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When Will had set this whole thing up, he hadn’t imagined getting stuck sitting around a firepit late at night with just Gabe and Leno for company. Two of the other guys from their BC days were supposed to be there too, but they’d dropped out the day of, two hours after Ryan and Gabe had already arrived at the Smith’s house on the Cape. Too late for Will to call off the whole thing, and use the empty house to his full advantage to have utterly mind-blowing phone sex with his boyfriend who was training three time zones away.
So now Will had a full weekend with the two boys that had at one point been as close to him as brothers, but now represented a part of Will’s life he didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about whenever he was in San Jose. They had been good years without a doubt, but the second Will had Mack in his sights, it became a little like tunnel vision - only looking forward to a future alongside the other boy and not dwelling on their past rivalry.
Things were a little awkward between the three of them. They hadn’t hung out just as a trio likely since the day Will had signed his ELC. Generally, Will was still on good terms with Gabe and talked with him often enough that he knew the truth about Will and Mack. Gabe was also on good terms with Leno. Both being on the east coast and also division rivals, they saw each other a lot more often during the season than Will was able.
But things between Will and Leno had never fully resolved. They’d hung out enough over the last two years to where it wasn’t necessarily awkward anymore, but it definitely didn’t feel like it had when they were young teenagers living together in that house in Michigan. The comfortable feeling of the brotherhood they’d built now felt stilted and strained. When Will was in DC, or Leno had been in San Jose during the season, they’d still tried to get together for lunch or dinner, but conversation never came as naturally as it once had. There were too many topics that felt off-limits, and Will didn’t want to reopen any wounds that felt barely even healed over.
But now Will sat across the firepit from the larger man, with Gabe being forced to be the one to direct conversation without stepping on toes. Up until that point, he’d been doing a pretty good job of keeping both boys in line.
The implosion started innocently enough.
“How was Vancouver?” Gabe asked Will. They’d seen each other since Will had gotten back but Mack had been with them so Gabe hadn’t gotten the chance to ask.
“Yeah, good. Always intense going up to train with Mack’s family over the summer. His dad runs a pretty strict program.” Will said, trying not to go into too much detail, not eager to spend too much time on the topic of Mack with Leno right across from him. He tried to make eye contact with Gabe to get him off the topic, but Gabe was too busy poking at the fire in front of them with a stick to get the message across.
“Can’t believe you couldn’t go two months without seeing that twerp,” Ryan interjected, cracking open another beer.
Will rolled his eyes. This was exactly why he hadn’t told Leno about Mack. The other man just didn’t know when to grow up.
“He’s my friend.”
“Seems like a lot more than that.” Ryan said, trying to hide the smugness on his face, and failing miserably.
Will got nervous, immediately worried that Gabe had actually gone through with his threat to tell Leno. But looking over at the Rangers player, he could see a matching look of surprise across his features at Ryan’s words.
“What exactly is that supposed to mean?” Will said, trying to mask the nervousness he felt by letting annoyance drip through his words instead.
“Jesus, it was just a joke! No need to get your panties in a twist, Smit. Berners just said you guys were like attached at the hip the whole week. Didn’t let anyone else into your little bubble at all. Not even Celebrini’s kid brother.”
“It was good to see Mack. It’d been a while.”
“You guys literally facetimed like 4 times over the fourth of July weekend,” Ryan said pointedly.
“We like to talk.”
Leno’s tone turned whiney. “You never call me that much.”
“You literally hate talking on the phone,” Will replied.
“Not the point man. I’m just saying, you have kind of a reputation when it comes to him.”
Will rolled his eyes. “Oh yeah, and what would that be?”
Ryan took a long sip of his beer before answering, holding eye contact with Will like he was tempted to challenge the other man to guess for himself. Eventually he answered Will’s question, though.
“Just that you guys are weird about each other. We’ve all seen the stuff online, man. Like half the league is obsessed with your ‘bromance’ and like half of those people think you're legitimately in love with one another. Don’t you think you guys like… play into it a little too much.”
Will wasn’t sure what he meant by that. He and Mack weren’t “playing into” anything.
