Chapter Text
“Next in entertainment news: an A-list actress comes out as unreciprocated! This leading lady has been an actress, director, and producer, but now she’s going to undertake her biggest role yet: an inspiration, both in the starring role and as the real-life source material for a new autobiographical film. We’ll tell you who the star is and more, coming up next.” – an excerpt from the entertainment segment of Good Morning America, 2019
The nice thing about having paradigm-shifting realizations taking place in the spring is that you only have to be around your teammate/best friend/part-time rival you’ve recently realized you have feelings for for about a month before you separate for the whole summer.
The bad thing, when you’re William J. Poindexter, resident dumbass, is that you’ve already invited said teammate/best friend/part-time rival to stay with you for a week over the summer so he doesn’t have to spend the whole time alone in an empty New York brownstone.
And in his defense, it seemed like a great idea in March, when they were just barely friends again and trying not to step on each other’s boundaries. Dex had blurted the invitation out like an idiot, only saved from eternal embarrassment when Nursey, with equal awkwardness, had accepted immediately.
However, now that it’s the end of June and Dex is driving Nursey to his house from the airport, and the silence is hanging heavily in the air between them, it seems like a monumentally stupid idea. Dex is staring determinedly out the windshield when Nursey finally pipes up and starts ripping into the playlist he’s got on shuffle, which sets him off and at least gives them something to talk about the rest of the way home.
Once they’re out of the car, it seems to hit both Dex and Nursey at the same time that Nursey is going to be at his home, sleeping in his room and hanging out with his family, and his whole life is going to be opened up for examination. Nursey pauses with his hand on the car door and looks to Dex, who grabs Nursey’s bag from the backseat and walks into the house, shouting that he’s back and that he’s brought Nursey with him.
Dex’s mom comes out of the kitchen, saying, “Derek! Hi, it’s lovely to meet you, Will has told us so much about you. Welcome to our home.” She pulls Nursey in for a hug and then pulls back to look at him, leaving her delicate sunshine-yellow marks on his arms, “Wow, you certainly are tall, aren’t you? Are any of you hockey players normal-sized?”
“I think probably just Eric, Mrs. Poindexter, usually they don’t let you play unless you’re over six feet tall. Thank you for letting me stay, you have an absolutely lovely home.”
She laughs and squeezes Nursey’s arms gently before releasing him and moving to kiss Dex on the cheek. “What a charmer you are. You’ll be staying on the air mattress, I hope that’s alright. We didn’t want to put you on the couch since all the kids are home from school.”
“That sounds perfect, thanks, Mrs. P.”
She clucks at him before shooing them both towards the stairs. “Call me Daphne, dear. Go ahead and put your stuff down, decompress a little. Dinner will be ready in about an hour.” When Nursey turns around and heads for the stairs, she mouths, “He’s cute!” at Dex, who blushes furiously before following Nursey up the stairs.
Dex has never been self-conscious about his home or his family, but looking at his room from Nursey’s perspective makes him cringe a little. It’s small, but he cleaned it thoroughly before Nursey arrived so everything is tucked away nicely. Naturally, Nursey makes a beeline for the pictures that Dex’s mom has refused to take down.
“I, uh, hope the air mattress is okay. I figured since we room together during roadies that you wouldn’t mind –“
“Yeah, yeah, that’s fine.” Nursey actually waves him off before saying, “Dex, you were a cute kid.”
“Shut up.” Dex grumbles, dropping Nursey’s bag onto the air mattress. “I can’t believe she hasn’t taken those down yet.”
“Do you think she would give me copies of these if I asked?” Nursey touches the edge of the picture of Dex in kindergarten, six-year-old Dex smiling up at the camera with missing front teeth.
“Probably, but I’ll kill you if you do.” Dex opens the door for them to head back downstairs and pauses, waiting for Nursey to leave the photos alone.
“Worth it.” Nursey turns towards Dex and shoots him that small, warm smile that Dex sees so rarely. He knows that he would give Nursey all his baby pictures if he could just keep seeing that smile. It makes him furious.
Dex clears his throat and gestures towards the stairs. “C’mon, it’s gonna be a zoo down there if we’re late for dinner.”
“But I’m a guest, Poindexter. Do you not have manners out here in the sticks?”
“Manners mean nothing when there’s pot roast on the line.”
---
Nursey fits into Dex’s life like he was made to be there and Dex has a lot of very confusing feelings about it.
