Archive of Our Own

Pretty Whites and Paperbacks (We're Not Dating, I Swear)

“Hey guys, who wants to join me in a book club?” Will asks excitedly in the locker room after practice.

“Yeah no fucking way Will. I'm sorry but I gave up reading the second I was out of school” Delly shouts from across the room.

“Will, we are like halfway through the season, I'm not sure where we would even find the time. I have to agree with Delly on that” Graf follows.

The childishly excited smile that just filled Will's face thirty seconds ago quickly faded as he looked around the room. Every face he could read just screamed that it was a bad idea. 

“Sorry Will” Graf followed. 

“Yeah same, I'm out. We love you Will but that's not the best idea” Reavo shouted from the showers.

Mack could just see the happiness drain from Will's stupidly pretty face. Mack didn't love the idea of reading, pretty sure the last time he picked up a book was in college, and it was for sure just because he had to.

So Mack just pats Will on the back in condolences as their routine continues in the locker room. 

Everyone is a bit tired after practice but the vibes are always good, especially after what was a good fun practice, coming off a win yesterday. But unfortunately for Will, the positive energy did not carry over to his brilliant idea of creating a book club. 

Mack and Will always ran a bit behind schedule, well at least behind everyone else's schedule. So by the time they were done giggling around and were ready to hit the showers most other guys were already on their way home.

“Goodbye guys, and sorry about the book club Will” Toff says as he is leaving, not before playfully punching Will and Mack in the shoulder. Of course making sure to never hit the shoulder that Will recently injured though.

No one would be able to notice the slight disappointment on Will's face. Well, no one but Mack. Mack could see it in the way he walked, the way he talked, how his shoulders were just ever so slightly more tense than normal, and how his smile didn't fully fill out as wide and bright as it usually did. 

They finished getting ready after practice before finally being the last two guys to head out to the parking lot after spending way too much time on talking about whatever stupid things they always did. They left the room giggling and by the time they were in the car, Will's disappointment started feeling a little less sharp. 

Will dropped Mack off at his place after the afternoon practice before he went back home by himself. Mack had some dinner plans with some old friends from college that were in the area for a few days. So Will had to spend the night alone without Mack and their usual movie nights that had become more of an everyday occurrence. He honestly couldn't even remember a time when they didn't spend every other night together watching movies and eating takeout food. And more often than not the night ended up becoming a sleepover. 

But Will didn't let this night go to waste. so instead he spent it researching every single book club he could possibly find in the area, which was honestly really underwhelming. Most of them were either out of open spots, had way too bad meeting hours that didn't work with their weird schedules, or they demanded them to read way too much for a god damn hockey player. Except there was this one, that was close by, had great hours, and only required them to read a book a month, that had what looked like really fun meetings. The only issue was that you couldn't sign up alone. It said “couples only”.

Smitty: Hey Mack, pleeease will you sign up for this book club with me.

Macky: You know I don't read.

Smitty: Please, the page won't let me register alone.

Macky: What do you mean, it won't let you register alone?

Smitty: It says something about it being a couples thing.

Macky: Will I wont pretend to be your fucking boyfriend for a book club.

Smitty: You probably won't have to, I mean they probably just mean it as a friends thing, right?

Smitty: So… u in?

Macky: You fucking owe me.

Smitty: Thank yooouuu. You wont regret it. It will be fun.

Mack knew it from the locker room, knew it since he saw how disappointed Will was, that he was always going to join Will's book club without a second thought. But making Will beg for it was always just a little more fun. 

Will submitted their application as he was texting with Mack, knowing he couldn't say no.

Will went to bed a little happier that night. It might seem a bit out of character for Will to be interested in going to a book club, I mean, what hockey players are members of a god damn book club. At least not the Tkachuk brothers, well they probably couldn't read even if they wanted to. 

“Good morning Mack, great news. We were accepted to the book club” Will says the second Mack opens the door to the passenger seat the next morning. 

“Oh wow really, already. That was fast” Mack yawns in response as he fastens his buckle, flinging his bag over his shoulder to the back seats.

“Yeah, so fun right! I signed up for the next three months. And we should really swing by today after practice to pick up the books because we have to finish the one they are reading right now before next week.” Will continue.

“My god Will” Mack groaned, not expecting it to be this much work already.

“It will be fun” Will exclaimed way too excitedly. 

But Mack loved the level of excitement Will feels over things. He always gets so overly passionate about everything that he does, and as much as Mack mocks him for it sometimes, he also loves it. Loves to fall asleep listening to Will yapping on about whatever he is into at the moment. He has spent entire flights listening to Will talking about how to make the perfect banana bread, or how to temper chocolate like a master. It never mattered much what exactly Will spoke about, just the fact that he was speaking was enough to soothe Mack's busy mind. 

Will spent the rest of the drive talking about how much fun they would have in the club, already making plans to go back to Mack's place after picking up the books and having a reading night. He talked about all the cool places he saw on Instagram that the club had their meetings in, and how great their choices of books always were. Will did the talking, and Mack the listening. But that was right where they were comfortable. 

They arrived at the rink and got ready for practice, Will being more cheerful today. 

“How's that book club thing going?” Toff asked, hoping that Will would have found a group so he didn't have to cave and join it himself.

“Great! Me and Mack joined one and we are getting the first book today” Will said excitedly, happiness glowing in his face under the blond curls. 

“Didn't know you read Mack?” Toff said sounding surprised.

“Anything for his boyfriend,” Reavo chirped.

“Ha ha so very funny” Mack responded, trying to sound annoyed but failing hopelessly.

The team continued to fill the space of the locker room and the practice started soon after. 

Will and Mack were, to no one's surprise, magic on the ice. Their chemistry was probably the best in the league and they absolutely loved playing together. 

They would find each other on the ice without even trying, knowing intuitively exactly where to find the other guy at any point. 

It was a fun one. They did a whole bunch of drills, even tried out a couple of new ones. Although Mack and Will did fail miserably at those since they were giggling about something stupid during all the instructions and they didn't pick up a single word that was said. 

Practice came to an end as they were absolutely soaked with sweat. Will's damp curls clung to his face in a way where Mack could never bring himself to look away. 

They got ready quickly, well quickly to be them, but they were still among the last ones to leave. They didn't even know how it always happened, how they were always the last ones left in any room. They would always start getting out of their gear, start talking, and before they knew it the rest of the team was getting out of the showers. Time broke all laws of physics around their conversations. 

But they finally leave, all clean and smelling of the locker room soap, the same soap that every rink has used for the last twenty years. Mack gets into the passenger seat of Will's car, which should just be classified as Mack's seat at this point, seeing as he is by far the person who sits in it the most.

Will drives them to the house of the owner of the book club, fighting for his life to figure out how to use google maps. Mack wasn't much help either, because all he could do was laugh as Will was freaking out about getting them lost. But after a few wrong turns they finally show up to the right place and park the car.

“Hello, you must be Mack and Will, how nice to meet you” The woman says. She looks to be about forty, and the pictures Will spots on the bench right inside of the house, reveals that she seems to have two pretty young kids and a husband. 

“Yeah, it's nice to meet you too. We are just here to pick up the first book” Will responds as Mack just stands slightly awkwardly beside him.

“Don't be shy, come on in” The woman says, extending her hand for a handshake. “I want to get to know the new couple that is joining us”.

Will nodded and accepted the offer, not really having any other option. As the woman turned back around, Will and Mack exchanged looks that spoke loud to each other. Will looked like he was trying to tell Mack he was sorry for dragging them into this, and Mack just looked shocked.

Will remained frozen just outside the door for a second as Mack got moving. Mack made the decision for them, they really are doing this. 

“Let's go Will” Mack whispered to Will as he grabbed him by the wrist and more or less pulled the other man into the house after him. 

Will mouthed a small “sorry” to Mack who shrugged it off, before silently mouthing back with “you owe me”.

They slipped out of their shoes and followed the woman to the living room. The house was just like you would expect it to be, with slightly beige walls, hardwood floors and white or wood furniture. It was the regular white picket fence kind of a house, the houses that all look the same, with the cheesy “home” signs and seasonal pillows for “personality”. A suburban starter home straight from the American Dream catalog, just pick your outside color, pick your mailbox, everything else identical. The kind of houses that came with a Costco membership card, a golden retriever and a family van.

They moved through the hallway, past family pictures and bookshelves as they followed the woman to the living room.

“Sit down boys, I will be right back, I'll just go and make us some coffee”

“Mack what the hell are we doing?” Will whispers to Mack as she leaves the room.

Mack contemplates his life choices before swallowing his pride. “You signed us up, so I guess we are doing this now”.

“What, do we just pretend to be a fucking couple now” Will whispers back.

“I thought you really wanted to be in this club, Will?” Mack continued.

“I mean yeah, but would you really do that for me?” Will responds, a bit shy in the second part.

“Okay then. Lets do it” Mack tells Will like it's the most normal solution to this problem they've signed themselves up for.

“I mean, the whole team already calls us a married couple, how hard can it be to make them believe it too?” Mack whispers, even lower and closer as they can hear the woman leaving the kitchen.

Before Will has the time to respond to Mack's wild statement, she walks into the room, carrying a tray full of coffee mugs and what looks to be banana bread.

“Okay guys, so happy to have you here.” The woman began as she sat down, handing Mack and Will their warm mugs of coffee, and placing the plate of banana bread on the wooden coffee table.

“My name is Jessica and I'm the founder and, what do you say, leader? of the club. We will be reading about one book a month and we meet up as often as possible, but often it's once every couple of weeks. We are currently reading “And Then There Were None”, I will get you your copies before you leave. The group will meet up at my place next week for the final meeting about this book, so you two have a bit to catch up on, but I promise it will be fun.”

“Anyway, enough of the boring things. Let me get to know you two better. How long have you been together?” Jessica continues after getting the facts out of the way.

Mack and Will just stared at each other before Mack finally got words out of his mouth.

“Well, we started hanging out about a year and a half ago” Mack stuttered out, unsure about what things to lie about.

“Aww how fun. What do you do? Like are you students, or working, anything else” Jessica continues with her questions.

“Umm yeah we both play a bit of hockey, and that kind of takes up most of our time” Will follows this time. He prefers not to tell people that he is in the NHL if he doesn't have to. It can be annoying to be so well known by everyone that in moments he can get away from being noticed, he gladly accepts it.

Jessica continued on with what started feeling like an interrogation, before coming to the conclusion that they were a bit too friendly with each other, sitting just a bit too far away.

“Guys, you can sit closer, you know, all couples do, that's kind of the whole point of this thing. It's a place where couples get to spend quality time with each other. Don’t worry, you don’t have to be all over each other or anything. Just be yourselves. As long as you’re a real couple, you’re welcome here.” 

Will nearly chokes on his coffee.

Jessica continues, oblivious.

“We actually had to remove a pair a few weeks ago, they lied about being together just to get in, saying they couldn't find any other clubs with open spots in the area. Can you believe that? Who pretends to date someone just to join a book club?” She laughs, shaking her head. 

“People are wild.”

Mack and Will both smile tightly, absolutely feral panic behind their eyes.

“Yeah, that's umm, so wild” Will said awkwardly while being in a state of inner panic.

“So crazy” Mack followed, as panicked.

“Um yeah, anyway we have to get going. Hockey practice you know.” Mack lied.

“Yeah, but thanks for having us over” Will filled in, setting his still half full mug on the table beside Mack’s before standing up. 

“Oh yeah, so soon?.” Jessica said surprised at first.

“Well, thanks for coming. I will get you your books before you leave and we will meet next week. We are going to have so much fun these next months, and I hope you will continue signing up in the future” Jessica continued cheerfully, leading the boys back out through the corridor, picking up two copies of the book on the way out.

Will and Mack hurried to get their shoes back on before they got the books and were ready to get out of there. 

“Well, thanks again for having us,” Will says awkwardly before stepping out.

“Thanks for the banana bread” Mack turns around to say as he follows Will out to the car.

The second they hear the door close behind them they burst out laughing.

“My god that was fucking awkward” Will laughs.

“Can you believe that? Who pretends to date someone just to join a book club? People are wild” Mack copies, making a funny voice that has Will bending over in laughter, steadying himself on the door of his car, trying to get it open between the laughs. 

“Yeah, who would be that crazy?” Will continues, knowing damn well that he is the one with the most blame, but Mack pretends to be with him.

They are still dying with laughter as they get in the car, but Will desperately wants to get out of view from the house so he drives them down the street, before having to stop the car again. Otherwise they would have probably ended up hitting someone's mail box or something with how unfocused he was. They were an absolute giggling mess that was far too unsafe for the road.

“You signed us up for what, three months of fake dating?” Mack asked, still laughing.

“Yup, just three more months of fake dating” Will laughed.

“And would you please remind me again why we are doing this” Mack continued, with a fond gaze in his eyes.

“Because you love me” Will joked.

“Well, we better make them believe that, or else we will be the next story of ‘the crazy people who pretend to date for a book club’” Mack answered as Will was regaining the composure to finally drive them home safely.

“We better get started with the reading then I guess, Macky” Will said after a moment of letting them both breathe.

“You are so annoying” Mack tried to sound annoyed.