“Excuse me?”
“Like maybe you two should chill out. You wouldn’t want people to think you were actually like…” Ryan trailed off before he could actually finish his sentence.
“Like what?” Will demanded, daring the taller boy to finish the thought.
Leno didn’t back down from the challenge.
“Look, I know you guys are like good friends. But c’mon man, you’ve been acting like he’s your fucking boyfriend or something.”
Will held eye contact with him, but didn’t say anything, his stare becoming increasingly pointed. Ryan wasn’t as stupid as people gave him credit for. He connected the dots.
“No fucking way - you and Celebrini? You’re actually fucking -”
“Leno, shut the fuck up, man. That’s Will’s business. None of ours.” Gabe said, trying to cool the situation.
As usual, Ryan ignored Gabe’s suggestion.
“Nah, man - we’re his friends! Of course it's our business if Will’s fucking the league’s golden boy.”
“Leno -” Gabe insisted.
“I’m not fucking him.” Will spat out. “I’m dating him. I have been for months.”
“Oh so he doesn’t put out?” Leno responded meanly.
“Don’t fucking talk about him like that!” Will was vicious, startling out of his seat towards Ryan like he wanted to hit him. Gabe grabbed his arm pulling Will back into the chair before things could escalate.
“Chill, guys. Let’s not do this.”
“What the fuck Gabo, how are you not more weirded out by this. He’s fucking our college nemesis!” Ryan said in disbelief that Gabe wasn’t trying to tease Will with him.
“He’s my teammate now, asshole!” Will said, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms, putting on the bitchy Will Smith pout that Ryan had become so familiar with over the years.
Gabe spoke over him more calmly.
“Lean - that was years ago. Fucking grow up, man.”
“How are you not more surprised about this?” Ryan questioned.
Gabe didn’t answer, simply moving his eyes to look at Will as a familiar guilt crept over his face. It was the same guilt Leno had seen the time Gabe had drunkenly kissed one of the girls he himself had been actively pursuing during their BC days. A kiss he and Will had kept secret from Ryan for weeks, before finally coming clean.
“You already knew, didn’t you? He already told you.” Leno said, his disbelief furthering. “You knew they were dating.”
“Ryan, just let it go man,” Gabe pleaded.
“No, tell me. Why the fuck am I the last to know?” Ryan demanded.
“Maybe because I knew you’d react like this?” Will said pointedly.
“React like what? Being mad that you both have apparently been keeping this huge secret from me for months, and didn’t think I deserved to fucking know that one of my best friends is dating his teammate - a guy we all hated for fucking years!”
“You don’t get to be mad that I’m dating Mack,” Will argued.
“Why not? I don’t understand why you’re both acting like I’m the bad guy here! This is all about what you've been doing, not me! You don’t think I’d wanna know that one of my best friends is suddenly dating a guy.”
“And that’s why I didn’t wanna tell you! Don’t you get that?”
“Get what?” Ryan said, frustration flowing through his voice.
“The fact that I tell you that I’m finally dating someone and you can’t just be fucking happy for me. All you can think about is that it's a boy. And on top of that, a boy who you’ve decided to hate despite all the times he’s tried to be civil with you. Like Jesus Christ, man, I know you subscribe to the whole douchy hockey jock bit, but I thought you could at least work through the homophobia of it all.”
“I’m not homophobic!” Leno shouted. Will could tell he was getting under the other boy’s skin. Despite the voice in his head telling him to think about their neighbors, he pushed harder.
“Oh, really? Because you haven’t really done a lot to make me believe that.”
“Yeah, cause I didn’t fucking know you were gay.”
“I’m not, actually. I’m bisexual. Have been the whole time you’ve known me.” Will said impatiently.
“Well you never fucking told me. You can’t be mad when you never told me,” Ryan retorted.
He knew he was being somewhat irrational and defensive, but Will wasn’t gonna let Leno down easy.
“Well, I’m telling you now, and you’re really fucking it up man. So maybe I’m glad I never told you in college. Cause I’m sure it would’ve been way worse when we were 18.”