In Nursey’s defense, he does seem to be on his best behavior for the whole week he visits and it’s not going unnoticed. He’s polite to Dex’s mom and jokes around with his dad, although he does get himself banned from the garage after he trips over a toolbox and all that saves him from going through a windshield is Dex’s quick reflexes.
He’s good with the littles, the many nieces and nephews that the Poindexter family has generated, as a large family with a high percentage of successful matches tends to do. Nursey mostly sticks to Dex’s side, looking to him for approval or guidance when he’s unsure, which makes Dex feel all kinds of things that he’s not looking at too closely right now.
“So, was it as painful as you thought, being out of your big city for a while?” Dex asks while the two of them are spreading a blanket in the flatbed of his truck at the Fourth of July picnic.
“Oh, it’s been terribly painful, I’ve been a minute away from hitchhiking back the whole time. The only thing that’s kept me here are Daphne’s lemon bars, otherwise I’d be long gone.” Nursey pulls a couple of thermoses out of the backpack and settles with his back against the cab. “And the promise of watching some rabid New Englanders fuck some shit up with fireworks.”
Dex opens his mouth to retort, pauses, and then says, “Yeah, I can’t even argue with that. The guy who designs the firework show only has seven fingers.”
“ Dude. ”
“Yeah, he’s a nice guy, I used to babysit his kids. Everyone always focuses on the fingers. He didn’t lose ‘em from fireworks, but that’s another story.” Dex sits back next to Nursey and takes a thermos of hot chocolate. The temperature has dropped after sunset and it’s a bit chilly, so he’s grateful for the blanket, the company, and the drink.
“That sounds like a fantastic story – “ Nursey cuts off suddenly when Dex claps a hand over his mouth.
“I’m not telling you about how he lost his fingers, Derek, that’s morbid and – gross .” Dex jerks his hand back when Nursey licks his palm. He scowls, trying not to laugh when Nursey winks at him.
“I can’t be tamed, Poindexter, you know this about me.”
“Yeah, yeah. I should’ve known.” Dex looks down at his hands, the thin white scars that crisscross them, and the flush of color that decorates them, visible only as shadows painting his skin in the dark. “Hey, Nursey?”
“Mm?” Nursey looks over at him, face buried in the thermos of hot chocolate.
“I’m glad you’re here.” Nursey lowers the thermos slowly, eyes boring into Dex’s face. Dex drops his gaze back to his hands because if he has to look at that soft expression for any longer, he’s going to lose his mind. “Just, you know. Wanted you to know that. I’m really glad you came. I know we’re not super exciting and there isn’t a ton to do in town, but I’m really, really happy that you’re here.”
“Dex –“
“And I wanted you to know,” Dex barrels on, because if he doesn’t get this out now he’s afraid he’s never going to, and that it’s going to stay inside him and fester forever, “That after everything that happened, I’m sorry for yelling at you, and for not listening to you, and just – for being an asshole in general, okay? You’re my best friend and the worst few weeks of my life were when I thought I’d lost that.”
Nursey blinks at him and then clears his throat noisily. “Worse than the first week after Chowder discovered the burrito station in the dining hall?”
“God, no. Nothing’s worse than that. I take it back.” Dex grins at Nursey and it only gets wider when he gets another one of those soft smiles in return. “But, I just wanted to tell you that I’m glad you’re here.”
“Well, you know.” Nursey dips his head and looks back up at Dex through his eyelashes and wow, when did they get so close to each other? “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
“Really?” It’s embarrassingly breathy and Dex feels like he stepped out of a romance novel but Nursey’s face is so close to his and for all that they’re in the middle of a field it feels like there’s not enough oxygen between them.
“Yeah, of course.” Nursey takes a sharp breath in and Dex swears he can feel the movement of the air against his mouth. “Will, I –“
An earth-shaking BOOM! rings out, so loud Dex feels it in his chest and they both jerk back from something Dex has a hard time believing almost happened. A single firework explodes across the sky, shattering into sparks of gold. They watch as four more are shot out in varying intervals, exploding into bright colors at a distance that probably isn’t far enough to be totally safe.
Dex tears his eyes away from the show as the explosions come closer together and watches Nursey, mouth slightly open in an awed smile, as light plays across his face in a myriad of colors. Dex sits on his hands to keep them where they are, but presses his shoulder more firmly into Nursey’s, and is gratified when he feels the gesture returned.
