Whumptober

Scars tell stories

A/N: Set after S6! Theo had been shirtless before, it was no big deal. Shorts however we're not something he had ever worn, not because he was insecure... but because what could be see on his thigh.

Trigger Warnings: mentions of branding, scarring, swearing, self blame & child abuse.

Author: ChayaConnelly (me)

It had been three months since the war, three months since they had won. Scott had felt confident enough in Liam to move on with his plans of going to college and pursuing a 'normal' life.

So far everything had been fine, Liam and his pack had been fine. This pack now included Theo, the person Liam never thought would be in any pack. Yet here he was, by Liam's side and living in Liam's house.

Yes, living in Liam's house.

After the war Liam had offered to take Theo back to his house only to find out the chimera had been sleeping in his truck, Liam was not okay with that. Despite Theo turning down the beta's offer, Liam was relentless.

Finally Theo agreed and he was offered the spare room by Liam's mother, she adored Theo. So much so that she wanted him to feel at home, starting with decorating his room.

"You can paint it any colour you want" she said, a chipper smile on her face as her eyes were filled with sincerity. Theo nodded, he couldn't remember the last time he had his own room.

Sure he had one with his 'fake' family but that was short lived and the house was empty, you couldn't call it a home. This was different, this was his own and this was safe.

This was a proper home.

"Come on Tee," Liam said, grabbing the chimera's arm and leading him upstairs where Jenna had painted swatches in different shades of blue and grey that Theo had requested.

The nickname Liam had assigned him had felt weird at first, almost foreign? Theo hadn't really been given a nickname before, unless you count 'failure' as a nickname.

But he didn't mind, he liked when Liam called him Tee, it felt right. Liam made him feel safe and valued, despite everything he had done. Liam had seen past that, he saw Theo for who he truly was and he wasn't scared of him.

"Mum got a few options," Liam laughed, looking at the many options. 'A few' was somehow more than twenty, Theo eyed them curiously before reaching down and grabbing a handful.

"They all look the same," Theo said, making Liam snicker. Maybe it was because Liam had dated Hayden. He could remember watching her paint her nails different shades of the same colour and being very confused.

She of course was happy to explain to him how different the shades of colour were when they looked the same to him. "Trust me they're not," Liam smiled, brushing his hand along Theo's and taking one of the swatches from him.

"See?" Liam said holding two very similar shades of blue beside each other, one shade was labelled 'cornflower blue' and 'baby blue'. Theo looked closer at the cornflower blue before looking back to Liam's eyes.

"This one is a similar shade to your eyes," Theo pointed out, not really realising he had said it out loud until Liam dipped his head down. Was he blushing? Theo shook his head. Of course, he wasn't. Don't be stupid.

"Thank you," Liam said, his smile soft and his cheeky rosy. He definitely was blushing, but why? Theo cleared his throat, feeling the embarrassment rise inside of him, he placed the swatches down.

"You gonna go with that one?" Liam asked, his eyes looking between the chimera and the swatches. Theo hesitated but found himself nodding, he liked that shade. It resembled safety and comfort... it resembled Liam.