“Smit, I’m not like judging you cause you like dudes. I’m just questioning your taste.” Ryan said, his tone turned slightly more desperate as if attempting to make Will see the logic in his reasoning. It infuriated Will even more.
“Mack is one of my best friends. You know that,” Will argued. “I thought you were finally starting to get over your stupid college bullshit because you knew I cared about him. I thought it would finally be okay to tell you.”
When it became clear to Leno that Will wasn’t going to back down, he pivoted. “What is with you and keeping secrets from me until you think I’m ready to hear them?”
Will knew immediately that Leno was talking about BC.
“Man, this isn’t about that-”
“Maybe it is! Maybe it will always be about that. You and your fucking secrets man. It’s always you and your goddamn secrets. I’m tired of it!”
Leno’s voice was flooded with desperation and anger.
“What happened in Boston wasn’t meant to hurt you, Leno,” Will tried to reason.
“Oh yeah? Then why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Ryan demanded. “You let me go on and on about us all playing our second year together just to go off and sign your fucking ELC the second you knew Celebrini was probably gonna end up in San Jose. It’s fucking bullshit man. You’re gonna sit there with this absolute crap about me being “ready” to hear shit, when its actually just all about the same fucking thing. You’re a coward Smit, and a fucking liar too.
“Maybe cause you act like child every time things don’t go your way. I’m sorry that I wanted to move on with my life - sorry that I wanted to think of a bigger picture than winning some stupid-ass college championship when I had a real shot at an NHL career alongside potentially one of the biggest stars to ever play the sport. I’m not turning that shit down for you just so we can stumble around Boston getting drunk and shitting on a rival college that doesn’t even fucking matter in the long run,” Will said, his frustration being hurled at the other boy.
Leno looked furious.
“You think I don’t understand that? Gabe and I are playing in the league now too. Not just you. I’m playing alongside Alex motherfucking Ovechkin 9 months out of the year. You aren’t the only one here with a shot at the cup. I just wish you’d fucking told me - not let me get my hopes up only to get let down yet again by another fucking Will Smith secret.”
“So tell me that man! Don’t just go around bitching about what I get up to with Mack, when you could just talk to me.”
“Guys, please -” Gabe begged, once again attempting to insert himself between the two others.
“How the fuck am I supposed to talk to you when half the shit that comes out of your mouth is a lie?” Ryan stood up abruptly. “Fuck this shit, I’m going for a walk.” He chugged the last of his beer, adding the empty can to the steadily-growing pile they’d been collecting over the course of a few hours, and marched off in a huff down towards the dark beach that lay just beyond the firepit.
Gabe and Will watched the other boy stalk away from them, disappearing beyond where the porch light could reach his form. Will huffed under his breath an “Asshole”, but still made to stand up and follow. Gabe grabbed his arm before he could take a step.
“Just leave him for a bit, okay.”
“Gabe, he doesn’t just get to walk away from a conversation because it gets hard. We’re adults now, not a bunch of 15 year olds.” Will argued back.
“I know that,” Gabe said calmly. “But Lean is a hothead. So give him a second to calm down before you go after him.”
“He’s such a dick.” Will stated, settling himself back into his chair with a huff.
“His feelings are hurt.”
“I get that, but -”
“Do you?”
“What? Gabe-” Will started to protest.
“I don’t know if you fully do, Will,” Gabe said simply. “You know Ryan. He’s always been… imaginative. He’s had this like 10 year vision in the works for us since we lived together in Michigan. NTDP, BC, and then the NHL. The day you signed your ELC, you didn’t just speed up the timeline. You completely tore it apart. And you never really gave him the chance to get used to that.”
“I shouldn’t have to. That’s stupid. I just wanted to play hockey.” Will said, crossing his arms, knowing a childish pout was probably sitting prominently across his face.
Gabe spoke calmly. “And he understands that now. I promise he does. I think he’s more upset with how unapologetically you went about it. And he’s not exactly wrong. You did let him go on and on for months about another year, without telling any of us what you were planning.”