“Too bad, you are coming home with me to read” Will said, no room for excuses, not that Mack would go against Will's will.

“Fine,” Mack said, settling into his seat.

They drive through streets of more identical houses before they finally enter their more familiar area, and before long they are at Will's place. 

Mack's tired, his body stiff and achy from practice still, and social battery running far lower than he would've liked. Mack doesn't make a move when Will parks the car and hops out.

Will sticks his head back in the door to look at Mack. 

“U comming?" Will says.

“I'm tired,” Mack responds with a groan.

“Okay passenger princess. Do you need your ‘boyfriend’ to open your door?” Will chirp.

“And carry my bag. You do owe me big times for this whole book club situation” Mack giggles, trying to sound serious but failing miserably.

Will does as he is told, he always does. He gets both their bags and books out of the car, before coming around to the passenger door, opening it to let Mack out, even reaching his hand out to make a big deal out of it.

“You are starting to get the whole boyfriend thing correct,” Mack says as he takes Will's hand.

They walk in laughing like the two giggly messes they are. 

“Well, we have to get some practice before having to make everyone believe us next week, so I might as well start now.

They get into Will's place and Mack goes straight for the couch as Will puts their things down.

“What do you want for dinner? I have a pizza in the freezer” Will asks Mack as he walks over to the couch, carrying their books.

“Yeah, that's fine” Mack says, looking annoyed at the book that Will holds out to him.

“Better get started with the reading” Will says as Mack reluctantly takes the book out of his offering hand with a groan.

“M hungry” Mack says.

“Come on, we have to at least get started with the books before we eat” Will tries.

“We have like, so many days to finish this” Mack grumbles.

“It's literally due in six days Mack” Will continues.

“Just start reading Mack, one chapter and then you get to go and preheat the oven” Will bargain.

Mack accepts it and gets comfortable on the couch. He tucks his cold feet under Will's thighs and starts reading.

They sit in silence for a while and Mack continues reading. He doesn't get up after the first chapter, being too cozy on the couch to want to move.

Mack loves how he is so comfortable in the quiet with Will. Loves how he feels the heat of Will's thighs radiating through his sweatpants to warm Mack's feet. He might not want to admit to it but he loves the way he can hear the faint noise of Wills breathing. If it wouldn't make him look like such a psychopath, he would've probably recorded Will's breathing to use in his white noise machine. But he doesn't, he's not a crazy person.

“Dude, how slow is your reading? I thought you wanted dinner” Will asks as he turns the page to chapter four in his own book.

“Mean. I'm not slow. I'm actually on, um, chapter three. and a half!” Mack arguments.

“Well. I can hear your stomach grumble from here. Do you want to get up and make dinner? Take a little break?” Will continues. 

He doesn't wait for an answer before he gets out of the couch, dragging Will with him over to the freezer.

“Okay what do we do?” Mack asks.

“Ummm” Will lets out as he is flipping the carton around, trying to find the instructions.

“Set the oven to 425, and place the pizza in the oven for 15 minutes. Will read off the back of the box.

It takes Mack a while before figuring out Will's oven but he finally gets it to turn on.

Will opens the box and puts the pizza on the counter, before removing its plastic wrapping.

“Do we just put it in the oven now?” Mack asks.

“Yeah, I guess so” Will answers just as confused.

Mack takes the pizza and places it on the griddle, carton bottom and all.

“Okay, guess we check it at fifteen then” Mack says, feeling accomplished that he made them dinner.

They go back to the couch, well they more or less just get into a wrestling game that just starts out as bumping shoulders. 

They are always just a bit too close. Almost like magnets pulling them together, no matter if it's on the ice or anywhere else. They are always just drawn together. So as the timer goes off, they are still on the rug, wrestling like little eight year old boys. 

“Tied” Will says as the alarm goes off, which Mack is not buying. Seeing as Will is fully pinned down on the floor, with all of Mack’s 190 pounds on top of him.

Will is a squirming mess on the floor, but being pinned down by his best friend feels a little better than it should be allowed to feel. He feels how heat collects in his lower stomach and all of a sudden he is way too aware of every point of his body that is touching Mack's. How his wrists are pushed into the rug by Mack's warm fingers that wrap around perfectly. As Mack's thighs pushed into the sides of his waist, his ass positioned right above Will's cock that twitched in response to the friction. He could feel Mack's warm breathing in his own face, like they were breathing the same air, sharp shark teeth glistening in all their glory and for a second he wondered what it would feel like to have those pretty whites attached to the sensitive skin of his neck.

Mack was the first to get up, dragging Will with him to the oven.

“It looks just like it did when we put it in there” Will says, annoyed that Mack didn't want to let the oven preheat.

“I think your oven is broken,” Mack said, fully sure of it.

“No, you just didn't let it warm up before” Will explains.

Will opened the door to the oven and stuck his hand in to feel that the pizza was just slightly warmer than frozen.

“I think we just have to leave it for a bit longer” Will said and they get out their plates and drinks in the meantime. 

They talked about god knows what and as they always seem to do, they lost track of time. It wasn't until they smelled something burning that their thoughts were redirected to the pizza.

“Omg there is fucking smoke coming from the oven” Mack exclaimed.

Will quickly turned it off and Mack opened up every window to try and vent some of the smoke out before setting off the smoke alarm.

Will got the burning pizza out of the oven but the top of it seemed fine, a little under cooked to be honest. but the problem was the bottom.

“Mack, did you put the fucking cardboard plate into the oven with the pizza” Will laughed hysterically, trying to scratch of the burned paper from the bottom of their miserable pizza.

“How was I supposed to know you couldn't do that?” Mack tried in defense but Will's laughter quickly hit the other guy and before they knew it they were doubled over on the floor with laughter.

“Man, it's too late to order something. I'm too fucking starved, lets just eat this damn pizza” Mack finally said after collecting himself enough to talk.

They take their dinner with them to the couch and continue on with their reading, having a lot of reading to catch up on. They eat their awfully baked pizza, sharing a couple of comments about how hopelessly bad the other is at cooking, both well aware that Will somehow actually does know how to bake.

The night goes on and the reading moves from the couch to the bed where Will falls asleep with his book in his hands.

Mack carefully takes Wills book and marks the page before putting both their books on the bedside table.

This was far from the first night they've spent in the same bed. They do it even if they don't have to. Mack always says that he sleeps better if he's not alone, and Will just lets him. Many nights on road trips they end up using just one of the beds, leaving the other untouched.

Mack slips into sleep himself, listening to the soothing sounds of Will's soft breathing. They both know that falling asleep in the same bed always leads to them waking up in a mess of tangled limbs, no matter how far away from each other they are to begin with. But both of them secretly love those mornings when they wake up intertwined with the other as the sun starts to rise. 

The days pass with a lot of hockey, two games and a whole lot of reading. They just won a game but they still have some reading to finish before the book review tomorrow. So as the locker room empties out late at night after a lot of celebrations Will drags Mack home with him to get them both to finally finish the books.

It was a great game and Mack and Will stood behind most of the points for the Sharks. It was great, they were great. Just like always.

“Mack, let's go, we have some reading to catch up on,” Will said, throwing Mack's shirt on his bare chest that still had droplets of water on it. Will couldn't look away, and Mack smiled wide when he realized, ears going pink.

“Yeah, yeah I’m coming” Mack responded, trying to sound annoyed.

They finally said goodnight to the last handful of players before making their way out to Will's car. The drive home was nice, they were tired after the game but they still managed to find something to laugh about.

“M hungry,” Mack complained.

“Wanna pick up a pizza on the way home? Not frozen!” Will be offered.

Mack didn't need many seconds to decide “Yeah, and lava cake”

Will giggled before nodding his head. 

They stopped by their favorite place and picked up a margarita pizza and one molten lava cake for dessert to share. They are professional hockey players after all.

Will drove the car the last way home and parked it right by his place. Mack didn't make a move when the car stopped, he just sat there waiting for Will.

It had started out as more of a joke, but Will is pretty sure that Mack hasn't opened his own car door since then. So Will grabs their bags before coming around to open Mack's door. Mack looked at him with a fond smirk before he got out, bringing the bag of food with him.

They bumped shoulders on their way to the front door as they always did. Moved like magnets, constantly being pulled together by forces stronger than they could control.

“Can we please eat before reading this time?” Mack begged as he put the box down on the counter at Wills place.

“We can eat while we read” Will compromised, feeling stressed about the deadline for the book. 

“C’mon” Mack groaned.

“We have to finish the books. We can't go there, only pretending to have read the book. Lets leave the lies to a minimum” Will bargained.

“Fiiiinee, I will finish the book” Mack complained as he went into Will's bedroom to get the book from where he had left it last night on Will's bedside table.

“Thank you” Will said excitedly, earning a soft giggle from Mack that he knew he tried so hard to cover up.

Mack dropped down on the couch and Will grabbed the food and brought it over to the couch.

He plopped down on the couch right next to Will, so close that their whole thighs were pressed together. 

Mack practically threw himself over the box of pizza, grabbing himself a slice that he inhaled before even opening his book. 

Will giggled softly beside him before opening up his own book. Mack readjusted on the couch, throwing his legs into Will's lap, turning half around so that he was almost facing the blonde.

They stayed silent for a while, consumed by their books, the book that Mack swore he hated, but that he was way too interested in. They kept turning the pages as the slices of pizza slowly disappeared from the box in front of them. 

The sun started setting around them but they didn't lift their gaze from their books until it became too dark for reading. It was mostly quiet aside from the occasional comments about the characters doing something stupid, or just to state how they would've been so much better at staying alive on that island.

“What the fuck, did I really read all of that, just for them to not even reveal who the killer was” Mack exclaimed, slamming his book shut.

Will, who was on the very last page, looked up at Mack with a smirk. “Finish the book you dumbass” 

“I did. I just finished the last chapter and the last one of them just died” Mack continued, feeling betrayed by the book.

“Yeah, there are like two more whole things to read through Macky, just keep going” Will giggled, putting his own book down after finishing the very last page.

“What, that's so stupid. Why did they make it look like it was the end if I have to keep reading” Mack continued complaining.

“Just read it Macky” Will laughed, moving his hand up Mack's shins that were in his own lap.

Mack mumbled something in response before getting back to reading. Will just sat there admiring Mack's pretty face, following every change in his emotions as he read through the last few pages. It was a roller coaster of an ending, and Mack's face explained to Will exactly what line he was reading.

“That's fucked up. How did I miss all the clues? I feel like they are just fucking with us by explaining it all after reading it” Mack finnaly exclaimed, shutting his book before slamming it on the table.

“Well, you will get to talk all about it tomorrow Macky” Will said with a fond smile on his face, happy to see Mack being so involved with the book.

“Lava cake and movie?” Will finally asks.

“Yesss” Mack says excitedly.

Mack lifts his legs to let Will get out from under them.

“You're not helping?" Will asks, raising an eyebrow.

“No, I'm tired” Mack tries.

“Yeah no, come here” Will says, extending his hand. 

Mack reluctantly accepts Will's hand but he finally settles his own warm hand in Will's firm grip and lets himself be pulled out of the couch.

Mack follows a step behind Will to the kitchen counter but neither of them lets go of the other's hand. Mack leans his head on Will's shoulder from behind and Will slightly leans into his touch as he grabs two spoons and the box of lava cake. Mack wraps his arms around Will's waist and they stand a little longer than they would have to.

“We have to practice being fake boyfriends you know” Mack explains, trying to find a reasoning that would possibly explain what he is doing.

Will giggles and leans more into the touch. “Yeah, right, we have to practice”

“Exactly” Mack continues, pressing a quick peck to the side of Wills cheek before letting go of the blonde to step back to the couch.

Will misses the warmth of having Mack draped over him as a blanket, but he follows the other guy to the couch, carrying the box and their two spoons.

“U put on a movie” Mack states it as a fact and Will does as he is told.

Neither of them pay any attention to the movie at all. They usually just have it on in the background anyway. Most nights they have a cheesy romcom just running as background noise as they talk about something completely different, and this time is just the same.

They are back in the same position they were before, with Mack's legs up in Will's lap, only this time, Will is angled more toward Mack. They have the cake between them and their tiny spoons reach for the cake from both directions. They are used to sharing food, used to fighting each other if anyone takes a piece the other thinks belongs to themselves. 

Mack smacks away Will's spoon with his own as Will reaches over the middle, digging into Mack's side. Will jams his spoon into Mack's sore calf in response.

Mack flinches and Will takes the distraction as an opportunity to take more of Mack's side of the cake.

Mack pushes his heel hard into Will's thigh in revenge. That will for sure leave a bruise, Mack thinks smugly.

They keep on talking about whatever they can think of, hockey, life, anything, as their spoons clink together and the box slowly empties.

Will looks at Mack's concentrated face as he lets Mack get the last piece of the cake. There is a smudge of chocolate on the side of Mack's lip.

“What” Mack asks as he finds Will staring at his face, before putting the last spoonful of cake in his mouth.

“Nothing, you just have a little chocolate on your cheek” Will says, voice fainter than it's supposed to be.

Mack tries to lick the chocolate off of his cheek right beside his lips but he can't find it.

“Where” Mack asks, leaning slightly closer to Will.

