Work Text:
Rhett
Thursday 8:56 PM
Let’s play hookie tomorrow :)
You’re joking.
Nope!
I don’t know…
Come on! We totally deserve it. We need to do
something we haven’t done in a while.
What’s something we can do that doesn’t
take a lot of planning?
So, you’re in?
Sure. Why the hell not?
Alright! Let’s go surfing!
Don’t you mean paddle-boarding?
;)
Oh, whatever man.
I’ll pick you up at 9am tomorrow.
Sounds good!
Link woke up early that Friday, too excited to stay asleep. It had been literal years since they went out on the water last. This day was going to to be just for them. Yes, they had spent most of their time together the past year, but that was for their company, brand, fans, etc. Today, there would be no cameras, no instagram, no twitter. Just Rhett and Link, Link and Rhett. Two best friends enjoying each other’s company.
He’d already had a couple cups of coffee, restraining from a third to pass the time knowing he’d be too jittery with that much caffeine in his blood. Instead, he opened his laptop to get a little work done before Rhett arrived. He couldn’t help it, working on the day he was supposed to be skipping.
Rhett invited himself inside without knocking.
“Morning, brother!” He spotted Link quickly closing his computer, caught in the act. “Come on, Link, no work today!”
“I know, but I would feel awful if I was totally unproductive.” Link shrugged.
“Nothing more from here on out. Phones are off until tonight, okay? No distractions.” Rhett held out his hand. Link pushed off the couch and walked over to grip Rhett in a firm handshake.
“Deal.”
Link grabbed his gear and followed Rhett out to his car. The drive to the beach was easy, little to no traffic, listening to old favorites. Rhett surprised Link by recreating the infamous “45 minutes of Pleasure” playlist, and they sang together the whole trip. It was like stepping back in time, not just 5 years, but 20.
When they got to the beach, there was a spring in Link’s step. They met at the rear of the car, Rhett’s grin mirrored Link’s own.
“Gosh, I missed this.” Rhett clapped Link on the shoulder. Link admired the smile lines that were scattered across his best friend’s face. They showed their history and Link’s fingers twitched with the desire to reach up and touch them.
“Right.” Rhett let go and reached for the hatchback’s door. “Let’s get out before it gets too busy!”
They slipped off their shoes, grabbed their boards, and headed towards the water. Both a bit rusty, falling quite a few times before muscle memory kicked in. Link, actually, was the first to ride a wave successfully. Well, almost. He bit it at the last second, but when he came up for air all he heard was Rhett hollering his praise.
Only a few times did they catch waves together, but when they did, it was magical. They’d climb back onto their boards giggling like twelve year olds.
“I’m ready for a break!” Link shouted across the water.
“Sounds good, brother. I brought some food, it’s in the back of the car.” Rhett agreed and they made their way back to the shore. Link stayed with the boards at Rhett’s request, but didn’t catch the flash of nervousness that crossed Rhett’s face.
Link was surprised when Rhett returned, basket in hand. Rhett sat the basket down, opened it, and pulled out a blanket. On his feet in seconds, Link helped lay it down.
“What’s this?” Link asked as he sat back down.
“Well, I thought it might be nice.” Rhett pulled out a few sandwiches, some Clearly Canadian, and napkins out of the basket. He passed Link a couple of peanut butter sandwiches.
The gesture was not lost on Link.
A seed that had been planted long ago began to sprout.
Link looked up at Rhett, who was watching the water. He already knew that Rhett was objectively attractive, but this was the first time he truly took in that statuesque nose. When Rhett turned to look at Link, he noticed the unbelievable color of his eyes. Green? Grey? Blue? Whatever they were, they were beautiful.
That sprout grew a little taller.
“What are you looking at?” Rhett asked, he’d caught Link staring. “Something on my face?”
Link ducked his head to hide his blushing cheeks. When he looked back up, his eyes roamed all over Rhett’s face.
“Actually,” he picked up a napkin and leaned across the blanket, “you’ve got some mustard on your beard.” Wrapping the napkin around his index finger, Link wiped off the yellow sauce. When he sat back, he noticed Rhett staring at him with an expression he’d never seen. He shook his head, and laughed a bit self-deprecatingly.
“Link?” Rhett’s voice was soft. He was rubbing his palms up and down his legs, a nervous tick. Link had the urge to reach over and still them, hold them in his own.
That sprout grew strong.
“Yeah?”
“I, uh, I need to tell you something.” He finally looked up, Link tried to reassure him with a gentle smile. Rhett just turned his head to look at the ocean again, but Link hadn’t missed the uncertainty all over his face. “I feel like this has been a long time coming. And, if I’m honest, one of the reasons I suggested we went out today. I just, I just can’t keep pretending. I can’t hold it in anymore. This might totally change things - it will totally change things.” Rhett stopped talking to catch his breath.
Link saw tears gathering in Rhett’s eyes. He grabbed one of his hands and held it between his own. Rhett’s face snapped to where they now touched. Slowly, he brought his eyes up to Link’s face, questioning.
The sprout grew buds, threatening to open.
It was at that moment, that Link realized he’d not just loved his best friend, but that he’d been in love with him for God knows how long. How stupid and blind he’d been.
He saw the hope in Rhett’s eyes and his chest swelled.
“I’ve been so blind, Rhett.” He pressed a kiss to Rhett’s knuckles. “I don’t know how I never realized…” Link felt his throat tighten at the intensity of the emotions he was feeling.
Rhett started giggling, tears now falling down his face and catching in his beard. He reached over with his free hand and cupped Link’s cheek, rubbing his thumb against the stubble he found there. Link couldn’t stop grinning. They stared into each other’s eyes for a long moment, before Rhett leaned down to kiss Link’s lips.
Those buds bloomed into vibrantly colored flowers.
Link felt fireworks go off in his chest. He let go of Rhett’s hand and brought them to back of his neck, effectively locking him in place. As soon as their lips parted, Rhett showered Link’s face with kisses, unable to contain his happiness.
Soon, they went back out into the water, without their boards. They swam, played, and frequently held each other while the waves moved them about. After they were sufficiently waterlogged, they headed back to the car to grab clothes to change into. They both walked to the public restrooms to clean off and put on dry clothes.
When Link walked back to the car, he spotted the sun’s descent into the horizon. Rhett was close behind him. They placed their items back in the rear of the car, and Link grabbed Rhett’s hand and walked them to a nearby bench that faced the water.
Rhett’s arm instinctively wrapped around Link’s shoulders, and Link’s head instinctively leaned onto Rhett’s chest. He couldn’t believe how long it took them, but he was oh-so-happy that they made it.
Not long after the sunset went down, a shiver ran through Rhett, signaling their time to head back to reality. When they got in the car, Rhett pulled out his phone and turned it on.
“Hey! I thought we said no phones!” Link teased.
“Yeah, but I wanted to commemorate today with a photo. That alright?” Rhett offered.
Link nodded.
The first photo was a silly one, one that Rhett would post. The second was just for them: Rhett kissing Link on the cheek.
They drove home hand in hand, excited to start this new chapter of their lives together.