“Don’t tell me you’re upset about it too,” Will whined with a huff.
Gabe shook his head. “No, no. I know you too well. The second the Sharks got the first pick, I knew you weren’t going to just sit around and wait another year to play with Macklin Celebrini. But Leno is an idealist, and he went to the Caps. He doesn’t fully understand what it means to be on a team that is relying so heavily on you to be their savior. It's a blessing and a curse, but you want to be the one to do it. You weren’t gonna let Mack do it alone.”
“But you still think it was unfair for me to keep it secret?”
“Unfair is maybe the wrong word,” Gabe said, shrugging. “It’s fair for you to keep your plans close to your chest in this business. But I think it’s also fair for him to be hurt that you didn’t trust him enough to feel you could tell him. I knew it was going to happen, but even I was still a little hurt that you let us find out from the press announcement.”
“I’m sorry.” Will responded miserably.
“I’m over it, Will. We’re all in a much better place where we ended up in the league. But Ryan is allowed to hold a grudge if he wants. You and I both know he’s not wrong about the number of secrets we’ve kept from him over the years. And frankly he’s been generous in forgiving us a lot more than I’d expect him to. But you and Mack… that’s a big secret to keep from him.”
“But, Gabe, you saw the way he reacted. Wasn’t I at least slightly justified in thinking he’d blow up like this? I told you I thought he’d be a dick about it, and I was proven right.”
Gabe gave him a sympathetic look.
“I’ll give you that. But I also think we both know Leno well enough to know this isn’t about you dating a guy, or even about you dating Mack. He’s hurt because you didn’t tell him. He probably feels insecure that you aren't willing to trust him with stuff like this. For the longest time, we’ve said we’re like brothers after all the years we’ve spent together. How would you feel if your brother - or if Grace didn’t tell you this giant thing about herself because she didn’t trust your reaction?”
“I’d probably hate it,” Will admitted.
“So imagine what it's like for Leno to feel like he’s always the last to know between us three?” Gabe reasoned. “I’m not saying this is all on you, cause we both know plenty of those secrets have been mine, but I think the signing thing was kind of the one to break the camel's back.”
Will brushed a hand through his curls, giving them a subtle tug in a move that Gabe no doubt recognized as a nervous tick. “You’re probably right. But I still don’t think I should have to apologize for doing what is right for my career.”
“So don’t apologize for that. Just apologize for keeping him in the dark,” Gabe said simply.
Will sighed, but he knew Gabe was right.
“When did you get so wise, man?” Will questioned.
“Always been this way. You’re just finally mature enough to keep up,” Gabe said smugly. Will rolled his eyes.
He stood up from his chair, and stretched his back.
“I should probably go find him. We’re not really supposed to be on the beach this late.”
Gabe nodded at him but didn’t say anything else. Will took that as his cue to head out into the dark in search of their other friend.
It didn’t take long. Will found Leno sitting alone, a few feet up from where the waves lapped at the sand. He was looking out at the waves, like it wasn’t too dark to see anything beyond the shore. Will shuffled over, gently dropping himself down to sit next to the larger boy. Neither of them said anything immediately. They just sat for a moment, listening to the small waves breaking over and over on the beach.
Ryan was the first to break the silence.
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry, too.” Will replied.
Ryan huffed out a stilted laugh. “What are you sorry for? I’m the one who went off the rails.”
“Maybe. But I didn’t exactly help to calm you down.”
“I’m sorry I reacted so poorly. I am happy for you, man. You and Mack. You’re a really good match.”
“I think I’m gonna have to get that in writing. Mack will never believe me otherwise.”
Leno snorted out another short laugh.
“Never, man. Can’t have any evidence out there that I actually like Celebrini,” he joked.
“Yeah, he’d never let you forget it.” Will said, incapable of containing the smile that spread across his face when he thought of Mack.
Ryan went quiet again, before breathily letting out an honest question.
“How are you guys gonna do it? I mean, I’m not homophobic, but you weren’t wrong that the “douchy hockey jock” isn’t exactly accommodating to this kind of thing. Are you gonna like… come out?”
