liam nods, appreciative of levi for taking the initiative to move things along. he's not sure exactly what time speeches are supposed to begin, or whether there's a difinitive plan for that. but the fact romy, his fiancee and ( very- ) soon-to-be wife, doesn't immediately protest gives him enough confidence that now is a good enough time as ever. he reaches over to give levi's forearm a quick squeeze as his best man gets up. liam's not sure whether it's the warmth of the wedding festivities or champagne that causes his heart to bleed with pride, but it does as he watches levi. everyone teases him for working too much, being a dork in his personal life, not being social enough. but regardless, he's maintained a best friendship with someone he truly admires, and now he's about to usher in this next stage of his life with him.
if liam's typically-astute focus wasn't compromised by his few drinks, he'd notice there's something off about his best friend. but honestly, it goes right over his head. all he does is smile up at him as he listens to him talk. he feels romy place a hand over his on the table as the speech begins. though he doesn't outright laugh at the cliffnotes joke, liam offers an encouraging nod and grin. finds it endearing, even if the rest of the intimate crowd is tough. most of them don't know levi ā in fact, most of them don't know liam either. the guest attendees are very disproportionately from romy's camp. she's got many more people in her life, and he was all too willing to let her fill out the chairs over him.
he's not used to anyone speaking about him with such affection, so his cheeks have the slightest flush to them as levi goes on about how dear he is to him. he's not sure he's ever heard levi be so serious about their friendship like this. but then, the words suddenly fall way, way beyond friendship. liam opens his mouth as if he's going to say something, but nothing comes out. he feels romy's hand whip away from him, and she has no trouble vocalizing : 'what the hell ?' he hears someone drop a fork to a glass plate, strangers murmur, someone cough. and liam ? he's frozen, other than a heart beating hard in his chest and a brain speeding ten thousand miles an hour to try and catch up. eyes still fixed hard on levi, though his expression totally fallen. romy shoves her chair away from the table and interrupts, 'what the hell is your friend talking about, liam ?' she demands, eyes wide and accusatory. liam has no answer other than one so fucking stupid. "rome, he said he's joking !" he turns to levi and waves a hand between the pair. "levi, explain you're just kidding."