It’s a good Fourth of July.
---
The new school year starts with chaotic practices with both Ransom and Holster as captains, new frogs driving Lardo nuts with questions, and Nursey alternating between driving Dex up the wall with annoyance and shooting him soft smiles. It’s incredibly confusing but watching the way Chowder tries desperately to answer all of Tango’s questions almost makes it worth it.
Standing in the kitchen helping Bitty put together a team breakfast gives Dex that same warm feeling he’s gotten used to, even as Holster comes around to steal bites of food and Nursey uses his puppy eyes to weasel extra bits out of Bitty.
Something has changed since the last time Dex and Nursey played together. Maybe it’s how they communicate, or it might be that the lingering scraps of ego that used to put distance between them have been swept away.
No matter what it is, it’s gone and the two of them are playing better than they ever have, moving as one on the ice, stopping even Bitty from getting in close to the goal. Dex hip checks him but Bitty just shakes it off with a laugh, making Holster and Ransom cheer. When Dex grins at Nursey, he gets a thumbs up in return, and Dex feels his cheeks heat in the chill of the rink. He skates off to try and leave that flushed feeling behind.
He completely misses the exasperated look Chowder gives Bitty, as well as the hand that Bitty drops on Chowder’s shoulder in commiseration.
It’s a great way to start the year.
---
“I need a favor.”
Dex looks up from his textbook at the clatter of a lunch tray on his table. “Hi, Lardo,” he deadpans, “it’s good to see you, too. No, you can definitely sit, I’m just reviewing for an exam. Please, what can I do for you?”
“Shut the fuck up,” Lardo snaps back. It makes Dex grin; there’s few people he can be his complete asshole self around, and Lardo’s one of them. It is undeniably satisfying.
He closes his textbook. “What’s the favor?”
“It’s for an installation, mixed media using video this time rather than photography. I want to use a small loop rather than a full short film, to show fluidity and movement in soulmarks. I’m still playing around with colors and I want you to be one of my models.”
“Uh, okay.” Dex blinks a little and looks down at the table before meeting her eyes again. “Not really sure why I’d be at the top of your list, but fine.”
Lardo’s face is largely impassive, but he thinks he catches a small wince. “Well, that’s where the favor comes in. I’m going for a series of monochromatic pieces, or similar enough. So, I know things have been a little weird between the two of you, but in terms of your coloring, Nursey’s really –“
Dex groans and drops his head to the sticky table. “ Fuck , Lardo, really? We’re – we – well, we’re finally back to something normal, and you want to have him painting me?”
“Yes, Dex, really. ” Lardo crosses her arms and glares at him. “If it’s too weird, you don’t have to do it. Something’s been going on between the two of you, and I don’t completely understand it but I don’t want to be the one to make things worse. If you don’t want me to poke around, then I won’t. But I know it’ll look good, and I know your mark is going to show up wonderfully in the footage, so if you agree, it’ll mean a lot to me.”
This, more than anything else, gives Dex pause. “You want to use my mark?”
“I want to use a lot of marks, but yeah, your soulmate mark in particular.” She leans forward and makes sweeping gestures with her hands. “It’s so fluid, dude. Like, I don’t know if you’ve taken the time to really watch it, but it’s always shifting. It’s gorgeous , and I know you hate it, so I’ve never said anything ‘cause I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, but yeah. It’s something special.”
Dex sits back and really thinks about it, because this isn’t something that’s ever crossed his mind. Everyone’s ignored his mark before, unless they were going to say some shit about it, and he’s mostly been glad for it to go largely unremarked. But if Lardo wants to get something good out of it? He’s not going to be an asshole and say no.
“Okay, fine.” He opens his textbook again and goes back to reviewing. “I’ll do it.”
Lardo gives him a look. “It’s not going to be too weird?”
Dex thinks about sitting still while Nursey touches him, spreading his soul color all over his skin. Thinks about being marked by him in an unavoidable, undeniable way, being flooded with his color. He clears his throat and shifts a bit in his seat. “It might be weird. But you’re not asking me to talk to him, you just want him to mark me. I can do that.”
She stands up, smiling, and steals his cup of coffee. “This is why you’re my second favorite frog.”
