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It’s 5 years after Stiles graduates and 2 years after they started dating that Stiles and Derek get married in Virginia. It’s a small ceremony with only Peter, John, Chris, Cora, and Lydia in attendance. Scott couldn’t make it, having worked hard to become a vet so he’s currently working with Deaton to take over his practice. They have a small reception after, but Stiles convinces Derek to go back to Beacon Hills after their honeymoon to have another reception with the rest of the pack in Beacon Hills present.
Knowing about the reception, Stiles starts to come up with a plan. He’s been in touch with a lot of the pack members in Beacon Hills, but Mason is the one he talks to most often. The two of them bonded over their love for research, and also being two of the only humans in a pack of supernatural creatures.
It’s after hearing Mason complain about how frustrating it is to watch Liam and Theo dance around each other for maybe the 50 th time that he decides the reception might be the perfect time to intervene. Derek tells Stiles he shouldn’t mettle, that he should just let them come together on their own, but Stiles is having none of it. He won’t do too much. He’s just going to give them that push they need and hope they get the hint. And if they don’t, well then he’ll pull out the big guns.
Stiles and Derek spend a week in Iceland for their honeymoon. It’s nice, being away just the two of them. Being able to spend all day in bed together if they want to, which some days they do. Stiles uses the excuse of the slightly cooler weather as an excuse, and while Derek sees right through it he can’t help but indulge Stiles. At least for a few days. Other days he insists on getting out and sightseeing, taking advantage of the time they’re spending in a different country. Stiles might complain, but they both know it’s all for show. He doesn’t really mind, and usually finds himself enjoying the little pieces of history Derek tries to hunt down.
Stiles is sad when their time in Reykjavík comes to an end, but he’s also excited to get back to the states and see his Dad and his friends. He’d say his pack but he hasn’t felt like a part of Scott’s pack in years, not since he and Derek got together and formed their own little pack. It was a year later when a scared omega joined them and soon after Derek’s eyes turned red. Neither one knew why or how it happened, but Derek was an alpha again. He was determined to be a better one this time.
And he is. They have a good life together. A happy one. One he never thought he would have while living in Beacon Hills. Now that he has this life with Derek he can’t help but want others to have that same happiness. If that means meddling, or pushing, a little bit, well that’s just what he’ll have to do.
Theo doesn’t care what anyone says, he is not jealous. Was he under the impression that he and Liam were supposed to meet up and go to the reception together? Yes. Is that what happened? No. Theo shows up about 10 minutes before he’s supposed to meet Liam, content to lean against his truck and wait. A few minutes later Liam’s car pulls into the parking lot and Theo feels himself smile, a now familiar reaction to whenever he sees the beta.
He starts walking towards Liam’s car only to stop in his tracks when he realizes Liam isn’t alone. He’s with Hayden. Theo’s heart starts beating rapidly and he quickly melts back into the shadows by his truck hoping not to be noticed. He knows he’s being ridiculous. He and Liam weren’t going to the reception together, not really. They were going as friends with the rest of the pack. But seeing the way Liam and Hayden are laughing together, oblivious to the rest of the world, makes something ugly twist in his gut. He hates the feeling. And yeah, it might be jealousy.
Somewhere over the past 5 years Theo has fallen in love with Liam. He isn’t sure when it happened. It just did. One moment they were enemies, then reluctant allies, then somewhere along the way they had become friends. Best friends even. Theo spends more time with Liam than anyone else. Maybe that’s the problem. Liam has basically become the person Theo revolves his life around without him even realizing it and the thought of losing that…
It was only matter of time. Liam hasn’t dated anyone in the past 5 years, stating that he needs to focus on school and other things. Theo had hoped that he fell into the second category, That the reason Liam hasn’t dated is because he has feelings for Theo. It was wishful thinking. Wishful thinking that didn’t do him any good.
Because there Liam is with Hayden. It hits Theo suddenly that maybe the reason Liam hadn’t dated anyone was because he’s been waiting for a second chance with Hayden.
Theo leans his head back against the truck, closing his eyes and forcing himself to take a deep breath. He needs to get himself under control. He can’t exactly walk into the reception like this. It would draw suspicion, especially from Liam. That’s a conversation he’s not prepared to have.
Theo watches as Liam and Hayden make their way inside the building, arms linked together, happy laughter lingering behind them. Theo debates following them, but he knows if he does he’ll have to admit he’s been out here all this time. So he waits. The longer he waits the more he tries to talk himself out of going in at all. He doubts anyone would miss him. They all have someone. Liam has Hayden.