Will thought for a moment, collecting his thoughts.
“Not to the public anytime soon. Mack wants to win a cup before we even consider it - you know, prove himself before people have some bullshit excuse to blame a bad game on him being gay or whatever. But we’re out to his family, and to mine. And most of our teammates know, too. And now you and Gabe.”
“That makes sense. I’m glad you have a supportive group in San Jose. I don’t think you’d get the same thing with the Caps.” Leno seemed to grimace at the thought.
“Are they, like, bad?” Will questioned, concern and curiosity dripping from his tone.
“Not like that bad, I guess. Not compared to other teams, probably. But there are a lot of guys who probably wouldn’t be mature enough or generous enough to accept a gay guy on the team. I don’t think it would go too well if I- if someone were to come out.”
When the moonlight caught his face just right, Will could see the tear tracks streaking down the other boy’s cheeks. He wasn’t sure if they were there before he sat down or if they were new.
“Leno?”
“Sorry, sorry.” he said, rubbing his hands roughly on his face to try and destroy any evidence of his tears.
“Come on, man. You can be honest with me,” Will tried.
Ryan shook his head. “No, it's nothing. I’m fine.”
“Ryan, c’mon.”
“Will - it’s nothing.” His voice sounded desperate, like he wanted nothing more than for Will to drop it. Leno moved like he was going to stand. Will grabbed his forearm, keeping him planted in the sand.
“Talk to me,” Will demanded as gently as he could.
Will watched Leno’s walls collapse in real time.
“I’m bi too,” the other boy whispered so lowly, Will almost didn’t hear it.
The blonde let out a sound of surprise, and before he could think twice let out a questioning, “Really? You?”
Ryan groaned miserably, burying his hands into his hair and hanging his head between his knees.
“You don’t have to sound so surprised, you know. Like I get it, I’m a big dumb hockey douche. Not supposed to like sucking dick,” he complained.
Will backtracked.
“No, no - that’s not what I meant. I just… I am surprised. You only ever talked about all the girls you were fucking in DC. And like you have a girlfriend now too.”
“Didn’t stop me from sucking off half the guys in the drama department back at BC.” Leno said bluntly.
They fell into silence as Will absorbed Leno’s words. Then they both burst out laughing.
“Jesus Christ, what the fuck Leno! Seriously?”
“What? They were easy lays. Most of them didn’t give a shit about hockey, and they all thought I was hot as fuck. And they were all so proud and out about it, but they knew I was closeted and respected that. They were good guys.”
“So you decided to fuck them?”
“Who else?”
Will figured that was a fair enough argument. It wasn’t like he’d found any guys to hook up with during his time at BC who he didn’t think would out him to the press first chance they got.
“So on those nights where we lost you at parties-?” Will questioned.
“I was usually on my knees for someone in a locked room, yeah. Never took any of them back to the dorms, though. That was for girls only. Couldn’t afford for one of you to catch me,” the other boy admitted sheepishly.
“You could’ve told me.”
Ryan snorted in disbelief.
“Yeah, uhuh. Just like you told me, right?”
Will had to give him that.
“Yeah that's fair, I guess.”
“Exactly.”
“Am I the only friend you’ve ever told?”
Leno shook his head. “Gabe knows”
Will scoffed, “Of course Gabe knows. Motherfucker knows everything.”
“He caught me sucking off a kid from our intro to acting class freshman year.”
“Who?”
Ryan’s cheeks blushed bright red. “Danny Hilliard.”
Will’s jaw dropped open. “No way, dude. He was so hot. No way you hooked up with him.”
“What, you think my game doesn’t extend beyond girls?”
“He’s wayyyy too hot for you, man.”
“Well now you’re just hurting my feelings Smit.”
“No offense man. He’d be out of my league too. He was so hot.”
Ryan snorted. “Pretty sure according to most of the population of BC, you were on par with him in terms of hotness. School basically worshipped you.”
“Yeah, I guess they kinda did,” Will said smugly.
“Jesus, ego much?”
They both laughed at that, but then fell back into the silence. Ryan opened his mouth again after a few moments.