Will leans forward toward Mack, extending his hand to Mack's face. Without thinking, he cradles Mack's jaw before swiping his thumb over Mack's lip, wiping it away.

“There” Will practically whispers, still holding on to Mack's face.

He can feel how Mack swallows, gazees glued together. Neither of them moves as their eyes stay locked.

“Thanks” Mack whispers back just as quietly.

“Um… we should ahh… practice. For tomorrow I mean, I haven't read this book just to be kicked out of the club” Mack whispers after what felt like forever.

“Mm uhu probably a good idea” Will whispered back shakily.

Will barely had time to get his answer out before Mack's lips met him with hunger. It was a kind of hunger that he had never felt in a kiss before. It was fierce, warm and heavy on his lips. Mack threaded a hand into Will's blonde curls, and the other one found its way around Will's waist.

There was nothing in this that was anything like “practice” anymore. There was no way to categorize this as a casual kiss. But they didn't care.

Will's hand stayed on Mack's jaw, thumb caressing his cheekbone. Will inhaled sharply at the first contact but he melted into the kiss before even registering what was happening. He put the other hand on Mack's chest, feeling his thumping heartbeat through his shirt.

When they finally pulled away it was from a lack of oxygen. They rested their foreheads against each other as they sat gasping for air.

“That was” Mack began.

“Yeah” Will filled in, neither of them knowing just what you say after the most mind blowing kiss of your life.

Neither of them had ever kissed a guy before, however that wasn't a conversation for now. But best believe it puts some things in perspective.

They giggled nervously, still not breaking their interlocked gaze for even a second.

“We should probably have some proof of being a couple for tomorrow right?” Mack said with a smile, looking at Will, still with that hunger in his eyes.

“Yeah, what exactly do you have in mind?” Will giggled softly.

Mack put his hand on Will's chest and pushed him a little, making Will's back fall to the couch. Mack followed his body, pinning Will to the couch.

“This” Mack said with a smirk before lowering his head down to Will's throat.

Will almost gasped as Mack attached his lips on the sensitive skin of Will's neck. He left sloppy kisses down to his collarbone where he stopped and sucked on the skin, carefully grazing his teeth over the skin just above the bone.

Will inhaled sharply and threw a hand into Mack's hair, the other on Mack's back, just under his loose Sharks T-shirt.

Mack licked over the skin when he was done on the spot, making it sting faintly, before moving up Will's neck. Will couldn't hold back the moan that escaped as Mack moved up to find a new spot to mark up. He carefully sank his sharp shark teeth down into the skin, careful to not draw blood. Will moaned a little louder at the pain, feeling his cock twitching. Fuck why did this feel so good?

Mack licked the sore skin, as if to apologize for putting his teeth in the younger boy, but it was clear that Will liked it. Mack did too. He could feel all the stress in his body escape as he got Will's soft warm skin in his mouth.

Will's hand found its way further in under Mack's shirt, and high up his back, hands running all over the warm skin.

Mack left another bruise or two before finally finding his way back up to meet Will's lips in what was an even more heated kiss than the one they shared before. 

Will loved how he managed to draw small faint noises out of Mack as he kissed his lips with heat and precision. Their hands were everywhere, moving across every inch of skin they could possibly reach. 

“I think that's evidence enough” Mack let out a small laugh as he drew back from the kiss. “You will be all pretty and bruised".

“Yeah, now we just have to hide it from the team,” Will laughed.

“Yup” Mack laughed in defeat, resting his head on Will's chest.

“It's late, wanna go to sleep?” Will asked and Mack nodded without lifting his head.

“Okay, get up Mackie” Will said, pushing off of the couch.

They got up and Will dragged a tired Mack to the bathroom. They quickly brushed their teeth and went to bed. They always wake up like a tangled mess, but they usually keep a bit of more space between them before falling asleep. But not today, this time they are in a tangled mess of limbs long before even closing their eyes.

Mack's arm lays over Will's bare chest, and their legs are tangled so closely that Will can feel the warmth of Mack through both of their sweatpants. Mack tucks his face into the crook of Will's neck and just listens as he can hear Will's breathing become slower, being taken by sleep.

There are a lot of thoughts in Mack's head, thoughts about how he will never be able to live knowing that they are just fake boyfriends and not real ones. He hadn't thought it would be any problem at first, not before tonight, not before the best kiss of his life.

Will's steady breathing manages to keep Mack grounded and stops his thoughts from spinning out of control. He follows Will's steady breathing and before long he falls asleep in the crook of Will's neck.

Their alarm wakes them up early in the morning. They wake up in the same position as they were when they fell asleep last night, still intertwined. They don't want to get up, they just want to stay like that for the rest of eternity. 

Will is the first to finally roll out of bed and turn off the alarm. He goes over to the window and pulls the blinds apart to let the morning sun into the dark bedroom. Mack is still in bed, looking tired and still half asleep.

“Wake up Mack, we have to leave for practice in like thirty minutes” Will tells Mack as he picks out clothes from the wardrobe.

Mack just groans and turns over, letting his face land on the pillow that is still warm and smells like Will, and breathes it in.

Will throws some of his clothes on the bed for Mack to wear, before getting dressed himself. He carries on with packing their bags with some spare clothes before going to the kitchen to make some coffee.

Mack finally gets up and puts his pants and a shark's hoodie on before joining Will in the kitchen.

“Yeah, there is no way they won't believe us today” Mack states after getting a glance at Will.

“What” Will asks with a raised eyebrow.

“The book club” Mack says is obvious.

Will thinks about it for a second before he remembers. He quickly raised his hand up to feel the skin of his neck and he wished at the contact with one of the bruises.

“Fuck, the team” Will says with wide eyes.

“Yeah, guess you are going to have to make up some secret girlfriend situation as well.

“Great, so now I have a fake girlfriend and fake boyfriend” Will breathes.

“Yeah, well it's easier than having to explain the truth” Mack laughs, feeling a little bad for Will, but not bad enough to make himself stop admiring his work. 

Will hands Mack a cup of the newly brewed coffee and they drink the first few sips in complete silence, letting the caffeine hit them before they go on with their day.

It gets stressful as always, despite them literally not having to do anything other than getting dressed and packing their bags but they have to rush through their whole morning.

As Mack goes to throw the last things into his bag, Will moves to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

“Mack!” Will shouts.

Mack appears in the doorway within seconds, back to admiring his work on Will's neck.

“You little cannibal” Will laugh, half fond, half just stressed about how he can hide it from the team.

“I prefer the term Shark” Mack giggles, carefully pressing his finger to one of the aggressively purple marks on Will's skin, making him squirm.

Will couldn't help but look at Mack with the sweetest eyes, just admiring everything about him, even though his neck looked like it had been attacked by baby sharks, well actually it had been attacked by a baby shark.

“Okay baby shark,” Will giggled.

Mack just kept on smiling back at Will, before grabbing his own toothbrush. Because yes, of course they had two toothbrushes at both of their places, seeing as they rarely spent a night alone.

Mack rested his head on Will's shoulder, standing behind him when they were brushing their teeth before quickly heading out.

It had become such a routine for Will to open Mack's car door before getting in on the other side that it just happened automatically.

They drove to the rink, talking about hockey and practice and the game tomorrow night, sharing a couple of laughs on their way there.

“Wow Smitty, tell the girl to stop eating you alive” Delly says as soon as he sees Wills throat.

“My god Will,” Toff says, looking genuinely terrified.

“Guys, please stop” Will says, the redness of his face and neck camouflaging the very worst of the marks. 

And Mack is just as red in his face.

Toff looks between the two of them with his eyebrows raised but he lets them go with that.

Mack and Will stick together like two magnets on the ice like always and practice it great, just like always, but Will can't stop his thoughts from going over to last night anytime he feels his clothes move against his bruised neck and collarbones.

Will tries to stay away from prying eyes in the locker room but he just knows that people keep looking at him. At least they keep their comments for themselves.

They have to leave straight from the rink to go to the book club so they have to shower quickly before getting dressed. Mack has to fully turn around in order to keep his wandering eyes from going back to Will's aggressively bruised neck. 

“Will, what the hell, your collarbones too” Reavo shouts out as Will takes his shirt off.

Mack can't help but turn around and he can feel his face get all pink again. There is something that he loves too much about seeing Will like that, knowing it is all his. Knowing that the marks are not from some girl whose name Will can't even remember by next morning. Knowing it's not from some drunk tiny brunette he picked up from a bar after a win. It's his, it's Mack’s.

“Please stop it” Will almost whines.

Reavo opens his mouth to say something more but before he can get the words out of his mouth, Toff bumps into his shoulder hard.

“Let the kid be,” Toff says, seeing how uncomfortable Will is.

“U safe kid” Toff whispers, only for Will to hear.

“Yes Toff, it's fine” Will states it as a fact and Toff thankfully believes in him.

Mack meets Will in the showers and as soon as their eyes meet each other they burst out laughing hysterically.

Toff just looks at them and sighs fondly.

“What is even wrong with them?” Reavo laughs at Toff, with only love and fondness in his voice.

Toff laughs with Reavo as they stand looking at the giggling mess in front of them, butt naked. “No idea, they are just on another level of dumb”.

The room empties out and Will and Mack are the last to leave, despite the fact they were actively trying to be quick. They throw their things into their bags before having to practically run out of the locker room to not be late to their book club.

They jump into the car and Will drives slightly above the speed limit for most of the way there but with some lucky green lights they do arrive just in time.

There are a lot of cars already parked outside. 

“Lets do this” Will said after a sharp inhale, revealing just how nervous he was.

“Yeah, let's go. Boyfriend”, Mack followed, squeezing Will's thigh to make him relax a little.

Will gets out of the car and opens Mack's door as he comes around. Mack grabs their books in one hand, and Will’s hand in the other.

They give each other a silent nod before they go up to the door. They are really doing this.

“Welcome guys!” Jessica exclaims happily to the two boys in front of her. “The rest of the group is in the living room, and we are still waiting for a few more people to arrive.”

Will and Mack kick their shoes off and walk with unsure steps through the house, hand in hand.

“Everyone, this is Mack and Will. They are joining this club, please make them feel welcomed” Jessica introduces them as they appear in front of the rest of the group.

There are at least ten people there, Mack counts twelve, including themselves. They go around shaking hands with everyone, introducing themselves but they don't really pick up on any of the names, too nervous to do things right.

“Maria and Nick did the baking this week,” Jessica explained, showing the table of cookies and sponge cake to the boys.

“It's tradition that the new couple do the baking, so it's your turn for next time” Someone who they have no idea what his name is, says from across the room.

“Will makes a great banana bread. Other than that we are pretty useless in the kitchen but we promise to try our best” Mack says, trying to get a word in to make this whole thing less awkward.

Will and Mack find some space in one of the couches to sit down, close enough to feel the other's body against their own. In part to sell the story, but also in part because it just makes them feel more comfortable.

Mack can feel the tense Will beside him, starting to calm down as soon as the group starts talking about the book, and the conversations about inside jokes and stories die down.

Will had a lot of points to make, and he followed in every conversation about the book. They talked about the ethics of the whole thing, about the psychological stress, about how the setting of the island was able to give the characters both freedom in its open setting, yet at the same time make them eerily trapped. They talked about if it was better to survive for longer or die first. About how as the characters figured out that they would all die, they were all just dead men walking. 

They talked about it all, discussing how different it would be to re-read the book. Talked about the clues along the way of the story and how their perceptions of the characters changed as the story progressed and the pages kept turning.

Mack mostly sat back, enjoying seeing Will so in love with the whole setting. He didn't feel like he had that much to add himself but he did give a few opinions, mostly to make Will happy.

The discussions slowly died down and the talking points ran out as the night came closer until they all left.

“It's really fun to have new couples join us. Thank you Mack and Will” Someone they still don't know the name of, said as they were leaving.

“We want to try that banana bread in two weeks guys” someone else said.

Mack and Will say their goodbyes to the remaining people before picking up their new books on their way out.

“That was great” Will exclaimed excitedly as he and Mack were back in the car. He sounded just as excited about it as he had been when he first brought up the idea.

“I'm really glad you enjoyed it, Will” Mack smiled back at him with so much fondness he thought his heart might explode.

They go back home, eat some dinner together and spend yet another night together, sleeping just as close as they always do as of lately. 

Will tries to get Mack to start the book but Mack makes them watch a movie instead, and Will is fine with that. They only have half a book and two weeks of time to read it. So they just take it as a calm little night.

The weeks go on, and as do the pages. They run through the book ‘The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo’ in record time. Being almost done with what they are supposed to read to stay on schedule. 

They have practice in the morning, a game tonight and half the book is due in time for the meeting after tomorrow's morning practice. 

They usually have practice the morning of a game day, it's just a bit lighter, but Will can sense just how stressed and tense Mack is.

They don't at all have their same chemistry on the rink, which is weird because if anything, they have had even better chemistry since they joined the club a couple of weeks ago. They have spent more time off the ice together, having more reading nights than they could count, which always ended up as sleepovers in the same bed. And usually, the more time they spent with each other off the ice, the better they found each other on the ice come the game.

