Chapter Text
Boston College, 2023
Will stared down in horror at the pregnancy test. Two pink lines stared back up at him, mockingly. How had he allowed this to happen? He swore he had used protection. How would Ryan react? This was a fucking nightmare. Will’s chest heaved, he started finding it hard to breathe properly. Tears welled up in his eyes.
He was only 19, and now he was pregnant. He could already hear his mothers voice. “Will, how did you let this happen?” Oh thinking about it made his stomach twist in dread. How had he allowed this to happen? He wasn’t even sure how long he had been pregnant for. Certainty, he had time to think about this right? How would he play hockey with a child? Would he even be able to play?
It was only weeks away from the NHL draft, and after the season was done. He let out a small sigh and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, sniffling softly.
Now that he looked back at it, the symptoms had been showing up for weeks. First it was the head-splitting headaches. These were one of the symptoms Will had hated the most. They happened almost everyday and everywhere. During a lecture, during practice, during sex. Once, it got so bad, he had forced Ryan to go all the way back to their house to get him an Advil during one of their Communication lectures. Ryan hadn’t been pleased, but he complied nonetheless.
Next came the morning sickness. This was also horrible. He couldn’t even eat breakfast, all it did was make him feel the need to throw up again. Ryan had been very worried, he wouldn’t even leave Will’s side for more than a couple hours at a time.
Then came the emotional outbursts. During their most recent game at BU, when he got hit into the boards, he randomly burst out crying. He didn’t even know why, it didn’t hurt that much at all, but he just couldn’t bring himself to stop. The poor dude who had hit him looked extremely guilty and kept on asking him if he was okay. This just made Will cry even more at the man’s obvious confusion and reluctant apologies. The fact he had no idea why he was crying was infuriating him as well, bringing more tears from his eyes. When he skated back to the bench, hand brought up to wipe at his tears, Macklin Celebrini, BU’s star player, skated next to him.
“Hey, uh are you okay, man? Did he hurt you?” Will and Macklin weren’t close, and he highly doubted they ever would be. He respected Macklin, he was an exceptional player. Even though he was only 17, he still was already better than most of the
people in the NHL, but he avoided conversation with him because he seemed stuck-up and cocky. That was probably for a good reason though, he was an amazing player and he was also very attractive.
Will had just shaken his head, sobbing loudly. He could hear a bunch of the other players laughing behind his back mockingly. Why was the bench so far away from where he’d been hit? Macklin looked genuinely concerned, and Will wasn’t quite sure why. It wasn’t as if it was his fault for Will’s sudden hysteria, and it’s not as if they were close enough to make Macklin fret over his wellbeing. Will tried to formulate a coherent sentence to return to Macklin.
“Uh- yeah I uhm, just.” Will sniffled, trying to compose himself. Macklin then stretched out his arm and rubbed him on the back soothingly. The act of comfort from his rival made him feel way better, and his tears weren’t coming as strong as before. Ryan skated over, bumping Macklin out of the way to place himself by Will’s side. Macklin looked back at him with disbelief, eyebrows furrowed with frustration. “Will, are you okay? Did he hit you? What is he trying to talk to you about?” Ryan asked, unable to hide his dislike for Macklin. Ryan held him by the waist, pulling him closer in attempts to console Will and his sobbing state.
Will still kept his eyes on Macklin, observing how his face twisted into an emotion he couldn’t quite understand. Macklin’s gaze was fixated at where Ryan’s hand lay on his lower back comfortably.
Will sniffled, leaning into Ryan’s side, feeling the warmth that radiated from his body. He felt better now that Ryan was beside him, giving him a place to escape from the embarrassment of the entire situation.
Shortly after, Macklin tore his gaze away from him and Ryan, shaking his head and skating up to where his team's bench was.
This memory still haunts Will, making him embarrassed even at the mention of it. He had been way more emotional for the past few weeks, his mother told him that it was probably from the nerves of the upcoming draft pick which would dictate whether or not he got to play professional hockey. He decided to stick with his mothers intel.
Even then, he had a small suspicion, but every time, he would push it back down, dismissing it from his thoughts completely. It seemed though, that now he had nowhere to run. The truth had made itself known, in two pink little lines that had frequently showed up in his nightmares, causing him to wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night. Ryan and him had been secretly dating for months now. The only person who knew was their friend, Gabe Perreault, and his sister, Grace.
His own parents didn’t even know, and that added extra stress to this entire pregnancy situation. The truth is, Will had no idea that he was one of the select few males who were able to bear children. In fact, he hadn’t even considered it a possibility. He knew faintly that there were some men who were able to get pregnant because of some kind of special genetic circumstance.
His parents had never got him tested, probably because they had never considered that he would even need to know the information. It wasn’t like he was out having sex with other men, right? But It really would’ve been beneficial for Will to have been tested, because then he would’ve known to remind Ryan to use protection.
Unfortunately, Will now stands in his bathroom, legs shaking uncontrollably because he was pregnant. With a baby. Ryan’s baby. He felt the air closing in on him, suffocating him. He felt tears streaming down his face.
Would Ryan even want this child? What would he do if Ryan refused to take care of him and their child, leaving him with the burden of single- parenting. He knew he would have his family's support, once he came out to them of course.
They were all religious, including him, but Will knows, or hopes that they would slowly start to understand, providing their experiences to help him raise his child.
Will had always wanted children, many of them actually. He just didn’t expect to get his wish granted so prematurely, given he was only 19. He was scared, but he wouldn’t abort this child. He just couldn’t. He wanted this, Will realized, and given the information from Ryan, he did as well. He grabbed his phone from where it lay on the sink counter, opening Ryan’s contact and typing with one hand into their chat.
Will: Ryan, are you busy? Please come over when you have the time, I have something to tell you. It’s important, love you
Will huffed out, and for the first time that day, let himself smile. He was going to have a baby, his own. He just hoped Ryan shared his enthusiasm.