I don't own Teen Wolf.

*Note* Roughly takes place two years after series. Stiles and Theo are both 21 and legal to drink. Timeline for Liam fudged for story purposes. Enjoy.

Whiskey on the Rocks

Theo trudged into the local Irish pub, certainly not his first choice of establishments but then again, this wasn't a plan he chose. Not even eight hours earlier his boyfriend, the one he thought was his mate, wounded him in a way he wouldn't have believed was possible. In an equally weird sort of way he had received a message from a restricted number that made a request in the form of a demand that he needed to be at this pub. The chimera pulled every ounce of strength he possessed to push himself to the chair next to the man in the suit. The only saving grace for the battered chimera was the scent of the man in black: He smelled like home, like the home he knew before the supernatural world crushed him, the home he dreamed about when nightmares decided to give him a break, the home that was a distant beacon on hope amongst the blowing sands of a desert of loneliness and isolation.

He pulled the stool out and sat down, noticing the half empty glass of whiskey on the rocks that his counterpart drank before he looked over at the pale man, with shorter spikey hair. He whispered, "I'm a little surprised that you wanted to see me."

The man turned to him and grey met amber as a crooked smile flashed across his face, his arms flailed as he spoke but in a more controlled manner than only a couple of years ago, "I just want to start by saying that I still don't trust you. I expect you to burn down an orphanage while you drown a bag of kittens while stealing all the candy from every baby in Beacon Hills and marrying a wealthy oil baroness to inherit her estate from her actually decent kids."

Theo fought back the bitter laughter, sour from his day and not the feeble attempt at what appeared to be humor, as he motioned to the bartender to set him up with the same his counterpart was drinking, "Why I am not surprised you begin our talk with this, Stiles? You know, it used to bother me. Now, that just sounds ridiculous. That and I am pretty sure that is a plot line from a soap opera."

Stiles laughed before he grabbed his glass and took a sip, "I still can't believe you, Theodore Raeken, are the protector of Beacon Hills. It blows my mind. You don't even have a reason to still be here. Aren't you and Liam moving to North Carolina since he scored that full ride to Duke for lacrosse?"

Theo gritted his teeth as he reached for his glass. Before he could bring it up for a sip, Stiles reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved a pill which he dropped into Theo's glass. Theo smirked as the pill dissolved and a wisp of purple smoke flowed in the tumbler. He took the sip before he said, "That wolf has made it pretty obvious that the trip was meant to be for one."

Stiles placed his hand on Theo's shoulder and the chimera only recoiled a little, more from the stress of the day than whose hand sat on his shoulder. Stiles began, "I knew since coming to town a few weeks ago that things weren't looking good but what happened?"

Theo smugly glared at Stiles, "You want to talk about relationships? That's why we are here?"

Stiles goofily smiled and nodded his head, "Yeah. I was just messaging you so we could throw back a few, talk about the seriously messed up situations in our lives and maybe rebuild something resembling the friendship we had back from the fourth grade. After all, it looks like we are going to be working together for quite a bit of time and I'd rather think of you as a proper ally and friend than another possible work hazard."

Theo downed his drink in a single gulp and motioned for another. He scanned Stiles' face as he asked, "What do you mean work together for a while?"

Stiles grinned, "First off, don't ignore the question or try to divert the conversation. You aren't as manipulative as you used to be or maybe I just pick up on more now but that's beside the point and I am just rambling about said point. Secondly, I am here to help establish a field office in Beacon Hills. The amount of murders and strange occurrences and not to mention gang related violence for such a small community is staggering. So what happened between you and Liam?"

The bartender stepped back with Theo's drink and another for Stiles. Once again Stiles put another pill in Theo's whiskey. The chimera asked, "What are you spiking my drink with? Sodium pentothal?"

Stiles finished his first glass and slid it away as he began his second, "You're trying to dodge the question again. That's two strikes Raeken. All I put in there is something so we can enjoy our drinks together. Don't worry, my Dad is expecting to deal with two heart-broken young men who happen to be drunk."

The words weren't lost on the chimera as he asked, "Two heart-broken men?"

He could've sworn that Stiles growled in a wolf like manner before he said, "That's three strikes, Raeken. Now answer the question."

Theo sighed as he took another sip and began, "Things haven't been good for a while. We used to argue and fight but it was always over the silliest things. We would fight over what kind of pizza to order for pack meetings or where we go on our dates. We once fought about who loved the other more. But it has been months since that was the case. Up until today, we weren't fighting but dealing with this weird cold war where Liam wouldn't talk about anything. Every time I would try to talk to him about moving and going to college, he would clam up and not say anything. He didn't want to spend time with me and kept finding excuses to cancel our dates."

Stiles slowly nodded as he took a sip and said, "I had a feeling things weren't going well. I remember the tension at the last pack meeting. When Mason and Corey spoke about moving away for college, Liam shut down quickly. It seemed like he was running away from the problem."

Theo laughed once, an empty sarcastic noise devoid of any real humor, "No, Little Wolf was only running away from me."