“You know, I had a pretty big crush on you back in the day. Pretty sure you were my bi-awakening actually,” he said bluntly. “During the Michigan days… I thought it might’ve just been proximity. Like we weren’t around a lot of girls, and I was a horny teenager. Thought your pretty mug might’ve just been the closest I could get to a girl and my body was reacting accordingly.”
“Jeez. Thanks, man.” Will said, unimpressed with the comment.
“Yeah, but then we got to BC, and I realized that even when I was swimming in pussy, I still wanted to suck your dick… and a lot of other dicks as it turns out. So that kind of solidified the bi thing I guess…”
“Do you still, like, have a crush on me or whatever?”
Leno looked at him more earnestly than Will was expecting.
“Honestly, no. I think maybe if we hadn’t gone through all that stuff after the first year at BC, I might have still been hung up on you. But that forced me to grow up a lot. And considering how mad I was at you, exploring hooking up with other guys seemed like a pretty reasonable way to get over you. Those theater boys were maybe even prettier than you.”
“So pretty boys are your type then?
“Yeah probably,” Ryan shrugged. “Kind of all I’ve tried out to be fair.”
“Do you think that’s because I was your “bi-awakening” or whatever?” Will asked curiously.
Ryan shrugged again. “Don’t know. Guess so.”
“Cool.” Will said shyly, trying to hide the blush that he could feel burning up his cheeks at Ryan’s honesty.
“What was yours?”
“My what?” Will said, confused.
“Your bi-awakening.”
Will thought for a moment.
“Patrick Murphy.”
“Who?” Leno giggled at the random name.
“Kid on my little league team back in the day. He was the best player on our team, and I was like obsessed with him.”
“Ah, so the competency kink didn’t start with Celebrini then?” Leno teased. Will kicked him in the shin in retaliation.
“He was really good, okay. And he was a really nice kid too,” Will reasoned.
“Celebrini is one for two then.”
“Shut up,” Will groaned.
“Absolutely not. You gave me ammo, man. As one of your best friends, legally I have to make fun of you and your boyfriend.”
“Or you could just be nice and supportive?,” Will suggested, already knowing it was a lost cause.
Leno raised an eyebrow, before scoffing. “Yeah good luck with that, Smitty.”
They fell back into silence, but this time it felt more comfortable. Less like they were avoiding certain conversations and more like they didn’t need to hold all the baggage surrounding their relationship anymore.
Will took his chance to resolve the last of their unspoken animosity.
“I really am sorry, Lean. Not just for overreacting at the firepit, but because of how things went down in Boston.”
Ryan shook his head at the blonde boy. “You don’t have to apologize, Will. I was being dumb. You’re right. It wasn’t fair for me to expect you to put your career on hold just to prolong our glory days.”
“I won’t apologize for signing my ELC.” Will insisted. “It was the best decision I ever made to play my rookie year with Mack. But I can apologize for not telling you my plans. It wasn’t okay for me to let you get your hopes up and not tell you how I was feeling. I should’ve been honest with you the second I realized I wasn’t gonna stick around for a second year. It was stupid. You’re one of my best friends, man, and it was really shitty of me to not tell you.”
“I think I would’ve been more excited for you if you’d told me earlier,” Leno admitted. “I mean you were following our childhood dream. I couldn’t really be mad at that. I think I was just mad that I was left out of the loop. I always thought we were gonna achieve that dream together, and I think it was hard for me to swallow that idea that you might not have wanted the same thing.”
“Leno -” Will started, but the other boy wasn’t done.
“I think that is partially why I got mad when you said you were dating Mack. I think I was jealous. Maybe I still am a little bit.”
“Of me? Or of Mack?”
“Of both of you, I guess. But mostly Mack. I just… he already got to live out the reality of achieving your childhood dreams together. He gets to play with you every night, and probably will for the rest of your careers. And now he gets to date you too. It’s like he took everything on teenage Ryan’s birthday wishlist and checked them off for himself. He has everything I ever envisioned for myself when we were younger.”