His head shoots up. “Wait, second favorite?” She keeps walking away and just waves over her shoulder at him as she goes. “Who’s your favorite? Is it Nursey? Lardo? Lardo? ”
---
Dex is uncomfortable from the moment he arrives at the studio Lardo has reserved, and he can’t imagine that feeling going away any time soon. He stands outside the studio for a minute before deciding that a building certainly isn’t going to intimidate him out of helping his friend, and entering.
He steps into a large, open room with one wall strung up with white fabric and heads over to where Lardo is bullying some film major into letting her touch their camera.
“Hi! Dex!” She’s slightly less sleep deprived than the last time he helped her with an art project, but not by much. He eyes the huge thermos she has, wondering if anyone has the courage to regulate her caffeine intake. “Don’t even think about it. Go put these on.” She shoves a small bag at him.
“Yes, ma’am.” He ducks back out into the hall and into the small bathroom, stripping down and pulling on…white boxer briefs. He shakes the bag out, then blinks and sticks his head out into the hall to see if he dropped anything behind him. Nope. Just the underwear. Dex sighs and goes back into the studio, dropping his clothes on his bag before crossing to where Lardo’s now talking to Nursey, the appropriately cowed film major scowling and adjusting the camera settings a safe distance away. Dex stands behind Nursey with his arms crossed over his chest and frowning until Lardo looks at him and makes a satisfied noise.
“Good, they fit. I wasn’t sure I got the right size.” She jerks her chin to a metal stool situated in front of the white backdrop. “Go sit, I’ll come over with instructions in a minute.”
Dex drops his arms to the side and sighs again. “Fine.” He steps past the both of them and settles on the stool while Nursey makes a strange choking noise behind him. He taps his foot against the metal rung of the stool and waits impatiently for Lardo and Nursey to make their way over, feeling terribly exposed.
“Okay, since Nursey’s finally here and no longer giving me grey hairs, we can get started.” Nursey makes an offended noise that changes into a pained one when Lardo rabbit-punches him. “Now come here so I can move you around like life-sized Ken dolls.”
Lardo pokes and prods to move them around, the short white gloves she wears making sure she doesn’t mark either of them, and it is incredibly awkward until Nursey meets Dex’s eyes and they both have to look away to stifle a laugh. She arranges them so Nursey is standing between Dex’s legs, arms crossed so neither of them touch each other before they’re meant to, and then goes back behind one of the cameras. She looks at the angles the cameras are giving her and then turns Dex a little more so his mark is facing the camera more directly.
“Wait a second,” Dex frowns at Nursey and then looks to Lardo, “Why does Nursey get sweatpants and all I’ve got is underwear?”
“Because we’re not focusing on his sweet, sweet bod, we’re going to be looking at yours. Shush.” Lardo fiddles with the camera to the consternation of the film major and then comes back over to talk to the both of them. “We’re going to start as soon as you’re ready. Nursey, I want you to start from his legs and move your way up, in whatever way feels natural for you. You don’t have to do his whole face, I don’t want him looking like an alien and his freckles are just too cute to cover up, but a couple marks to tie everything together would be nice. You may or may not cover any marks he has currently, that has more to do with the age of the marks and your relationship to each other than anything I’d be able to influence. You can chat if you want, we’re not going to be picking up any sound, but no fighting or I swear to all that’s good in this world, I will toss you both naked out onto the ice and let the peewee kids at you with their sticks and skates.” Dex shivers at the image.
Nursey winks at him and says, “Don’t worry, Dex, I’ll make sure to color inside the lines.”
“Fuck you, Derek.”
“Only if you ask nicely, William .”
“Jesus fucking Christ.” Lardo scrubs her hands over her face. “This was a mistake. Alright, just. Start, please. We’ll get what we can.”
Dex shakes out his arms and puts a hand on his knee to stop it from bouncing, forcing himself to relax. The chill smirk on Nursey’s face wobbles a little and he watches Dex for a second before he asks, “Can I?”
Dex tries to speak and can’t get anything out around the lump in his throat, so he just nods instead. His mouth goes dry as Nursey drops to his knees and starts running his hands over Dex’s shins and feet, saturating them in that rich burnt sienna. He watches as Nursey fills his skin in with color, going over each inch carefully so he doesn’t miss any spots or mark Dex unevenly.
Out of the corner of his eye, Dex can see that the white backdrop begins to turn a similar shade of dark orange, the color staining the sheet and seeping upwards from the bottom. It probably would look really cool if he could tear his eyes away from the way Derek is carefully, almost reverently touching him. As it is, he feels as though someone has lit a fire under his skin and every time Nursey’s fingers land the feeling glows brighter.
