| The Story Of Us - Thiam |

Part 17

Derek and Lydia were the only two that ever noticed the chemistry between the two young boys. They were the only two who ever saw the subtle hand-brushing, and Derek often told Lydia about the chemo signals that he had felt, radiating off of both Theo and Liam. 

Lydia just watched the scene in front of her unfold, not wanting to disturb them; she had a small smile on her face. Derek, however, was a different story. He cleared his throat loud enough for the beta and the undead chimera to hear, and they both pulled away, their cheeks stained red. 

"Nice to see you again too, T." Derek mumbled, though his usual scowl was replaced with a bright and happy smile, one of which only the four of them had ever gotten to see. 

Theo held his arms out and Derek basically ran to him, engulfing him in a hug that hurt the chimera's ribs, but he didn't mind. He had never felt this loved.

If Derek was anyone else, Liam would've been jealous. But the four of them were so close, they were like Liam's anchors. He loved them like a family, but he loved Theo differently. 

A couple tears slipped down Derek's cheeks from his happiness and when Derek pulled away from Theo's arms and tried to not-so-subtly wipe the tears away, the remaining three shared a quiet giggle.

After Lydia was snapped out of her daze, she smiled at Theo and walked up to him, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing her tight. Lydia had missed him ever so much, and yet she wanted to be strong for the other two of her closest friends. 

She stroked the ends of Theo's neck, gently, and began to whisper to him.

"Y'know, T, we all really missed ya..." She trailed off, not knowing what else to say. Theo rubbed her back and smiled into her shoulder, grateful for her anyway. 

And then she burst into tears.

At first, Theo didn't have a clue as what to do. If he was the old Theo, he would have laughed and walked away. But not this Theo. After a few seconds, he began to whisper sweet nothings into her ear and told her that it was okay now, that he was alive and well. Liam and Derek soon picked up on the sadness, and Liam ran at them.

He managed to scream, "GROUP HUG!" Before jumping on top of everyone, and they laughed at his goofiness, enjoying their time together. They ruffled each others hair, giggled, everything. And at last, Theo felt safe and sound in this new place he could now call 'Home.' His 'Home' was Derek, Lydia and Liam. They were all he would ever need.

After a while, Derek and Lydia left to go and contact Deaton, and give the two boys some privacy. As soon as they were out of earshot, they were gushing to each other about their ship and laughing at their thoughts on the ship.

------------------------------------

Inside of the vets, Liam and Theo were holding hands, chatting. Theo felt better, and he was beginning to heal.

Both of the young boys finally felt free.