Sighing, Theo takes his keys out of his pocket and walks around his truck, preparing to get inside and leave. He barely has the door open before he’s being hauled back, the keys snatched out of his hands. Theo tries to whirl around and confront his attacker but a hand grips his ear and starts pulling him towards the building, the annoyed voice of Stiles reaching him, “I sneak out with my husband to have a hot make out session in the car and one of my guests decides to sneak off without even saying hello. That’s rude, dude. No one is getting out of sharing our happiness. Not even you, Theo."
Theo tries to get out of Stiles’ grip but the human motions and the next thing he knows there’s a hand grabbing the back of his suit jacket, practically carrying him towards the building. From the put-upon sigh he hears Theo knows it must be Derek.
“You never know,” Stiles carries on, either oblivious to Derek’s reaction or just not carrying. Theo thinks it’s probably the latter. “Maybe our happiness will rub off on you so you can be happy, too."
While Stiles keeps rambling Theo glances over his shoulder at Derek. “He hardly even likes me.”
Derek just smirks, pushing Theo along. “Open the doors.”
Theo narrows his eyes and considers not doing it, but the grip on his ear tightens, causing him to wince. He’s not sure what would be worse at this point. Having to deal with a pissed off Stiles or face Liam. His brain is screaming Liam, but he knows pissing Stiles off at his reception would piss the rest of the pack off and he’s worked far too hard to get on good terms with everyone to risk it. So, he closes his eyes briefly before turning the handle and opening the door.
He hopes that will be it. They’ll drag him in and let it go. He should have known better. It’s Stiles and Stiles wants to cause a scene. Stiles lets go, throwing his hands out in front of him while Derek pushes Theo further into the room and towards Liam, who has to catch Theo when he stumbles at the unexpected push. Stiles grins towards Liam, delight clear in his eyes. "Hey Liam, we caught this one trying to escape, might need to keep a better eye on your man. You’re lucky I have a big, strong, alpha.” At this, he directs a wink towards Derek and smiles teasingly towards Scott before looking back towards Liam. "You know, to help me when you lose track of your boyfriend.”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Liam mutters, glaring over at Stiles.
Theo tenses for a moment before pushing away from Liam and putting some distance between them. He feels Liam’s eyes on him but chooses to ignore him in favor of glaring towards Stiles.
“Could have fooled me,” Stiles mutters.
“Why did I even marry you?” Derek asks with a sigh.
Stiles looks at him sweetly, his face the picture of innocence. “My sweet ass.”
From somewhere in the room the Sheriff chokes on his beer, as he tiredly runs a hand down his face. “Stiles, is now really the time?”
“Well it is my wedding reception.”
“Our wedding reception,” Derek points out. “And I think it’s best if we try not to scar our guests, including your father, too much.”
“Well that’s no fun,” Stiles pouts. “But if that’s what you want husband. I’m still not letting this Theo thing go though.”
Theo sighs. “Why? I’m here, aren’t I?”
“Yes, you are. But you’re not happy.”
“Why do you care if I’m happy?” Theo asks him, just wanting to be done with this conversation and away from all the eyes staring at him, especially Liam. “You don’t even like me.”
Stiles rolls his eyes. “I’d like to agree, but we both know that isn’t true anymore. You’ve proven yourself not to be a creepy evil asshole, and you seem to care about people, at least about Liam. Which is why I’m making it my duty to make sure you find your happiness just like I did.”
“That’s not necessary,” Theo tells him, inching his way back towards the door, wincing when a hand on his arm stops him. Glancing over he sees it’s Mason. Theo glares back over at Stiles. “Are you seriously going to hold me here against my will?”
“I didn’t realize being here would be such a hardship,” Stiles points out. “Or did you and Liam have a lovers spat? Is that why Derek said you were practically reeking of misery earlier?”
Theo feels an involuntary growl escape him, wishing he could flee but he’s closed in. There’s no way he’s getting out of here, at least not without a fight. But he doesn’t want to fight. He just wants away from this situation. He knows Liam is watching him. He can practically feel his eyes on him. Every part of him used to being aware of Liam.
“Theo,” Liam’s voice sounds from next to him. “What is he talking about?”
“Nothing for you to worry about,” Theo tells him.
“Seriously?” Mason and Stiles say at the same time.
“Stay out of this!”
“Theo man, calm down,” Liam says, placing a hand on his arm.