Nursey finally looks up as he reaches Dex’s knees and the shaky, uncertain smile on his face makes Dex’s heart hurt. “Are you doing okay?” Nursey pauses at Dex’s knees as he asks his gentle question.
“Yeah,” Dex’s voice is hoarse and he clears his throat to try and clear the scratchiness from it. “Yeah, I’m fine. Are you?”
Nursey scoffs and shakes his head, the tips of his ears tinted red, “I’m having the time of my life, man,” before continuing on. As he moves up Dex’s thighs Dex feels himself tense up and desperately searches his mind for something, anything, to take his mind off of the fact that Nursey is methodically mapping his thighs with his hands. Remembering the smell of his uncle’s boat with dead fish in mid-summer actually works pretty well.
His breathing quickens as Nursey moves up towards the edge of the underwear he was given, palms flat on his thighs and grip firm as he presses his color into Dex’s skin. His thumbs drag up Dex’s inner thighs and once again, Dex feels like a puddle of gasoline that someone has dropped a match into. He hangs on to the edge of the stool in an effort to stay still.
Nursey, in a small act of mercy, finishes with Dex’s thighs rather quickly and uses them to lever himself up to stand between Dex’s legs. He walks around to Dex’s back, the film major moving to follow him with the camera, and Dex can feel Nursey’s palms slide up over his spine. It feels more intimate with Nursey behind him where Dex can’t track him, and it makes Dex all the more aware of where they’re touching.
“You’re so tense, dude. You’ve gotta relax a little.” It’s a tease Nursey has used before, but his voice has lost its teasing edge. He just sounds concerned, and if Dex thinks about that too hard while Nursey’s doing what he’s doing, he’s going to lose his mind.
“Mm.” Dex feels his muscles relaxing against his will under Nursey’s gentle touch and just decides to go with it, sighing into the comfort that Nursey’s touch provides. He feels like putty or clay in Nursey’s hands, warm and melting into his touch. Nursey’s palms slide in broad strokes over the muscles of his back, and Dex closes his eyes as he sinks into the feeling.
His eyes shoot open when Nursey laces their fingers together, making sure to get all the creases between Dex’s fingers and ensuring that Dex leaves his own olive marks on Nursey. He slides both hands up Dex’s forearm, clasping it briefly so that they’re clutching at each other before moving up to his shoulder. Dex watches, enraptured, as the marks that had been on his arms from other members of the team disappear. Plum, sky blue, grass green, gold, and teal all disappear under Nursey’s hands, but instead of feeling adrift, Dex just feels safe. Secure. Like nothing can happen to him while Nursey’s standing here, holding him.
Nursey traces delicate fingers over Dex’s collarbone, following the lines of the bone across his chest, stopping just before the mark high up on Dex’s shoulder. Nursey moves back down to Dex’s other hand, lacing their fingers together again, then bringing Dex’s palm up to his cheek.
Dex inhales sharply as he cups Nursey’s cheek in the palm of his hand, his thumb caressing Nursey’s cheekbone like they’re alone rather than being recorded on video, and his breathing doesn’t get any easier when Nursey closes his eyes and appears to nuzzle into the touch.
Nursey lets Dex’s palm go and continues up his other arm, sheathing it in warm orange color. When he gets up to Dex’s mark he pauses and then almost grinds his palm into it, as if Nursey were trying to wipe out the color of the mark and replace it with his own. It doesn’t work, obviously, the dark maroon color undulating slowly and untouched by Nursey’s ministrations, but something stings in Dex’s eyes when he sees the intense look on Nursey’s face and the firm set of his mouth while he glares at Dex’s mark.
Nursey blinks and his face smooths out again, dropping his hands to his sides as he looks at Dex, almost completely colored-in now except for his chest and face. He steps closer into the vee of Dex’s legs and settles a large, warm palm on Dex’s hip, making him shiver all over again. He drags both his palms up Dex’s sides, apparently spending time counting the freckles dotting Dex’s chest before moving closer to color over his abs, which is entirely too close to Dex’s dick for Nursey to miss how incredibly interested it is in the proceedings. He doesn’t say a word, though, just sways closer as his hands drag up over Dex’s pecs. He spends a bit more time on Dex’s collarbone, attention caught in the dip between the bone and his trapezius muscle, before following the tendons of his neck up to grasp his jaw. His palm slides up in a mirror of the mark Dex has left on him and tilts Dex’s face to look up at him, dragging his gaze away from the place over Nursey’s shoulder he’s been staring at and meeting his eyes for the first time in what feels like ages.