But there was something off with Mack. They were closing in on what would be the games deciding if they would go to the playoffs or not, and the pressure was even more on Mack's shoulders now. Ever since the Olympics everyone has really just counted on him to carry the whole team, and the weight of that was way too much for a kid his age to carry alone.

So he was stuck in his head, overthinking every decision made on the ice, every pass, every shot, and he was out of it. Because in some ways, the less you thought about it, the better you played. These players have played hockey for so long that it's more of just muscle memory, and your muscles work faster than your brain out on the ice, so Mack was just a millisecond too slow, too indecisive, to doubt himself. It wasn't enough for anyone else to see, but Will saw it all. He saw how Mack kept to himself, how he went nonverbal every time his thoughts became too much to handle, when his mind was too much for him. He shut down, didn't say many words in practice, missed Will's stick in every blind pass, the ones he always used to hit. 

“Mack, u alright?” Will practically whispered to him on center ice.

Mack could barely answer, just nodding in response to Will's worried face.

Will didn't want to press him any more about it, he just left it at that. But he did try to stay even closer to Mack, well, if that was even possible without tripping him. 

The coach finally signals the end of practice and Mack is basically the first to leave the ice.

“Hey Mack, everything is fine?” Will asks, quiet enough to not let the people around them hear it.

“Just fucking stressed about the game Will, okay” Mack whispers right back, not too happy about revealing his worries to Will.

“Okay, we will deal with it when we get home” Will said just as quietly, placing his hand on his shoulder and he could feel how Mack just let go of a bit of the tense energy at that touch alone.

Mack was quick, way faster than he usually was and Will tried his best to keep up. They were actually quite quick, probably faster than they ever had been before. 

So before long they got back to Will's car and drove all the way back to Will's place. Will's place was closer, not by much, but just a little.

Mack is walking in circles the second he gets into Will's place, trying to be somewhat productive by packing both of their bags for the game tonight. 

“Mack, c’mere” Will approaches Mack and forces him into a hug.

He is tense at first but he slowly melts into the pressure.

Will pulls back to look at him but Mack can barely lift his gaze to meet Wills in front of him.

“Bite” Will demands, or maybe it's more of a question.

“What” Mack lifts his eyes to meet Wills finally. Looking really surprised at the demand from Will.

“Mack, I saw how it made you lose all your tension and stress the last time, and anyway, we could use some more proof for the meeting tomorrow” Will explained, still holding his arm out for the other guy to take a bid out of.

“The team will kill you with questions again Will” Mack said, unsure of what he was even allowed to do in this situation.

“Fuck the team, I care about you Macky” Will said, taking Mack face into his hand to force him too look up.

“U sure” Mack asked, voice sounding small and unsure.

“Yeah” Will answered, feeling really sure.

Will walked Mack over to the bed.

“It's time for the pregame nap anyway” Will said as he walked backward, still hugging the very stressed and tense Mack in front of him.

The back of Will's legs hit the side of the bed and Mack helped him onto it. Laying Will's body out on the bed, all limbs sprawled out, and Mack climbed on top of Will, almost straddling him.

“Still sure?” Mack asked carefully.

“Yes Mack, I'm very sure. I promise” Will said, short of breath from the feeling of the other guy on top of him.

Mack began at Will's collarbone again, freshening up the spot that hadn't fully faded yet. He sucked on the spot carefully before he gained some confidence. The more sounds Will made, the harder Mack went.

Mack continued up Will's neck, biting down carefully, making sure not to draw any blood. Will could feel it all, could feel how the sharp pain turned into something enjoyable. Could feel how his cock twitched as Mack bit down harder. He couldn't stop the sounds that escaped as Mack let his tongue slide over the spot he had just attached with his shark like teeth. And Will fucking loved it. He loved every sensation, loved the way he could feel Mack's heart rate settle down into something more comfortable, loved how much his own body responded to it.

Mack's body made Will even more sure of the fact that biting worked the way he thought it would. Mack's tense body relaxed with every bite, every bit of pressure. It was like it soothed him, made his thoughts blur, and mind went quiet.

Mack loved it too, maybe even more than he ever thought he would. He loved the way Will just let him do whatever he wanted to. Loved how much trust Will gave him, how he just trusted him to know when to bite, and when to stop. That he knew just how deep he could sink those pretty whites into Will's soft skin, based solely on the faint noises escaping from Will's mouth.

Mack filled Will's throat before moving back down on his collarbones, practically begging Will to remove his shirt by tugging at the hem of his shirt with hunger and desperation. 

Will lifted his arms and arched enough for Mack to remove the shirt, granting him full access to Will's soft, warm, fair skin and every curve of muscle hiding underneath. It was fucking great. Mack had to stop for a second just to really look at it. He had seen Will shirtless many many times before, but seeing him in the shower, or in the locker room was nothing like this. This felt more allowed, more like it had a purpose, something for just the two of them to share. 

Mack kept going out Will's arms, covering them, one bite at a time. Each bite brings out a soft moan from Will. He could feel how Will's erection just kept on growing against his own but neither of them did anything about it, Mack just found it a comforting sign that Will was enjoying this as much as he did himself. 

Mack could feel how his mind just kept on emptying out. Every new bite, was another thought of doubt over his game gone. It cleared his mind more effectively than anything he had ever done before.

And Will loved it. Loved the way he could feel Mack's soft lips kissing over the skin of his neck and arms before the sharp pain of his pretty whites biting down on his skin. He loved the way pain became comfort, how it grounded him, yet made him float away to another planet in his mind. He loved it when Mack would draw his teeth over the new mark before moving over to a new place on his arms or chest.

Mack kept it at that, never moving any lower than Will's pecks. The rest was behind another boundary, although biting and marking up your best friend was probably not really a friend kind of behaviour.

Mack finally settled his head to rest lower on Will's chest as all his stress had transferred into what was now just red marks on Will's chest. He rested low enough to try and stay away from the marks that were inevitably going to start developing over the next couple of hours. 

Will braided his hand into Mack's hair and stroked the younger man's hair as he quietly started drifting off to sleep.

“Thank you Will” Mack whispered just before he was fully asleep. 

Will followed soon after and they took their hour long nap. The same as they always did before the game. Only, most of the time they didn't do it while stacked on top of one another. 

The alarm rings and they both know just what that means. It's game time. Time to get their carbs in and head to the rink. Time to get up and get excited about winning against the Blues. Coming off of two wins the morale in the team should be high, but the stress of making the playoffs is hitting all of them.

Mack doesn't want to get out of bed but he has to, if not for anything else, he has to get off of Will to let him out. 

Will gives Mack a kiss to the forehead before pushing the way heavier guy off of him.

Mack goes along with it and rolls off him and gets out of bed with a loud groan.

“How bad do I look?” Will asks.

Mack takes a second to inspect Will's upper body, carefully looking over each and every spot he created just an hour ago. “Not that bad at all,” Mack lied.

“Great, well I feel like shit but I'm happy it doesn't look too bad” Will respond as he is getting up.

“Oh, I'm sorry Will. U should’ve told me to stop, fuck” Mack almost cries.

“No, no, no Macky! That's not what I mean. I promise. I loved it, it was nice, I promise” Will reassures, realizing he fucked up his prior choice of words.

“Really?” Mack asks, a bit more hopeful.

“Really” Will promises.

Mack had already packed their bags in his stressed state of mind right when they got home from practice earlier, so all they had to do was get dressed and take their ready pasta out of the fridge.

They always load up on carbs right before leaving to go to the rink on game days, and they had found this great Italian place that makes the greatest pasta that they can just reheat in the microwave quickly before leaving.

They practically throw the pasta into their mouths before running out to the car. 

There is a little bit of traffic but they basically get there on time anyway.

Game night starts out with a meeting that always feels just a little too long, before they change into their clothes and go to warm up.

Mack and Will play their game of whatever ballgame where you just tackle the other person to the ground. They never fail to end up in a giggly mess on the floor, all limbs tangled together, laughing until their stomachs hurt. Or well, until Will's arms hurt, because they really do hurt.

Will could feel every touch on his arms as they bumped into each other while fighting for the ball, but they had so much fun that he almost forgot about it at times.

“Time to get dressed Sharks” Coach yells out into the corridor where a game of sewerball is in full swing, and Will and Mack are in the middle of whatever they even do.

They follow the team back into the locker room.

Toff punches Will's arm lightly as he always does. He does that to Mack and Will, probably to have something to give them back for all they put him through. It's all just for funsies.

“Aoww!” Will exclaims, inhaling sharply.

“Will, what the hell? That wasn't even that hard. Is your shoulder fine” Toff asks, confused and slightly scared to have hurt Will after his injury earlier this season.

“No, my shoulder is fine. My arms are just… um, sore” Will grins.

Mack widens his eyes, looking at Will with a gaze that says “I’m sorry”.

Will's eyes tell him it's fine, but Will does know it might be a bit of a struggle to hold his stick for the game.

They reach the locker room and the rest of the guys have already begun getting dressed.

Will starts to pull his shirt off, but as soon as Mack sees that he begins to display a sliver of skin, too high up on his shirt he sees what a mess he has made of Will's body.

“Turn around" Mack whispers in panic.

Will takes a glance down on his chest and his eyes go as wide as Macks had and he spins around as fast as he possibly could but it wasn't enough.

“Will, what the hell, when did you even have time to meet that secret girl of yours since the practice this morning?” Ecky asks and the other players turn to see what he is talking about.

Will turns around to answer Ecky without thinking about fully pulling his shirt back down so the guys who were really looking could spot the marks all over his throat and neck that were gaining more and more color with every passing minute.

Mack's face became just as red as the marks, and Will's face was so bright that the marks on his neck began to blend into the rest of his skin.

“Let him be, guys, you've all been young, although for some of you it was a long time ago” Toff protected Will, and he killed two birds with one stone, getting in a chirp at some of the other players, although he had to sacrifice himself in that chirp, but he did it for Wills sake anyway. And probably for Mack to based on his expression, but he wasn't really sure how Mack was even involved in this at all.

The players left the room one by one and Will put off changing his shirt, trying to wait for as many of the players to leave as possible before having to reveal the full extent of the marks that were getting more and more vibrant as time went on.

Toff hung around, wanting to see just how worried he needed to be out of this whole new situation with Will. 

“Two minutes guys!” The trainer yelled into the room as there were just a handful of players left, including Mack, Will and Toff.

It wouldn't get any better than this, he just had to rip the band-aid off, or well, the shirt.

“My god Will” Toff tried to whisper but he was not at all prepared for the marks to go all down the front of his arms and across his full upper chest.

Mack could barely look away, just thinking about how Will would look even better tomorrow as the pink marks would become dark purple and the marks of his teeth would stand out brightly from every spot.

Will quickly got his shirt on and kept going, adding all of the other gear, flinching every time a strap moved against a mark.

“Fuck that looks painful Will” Toff said, sounding really concerned.

“Are you actually going to be okay, like seriously?” He continued.

“Toff, please” Will sighed.

“No Will. Are you like… safe” Toff continued, sounding just as terrified still.

“Yes Toff” Will sighed annoyed as he kept moving to get ready to hit the ice.

“Will. This can be fucking dangerous. If she bites hard enough she will break the skin and you can get a fucking infection” Toff continued.

“They won't," Will responded, completely sure of that.

“Your arms will hurt so fucking much Will” Toff continued as a nervous parent.

“I'm fine, please stop” Will sighed, walking out of the room, closely followed by Mack. 

Mack didn't make it further than a step before Toff's strong hand took a tight grip of his shoulder and pulled him back to let Will leave.

“Mack, you know something about this right?” Toff accused him.

“No, nothing,” Mack tried.

“I know you know something, you do know I can see your face right. Your face reveals that you know all about this every time it's brought up” Toff continued pushing.

“Okay it's just this girl with like, an oral fixation or something, I don't know everything about it Toff” Mack muttered before walking out of the locker room.

He joined Will on the ice for warm ups for a while, completing their regular routine of shooting pucks in the net. They drift together on the ice like something draws them together. 

Their other teammates find it funny to skate in between them, forcing them to separate for a moment, but they always find their way back together.

They get back to the locker room for some strategy talks but before they know it the game starts.

By the end of the second period it's tied 2-2 with Mack having scored the last goal, but after they come back out for the third nothing more happens. The full third period goes by before they get into OT. 

Will's arms feel like they will fall off the second someone comes into contact with them. Mack lets Will keep his arms in front of him on the bench, trying to keep them out of contact with the other guy's arms on the tight bench but there is nothing to do to save it from the contact out on the ice. Every hit feels like someone is stabbing his bruises. But he pushes through, he always does.

They lose in a heartbreaking OT and Mack can't help but beat himself up about it. But the second he gets to the locker room there are other things to worry about, particularly the boy beside him, who has probably turned all purple under his shirt by now. 

Will winces as his teammates taps his shoulders, shoves him lightly in the chest or simply moves against his arms at all. He hides it well, but nothing will be hidden from Mack. He knows it's bad, knows he probably went overboard before the game.

It didn't affect his game, but god he was aching now. However, he didn't regret any of it, Will fucking loved it, well not the aftermath, but the act.

Mack gets ready, trying to keep his mind off of the thought of Will's purple chest underneath those clothes.