Stiles responded, "You don't really think that, do you Theo?"

Theo stared into his drink and quietly said, "At first I didn't but today. Today." The chimera couldn't finish before a tear travelled down his face. The chimera fought and cleared his throat before he weakly requested, "Can we talk about something else right now Stiles? Like, what did you mean by two heartbroken men?"

Stiles huffed and said, "Alright Theo. Don't think we won't talk about it but I think you might need a little liquid courage first." Stiles downed his drink and motioned to the bartender for another round when he began, "Well, things were going alright with Lydia until we realized we were better friends than lovers. It's like she knew that my heart belonged to another. Smart girl, that Lydia."

Theo chuckled and held a small smile, "Yeah. Lydia is definitely one of the best of us."

Stiles returned the smile as Theo finished his second and Stiles set a few of the tablets on the bar and Theo dropped one into his new drink. He continued, "So, after many, many drinks I finally told Derek how I felt. I remember being so nervous I thought I was going to throw up."

Theo elbowed the man gently, "You threw up on him, didn't you?"

Stiles laughed, "Maybe. But not that much. I told him and he smiled. Derek, the infinite Sourwolf, actually smiled and expressed that he felt the same way. I thought that was the happiest day of my life."

Theo remarked after he took another sip, "Thought?"

Stiles laughed bitterly this time, "Yeah. Little did I know the roller coaster my life would become."

Theo asked, "What happened?"

Stiles took a long swig of his drink and stated, "What started out as cute, protective behavior turned into controlling, manipulative and abusive."

Theo set his glass down and watched Stiles' face fall as he thought about what happened, "What did Derek do?"

Stiles whispered into his glass, "First it was little things like don't take this mission or don't go to that part of town. Always said with, "I just worry about you. I don't want anything to happen to you." Then it got worse, I wasn't allowed to have outside friends and he didn't want me to talk to Scott or even my dad since Beacon Hills is dangerous and I shouldn't go back. Eventually he tried to lock me in the basement of our home. I was down there for three days for punishment and protection since I wouldn't quit my job."

Theo met Stiles' whisper, "That sounds horrible. I'm sorry it happened like that Stiles. He didn't deserve you."

Stiles threw back his drink and ordered another round before he said, "The last time I spoke to him was to inform him that I had a restraining order against his psycho wolf ass and he had best stay away from me and my life."

Theo finished his drink and said, "Well, it sounds like you are better off without him. Being locked away and trapped is not the Stiles I know. You were always the daredevil that laughed at danger and stared death in the face without an ounce of fear. You were the leader of our old pack, from elementary school."

The drinks arrived and Stiles wobbled a little before he took a sip and said, "I was, wasn't I. Just you, me and Scott. Those were good times. Until Tara."

Theo took a sip of his drink after putting another tablet in it. "Yeah. You know Scott had such a crush on Tara."

Stiles laughed genuinely before he slurred his words as he said, "Oh yeah he did. Every time we went to play at your house Scott always spent his time hanging out with your sister."

Theo's laughter matched Stiles as he said, "Tara loved spending time with Scott. He was like the little brother she wish she had."

Stiles slapped Theo on the back after he took a large gulp of his drink, "Wha-do-you mean wished she had?"

Theo followed suit and drank deeply from his drink, "Scott was nice and interested in everything that was Tara. I was, urgh, am a manipulative, smug know-it-all. I annoyed her relentlessly."

The two men laughed together as they finished their drinks and ordered another round. Theo's laughter broke to tears when he looked to Stiles and said, "I'm sorry. For what I did. I wish I could turn back time and change things."

Stiles rubbed Theo's upper back in large, barely coordinated circles, "It's alright. It's in the past now and there is nothing we can do to change it."

Theo looked into his drink and murmured, "I guess you are right."

Stiles wore his best goofy grin and stated with the volume of intoxication, "Of course I'm right! When have I ever been wrong?"

Theo smugly grinned at the agent, "I don't think you want me to answer that. I wasn't brought into this fold idolizing you."

Stiles raised his eyebrows, "I wouldn't be so sure of that if I were you, Theo. I seemed to remember you following every word and deed of mine when we were young."

Theo nodded and laughed, "Okay, you are right. But you treated me like a normal kid and even hid my skateboard at your house so my parents wouldn't take it away. They wouldn't let me do anything, because of my condition, but here you were pushing me to do more and more and leading our escape from the over protective parents. I guess in that way, maybe I did idolize you, Captain!" Theo spoke the last word loudly as if to cheer the title.

Stiles laughed at the word captain and stated, "If that's the case then tell me what happened." Theo's jovial attitude quickly fell away but Stiles continued in a serious tone, "What happened Theo? Why am I right in saying that there would be two heart-broken men? I just guessed it before but you confirmed it."

Theo stared into his drink and quietly told the story of the day. "I woke up early today. I wanted to go for my morning run with Liam since that was something we used to do together. I texted him to let him know where I was so that he could join me. When I got to the cross country course, Little Wolf was nowhere to be found. I went on the run and stopped at the school gym to shower and clean up."