Theo wants to shake him off but he doesn’t. He hates to admit that he needs the contact right now. He didn’t even realize how close he was to shifting until now. His claws are out and he knows his eyes must be bleeding yellow. He takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He usually focuses on Liam, but right now Liam is part of the reason he’s in this situation so he’s not sure how well that’s going to work. Theo tries to focus on his heartbeat, on the feeling of Liam’s hand on his arm. It would be easier if he could get away from here, but makes but that doesn’t seem to be an option. Still, after a moment he feels his breathing slow and his claws retract, Liam’s grip on his arm lessening but not letting go.
“Do you want to tell me what’s going on?” Liam asks, voice quiet.
Theo shakes his head, sparing a glance toward Liam to see the beta’s blue eyes filled with concern. “It doesn’t matter,” Theo tell him.
“Theo…”
Theo sighs, shaking Liam’s hand off with more force than he meant to. He sends Liam an apologetic smile at the hurt look that appears on his face, “I’m going to get something to drink, try to be happy. You should get back to Hayden.”
Theo doesn’t bother waiting for a reply. He pushes past Mason, heading towards where the drinks are, wishing for a moment that he was human so he could at least get drunk.
Theo’s barely suppresses a groan when a hand catches his arm, spinning him around. He’s a little surprised to see it’s Liam standing there, barely concealed anger clear in his voice. “Why did you tell me to get back to Hayden?”
“Because she’s your date…?” Theo says, his answer coming out more like a question at Liam’s angry tone.
“No, she’s my friend. Why would you think that she’s my date?”
“Because you two showed up together! I saw you two in the parking lot laughing and looking all cozy,” Theo says, hating the way he practically spits the words out. He hadn’t meant to show how much it had gotten to him. But he’s had a lot of people pushing his buttons tonight, bringing his feelings to the forefront.
Liam stares at him for a moment before a grin takes over his face. “Wait, are you jealous?” When Theo doesn’t say, Liam laughs, punching his arm. “You totally are, aren’t you?”
Theo thinks about denying it, but doesn’t see the point. He’s tired of hiding. He’s spent years pathetically pining after Liam, afraid to let his feelings for him show. But he’s done. “Yeah, maybe I am.”
Liam’s eyes widen, as if he hadn’t expected Theo to admit it so easily. “You are? Really? But…why?”
Theo rolls his eyes. “Really Liam? You really have to ask me why I was jealous seeing you show up here all chummy with your ex-girlfriend? Maybe it’s because I love you and I’ve been in love with you for the past 4 years. Seeing you with her…”
Theo stops talking, only because Liam finds a way to shut him up. Throwing his arms around Theo’s shoulders and bringing their lips together in a long overdue kiss. It’s chaste, the two of them testing the waters, but Theo thinks it’s perfect.
“I love you too, you idiot,” Liam mumbles against his lips when he pulls back. “Why do you think I haven’t dated anyone since Hayden? I’ve been hung up on you.”
Theo smiles, brushing a stray hair back from Liam’s forehead. “I had hoped that was why, but I couldn’t be sure. Then tonight I started thinking maybe you were holding out for her.”
“Hayden and I are friends, nothing more. She’s happily in a relationship,” Liam tells him. “And even if she wasn’t it wouldn’t matter because the only person I’ve been holding out for is you. No one else.”
Theo grins, using his grip on Liam’s hair to pull him in for another kiss, this one much less chaste than the first one. Theo can’t help but groan when Liam slips his tongue into his mouth, neither one caring about the fact that they have an audience.
“Fucking finally!” Mason and Corey yell, both high fiving Stiles. “Maybe I can get some peace now that I don’t have to listen to you two pining after each other.”
“I told you it would work, Der,” Stiles tells his husband. “They just needed a little push.”
“You still could have gone about it a different way,” Derek tells Stiles, pulling him closer. "Maybe made it a little less dramatic.”
“I didn’t make it dramatic. Theo did when he went into denial mode. I was just an innocent bystander.”
“Whatever you say, dear.”
The Sheriff laughs, clapping Derek on the shoulder. “Learn to love that phrase son. With a husband like Stiles you’re probably going to need to use it a lot.”
“I know that’s probably meant to be an insult towards me,” Stiles says, looking between his Dad and Derek. “But it means getting my way, so I’ll take it.”
“Are we going to be like that?” Liam asks, looking up at Theo.
Theo laughs, nuzzling into Liam’s neck. “Happily married? Hopefully one day.”