For the third or fourth time in the last fifteen minutes, Dex’s breath completely leaves his body. Nursey’s eyes are dark, filled with hunger and want and some soft feeling that Dex is honestly afraid to name. The most unnerving part is the absolute certainty he has that Nursey is seeing the exact same thing when he looks at Dex.
Nursey drags his finger over Dex’s cheekbone and says, “I’ve spent hours looking at you, but I could look for hours more and not get tired.”
Dex abruptly breaks the moment by snorting, half in disbelief and the rest out of sheer stress.
“It’s true,” Nursey frowns as he says it and brings his other hand to trap Dex’s face in his grasp. “I’ve never seen eyes like yours before. The way you look at me, the way your eyes shine. I’ve written an embarrassing amount about the tilt of your smile. It’s gorgeous.”
“Nursey, stop ,” Dex gasps out, just shy of overwhelmed and unable to look away from the desperate expression on Nursey’s face. “You can’t – “
“I can. Because it’s true.” But Nursey drops his hands to Dex’s shoulders, then skims down his arms to take his hands before stepping back. “But I won’t, if you don’t want me to.”
Dex stares at him, their hands still clasped, outstretched between them. “I – you. I have to – go. Now.” He drops their hands and stalks over to his clothes, pulling on his joggers and his shirt, shoving his feet into his shoes before he takes off out the door and across campus.
He hopes desperately that Lardo got the footage she needed because he’s never stepping foot in that studio again.
---
“Dex! Dex! ”
Dex skids to a halt along the edge of the pond, breathing hard from his sprint from the studio. The ducks squawk and flutter their wings in offense, scattering. Dex stares at his feet, stuffed into his sneakers awkwardly, and sighs. He can feel his socks bunched up strangely and he shifts, trying to straighten them out without taking his shoes off, and just succeeds in making them even more awkward.
He sighs again and runs his hands over his face, scrubbing hard. He sinks down into a crouch, pressing the palms of his hands into his eyes until he sees stars. Any calming effects the action may have are negated when he pulls his hands away and sees the solid orange color covering them.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Will! ” Nursey bounds up to him, clutching at his side and towering over Dex, still crouched on the bank. Dex glances up from the orange – burnt sienna – saturating his vision only to see the absolutely devastated look on Nursey’s face. Guilt and fear make him drop his gaze back to his hands, then his shoes out of self-preservation. A wave of dizziness puts him back on his ass, breathing heavily with his head between his legs.
“Hey, Will, you just have to breathe, it’s okay. I’m here for you.” A warm hand lands in the middle of Dex’s back, rubbing gently. The shiver it causes doesn’t help with the dizziness, and Dex keeps his head where it is, letting out a shaky breath.
“You know, I’m usually the one trying to talk you down from a panic attack.” Dex’s voice manages to stay level despite the emotional turmoil he’s currently dealing with, which he considers a major win.
Nursey snorts softly. “I know, it feels weird being on this side of things. But you shot out of the studio like a bat out of hell, so I figured I should come and check on you.”
Dex lifts his head up and scrubs at his face with his hands again. “I know, I’m sorry. It was just a lot, at the end there.”
Nursey is quiet for a minute, still rubbing Dex’s back. “We can pretend I never said anything if that’s easier.”
“Why would that be any easier?” Dex lets out an empty laugh and tips his head towards Nursey. “If we didn’t talk about it, you would just be sitting there, feeling those things, and I would be sitting here, feeling the exact same way, and nothing would happen. Well, almost the exact same way, I’m not nearly as good at poetry, but – “ He stops abruptly as Nursey puts a hand over his mouth.
Nursey’s looking at him, eyes wide and jaw hanging open. He closes his mouth with a snap and clears his throat softly before he says, “The same way?”
“ Yes ,” Dex says, tugging Nursey’s hand away from his mouth, “C’mon, Nurse, even you can’t be oblivious enough to have missed me falling ass over teakettle for you over the last year. I’m pretty sure Chowder wants to punch me, I know for sure Lardo does.”