Will doesn't follow his regular routine of getting ready after the game, instead he keeps his upper body clothed for as long as possible, but the room is still more full than he would've liked for it to be when he has to take it off. He postponed it for as long as possible but there was no way to drag it out any longer.

Mack's eyes locked on Will's body as he turned around, trying to shield himself as best as he could. The hickeys on his throat were already visibly purple, but what hid underneath his shirt was worse than any of them would've guessed.

Mack inhaled sharply as he saw how Will's upper body was more purple than not. How the uncountable amount of marks had all started to bleed together, revealing the sharp outlines of bite marks.

Will scrambled to get his shirt on but he accidentally slammed his elbow on the side of his booth and it made him flinch so bad that he dropped his shirt.

Will and Mack bent down to pick it up at the same time, freezing for a second too long as their hands brushed, grabbing the same shirt.

Mack let go of it and Will quickly picked it up. But his body that he had been so careful to tuck away from the eyes of his teammates were slightly too much on display. And with the added attention from the loud bang just seconds ago had turned all remaining eyes of the room toward the two of them.

“Oh Fuck” someone exhaled just loud enough for Will and Mack to hear it. 

All the prior noise of the room had turned down low and way too much attention was thrown their way. 

“I'm not even going to chirp you about that Will, but do you need to go to the fucking ER?” Reavo said, changing his regular funny chirpful demeanor into something uncharacteristically caring and worrying.

Toff moved with quick steps up to Will, giving all the other people in the room a warning look to go back to what they were doing before.

“Will, get that fucking shirt on” Toff whispered and only Mack and Will heard him.

Mack looked worried, like absolutely terrified, so terrified that he felt like throwing up right in front of him, splat on the floor.

Will quickly puts his shirt on and Toff looks between the two of them, seeing both of their terrified faces.

“Will, corridor, now.” Toff continues whispering, still looking back and forth trying his best to figure out what is having Mack's face look like he might throw up. “Mack, do I need to talk to you too?” Toff says unsure with a raised eyebrow.

Will shock his head slightly, signaling for Mack to tell Toff no.

“No, I'm fine” Mack whispers back.

Toff looks at him for another good second, eyebrows still raised but he decides not to deal with that right now.

So instead he pushes Will in front of him, and follows out to the corridor, leaving Mack and his wandering mind.

The rest of the guys get back to what they were doing before and Mack packs up his and Wills bags in order to try and do anything to keep his mind occupied enough to not flood it with thoughts.

“Will” Toff says after making sure no one else was in range to hear what they would be talking about.

“Please don't” Will tries.

“Will, you do not get to do that! You don't get to show up, looking like someone is actively trying to fucking eat you up, and just expect me to be fine with it” Toff says, sure of his thoughts.

“Toff, I'm fine” Will says, not knowing what more to say, without getting too much into details, details being Mack.

“I don't care what freaky things you are into, and I don't want to hear about your sexlife, but you look like you got stuck under the fucking Zamboni” Toff says.

“It's not like that Toff” Will begins. “We didn't even have sex. It's just this” Will continues, hating how the words come out.

“Will, who even is this girl. Do you even like her” Toff continues.

“Toff, is't… is't no special girl” Will starts, actually not lying, because it is in fact not a special girl, it's his special Mack. 

“Will, listen to me fucking carefully okay” Toff began, really looking at Will, trying to keep his eyes away from his neck. “Is she hurting you? Are you safe” He settles with the interview questions.

“I'm not being hurt, and I'm safe. I promise” Will answer honestly.

“Don't let her bite you hard enough to draw blood Will, that shit is dangerous. And for god's sake tell her to go easy on the arms, you are a professional hockey player, you have to be able to hold your stick and handle people running into you without flinching from pain” Toff says, benignly serious.

“Yes Toff. I will tell hi… them to be careful” Will says, having to think for a second to not mess up. “Happy?” He asks, slightly annoyed, yet thankful to have someone looking out for him.

“No, but I will let you go. I think Mack needs you back, or he will throw up on the fucking floor of the locker room” Toff says, nudging Will in the direction of the locker room before following.

The room is a lot more empty now, just Mack and a small handful of other people.

Mack is talking with Eky about what sounds like cooking, maybe baking? All Will knows is that you don't trust Mack in the kitchen. At least not after the whole pizza incident.

Mack has their bags ready to go and the both of them want to get out of that place as soon as possible. 

They say a few last goodbyes to the other guys before finally leaving, driving back to Mack's place.

Mack lets Will's body be for the rest of the night, but he can't help but sneak a look as Will lays splayed out on Mack's bed, shirtless.

“Will, are you… are you okay?” Mack asks, teary eyed and afraid.

“Macky” Will says with the softest voice Mack has probably ever heard. “C’mere”

Mack does as he is asked and Will drags him down on top of him on the bed.

“Mack I am completely and utterly fine” Will wipes just as softly in his ear.

“But… but I hurt you” Mack is almost crying.

“Mack, no… no you didn't" Will comforts, threading his hand into Mack's hair. “Mack I…I liked it. I really liked it. Well I still like it. Like to look at myself, knowing its your marks” Will whispers with fondness in his voice, as sweet as syrup.

“Will you have to tell me I ever hurt you?” Mack let a tear escape his eye.

“Mack” Will dried the tears.

“No you have to promise me you will tell me” Mack begs.

“I promise,” Will says, stroking his forehead softly.

They share a soft kiss, just one, but it's softer and longer than any other. They savor the moment and the kiss says all the things they can't yet express.

They fall asleep like that. Fall asleep in whatever new level of intimate vulnerability they just found within each other, whatever they are, because what even are they?

Mack wakes up to slamming pans in the kitchen.

“Will” Mack grunts, annoyed and sleepy.

Will appears in the bedroom by Mack's side a split second later, flour and cocoa powder all over his apron and just a little in his face. “Good morning sleepy”

“What are you doing?” Mack asks, still half asleep.

“Well, I'm baking. We have to be done before practice and go right to the club” Will says excitedly. “Come on, get up and help me”

Mack just grunts and turns around, placing his face where Will's head had rested all night.

“I may even let you taste the batter” Will says with a smug smile.

Mack lifts his head and smiles wide.

“Coming” He says, all of a sudden sounding a lot more awake.

Will just laughs and goes back to the kitchen where Mack joins as soon as he gets a pair of sweatpants on. Not bothering to find a shirt.

“What are you making?” Mack asks as he pads over to Will.

“Banana bread, of course, because why not. And Ecky has been sending me these recipes forever. It's supposedly ‘the awesomest’ Swedish cake. It's like a way more fudgy and less cakey brownie I guess. Super simple to be honest, and he swears by it.” Will explains.

The banana bread is already in the oven and the kitchen is covered in dirty dishes already. Will tries to read the recipe from his phone, annoyed at having to translate every unit to their American ones.

“Let me help you,” Mack says, taking the phone from Will.

“How far have you come?” Mack asks.

“Absolutely nowhere” Will answers, tired of baking already, but way more excited to have company.

“Okay, lets see” Mack begins, starting to read through the page that Ecky had sent to Will. “What even is this, ‘kladdkaka’ sounds weird" Mack laughs.

“Come on man, just focus and read me the recipe please”. Will whines.

“Okay, melt 100 grams of butter” Mack begins to read, really going into his role of bossing Will around the kitchen, pointing in all directions, hurrying him on.

“In a bowl, crack two eggs, and carefully blend it together with sugar. That's umm, basically a cup, says google” Mack continues.

“Oh wait, you have to prepare the pan first, the circular one, butter and breadcrumbs,” Mack says.

“How the hell do I even do that?” Will says with raised eyebrows, looking at Mack.

“I don't know, you are the pro, figure it out” Mack says, punching Will's still bruised shoulder a little.

“Okay, blend cacao, vanilla sugar, flour and salt in a different bowl and add to the eggs and sugar. Man there are a lot of things to fucking translate here.” Mack continues, looking focused on translating all the measurements. “It's like two thirds cup of flour,” Mack says, focused. “Three tablespoons of unsweetened cacao powder, like one tablespoon of vanilla sugar, and just a pinch of salt” Mack continues as Will rambles through the kitchen with all the ingredients.

“And now just add the butter and pour the batter in the pan, 10-15 minutes at 400” Mack says with confidence.

Will does his best to not make too much of a mess, but it's a hopeless task.

“There” Will says, just as confidently as he places the batter in the oven and sets the timer.

“You promised I could lick the batter” Mack whines as he steps in front of Will.

Will exhales and shakes his head a little before grabbing the bowl, taking the spatula and scraping the bowl before handing it to Mack. Mack happily accepts the spatula and begins licking all over it.

“Fuck this is good Smitty” 

Mack gets some right outside of his mouth and before thinking about it, Will extends his arm, letting his thumb swipe over the batter, before remembering how that ended up last time. He brings his finger that now has a smudge of batter on it, to his own mouth and licks the batter. Mack's eyes are laser focused on Will's every move.

“Yeah, that's so fucking good” Will agrees after getting a taste of it.

Will looks up and meets Mack's blown pupils before actually reliving what he had just done.

Mack exhales heavily and sways just slightly closer, putting away his spatula that was now cleanly licked.

“Do you think there are any spots I should freshen up before we go to the book club after practice?” Mack says carefully, both of them knowing damn well that not a single one of the prior marks had even begun to fade.

Will inhales shakily. “Yeah, probably. We have to make them believe it you know” Knowing it's just as much of a lie as what Mack had just said. But they are not in a place where they can just do this without having a reason to blame it on.

Mack's hands fly to Wills waist and he immediately picks him up and sets him down on the counter.

Yeah, this was nothing like being with a girl for Will. There would never be a girl who would just pick up that effortlessly.

Will instinctively pulls his legs apart a little and connects them behind Mack's back, dragging him in even closer.

Mack wastes no time, knowing they have a ten minute timer counting down. He connects his lips to Will's throat with decisiveness and sucks down hard. He knows just what will make Will unable to hold back sound. Will inhales sharply, biting down hard on his lip to try and conceal the moan that threatens to escape.

Mack works his soft warm lips and sharp teeth all over Will's neck and down his chest, being more careful than usual, trying to not hurt him where he still has dark blooming marks from before.

Wills hands scratch all over Mack's still bare back and over his shoulders, trying everything he can to find something to keep him grounded.

They never connect into a kiss though. Maybe it's just easier for them to keep it to what their excuses can hide. Because their excuses can explain hickeys and the bruises of Will's long slender fingers left on Mack's hips, but explaining away a kiss is slightly past that level.

The alarm for the cake in the oven rings loud and annoyingly, stopping them from what they would much rather continue with.

They take the cake out of the oven and place it on the counter to cool down as they get ready for practice, the practice they have to leave for in like fifteen minutes if they don't want to be late.

Will remembers to grab their books, along with the baked goods and their packed bags of hockey gear, before the two guys hurry to get out of the house. Mack turns off the oven right before leaving and Will will definitely never hear the end of forgetting it turned on, any time soon.

Will drives them to the rink in a bit of a hurry, but they do arrive on time.

The locker room is half full by the time they arrive and they happily join the other guys in whatever conversation they have going on.

Ecky asks Will something about if he managed to bake the cake, and he looks a bit surprised to hear that Mack had helped. 

The practice starts and it's just like any other one. Will and Mack join together on every occasion they possibly can, they skate as close together as they can without tripping, tackle a surprised Toff and end up laying on the ice giggling themselves. It's fun, normal, just like any other day and they love every minute of it.

They finally walk, drenched in sweat, back to the locker room after practice is done. Mack and Will slowly get out of their gear and into the shower, in part because they just are slow, and in part to hide Will's chewed up body away from the eyes of as many teammates as possible. 

Will doesn't have time to hide from as many eyes as he might have wanted to, but the remaining people are all at once who have seen it look pretty much as bad as before, already.

Toff looks at Will with a pained expression and every conversation goes slightly more quiet the second Will takes his shirt off. They can hear a few people whisper things that match Toffs' expression but nothing too bad. The team has had so many opportunities to give him shit about it already that they have run out of chirps to call out. 

Mack has to keep his eyes far away from Will during the shower to not give his body any reason to show how much he loves to see the marks on Will's body.

“Can Cat come in? Is everyone dressed?” Toff yells from the locker room as Will and Mack are just making their way out of the showers.

They throw on their boxers before nodding to Toff.

“Last chance everyone” Toff says to the rest of the guys in the room.

“All clear,” someone says.

Toff lets Cat into the room. The rest of the guys are properly dressed and welcome her happily.

Mack and Will throw their sweatpants on, but Will makes the fatal mistake to turn around without a shirt covering his chest.

“My god” Cat can't hold back her expression. Her eyes stare widely between Toff and Will.

“You did not tell me it was this bad” Cat whispers to Toff, slightly too loud.

“Will, my god! Are you okay” Cat says as she walks toward him.

Will turns awkwardly and Mack's face is even pinker than Will's.

“Its fine Cat” Will squirms.

“Have Toff talked to you about it” Cat whispers and only Will and Mack hears it.

“I guess? Talk about what?” Will asks.

“Toff!” Cat yells and Toff walks up to them, looking like a sad puppy who knows they are guilty of something.

Cat looks around the room, seeing the last few people leaving.