Stiles interrupted and Theo took a pull of his whiskey while the agent spoke, "Did he message you back? Let you know he wasn't going to make it."

Theo shook his head, "He doesn't, I mean didn't do that. I just have to send the message and hope he agrees." Theo sighed before he continued, "So I decided to hit up the sporting goods store, since we already knew he was accepted and that Liam would accept the full scholarship, so I could pick him up some team apparel. Nothing serious, just a couple of Devil t shirts and sweats. I figured it would be a good little gift to let him know that I supported his decision." A few tears flowed from the chimera's eyes even though his words remained clear. Stiles watched them and shifted his hand back to the chimera's upper back and rubbed the large slow circles again. Theo wiped the tears and continued, "That's when Liam messaged me back. He said, "I've got something important to ask you." I thought he was finally going to ask if I would travel with him to NC. How naïve I was?"

Stiles slowly shook his head, "Hey, Theo, it's okay. I don't think I would ever describe you as naïve."

Theo looked to Stiles and saw the inviting warm smile of a friend from many years ago. He continued, "So I went back to Nolan's guest house since I've been staying there because I didn't want to take the gifts to Little Wolf just yet. When I walked into the front door it hit me. I could smell Liam but also two other people."

Theo tossed back the remains of his drink and Stiles followed. Stiles motioned to the bartender and the chimera continued, "I thought that maybe he had a surprise for me. Boy was I right. I walked to my room and found the scent was strongest there. It was a mixture of lust, sweat, and sex. I threw open the door and saw Liam lying in bed between this couple we met during the last school dance. The room stank of betrayal and I couldn't pull my eyes away. They were still making out when I cleared my throat and said, "So this is the important thing you wanted to ask? If I would what? Hold the camera for you?" Liam stopped and told me it wasn't what it looked like but I ran out of the room and slammed the door. I made it to the front door by the time he reached me."

Theo felt the words choke up in his throat and tossed the last tablet into the new drink and took a sip.

Stiles whispered, "I'm sorry to hear Theo. I can't believe Liam cheated on you."

Theo looked to Stiles, pain in his eyes, "I can't believe how stupid I was. He let me know that he had been cheating on me the last few months. I knew I smelled odd smells that weren't Liam around but I just kept making excuse after excuse. I trusted him wholeheartedly and constantly worked to restore his trust in me from all the horrible things I've done in the past. And you know what the absolute worst part is?"

Stiles slowly shook his head as Theo angrily spat, "He said maybe it's just better this way." Theo tossed back the drink and slammed the tumbler on the bar causing the glass to shatter. The bartender walked over and Stiles addressed him, "I'm sorry about that. Just add it to my bill. My friend just had a horrible break up."

The bartender nodded and grabbed a cloth and cleaned up the glass. Stiles and Theo sat in silence until the man finished and went back to his other work at the empty bar.

Stiles said, "You don't deserve to be treated like that." Stiles reached his arms around the chimera and brought him in and held him as Theo sobbed into Stiles' shoulder. After several painful moments, Theo began to control his sobs and pulled away from Stiles. He quickly wiped his eyes and fixed his hair.

Stiles thought for a moment and said, "That's when you responded to my text."

Theo slowly nodded, "Yeah."

Stiles inquired, "But I know my work number wouldn't show up in your phone. Why did you show up? What if I had been a hunter? You just agreed."

Theo once again nodded and let his eyes fall to the floor, "What could be worse than what I already dealt with?"

Stiles' eyes widened and he motioned to the bartender for the check. He asked, "So, what are you doing for the rest of this evening?"

Theo slowly shook his head, "I don't know. I hadn't thought about it. I can't sleep in my truck drunk so I might just stumble to a motel since I'm not going back to that bed."

Stiles paid for the drinks and stood up. He helped the depressed Chimera to his feet and said, "You are coming with me, back to my dad's house and we are going to play Xbox and eat all the Haagen Dazs we want until you don't even remember that idiot's name."

Theo smiled a pain covering light-hearted show of teeth at Stiles and said, "Oh, the important thing was if I would go to his parents for dinner so he could tell them about NC."

Stiles glared at Theo, "He asked you that? After you caught him cheating on you, in your bed, and admitted to cheating in the past."

Theo barely breathed the word, "Yep."

Stiles pulled Theo close as they walked to the entrance of the bar. He texted his father as he held the chimera. When he finished, he pulled him in for another hug. He whispered, "Guys suck."

Theo slowly shook his head and responded, "Not all of them. You aren't too bad."

Stiles fought back beaming as he smiled, "You aren't too bad either."

Theo basked in Stiles' scent, the scent of the home he missed, the home he could never go back to, but also the home that gave him the spark of hope that maybe he would make it through this pain as well. He slur whispered to the human, "You know, you smell really good."

Stiles lightheartedly laughed as his dad pulled up in the cruiser and kissed Theo on top of the head before he helped him get in the car.