“And why are you jealous of me?” Will questioned.
“I think that’s more about your plan to come out one day. I just… I don’t think that’s something on the cards for me. Like obviously if I stay with my girlfriend, I won’t ever have to. But I just like… I think there's a part of me that is jealous that you guys might get the chance to be out one day, and it won’t be a problem for your teammates or your fans, or your families. I don’t see that ever being an option for me.”
“You don’t think your parents would be chill about it?”
Ryan shrugged. “No idea. Don’t think they’ve ever even considered the possibility of my not being straight.”
“They might surprise you. I know I was surprised by how cool my parents were with Mack. I expected my mom to be a lot more wrapped up by the catholic guilt of it all. But they both just hugged me and told me they still loved me. Your parents might be the same,” Will suggested.
Ryan wrung his hands from where they dangled between his bent knees.
“I don’t know… probably they would be fine. But it doesn’t feel worth it to me to tell them if there is still a chance they won’t be, I guess. At least not while I’m still dating a girl that already fits the idea they have of my future.”
Will felt his heart break hearing Leno's confession.
“I know it's rich coming from me, considering twenty minutes ago, you were calling me a liar and a coward over the firepit… but sometimes honesty is worth it to get the weight of the truth off your chest. I know that's easier said than done, and you really shouldn’t feel any pressure to come out if you don’t want to, but it might make you feel better to at least tell a couple of people in your life.”
Ryan didn’t respond immediately. He seemed to take a few moments to consider Will’s words, as if he was going through all the possible ways telling his parents or teammates might go. Then he reached his arm across to Will, patting the other boy’s knee before standing up to brush the sand off his legs.
“Thanks, Will. I think you and Gabo are enough for now, but I appreciate the support. I’ll think about it.”
Will stood up, immediately dragging the taller boy into a tight hug. They hadn’t hugged like that in years.
Pulling back, Will looked directly at Leno. “I’m always here for you, Lean. We’re in this together now. Us dicksuckers gotta stick together, right?”
Ryan let out a breath like he’d been holding it in all night. Will watched the last of the tension melt from his shoulders.
“Right.”
“Now lets head back to Gabo, before he drinks the rest of the beers without us.”
The two boys made their way back up the sand towards the house. Gabe was right where they left him, his attention latched onto the text chain he had pulled up on his phone.
“Look at us - who’d have thought?” Leno said obnoxiously, sinking heavily into his previously abandoned Adirondack chair. Will followed suit.
“Just a couple of fucking homos and their straight best friend.” He said, giggling.
Gabe snorted at the comment. “Right.”
“Do you have something to share with the class, Perrault?” Ryan said curiously.
Gabe looked at them with an unimpressed expression on his face.
“What, you guys don’t think I have my own secrets that I keep from the both of you?” He said, smirking.
“What are you talking about?” Will pressed.
“I’ve been fucking Matt Rempe for like a year, bro. You really thought you two were the only ones who know how to suck a dick?”
He said it completely nonchalantly, like it was common knowledge or something.
“Jesus Christ, man. You can’t just drop that on us so nonchalantly after everything else we’ve been through tonight," Leno whined.
“Yeah, what the fuck? Why wouldn’t you have told me that when I told you about me and Mack?” Will demanded.
Gabe rolled his eyes at the two of them. “Cause its none of you nosy bastards’ fucking business, that’s why. It's casual, anyways.”
“Yeah, uh huh. That’s how it started with me and Mack too…” Will said skeptically.
“Fuck off man. Just cause you idiots couldn’t figure out the teammates with benefits thing doesn’t mean the rest of us have to follow the same dumbass path.”
Will stuck his tongue out at Gabe, and it felt like they were all 14 again.
Leno spoke up.
“Ok so then it’s three homos and a firepit I guess. Is it too soon for me to start asking about how your boys are in bed, then?”
Gabe erupted into laughter and Will reached down to throw one of the empty aluminum cans straight at Leno’s head. He couldn't help but let out his own giggle at the stupidity of his old friend. It’d been a long time since the three boys had felt so connected to each other. Will had really missed it.