Teary

This is dedicated to thiamsblake on Instagram, since one of their question stickers on their story lead me to writing this!
There is a lot of crying. I don't know why all of my fics have had tears involved lately, considering I have no clue how to write any type of tears, lol.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

Lavender roses represent love at first sight, while white roses are innocence and a sign of new beginnings. Yellow roses are for excitement, the sign of friendship and joy someone gives you, and the light green ones symbolize growth and the renewal of energy and spirit. Liam looked it up when he saw them lining up the outdoor aisle in their planters, since the flowers had been kept a secret from him until the day of.

That was one of the reasons why Liam was crying in the back room of their wedding venue.

Who knew Theo could have been so thoughtful with floral arrangements? For what little care he had towards everything else, the chimera had set up most of their wedding, from the catering to the color scheme to the dining sets, and not just because Liam was clueless. Liam had helped choose the venue and the bridesmaid dresses, but the only thing he really had to do was show up. When he got stressed out, his fiance had kissed him on the head and told him he would take care of anything he needed, and he needed a lot.

It brought tears to his eyes every time he thought about it, and it wasn't stopping now. Right outside was the wedding arch and stone aisle where he would be getting married in just under an hour, all of Liam's groomsmen in the room with him, but Liam was on a bench trying to hold back tears. He was already wearing his suit and his hair had been styled already, but his eyes were puffy and red.

"I just can't believe this is actually happening," He sniffed, his knee popping up and down with nervous energy. Mason stood by him, rubbing his best friend's shoulder. "We've known each other for so long, and it's finally going to be put out there-"

"Hey," Mason said calmly as Liam started blubbering. He knew his best friend, and he was never the type of guy to hold back when it came to tears, but now was not the time for all of them all at once. "I love you guys, and I know you're happy, but if you keep this up, your face is going to be all swelled up like a tomato."

"You don't handle crying very well," Stiles added from across the room, tightening his tie. "I remember the night you and Theo got into a fight, that was funny-"

"Stiles," Scott cut him off firmly. "Not the time. Absolutely not the time."

Liam ignored him and took a deep, shuddering breath. "Is this normal? Please tell me this is normal, that I'm not just freaking out, because I want to marry him so bad and if something is wrong with me or something, I don't want to know about it. Have you cried over Corey, Mase? Over him because you're happy?"

"Of course," Mason said affirmingly and not untruthfully, trying to get him to calm down. "You know what I did the night before our first real date? This. Almost exactly this. You remember?"

Liam cracked a tiny smile. "A few weeks after the Anuk-ite, I was there. You told me you loved him so much you might die."

"Right. So it's entirely fine to do this now. Just...maybe a little less, because Stiles was right, you don't handle crying well." Mason patted his shoulder again and got up when someone called him. It turns out the best man isn't only responsible for the bachelor party.

While he was alone for the time being, Liam went over the plan again. He could envision it perfectly, what he would see when he walked in. He and Theo had decided that Liam should be the one to walk down the aisle, since they liked the setup of other weddings, and Liam actually had a father to give him away. He'd see everyone sitting in the golden-brown wicker benches as he walked down the stone aisle, including his parents, family, and other friends who weren't in the party. His mom and dad would have a front row seat.

He could imagine the lake behind them, the sun low in the sky by the time they finally were wed. On either side of them were their friends, a mix of both girls and guys, since they weren't really sure how they could configure it; Scott, Stiles, Lydia, Kira, and Mason were on Liam's side, while Malia, Corey, Isaac, Derek, and Hayden were on Theo's. As surprising as it was that Malia and Hayden were now friendly with Theo, Liam was glad they'd be standing on his side as his friends. If Theo didn't already make him happy enough, it made it even better to see Theo with a family of people who supported him. The dresses were dark blue, matching the lake behind the arch, and Jenna had helped pick them out so they wouldn't accidentally be ugly. All the men except for Theo and Liam wore matching dark blue ties.

While he could imagine all of that, there was a blank spot in the equation: Theo. He had no idea what it would be like seeing him there like that, or if he could handle it at all. He couldn't even think about it beforehand. Walking out and seeing him would be earth-shattering enough.

