe something against same love, and it makes Liam upset knowing someone can be so hateful of a particular group of people who want nothing more than to spread peace, love, and positivity. It haunts the beta.

       "Liam, look at me."

       He obliges, tilting his chin upward to look up at his boyfriend, who is staring softly down at him. His warm hazel eyes make Liam feel at ease, but he's still quiet thinking about the negativity that some people have burrowed in their chest. He still finds it disheartening.

       "Don't think about what that douche was saying," murmurs Theo reassuringly, slightly bitter. "It's not worth your time of thought. His words aren't universal thoughts, trust me."

       Liam sighs and looks away. "I know, I know, I just—"

       "I know it's hard to let go of," says Theo. "Look, I know because I keep thinking about it too, and yes, it's unnerving me, but none of it is true. The things he said about Mason, the things he said about us, it's garbage, okay?" When Liam nods reluctantly, he sighs softly and hugs the beta closer, silent.

       Liam doesn't try to fight the tightening grasp that Theo has on him, but instead adjusts into it. It's warm and seclusive, and he is so tired that his eyes involuntarily shut into the embrace. He wants to speak his mind and tell Theo how he feels about the whole thing, but he knows better of himself to ramble on, so he decides to stay quiet. He's obviously bothered and uncomfortable with the thought, the words replaying in his mind, but he doesn't show it.

       Instead, he keeps his eyes shut, mouth closed, and tries his best to push it away and fall asleep.

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sorry this was trash™k bye adios amigos