Liam moves back, trying to catch Theo’s eyes, “Really? You want to…”
“Well not now obviously. We haven’t even been on a date yet. But in the future? Sure. I love you. I can’t see myself loving or trusting anyone the way I do you. Every time I think about my future a lot of things remain unclear, but the one thing that’s always constant is you. You’re there. Always.”
Liam takes a deep breath. “Yeah me too. We’ve wasted a lot of time, haven’t we?”
“We have,” Theo agrees, placing a kiss to Liam’s cheek. “But we’re here now. Why don’t we make up for that lost time?”
“I thought you’d never ask,” Liam grins, pulling back and taking Theo’s hand. He’s about to head towards the door when he stops, glancing over at Stiles and Derek. “That is, if it’s okay that we leave.”
Stiles waves them off, pleased grin on his face as he hugs Derek tightly. “Go on. Get out of here.”
Liam and Theo wave goodbye to the others before practically bolting out the door hand in hand.
“Why did you care so much that those two got together?” Derek asks, glancing down at Stiles.
Stiles shrugs. “Maybe they just reminded me of two other people I know. Two people who danced around each other for years before finally admitting their feelings for each other.”
“Are you talking about us?”
“No, I’m talking about Chris and Melissa,” Stiles says, rolling his eyes. “Of course I’m talking about us. They’re like a 2.0 version of us.”
Derek smirks. “2.0? Really?”
“It sounded good in my head.”
“So do a lot of things,” Derek reminds him, laughing when Stiles swats at his chest.
“You’re supposed to be nice to me,” Stiles tells him.
“Oh? Was that in our marriage contract? Because I can’t remember.”
“This is what I signed up for,” Stiles sighs, but he’s smiling and pushing in closer to Derek.
“For better or worse,” Derek says, smiling softly at his husband.
“I’m thinking it’ll mostly be better.”
“Yeah me too.”
“Oh god,” Mason says. “Is that what Liam and Theo are going to be like? Because Theo is already super sappy and I don’t know if I can handle it if it gets worse.”
“It’ll still be better than them pining,” Corey reminds him. “They were both insufferable.”
“And I’m sure you two have your sappy moments too,” Stiles says. “So you can’t really fault them. Or us.”
“Not if they’re happy,” Derek adds.
“With everything we’ve been through we all deserve a little happiness wherever we can get it,” John says, walking up to the group.
The group looks over at the Sheriff, who smiles, ruffling his son’s hair affectionately. They can only nod their agreement. The man is right, they’ve all had to fight hard to get where they are. The fact that they can laugh and joke and be happy is huge after everything they’ve faced. None of them take it for granted.
*
Stiles is surprised when he sees both Liam and Theo’s cars still parked in the parking lot as they’re leaving. That is, until he peeks into the backseat of Theo’s truck and sees both Liam and Theo curled up together. Apparently, they never made it out of the parking lot. Stiles is about to say something when Derek shakes his head. Before Stiles can ask what he’s going to do, Derek raises his hand and knocks on the window. Liam sits up, immediately alert while Theo waves his hand dismissively, glaring up at the intruders.
“It was nice of you two to stick around but the reception’s over now,” Derek says, smirking at the younger men.
Theo’s eyes widen then, as he looks from Liam to Stiles and Derek, “Umm yeah… we just…” He stops, knowing there’s no way of talking his way out of this. They all know, or at least have an idea, of what happened. “We’ll just be going then.”
“Mason is still inside, you know?” Stiles says, “I can have him drive Liam’s car back home if you don’t want to leave it here.”
Liam nods, looking over at Theo who quickly gets the hint and leans into the front and starts the truck so Liam can roll down the window and hand Stiles the keys, “Thanks Stiles. For everything.”
Stiles just smiles, squeezing Liam’s hand briefly before taking the keys. “Anytime. Now get home before my Dad sees you and is tempted to arrest you for public indecency or something.”
“But he’s not on shift.”
Derek raises an eyebrow. “Do you really want to test it?”
“I don’t,” Theo says, quickly jumping into the front seat much to Derek’s’ amusement. “I, for one, would rather spend my night in a bed than a jail cell.”
“I’m glad to see you’re starting to make good choices,” Stiles says, shooting him a grin. “Goodnight kids!”
Theo watches as Stiles and Derek walk off, laughing and pushing at each other. He looks to his side when he hears Liam jump into the passenger’s seat and smiles. “Ready to go?”
Liam smiles back, lacing their fingers together. “Yeah, let’s go home.”