“Bitty has said before he wants to knock our heads together, but I thought he was talking about the arguing.” Nursey twists his hand to lace their fingers together, sitting in Dex’s lap. “I thought I’d scared you away, before. And that’s why you ran.”
“What? No, Derek. I was – overwhelmed. And mortified, I was in my underwear and you were saying pretty things to me. What was I supposed to do?” Dex rubs his thumb over the back of Nursey’s hand. “You really thought you scared me away?”
“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Nursey mutters with a rueful smile. He gestures towards the mark on his temple with his other hand, and Dex frowns. “If last winter taught me anything, it’s that I’d rather have you here, as my friend, than try and push you into something you don’t want and drive you away.”
“Nursey, that’s – “ Dex doesn’t even have the words to finish the thought, the idea of leaving Nursey is so awful to him. He just shakes his head and leans in, close enough to hear the catch in Nursey’s breathing when he ghosts his lips in a featherlight kiss over the mark on Nursey’s temple. The vibrant olive mark highlights the delicate periwinkle one, and they both make Nursey’s eyes look bright and shining. Though, that might be the tears starting to gather there, and Dex leans in to kiss one away when it starts to slide down a dear cheek. “You couldn’t drive me away.”
“Yeah, I’m starting to get that.” Nursey laughs thickly, wiping at both his eyes with his free hand. “You’re too stubborn by half, Poindexter.”
“Something like that,” Will murmurs, playing with Nursey’s fingers. He clears his throat, one last confession trying to claw its way out, before resigning himself to it. “I thought you wouldn’t want me. As a friend, or – or as anything else. Once you’d found out.”
“Found out about what? That you’re a huge dork? I knew that one already.”
Dex shoves at Nursey and gestures at his other shoulder with his free hand. “No, about the mark. Not everyone wants to date, um. Damaged goods.”
Nursey’s eyes flash dangerously and his mouth sets into a hard line before he says, “Who told you you were damaged goods?”
Will rolls his eyes. “C’mon, Derek. You know that’s what everyone thinks about people like me.”
“No, it’s not. And if they do, then those people are wrong and stupid .” Derek, not even focusing on Dex now, delves into a rant about the ridiculousness of people who judge other peoples’ relationships because they’re different from their own, and it’s only when he starts citing text from memory to support the validity of non-soulmate relationships from both literature and historical records that Dex just lets it wash over him and smiles, watching this beautiful boy defend him to absolutely no one, certain that he’d do so until his last breath.
Of course, Will has never been one to sit by and just let things happen to him, so instead of waiting for Derek to pause for breath, he just slides one hand around the back of Derek’s neck and when Derek turns to look at him in stunned silence, pulls him in for a kiss.
He can feel Derek’s lips under his own, soft and slightly open in surprise, and Will barely gives him time to react before pulling back. He opens his mouth, whether to defend himself or provide an explanation he isn’t sure, but before he can say anything, Derek makes a desperate noise in the back of his throat and surges forward to kiss Will again.
Their second kiss is not so gentle, both of them pressing into each other with an intensity born from years of waiting and doubt. Derek’s free hand comes up to fist in Will’s hair and hold him close, Will’s is twisted into Derek’s shirt, while their two entwined hands just tighten around each other. Will licks into Derek’s mouth, swallowing the little noises he makes and pressing closer like he couldn’t possibly get close enough.
When they eventually break for breath, they’re both panting, Will half in Derek’s lap, and Derek’s hair is a mess, not to mention the olive marks that now dot his face and neck. Derek himself looks supremely smug, and it makes Will want to kiss him all over again.
“Just so you know,” Derek says, faux casual while he runs his fingers thoughtfully over Will’s soul mark again and again, “Even though I can’t give you a permanent mark, I plan on giving you a new one every day for the rest of our days. I hope that’ll be enough.”
Will can feel himself blush but rolls his eyes for the sake of keeping up appearances. “You’re ridiculous and sappy. It’s gross.”
“You know you love it.” Derek grins at him, wide and certain in his pronouncement, and he takes Will’s breath away with how beautiful he is.
“Yeah,” Will breathes, once again sounding like someone out of a romance novel and not hating it at all. “Yeah, I do.” And he leans in to taste Derek’s smile.
William Poindexter won’t ever find his soulmate.
He doesn’t have to. What he has is better than that would ever be.
Just ask his boyfriend.