He put his hands on his knees and smiled. Theo. Loving Theo was like the harshest rush and calmest swing all at the same time, always keeping him on his toes - but allowing him to be comfortable. Being with him was like running as fast as you could down the shore and jumping into an oncoming wave, so cold but so refreshing as it lapped up to your knees and little splashes got everywhere. Everything felt easier when he was around and harder when they were apart, and nothing, nothing compared to waking up to those deep green eyes already looking at you, waiting for you to wake up to kiss you, because there wasn't enough time in the world and you took every chance you got.

Liam sighed dreamily, and Scott sat down next to him just in time for him to say "Oh God." Scott looked at him questioningly, and Liam started to laugh. "I'm gonna cry when I get up there. Oh, shit."

Scott laughed along with him in slight surprise. He clapped a hand over his shoulder and shook him around a little. "A little bit of tears are okay. If Theo is anything like me at my wedding, he'll be crying too."

Liam remembered Scott and Malia's wedding. It was beautiful, held on the beach where Scott proposed to her, and their vows were just as respectively sweet and joking as Liam would have expected them to be. He was Scott's second best man and he and Stiles alternated in spots during the ceremony, both giving long-winded speeches at dinner, and he imagined him and Theo in the same place eventually. The one thing he couldn't forget was how happy he was for his alpha and how proud of him he felt. All he could hope was that Scott felt the same for him on his day.

If the gleam in Scott's eye had anything to do with it, he was. He seemed to know exactly what Liam was thinking as he looked at him, and he smiled a little wider. "I know your lives are going to be great together. I know it's been hard with him sometimes, and we haven't always been the most understanding-" Liam shook his head. He didn't want to talk about that anymore, never wanted to go backwards. "-but you've both come so far together. He really is the one for you."

"He is," Liam agreed quietly, nodding his head and grinning at the floor. He rested his elbows on his knees, glad that he had stopped crying.

"And I'm so proud of how much you've grown together and apart. I hope you know that."

So much for no more tears. Liam laughed wetly. "Slathering on all the sentimentality now, huh?"

Scott grinned. "Of course. Thank you for letting me be a part of this, despite all my sappiness. I always wanted to be here."

"Scott, you were the third one on my invite list," Liam said, putting his hand on Scott's shoulder and mirroring him. "mostly because Mason made the list, and he put himself and Corey down first. You're so important to me. Of course I'd want you in my wedding."

Scott snickered at Mason's list-making. "Jesus, I'm gonna cry next. I've got to go get my tie on," He lied. Liam knew he was going away to avoid another crying fest, and he couldn't blame him.

Liam got up on shaky legs to head over to the table with bottled waters on it, and he took one and sipped on it lightly. He was too nervous to really eat or drink that day, so apart from the toast and orange juice from hours ago, Liam had nothing in his stomach.

He still could hardly believe that today was the day they would finally be married. It felt like yesterday that Theo had gotten down on one knee in front of him, and he could recall every detail.

They'd just signed the lease on their new house, the one they were planning on moving into even before they were engaged. The four-bedroom house that they both worked hard and saved up for was stunning, and they spent the day there mapping everything out; where the couch would go, how they wanted to set up the furniture in the master bedroom, and what they'd use the other two rooms for. There was an office space and plenty of room to spread out in case they ever needed it.

The light above the door was on and they kissed on the porch, standing there and taking each other in. Theo had taken a shuddery breath, not unusual since it was cold, but then he told Liam that there was a frog behind him and got down on one knee while Liam wasn't looking. That boy knew Liam so well that he knew a frog would work as a diversion.

Liam had squeaked and stepped backwards, almost tripping, when he saw Theo kneeling nervously with a diamond ring. It was as if Theo was uncertain that Liam would say yes, since their entire relationship had been a shock to both of them, but there was no doubt in Liam's mind of what he would say when it was time to answer. He knew now what Theo had said when he proposed, but he could barely hear any of it over the rushing of his own heart and the blood suddenly pumping so much faster through him. That house was the beginning of the rest of their lives, and Liam always glanced down at his ring finger when he stepped on that spot.

He might as well have been asking for more happy tears when his stepdad approached him at the water table, sliding into the space beside him and giving him a warm smile. Liam continued drinking his water; he'd need it after David made him cry, again.

"You look great," David groaned happily, giving Liam a hug as soon as Liam put the water down. There was now a half hour and exactly fifty-four seconds until Liam was scheduled to walk down the aisle, and he wasn't getting through it without a dad talk. "I'm so happy for you, you can't even understand."