“Talk about how you don't have to feel you need to punish yourself, or whatever this is” Cat says like a concerned mom.

“No, I promise that is not what this is” Will says shocked, Mack just giggles beside him.

“U sure” Toff asks, while Cat looks between the guys in front of her, swapping her gaze between Mack and Will, back to Mack.

She has this expression that she knows something, something she shouldn't, something she can't prove. 

“Just, please tell whatever girl that is doing this to take it easy” Toff continues after hearing Will promise that he is fine.

Cat takes one last good look at Will and Mack “Or guy”.

Toff looks slightly surprised at Cat's words but Mack and Will definitely aren't. They go bright red.

“Yeah, umm, we have to get going.” Mack panics, ripping through his bag to get his shirt and throw the rest of his things down into his bag in a mess. 

Will gets the hint and does the same, hurrying to get out of there before they get accused of what is very much the truth behind the marks. 

“Nice to meet you Cat, and Toff, see you tomorrow” Will shouts as he follows Mack out of the room, practically running away from the situation.

They can hear Toff and Cat laughing behind them as they get far away from the situation.

Will and Mack keep running until they are safe in Will's car where they break out into nervous laughter.

They have to collect themselves before Will can start to drive.

They drive directly to the book club, a little slower than they have to, so that they don't arrive too early. 

Will and Mack grab their baked goods and their books before walking into the house. It feels easier this time, more familiar. They already felt like they got to know a couple of people last time, and they know what to do, know that the other people don't have any doubts about them being boyfriends, well, about them being fake boyfriends.

They breathe a little easier, bodies less tense. Mack and Will are warmly welcomed by the people who have already arrived and everyone looks happy to see them, happy to have them back. 

Mack and Will are busy putting out what they baked this morning, well what Will baked, as the other guests arrive. They are stuck in the kitchen, giggling about god knows what as the living room fills with noise.

As they step out with their hands full, on their way to place it on the coffee table they freeze. Absolutely freeze. 

“Will, Mack, say hello to our new arrivals. This is Tyler and Cat, and they are joining our book club” Jessica says excitedly.

Toff and Cat stop for a second before looking at each other with confused faces. 

“Oh hi guys, I had no idea” Cat laughs nervously before walking up to the boys. Toff following a step behind.

“Well, we know those two very well already,” Toff says.

“Toff, Cat” Is all Will can say. It hits him that to Toffs and Cat knowledge, this must mean that him and Mack are a couple. Fuck.

Mack is blushing badly as he gets a hug from Cat.

“So you two?” Toff whispers.

“Wait, no… Mack! Are you Smitty's fucking crazy hookup with cannibalistic tendencies?” Cat whispers as she drags them away a little from the rest of the guests. She looks even more mortified than she did earlier today in the locker room.

Mack goes impossibly red, no way of explaining that away.

Toff looks equally mortified, finally piercing it all together.

“My God, how did I not piece that together earlier? Of course it's Mack, who else does Smitty even spend time with” Toff said after somewhat collecting his thoughts.

“Anyway, Toff, I told you. You owe me 100 bucks” Cat continues, as the rest of the room is fully engulfed in conversations of their own, as they stand in the corner of the room with Mack and Will.

“You bet on us?” Mack says shocked.

“Yeah, he didn't think you would get together until next season,” Cat says smugly.

“What!! You both thought we would get together?” Will says after thinking about what was said for a second.

“Will, you two are seriously so obvious” Cat giggles and Toff punches his shoulder lightly before collecting his hug.

“Everyone, find yourself a seat, and please enjoy Mack and Wills baked goods that they so graciously brought” Jessica says out loud before they can continue their conversation.

“Mack, did you help with those?” Toff asks.

“Kind of” Mack answers with a smile, Wills not as sure.

“Cats, they are poisonous” Toff laughs and Mack just grunts something.

“I made them, Mack read the recipe” Will laughs and Toff gives Cat the go ahead to grab them some pieces. 

Cat gives Mack a tap on the shoulder to show that they are just joking.

“It's Ecky's recipe by the way” Will continues. 

They grab their pieces and find somewhere to sit down. 

The group slowly settles down and conversations about the book start to bloom. They are halfway through the book so it's a lot of conversations about what they think could possibly happen later. 

Mack and Will aren't as focused as they were last time, thinking about what to say to Toff and Cat the second they get out of there. Whatever they could think about just sounds like stupid excuses that they will never buy. And Will is freaking out about the fact Cat and Toff had betted money on when they would get together, not if but when! Will thinks it the craziest thing ever, but it pulls him down a mental spiral, trying to replay every moment between now and the first time they met. Trying to figure out what could possibly have picked up on.

Evening falls on the group, sun starts to set outside the windows and conversations come to an end. People start to leave and Mack and Will can't wait to get out of there, can't wait to clear things up with Toff and Cat. 

“Hey guys, I'm having some people over Saturday night, can you two join us?” Cat asks excitedly.

Mack and Will can't do anything but agree. You just can't say no to Cat hosting you. She does everything for the team, practically turning her home into some frat house during the seasons, hosting parties and players. It's like the team's family home where everyone meets up for things that go way further than just hockey. It's what makes them all a big happy family, filled with weird uncles, funny teenagers and the messiness of life when you are just a little drunk, and a lot tired. Things come up, things that bond them all stronger as a team. So you simply don't say no to an invite from Cat.

As they get out of the house and walk down the street toward their cars they finally get out of hearing range from the other people in the club.

“We are not dating, we’re just faking it because Smitty desperately wanted to join a book club and this was the only one open,” Mack said.

“There were so many others in the area with open spots, what are you talking about?” Cat said.

Mack blinked, slowly turning to look at Will’s very red face.

“Will?” Mack asked, the rest of the question painfully obvious.

“I mean… there were maybe a few others. But this was the best,” Will panicked slightly, knowing damn well he could’ve found another one, but he didn’t think it would have to be such a big deal to fake a relationship.

“Anyway, do you two really think we’re gonna believe you?” Toff laughed.

“We’re not dating, I swear,” Will said.

“Oh my god, you’re doing the ‘we’re not dating’ bit?” The cat cackled. “Sweetie, the hickeys alone have their own zip code.”

“We, we needed to sell it for the club,” Mack tried.

“Sell it? Sweetie, you were selling it like it was Black Friday,” Cat shot back.

“You’re telling me those marks were method acting? Be so fucking serious,” Toff added. “Will, you called him ‘babe’... twice!. And that's just in the last week”

“What, when did I even do that?” Will asked, genuinely confused.

“Toff,” Cat said, “tell him.”

“Toff,” Mack echoed, already bracing.

“Toff,” Will whispered, horrified.

Toff said, shrugging. “Locker room before last game when you kissed him on the forehead. And again after today’s practice. And honestly? I don’t even know how many more I missed.”

“We are not dating,” Mack tried again, but even he sounded unconvinced.

“You’re not dating?” Toff repeated. “Then why did Will glare at that guy who complimented Mack’s sweater?”

“I did not,” Will said.

“You so did,” Mack laughed.

Cat threw her hands up. “Also, Mack, you literally tucked his hair behind his ear during the meeting. That’s not fake. That’s like, romance-movie romance.”

“I’ve seen actual married couples act less married,” Toff added.

“And don’t even get me started on the way you looked at him when he walked in,” Cat continued. “I thought you were about to write poetry on the spot.”

Will made a strangled noise.

Cat wasn’t done. “Will. Sweetheart. You fed him banana bread. In front of everyone. With your hands.”

“He was choking!” Mack protested.

Toff stared. “On what? Your thumb?”

“OH MY GOD,” Will groaned, covering his face.

Cat leaned forward like she was delivering a prophecy. “Just admit it. You’re dating.”

“We’re not!” Mack insisted.

“Then explain the hickeys,” Cat said.

Will flail. “We told you! We needed to sell it for the club!”.

The cat snorted. “Well, you did sell it. Just way too much for it to be even somewhat fake.”

Toff nodded. “And you’re telling me those marks were acting? Be serious.”

“Those marks, Sweetie, those were not ‘sell it for the club’ marks. Those were ‘we got carried away’ marks.” 

“You two aren’t fake dating,” she said. “You’re fake NOT dating.” Cat continues.

“Just admit you’re in love so we can all go home.” Toff finally says.

“We’re not dating” Mack and Will say in unison, but the words sound a lot less sure now.

“Fine, I'll see you tomorrow, get some sleep. And for god's sake, please don't show up with any more marks before the trip tomorrow or we will have to start sending your teammates to therapy” Toff says.

“Buy guys, see you Saturday, and yeah, I'm with Toff on that one” Cat laughs before bringing the boys in for a big hug.

“We love you, always. And we are really happy to see you two together, you look happy” Cat continues and Mack and Will can't even be bothered to fight them on it anymore.

Will and Mack hops back into the car and laughs for a while before they collect themselves enough to not be a danger on the road.

“They are totally together,” Cat says to Toff in their own car.

“100%” Toff agrees.

“Did you actually just invite them to WAG night?” Toff laughs.

“Wives and husbands and girlfriends and boyfriends I guess. WAHAGAB” Cat says.

“Yeah, that name needs some work,” Toff laughs.

“Keep them safe” Cat says softly on a more serious note after a while.

“You know I do,” Toff says.

“Yeah I know. Just… keep an extra eye on it, they might really need it. I mean, the team is going to be nice and accepting, but the world isn't always so nice. And the league is not really famous for being accepting.” Cat says worried.

“I promise to take good care of them, Cat. I will protect them from it all, but they will be fine. They have each other” Toff assures, placing his hand on Cat's thigh.

Will drops Mack off at his place before going home, alone. There was something about dropping Mack off that felt much too close to a breakup, even though they weren't even dating.

They could quite point out what changed, but something just did. Somewhere between insisting they weren’t dating and watching Cat and Toff look at them like they obviously were, something between them cracked. Not in a dramatic way, just a quiet, terrifying shift neither of them knew how to name. It wasn’t pretend anymore, not really, and the second someone else saw it, the whole thing stopped feeling like a joke and started feeling like the truth. And neither of them knew what to do with that. 

Maybe they’re just weird about it because the lie stopped being a lie.

The car ride was quiet, not at all like they usually are. After the initial laughter had died down they were just, quiet. Too quiet, too aware of the situation, not knowing how to even bring it up. Bring up what? What even are they? 

So Mack stays quiet, distant, thoughts running through his head. The kind of thoughts that make him go quiet, the thoughts that make him unable to speak, going nonverbal.

Will is spiraling just as bad. Not even knowing what to think. He just feels guilty, too guilty. He was the one to drag them into this mess to begin with. Maybe he should've just chosen another book club. But on the other hand, the last few weeks had probably been the best he ever experienced. 

It's been a long time since they last didn't spend the night together and Will isn't quite sure what to even do about himself. He picks up some dinner on the way, and starts packing his things for tomorrow's short road trip.

Time moves slower than he would've liked to. He hates how alone he is with his brain. It felt too real, too strong. It was something different when only him and Mack knew. They had way more to hide behind, so many options of finding excuses. But with Cat and Toff knowing it just felt more … real. Like this was actually happening. It wasn't just some funny lie to get them into a silly little book club. 

Will's mind keeps spinning, approaching the subject of Mack. how it hurt that he was so quiet in the car, how they avoided eye contact, how he didn't even get a hug goodbye. They didn't even kiss.

His mind keeps going back to the fact that he got back into this mess to start with. How he is probably mad at him, maybe he even regrets it all. Fuck I ruined everything, Will cries in his silent bedroom, in the bed that suddenly feels way to empty and cold.

He had spent the last couple of weeks complaining about how the bed was not big enough for two huge hockey players, but right then and there there was nothing he wanted more than to sleep in whatever tight space was left beside Mack most nights. 

It hurt how Mack so easily said that they weren't dating. He said it himself but the comment hurt as much leaving his own lips, as it did hearing it from Mack. Did it hurt Mack too? 

Will stays awake for hours. His brain won’t shut up long enough to let him breathe, let alone sleep.

Everything feels wrong and too sharp, the weird distance with Mack, the way the night spiraled, the way Cat and Toff looked at them like they were already a couple.

He keeps replaying it all, over and over, until his chest aches.

He’s terrified he’s messed everything up.

Terrified he dragged Mack into something that stopped being funny the second other people believed it.

Terrified that Mack is pulling away because of him.

And underneath all of that, the part he’s trying the hardest not to look at, is the slow, creeping realization that maybe the reason everything feels so intense is because he’s not as straight as he always thought.

It sits heavy in his chest, too big to name, too loud to ignore.

So he lies there, staring at the ceiling, mind spinning a hundred miles an hour, wishing he knew how to make any of it make sense.

Only, he doesn't know that the same things are flying through Mack's head right now. They are two sobbing messes who just can't fall asleep. It's too much, all too much.

Mack tries to quiet his mind down by going out on a run. It's 2am and pitch black but he is sure he will combust into flames if he doesn't get out and get his brain to shut down. 

So Mack ties on his running shoes and goes out. It's cold but he is just grateful to feel any feeling other than the pure panic running through his bloodstream right now.

He runs and runs. Runs until his lungs bleed and then some. He runs until he really can't run anymore, until he feels like his legs will fall off, until his mind finally goes quiet.

