shade ☆

Liam has spent his whole life thinking he has to change and be different to be accepted and joining Scott's pack hasn't changed that: Liam still feels like he has to appear okay because that's what everyone expects of him.

And what happens is Theo comes along and is like "it's okay, you can stay here with me, just for a little while, you can stay here at rock bottom and catch your breath and then you can start climbing again, you can rest in my absence of expectation" and Liam BELIEVES him.

And what happens next is that Liam catches his breath and then stands up and takes Theo's hand and says "let's go back up" and when Theo tries to object because he is obviously convinced that he has no right to go back up Liam is like "it's okay, you can come with me, just for a little while, you can come back up and feel the real air and then you can go back down, you can breathe in my trust" and this time it's Theo who believes him.

Like, in any situation, once they settled in and Theo was like, “Oh fuck this is real? He actually wants to be with me? What the fuck?”, that he was like “you have your side, I have mine”.

Because let’s be so real, he’s not experienced much in regard to actual care and love, he’s never had a serious relationship, he’s barely even had any good non-romantic relationships. He probably gets squirmy (internally) at the idea of having someone in his space, as much as he probably actually wants to share space.

But like,,, Liam would probably be so bad at not being in Theo’s space. He’s like velcro, like very much so. He’s Theo’s velcro dog. He tries to respect Theo’s space, but you know his brain turns off and suddenly he’s all over Theo, completely ignoring the annoyance (anxiety) all over Theo’s face and scent. And when they sleep in the same bed, he absolutely starts off completely on ‘his’ side, but Theo finds himself sighing so deeply when Liam either curls himself on top of Theo like an octopus or spoons him, face shoved right into the back of Theo’s neck.

Liam doesn’t even give him the time of day to ease into anything because he’s so subconsciously trying to glue himself to Theo side that Theo doesn’t even have a choice in it.

I absolutely think that Theo would and could get a bit outwardly irritable over it. I do also think that he would also get the hell over it really fast because Liam is absolutely not even thinking hard enough to get in his space on purpose (Theo knows immediately when Liam does things on purpose).

So yes, I believe that Theo would be the type to say “get the hell off of me” but also be so silently and nonchalantly into having Liam latch onto him.

touch starved theo raeken who still, with the knowledge of how much touch hurts, still wants. he wants to he held, he wants to be embraced, he wants to feel soft palms and a warm chest. he wants but he will never let himself have.

touch starved theo raeken versus tactile liam dunbar. liam who loves to pat players on the back after a lacrosse game. liam who falls asleep on the couch with his head on mason's shoulder. liam who hugs everyone before a pack meeting, who reaches for scott's hand when he's worried, who holds onto melissa the longest after a plan goes wrong.

theo watches the way liam loves with the gentlest touch. liam who has only ever known touch to be loving and caring, only known touch to bring comfort and warmth.

tactile liam dunbar who under all that softness has a raging fire burning his heart, fueling his anger, and still, still, he chooses to be gentle. he chooses to touch with his heart. and even when his anger escapes him, when it burns through his chest and he hurts those closest to him, theo watches how liam bounces back. how he never looks at his hands like they scare him.

he wants liam to grab his hand, to pat him on the back, to pull him close on the couch and just hold him. he wants liam to card through his hair, to cup his cheek, to show him how kind hands can be.

but he knows how liam is, how giving his heart. he knows that if liam so much as reached out to him, theo would try to reach back, with his blood soaked hands, and there would be nothing but pain.

Stress baking? Yes. Happy baking? Yes. Angry baking? Absolutely. Baking quietly after a nightmare? Yeah, 100%.

It becomes his one and only hobby, a completely healthy one too. And he does it a lot with Jenna at first, but then it just becomes something he does alone, for himself but also Liam and his parents.

Since everyone was so honored by my first list, here's my second! I have enough fics to fill roughly three or four lists!

If I miss anyone tagging-wise - sorry 🙈 feel free to tag them in reblogs or comments!

All Comes Crashing - @shinigamimailjeevas

Bleed Your Heart Out - @jujubeesarecandy

Back To You - crier_emperor

‘cause we’re dead if they knew - wormhusk

Dream Verse (Series) - never_love_a_wild_thing

Enemies to Project Partners to Lovers - @7upslut

First stage, denial - jegulushoe

From Now until Eternity - @ksbbb

Growing Together (Thiam Appreciation Week) - Ahsoka_Rose

Honeymoon Wars - @theoceanismyinkwell

His Favorite Customer - Orphaned Account

Into The Woods - @wolfboy88

In hindsight - @extrasteps

It's All Coming Back to Me Now - SiroccointheSand

let the crown go - rd_eternity

My Love, Mine All Mine - ldunbarx

Morior Invictus - crier_emperor

Not Such A Big Bad Wolf - MemoriesArePain

open and shut - leftshoelace

Preacher's Son - thiamsalpha

Promises to the Speed Force - JestersWay

Silent Running (Back To You) – litakelly Somehow, someway - theoraekendefender

Teen Wolf movie rewrite - @thiamsalpha

Tender We Fall - @honeyscapes

The Veteran and the Archivist - @rhyslahey

The One Where Liam Lets Theo Take Care of Him - a_written_simulacra

Theo always objects when someone says to send him back to hell (Hayden, Scott, Malia) BUT he doesn't object at all when Liam does it (after the ghost rider trap).

Theo bases his entire self-perception on Liam, and if Liam thinks he's not worth it, Theo believes it.