"Thank you," Liam said for lack of better words, smiling softly. Once again, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Ah, the men in his life...

He felt himself be steered towards a seat, and he braced himself, not that he expected the talk to be bad. David had sat him down to talk to him like this before he and his mother got married when Liam was twelve, and they were both thinking of it now. "Do you remember what I said to you the day your mother and I got married?" David asked, already knowing the answer. Liam nodded.

"You said that you weren't going to try and replace my dad, and that you loved me and my mother very much. That you'd always be there for us." Liam smiled softly. "And you were."

David nodded too, slowly, and folded his hands in his lap. "I remember when you called me dad for the first time," he admitted after a few seconds, and Liam's breath caught in his throat. Of all he would have expected David to say, it wasn't that. "And how you apologized, because you thought it would make me uncomfortable. You were fourteen, just about to turn fifteen..."

Liam leaned into him and rested his head on his shoulder for a second, David hugging him from the side. "I meant it," Liam said as if he didn't already know. Even if David hadn't tried to replace his biological dad, the one who left him and his mother when he was eight, he had, and Liam could never thank him enough for it. "You are my dad."

David looked at him and smiled, his eyes shiny, and Liam knew if David was going to cry, he was a goner. "That...that was one of the happiest days of my life," David admitted, and Liam bit his tongue to stop the tears from falling. He'd never said that to him before, ever. "Because ever since I married your mom, I always thought of you as my little boy, my son. And Liam," He paused, making sure Liam was looking right into his eyes, no matter how blurry their vision might have been. "You are the best son any parent could ask for, and you have no idea how happy I am to be walking you down the aisle."

Liam couldn't breathe. "Thank you," He choked out. David turned his head to the side, silently asking why. "For being my dad, and-and loving my mom. You've made both of us so much happier than we ever thought we could be." Liam sniffled, and he dabbed at his eyes. "Oh, Christ, I am going to look like a tomato by the time I walk out there." David burst into emotional laughter as Liam finished dabbing off his eyes, doubling over. He patted his shoulder a few more times.

"You know," David started once he caught his breath. "I really do love your mother. She's the light of my life." Liam smiled. "And I'm so glad you found that with Theo. He's a good man, that one, no matter what he's done in his past. I know you'll be happy." Liam nodded and grinned a little wider, once again picturing Theo standing at the altar. "And I think I'm speaking for both your mother and I when I say I hope we'll see some grandbabies soon."

"Oh, God, Dad," Liam groaned and David laughed again. "I think we're getting ahead of ourselves, here. We're not even married yet."

"But soon," David reminded. "It's a quarter till five."

Liam glanced up at the clock and his heart began to hammer in his chest. Fifteen minutes was now fourteen, and it dropped down to thirteen all too fast.

As he sat inside the venue, Liam felt everything all over again. He felt the warmth of the blankets around them when he woke up next to Theo in the morning, the glow of the porch light when Theo proposed, and the cool splash of ocean water when he jumped into it. He heard Theo's laughter in his ear and his real smile played throughout his mind until the two-digit number of minutes ticked down to one-digit, and his head was still spinning when there was only one minute left.

Five o'clock chimed. The chambers were now empty, all of the groomsmen having headed out to their places on Liam's side of the arch, and Theo's were on his. David stood up and held out his hand for Liam to take. "Ready?"

Liam looked around at the empty room one last time before he turned his attention to his father and nodded. "Ready."

He barely felt David's arm as he held onto it, and he definitely didn't feel the ground under his feet as they walked. The attempt to hold back his emotions was useless as he approached the end of the aisle, and the march began to swell through the open air of the breezy lakeview.

Former high school classmates turned to him and smiled. Aunts dabbed at their eyes with their handkerchiefs and uncles and cousins nodded to him with their approval as he walked by, and his mother didn't take her eyes off of him even though she was all the way in the front.

The groomsmens' ties and the women's dresses all matched against the lake as they were supposed to, and Liam smiled at them all quietly while they tried to contain their excitement for him.

Each step was a silent ripple that he could feel coursing through his bones, and he blinked tears out of his eyes so he could see better. He needed this, to see everything there was. There was no crying while he walked down the aisle at his own wedding.