It's 4am by the time he gets back and his watch congratulates him on his fastest half marathon time. Mack is absolutely drenched in sweat and his full body is aching horribly. He gets into a shower, still tired enough to keep any thoughts out of his mind.

Mack falls asleep two hours before his alarm rings.

Will is still tired by the time he wakes up early the next morning. He is not ready to face Mack and Toff, but for the next forty-something hours he will be stuck with them. 

He feels emotionally spent, too tired to form a comprehensive thought after spiraling all night yesterday. He hops in the shower hoping it will clear his mind, but he doesn't need more than a flash of his own body in the mirror before tears stream down his face again.

What had been happy reminders, what had made him feel so loved for the last few weeks was nothing but painful reminders of what had been. The marks on his body are still vibrantly purple, maybe even more so today than yesterday. His body is covered with reminders of what it had felt like to have Mack's soft lips and sharp teeth all over his body.

Every spot aches as he runs light fingertips over them. He can't decide what hurts the most though, the physical pain of literal bruises covering his full upper body, or the emotional pain of what he might have ruined.

Mack's morning sucks. His whole body is screaming at him, begging him to go back to sleep. Two hours of sleep after spending two hours running, and a couple more crying, was nowhere near enough rest. But he is tough, so fucking tough, so he shakes it of and pulls himself out of bed. 

He lets himself sleep for as long as possible so he just gets up and throws some clothes on before heading out to where Wills is waiting for him in the car.

They don't talk a lot, but they try their best to keep things casual. The none existing amount of eye contact is enough to see that things are not as they were. Mack fights to stay awake on the drive and they try to keep up somewhat of a conversation but as it dies down, no one picks it back up.

The drive feels painfully long, seemingly hitting every single red light on their way to the SAP center.

They get out of the car, Mack opening his own door, they guys picking up their own bags.

They walk a foot further apart than normally but the distance feels dramatically much larger than it usually does. This is not how they are supposed to be, not how they are supposed to act. But the millions of thoughts still spinning through both their minds have turned their magnetic poles around. What used to pull them together now pushes, not because they want distance, but because they’re terrified of what closing it might mean.

They’re still the same two people.

But the energy between them has changed, and neither of them knows how to stand in it yet.

They walk up to the rest of the team.

They look like normal, look like they always do. At least that's how they look to most people. But Toff is not like most people.

He immediately catches on to the way Will walks with unsure steps, a foot behind Mack. He clocks the way Mack doesn't quite seem to know what to do with his arms and the way they don't come in giggling like they always do. 

Toff looks at them with raised eyes but neither of the boys want to approach him. They don't even know what more there is to say right now. Not after what happened yesterday.

“Jesus you look tired Mack. Hope Smitty didn't keep you up all night again” Reavo says as soon as he spots Mack and Will.

Mack's whole body tenses up, shoulders up, jaw locked, gaze going flat.

Before Will can even react, someone else chimes in from across the room.

“Well Smitty is still covered in those? Mack, are you trying to leave a map or something?” Someone else says.

A couple of guys laugh, Mack doesn't.

Mack sees red

It’s not loud at first, it’s quiet, the kind of quiet that makes the room tilt. His bag slips off his shoulder and hits the floor with a heavy thud. His hands curl into fists. His breathing goes sharp and fast, like he’s trying to swallow a scream.

Reavo’s smile drops into something that looks almost terrified.

“Uh, hey, man, I was just”

“Shut the fuck up,” Mack snaps, voice low and shaking. “Just shut up.”

The room goes dead silent.

Will freezes.

Toff’s head snaps up like a dog hearing a whistle.

Everyone else looks like they’re waiting for a bomb to go off, leaving all hope of making it out of there to Will's ability to diffuse Mack.

Reavo lifts his hands. “Okay, okay, chill”

“You don't fucking, tell me to chill!” Mack barks, louder this time, voice cracking. “You don’t know anything. None of you know anything, Fuck of, all of you. Stop fucking staring.” Mack yells, more and more panicked as anger builds up within him.

Someone mutters under their breath “Jesus, Will, get your boyfriend before he kills someone.”

It’s not quite meant as a joke. There is something in the voice that sounds real, convinced it's true.

It is absolutely the wrong thing to say.

Mack whips around so fast half the room flinches. His face is flushed, eyes bright and furious and hurt all at once.

“He’s not” Mack starts, voice breaking. “We’re not, just fucking stop talking!”

He grabs his bag off the floor and hurls it toward the nearest bench with all the strength he has. It hits with a loud crack, a water bottle flying out and rolling across the room. A couple guys actually jumped back. His backpack is next to his wall, right beside the head of a teammate that he can't even see from how blurred his vision has become.

Will’s heart drops into his stomach.

“Mack,” he says softly, stepping forward.

“Don’t,” Mack snaps, throwing out his arm, hitting Will much harder than he should've. 

That’s when Toff moves.

He crosses the room in three long strides, puts his arms around Mack, locking his arms in place and away from the terrified look on Will's face, and doesn’t give him a chance to break free.

“Mack,” Toff says, firm but gentle. “Walk with me.”

Mack doesn’t fight him.

He just lets himself be steered out of the room, shoulders shaking, breathing uneven, eyes fixed on the floor.

The door closes behind them.

The room stays silent for a long, long moment. Will wipes away the tear escaping his eye and Ecky carefully places his arm around his shoulder.

“Mack what the hell” Toff says as soon as they get out of the room and he lets go of Mack who can't bring himself to make eye contact with Toff.

It hits Mack like a fucking punch in the gut.

He breathes.

Breathes too quickly.

Like a lot too quickly.

Everything replays in his brain in small fragments.

“Fuck” Mack gasps for air.

“Hey Mack, calm down. Breathe” Toff calms him down after letting the initial shock and disappointment fall to the back of his mind.

Mack cries, his tears are flying out of his eyes and his breathing remains shallow and uneven.

Toff grabs him into a tight hug.

“Breathe for me Mack. It's fine. It will be fine. Okay” Toff assures and he doesn't let go of him until Mack's breathing is back to somewhat normal.

“Fuck what have I done Toff” Mack cries, panic lacing his voice.

“Hey Mack, it's fine. The team loves you. It was just a matter of time before one of you snapped at all the comments.” Toff tries to settle Mack's panic.

“But Mack, what happened? You two seemed so happy together yesterday but I could tell something was off the second I saw you two today” Toff continues.

“I don't even know,” Mack says.

Toff keeps quiet to see if he could get anything more out of Mack.

“I guess, I guess we freaked out about the two of you thinking we were a couple,” Mack explains.

“Wait, do you mean you two really weren't a couple?” Toff asks, surprised.

“Yes, that's literally exactly what we told you a million times yesterday” Mack says annoyed.

“Fuck, I'm sorry Mack if we brought up stuff you weren't ready to face yet” Toff says, giving Mack an apologetic hug.

“I feel like I'm just messing things up” Mack continues to cry, crying all the anger out. “I don't even know how to act around him anymore Toff! I cant think straight, cant sleep, cant breathe”

“Macky” Toff says sympathetically, tightening the hug even further.

“It will be okay. I know you two, you two may be a bit dumb sometimes” Toff continues and Mack even giggles a bit. “But if there is one thing in this world that you two know how to do, aside from hockey, it's how to be around each other” Toff continues.

“You will figure it out Mack” Toff assures. “Just tell him you are sorry” He continues.

“Oh and tell the rest of the team that you are sorry too. I can't remember the last time I saw a group of hockey players look so terrified of a 19 year old.” Toff continues.

As Mack's breathing calms down and life begins to seep back into his eyes, Toff asks him if he is ready to go back. 

“Fine” Mach says, looking all small and afraid of what awaits him.

Mack hides behind Toff on the way in, well, as good as a 6 foot, 190 pound guy can hide behind someone.

“Were sorry Mack” Reavo says, still looking afraid of Mack, but maybe even more afraid of the burning gaze from Will that makes him apologize. Mack nods.

“I'm sorry guys” Mack says, still as small and vulnerable.

Someone had already picked up his bag and backpack and put them beside Will. They spared him from having to do the walk of shame through the room collecting his things.

Will doesn't say a word to him as Mack carefully goes back to stand beside him.

The team is told to get to the bus soon after, thank god. 

Mack is the first out of that room, desperately fleeing from the scene of his crash-out before it has time to affect his breathing again, before it makes him feel like he is drowning.

He makes it over to the very back of the bus and slips into the window seat, slipping his headphones on to cut out the rest of the world.

Will follows and to Mack's surprise he keeps on walking down the aisle of the bus before finally stopping at Mack's row, putting his bag on the shelf above the seat before carefully sliding into the seat beside Mack.

“Sorry” Mack practically whispers, small and pathetic.

“Yeah” Is all Will says before putting on his own headphones.

They always share headphones, Wills stupid cord headphones, but not this time. This time they are in their own set of noise canceling above the ear headphones that cut out all signs of surroundings.

The whole ride to Los Angeles is just as painfully awkward and tense as all their interactions have been since getting home yesterday night, and the six hours on the bus, practically pretending the other doesn't exist, is no exception.

They finally arrive at the hotel near the Kings arena, and shocker, Mack and Will are roommates.

Fuck, that is not good.

They go straight to practice, not leaving them with more than five minutes in their rooms before meeting back on the bus. 

Mack and Will still have barely said a word since Mack's pathetic apology back before they left the SAP center. Will continues to flinch as soon as Mack does any movement too close by and Mack dies a little inside every time he sees it. He just wants to cry and promise Will he will never do anything to him again, but he can't.

Will is first out on the ice, not caring about getting dressed in front of all the guys with his nieces and hickeys on full display. All he wants is to just get out from the thick tension that lingers in the room. 

Playing hockey is the one thing they have to fall back on when the rest of their lives feel too much, too hard. Hockey is second nature, it's what they have always had as a central part of their lives.

Mack is the last out on the ice and he can still feel the miles he put in his legs in the middle of the night, or early this morning, depending on how you see it. But one thing is for sure, it hurts like hell. 

His body and mind is slow, really slow. 

Mack and Will are thrown into drills together but they cant for the life of them manage to click on the ice like they always do. It's so bad that Warsofsky changes up some duos to get Mack and Will separated, but their minds are so out of it, that they are just as bad in their new lines.

They are absolute messes, and both of them put in tackles twice as hard, twice as many during the tackling drills. 

Will skate until he feels like dying out there on the ice, anything to clear his mind from whatever is clouding it. By the end of practice he is lightheaded and can taste blood.

Mack is first out to the locker room so Will stays back, trying to give himself one last minute of somewhat peace before heading back to the mental warfare that is to be near Mack right now.

They all gather back on the bus that quietly takes them all back to the hotel where they have a quick dinner before everyone heads back up to their rooms.

Will and Mack go straight to bed. Neither of them want to talk with the other so even though it's too early to go to bed, they just want this day to be over.

They lie quietly in their separate beds for hours, both pretending to be asleep until the lie finally becomes true. It's so tense that you could cut through the tension in the room, but none of them could bring themselves to dare talk about it.

Their alarm rings early next morning and they hurry to get out of there, not wanting to spend a second more than they absolutely have to in their confined little space. 

They usually love road trips, love the closeness, love being locked in a room together, sleeping in the same bed, brushing their teeth together, cuddling while watching some movie, and most of all just giggling.

But this was as far opposite as they could possibly get from that. It was horrible, the kind of mental stress that they wouldn't wish on their worst enemies. Well, maybe Mack could wish it on Leno, but that's kind of it.

They continue through their day, dissociating as much as possible, just going through the motions. Breakfast, check. Practice, check. Pregame nap, kind of check.

After what felt like possibly the longest day they have packed up all their things, and are ready to leave to go to the game. The team will go straight from the arena back home after the game tonight and everyone is ready for this trip to be over. The whole team have been feeling the tension between Will and Mack and they just want to get out out range of the physiological torture.

Will and Mack sit beside each other on the bus ride, their magnetic force pulling them together, not getting the demo about the current situation. 

They do their best to focus all their thoughts on the game but it's tougher than they would like it to be.

First period, neither of them make a point and the Sharks are down 3-1. The feeling of the locker room is tense and Mack and Will is no help to that situation. They all listen to Warsofsky yell at the team, shouting about what they have to do better, about how to be a team, how to fight for the win, not for yourself but for the twenty other guys around them.

The second period is much the same. Mack and Will get an assist each and the Sharks fight their best but they are just not closing the gap. 6-3. The locker room is still the same. Will and Mack sit completely silent, two feet apart, but they might as well be two light-years away from each other, and they wouldn't have seen a difference.

Third period rolls around and Mack's legs are like fucking logs. His blood feels like thick syrup and he just moves slowly. Will on the other hand is so full of anxiety that he is practically trying to claw himself out of his own skin.

It's a tough game, physically ruthless and it's honestly a miracle that Will hasn't gone down earlier.

Will gets tackled, hard, painful, but not too ugly. Not ugly enough for the referee to do anything about it. But Will doesn't need a referee, he already has a Mack.

Mack is on the other side of the ice, chasing the puck but the second he sees Will go down he forgets about the puck, letting it cross the ice and down to the other teams defensive line.

He throws his gloves before he is close enough to the guy that took Will out.

Will is still on the ice as Mack's fist hits the guy from the Kings with a cracking noise, probably coming from the other guy's nose. 

He sees red, again. Only this time Mack brings his anger out on what he thinks is a better person. The game stops and players look from afar over at the fight breaking out center ice.

Mack's fists hit the other guy way harder and faster than he even thought was possible, just continuing to plant the punches. 

Mack runs out of energy and his arms go sluggish, getting hit more and more himself. The other guy lands a final punch that brings Mack down on the ice with a loud thud and they could hear the whole arena reacting to it.

“How pathetic. Are you fighting for your boyfriend? Too bad you fight like one of your kind” the other guy says loudly.

Will gets up with a loud grunt, still in a lot of pain, but not enough pain to stop him from protecting Mack.

Will is not a fighter. He is the guy that stands a bit away from the fight. 

But this is nothing but instinctual.

Will doesn't know what flies into him, but before he knows it, his gloves are on the ground, and after taking a quick glance at Mack's pained expression, he can't stop himself from throwing the punch of his life.

He punches harder than he thought possible, punches with everything he has in him, with all the built up emotions from the weekend. And one punch is enough to bring the much larger player in front of him to the ground.

“Fuck you” Will yells down at him before turning around to help Mack back up on his skates.

The whole Sharks bench is cheering on them and Mack and Will can't help but giggle on the way to the penalty box.

They end up losing the game, but they walk slightly easier out to the locker room.

“Hell of a punch there Smitty” His team cheers him on, praising him for what was probably his first and last real punch thrown.

The distance between Mack and Will seem to lessen slightly, being pulled together just a little more than they had been yesterday. They don't talk about it, but they do let out a giggle or two on the long bus trip back home after the game. 

The air between them feels just a little easier to breathe, but they can't quite put their words on what it is that changed.

Maybe it's the fact that they were still willing to risk themselves to fight for each other.

Maybe it's the fact that they still care about each other.

The fact that when they really need the other, they are just there by their side, close enough to rescue them.

They both fall asleep on the bus ride that takes them far into the night before finally arriving back at the SAP center, hours later.

They don't sleep on each other's shoulders, but they also don't lean as far away from each other as they could, like they did on the way there. That's progress, and maybe progress is all they need. Because progress is a promise that things can get better, not immediately, but sometime. 

Will drops Mack off at his place where Mack gets to take a few more hours of sleep before tomorrow arrives.

Will keeps driving into the night, taking the long route home. He listens to some good music, driving through the dead night, only him, his car, and a world that is asleep, out on the road. There is something so peaceful about driving around in the middle of the night. It's maybe 4am, and every house is completely dark. It's kind of a weird concept when you think too much about it, how inside each and every one of those homes, no matter what the person does in their life, we all collectively just tucks ourselves into bed and lets the world stop for a few hours. 

When he finally gets home it's not even late, more just early next morning. He manages to get a few hours of sleep after icing his swollen fist. There is something about that game, that fight, that just lets him fall asleep with slightly more ease than the last two nights, and he is grateful for it.

Smitty: Pickin u up 5:30

Macky: K

Will is a bit nervous to go to Toff’s and Cat’s place in the afternoon, but he keeps telling himself that they will be fine, that they will get back, get to start over, that it's only just a matter of time before they are fine again.

They said goodnight to each other last night when Will dropped Mack off, and that must count for something? Right? 

Both of them had felt things shift back slightly after the fight on the ice yesterday.

Mack wakes up late and just enjoys his day off, not leaving the house. He sits in his pjs far into the afternoon and the closest he gets to the outside world is picking up the food he ordered to his place. 

Will's day is not far off. He watches a few movies, but when they start reminding him too much of all the movies he had seen with Mack, he turns them off. 

The day seems to pass by incredibly slow but the afternoon finally rolls around after a bit too much time spent just sitting around.

Will looks at himself in the mirror as he is getting ready, still startled by the state of his own neck and upper body. He face-times with Gracie, desperate for help with covering it all up. He had gotten some of the makeup she didn't use anymore, but he still had no idea what to do to cover it up.

Grace is nice, honestly the nicest sister he could've ever wished for. She keeps the chirping to an absolute minimum, and walks him through it step by step, color corrector, foundation, concealer, powder, setting spray. 

It's not perfect, but good enough to not scare all the happily unknowing guests he will meet. 

Grace knows its Macks marks, she figured it out on the very first face time, but she is supportive. Will tries to steer clear of all conversations about Mack, maybe in an attempt to keep his mind as clear as possible before having to face him. Maybe because he can't talk to her about Mack right now, when he himself don't have any idea what they even are to each other. 

Will picks up Mack just on time. Mack can't hide the disappointed look on his face as his eyes fall on Will's neck. He loves to see the marks, and seeing them covered up just does something to him that he can't quite explain. It really shouldn't bother him as much as it does.

They steer far away from any real conversation, keeping to the surface level shit. Halfway through the drive they can't keep away from their regular giggling though. 

Their eyes never meet, arms never tough, but they talk, and they giggle, and some things feel fine. Not great, but good enough to make it through the evening without a mental breakdown.

“Hi guys, I'm so happy that you came. The girls are in the living room” Cat says excitedly, looking between the guys with a gaze that says that Toff told her about the road trip.

“Thanks for having us” Will says and both of the guys give Cat a hug.

“What do you mean ‘the girls’?” Mack asks after thanking Cat for inviting them.

“All the WAGs are here” Cat continues, something smug on her wide smile.

“Cat, did you invite us to a fucking WAG party!!?” Will exclaims.

“I'm not even a G!” Mack continues. 

“New term from now on WHAGB” Cat exclaims, practically having to drag the boys into the house.

“What” Mack and Will say simultaneously.

“Wives, Husbands and Girlfriends, Boyfriends. You know, progressive” Cat says happily.

“Not a B either, do you not remember us saying we were not boyfriends” Will continues, his smile dying as the words leave his lips.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, get in here” Cat continues.

“You didn't think to, I don't know, warn us!” Mack continues as Will drags him into the hallway.

“You wouldn't have come,” Cat explains.

“Yeah, I guess that's true,” Will agrees.

“Come on, the girls are so excited over having more people joining us” Cat continues, still just as cheerful.

Will and Mack barely make it inside before their hands are full of drinks. The girls make them start with a shot of vodka before they are even allowed in the living room. 

They each get a cup of something sweet and fruity that is blended real strong. The girls have a pretty high tolerance of alcohol, at least higher than Mack does.

Will and Mack receive warm welcomes from all the girls there and they quickly realize that not even Toff is there. They tricked them there, but Will and Mack feel right at home not even five minutes in.

They sit down beside each other on the couch, closer than they have been the last few days. Not really because they feel too comfortable doing so, but more so just to avoid any questions. They don't need anyone questioning their relationship, not when they already question it so much themselves.

The night progresses and their glasses never run empty. They quickly lose track of how much they actually drink because the second their glasses are even half empty, someone tops it off with more.

They snack on all kinds of tiny foods, play games, and just join the girls in whatever conversations they have. They chime in on everyone's opinions about boys, explaining things that the team does. 

As nighttime falls and their heads go all fuzzy from the alcohol the magnetic forces pulling them together is back, stronger than ever.

“Will, stop trying to crawl into Mack. You won't merge into one, no matter how close you are” Some girl giggles at them.

Will hadn't even realized how close he was to Mack. But they were impossibly close. Mack had his arm swung over Will's shoulder and down his chest, as Will practically sat in Mack lap, leaning his back against Mack's warm chest from where he sat right beside.

Will and Mack are used to the other kinds of parties in this house. Used to the frat kind of parties. The ones that are more loud and messy. The parties with beer and wings. Not the fun drinks, white wine and pretty snacks. But god, this is fun.

The girls' conversations bring out every feeling. They laugh and cry and giggle and just feel all the feelings, getting to a new level of intimate friendship over drinks. They sing and dance and talk. Its fucking awesome.

“Cat this is much better than Toffs frat parties” Will exclaims out of nowhere.

“Thanks Will, I wont tell Toff that though, he will kill you, and I still like you so I would prefer you live. Also I'm pretty sure it's you and Mack that are the frat in those parties” Cat laughs. 

Will and Mack break out in laughter. Mack has consumed far beyond the amount of alcohol he probably should have, but the way they can laugh together again just fills his heart to the brim.

They laugh more than they have in a long time, maybe it's the way to make up for a few days worth of anxiety and none existing laughing. Whatever it is, they do way more than just make up for it.

“I have to pee” Mack almost yells out.

“Go piss girl” someone yells right back and the room laughs.

Mack looks around the room, not knowing what he is looking for, but sure something is missing.

“I’m coming" Will says as he gets up off the couch, dragging Mack up with him.

“Don't do anything weird guys” one of the girls says and the boys just giggle.

Will and Mack stumble out into the corridor, realizing that they might be more drunk than they had first thought.

They make their way down the corridor of the house they had been in a million times but finding the bathroom is still difficult.

They bump shoulders as they walk. 

“Why’re there so many doors? Who needs this many doors? Pick one.” Mack laughs out, stumbling into Will.

“I’m trying. They’re all… door‑shaped.” Will continues, opening yet another door, still the wrong one.

“That’s the problem, Smitty. They’re all pretending to be the bathroom.” Mack states.

“You’re pretending to be the bathroom.” Will breaks down laughing on the floor, like it's the most hilarious thing he has ever said.

“You're not making any sense” Mack laughs, doubling over. 

“I'm making so much sense” Will defends and Mack gives in.

“I'd be a great bathroom,” Mack continues.

They both lose it laughing. 

Mack pulls Will up off the floor.

“Come on, I have to pee,” Mack tells Will.

Will nearly falls. Mack catches him by the hoodie.

“See? Supportive.” Mack continues.

“You’re so stupid.” Will says into Mack's shoulder.

“You love it.” Mack laughs.

Will freezes for half a second.

Mack doesn’t notice.

They keep stumbling.

They finally find the bathroom and slam into the door frame like idiots. Inside, they’re both leaning on the sink, breathing hard from laughing.

“We’re a mess.” Will states the obvious.

“We’ve been a mess. Like. A long time.” Mack agrees.

“Yeah but… we’re like… a specific mess.” Will tries, thinking he is making so much sense.

“What does that even mean?” Mack throws his arms out.

“I don’t know. Feelings? Or magnets? Or… whatever the fuck we are.” Will says, more serious.

Mack stares at him, drunk but suddenly very, very honest.

“I hated when you said we weren’t dating.” Mack continues as he finally gets to the toilet to pee.

Will’s head snaps up.

“You said it first.” Will states as Mack goes to wash his hands.

“Yeah and it hurts. Like. Physically. Like someone punched me in the lungs.” Mack clears up.

“Same.” Will breathes. The giggly mess being pushed away for a moment of seriousness.

Mack reaches out, thumb brushing Will’s jaw. “You covered them.”

Will swallows. “I didn’t want anyone to see, didn't want any more comments.”

“I liked seeing them.” Mack continues, sweetly.

Will’s breath catches.

“They made me feel like… like you were mine. Even if we were pretending.” Mack almost whispers.

Will’s voice goes small. “You can wash it off. If you want.”

Mack turns on the sink without a second though. He grabs a washcloth, some warm water and with the gentlest touch he begins swiping away at the makeup that barely even covered half the mess on Will's neck.

He wipes the makeup away like there is something sacred hiding underneath.

“There. That’s better.” Mack says happily, looking alive again.

“Ready to get back to the party?” Will asks quietly.

“Yeah, let's show you off to the girls,” Mack giggles.

They stumble back through the corridor that almost seems even longer on the way back.

But they don't make it all the way. They stubble into one of the guestrooms that they found on their way to the bathroom. They practically fall into the room. Will catches Mack as he almost trips on the way in.

They fall onto the bed sideways, laughing breathlessly.

Then it quiets.

“How did we even get here?” Will whispers.

“We lied about dating and then accidentally… dated. At least that's what Cat thinks.” Mack answers.

“Yeah but like… emotionally.” Will asks softly.

“Oh. Emotionally I’ve been in love with you for months.” Mack confesses without thinking too much about what that even meant.

Will chokes on air. “Mack”.

“You asked.” Mack says.

“I didn’t think you’d say it.” Will continues.

“I’m drunk. My filter died three drinks ago.” Mack explains.

“Lightweight” Will giggles quietly.

Will’s voice is barely a whisper. “I’m in love with you too, you know.”

Mack goes still. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Will whispers back.

Mack leans in first.

Will meets him halfway.

It’s slow, warm, relieved, the kind of kiss that feels like exhaling after weeks of holding your breath. 

It's unlike the ones they have shared before. It seems more real, more allowed. More honest. It's not their first kiss, but in some ways it kind of is. It's the first kiss they know for sure is not part of some grand scheme of a lie. The first kiss they are actually allowed to enjoy. 

Mack pulls back just enough to whisper “Can we stop pretending now.”

Will smiles, forehead pressed to his. “I think we stopped pretending a long time ago.”

And then they kiss again, deeper, hungrier, finally on the same page.

“I guess we are not lying anymore,” Will laughs.

“Yeah okay, boyfriend,” Mack says softly.