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It is June 15th, 2008.
Kevin tried to tell himself it was just a normal summer day but he wasn’t delusional enough to convince himself of that.
Last summer, he was still reeling from everything that had been thrown at him throughout the year. The month of June was spent in a haze of drowning his anxiety in vodka and exy until Neil and Andrew decided enough was enough and bullied him into backing off on both. They’d forced him into the Maserati, took him with them to Columbia and tossed any and all alcohol the second they entered. He spent the last two weeks before the team was back on campus drifting along behind the two of them, eating dinner when they shoved it in his hands, being herding into the backseat of the Maserati in the middle of the night when he woke up panting and terrified and itching for just a few drinks .
But this year was different.
With lots of help, he was drinking less than ever. Most nights he fully abstained, but occasionally he’d have a drink or two with the reassurance that Neil would kick his ass if he started to get carried away. He’d force the bottle back into the locked cabinet that he’d installed for this exact situation, shove him onto the couch or the bean bag and plop down beside him, often dragging Andrew over as well.
It was like a shield between himself and the rest of the world. Something that should’ve been ridiculous, two tiny men guarding him shouldn’t help this much, but it did.
That was a pleasant development, the protective streak that had seemed to develop. Sure, there’d always been that deep protectiveness, but that had always been because of a deal. And only from physical harm. But now it was different, they were protecting Kevin from himself. They rallied in the face of a grief for Riko that neither understood and helped him through it regardless. They had quickly become his best friends, which he had never thought he’d get to have.
Then there was Wymack.
Kevin started staying with Wymack more often that year. Some weekends he’d retreat there to escape the Foxes, to get some time away, to give Andrew and Neil privacy that they clearly wanted but seldom asked for. Wymack had gotten rid of most of his alcohol at the time as well, keeping one lone bottle that had only been cracked open a few times, remaining over half full after six months. Wymack had taken Kevin’s sobriety seriously, limiting alcohol at Fox parties and even cutting down drastically himself.
It was…nice. Spending time with Wymack without the wall of a secret between them. They actually talked , which he hadn’t expected. Not just about exy. They found a shared interest in trivia shows, started watching movies that none of the other Foxes would have cared to, and spent time in silence while Wymack did paperwork and Kevin studied or read.
And they talked about his mom.
It was a rough night, one where Kevin broke and drank himself into a heap on a beanbag in their dorm. That’s where Neil had found him, half a bottle deep and unable to contain the hurricane of feelings that he’d been fighting down. It was embarrassing to admit he’d cried that night. Neil had gently pried the bottle from his hands, poured the vodka down the drain and tossed it in the trash can. He’d poured a glass of Kevin’s favorite juice and crouched in front of him while he sipped. Then Neil had offered his arms, and didn’t comment when Kevin fell into his arms and sobbed into his shoulder.
It had taken a long time before Kevin was calm enough to explain to his best friend what was wrong. By then Andrew had trailed back from the roof, caught one look of Kevin’s pathetic state, and came over to sit cross legged beside them. They listened as he talked about his mom, how much he missed her and how hard it was to forgive her for lying to Wymack, for the fact he would have grown up so different had he been raised by Wymack instead of with Tetsuji and Riko.
Neither Andrew nor Neil were good with words of comfort, so they offered their presence until he was dry eyed and exhausted, but too emotional to sleep. And they’d offered to take him to Wymack, if that’s what he needed. So they had, his best friends had packed him a weekend bag with clothes and his favorite book, though he doesn’t know how they knew that, and drove him to Wymack’s. They’d even walked him to the door, handing over his things to Wymack and leaving him with just a pat to the shoulder from Neil and a promise to come back and pick him up when he was ready from Andrew.
He’d cried again, this time with a firm arm around his shoulders and gruff reassurances that he would never begrudge Kevin for his mom’s lie, promises that had he known he’d have fought to get Kevin back, and that his only regret of finding out about Kevin was that it was too late in his life to have prevented the trauma he’d endured at the hand of his “family”.
That was a turning point, he knew. The topic of Kayleigh had never come up before, always too touchy of a subject for them both but without that, he could breathe easier, knowing where they stood more solidly.
And now here Kevin was. It was Father’s Day, and he was standing outside Wymack’s apartment struggling with the urge to run away. But he had decided to come, had asked Andrew and Neil to bring him from Columbia so he could see Wymack. He wouldn’t chicken out, even if he knew they wouldn’t judge. They’d just shrug and take him to the court until he could run himself ragged, then they’d take him back to Columbia and deposit him in Nicky’s room for a nap and go about their days. It wouldn’t be brought up again.
But he was determined not to chicken out. Wymack didn’t deserve that.
So he pushed forward and knocked, shifting his bag awkwardly to one side and fidgeting with the gift he’d been holding in his lap the entire drive with tight fingers. A bottle of Johnny Walker Blue, a watch just like the one Wymack had broken a couple months prior while preventing him from breaking into the liquor cabinet—that was the final straw for him getting rid of almost all of his alcohol—courtesy of Andrew’s eidetic memory and attention to detail helping him find an almost exact replica. And a card, where he’d tucked away a copy of the letter his mom gave to Tetsuji, translated so that Wymack could read it for himself.
That was Neil’s idea, actually. He’d wanted to give Wymack something sentimental, but the only thing he had that he could think of was the letter, which was in Japanese. So Neil suggested a translation, handwritten, just for Wymack.
Before he could spiral into further anxiety, Wymack opened the door with a look of confusion. The expression fell away quickly as he could in Kevin’s state, and his eye caught on his bag and the few things he was carrying. Wordlessly, he turned and walked into his kitchen and silently prepared a cup of coffee, exactly how he made it for himself every morning.
“What brings you by today, Kevin? I thought you were staying in Columbia with Andrew and Neil.” Wymack asked as he slid the mug over. He sat down heavily across from him and sipped at his own coffee. Kevin fought to get the words out but found it difficult. Silently, he slid the gifts across the table.
Wymack looked at the envelope and the gift bag, puzzled but opened it after a brief nod from Kevin. He watched his dad’s face closely as he pulled out the bottle, noting the jump in his eyebrows. He set it aside and took out the box at the bottom of the bag, a slight tug at the corner of his mouth. Then he turned to the card, which Kevin was the most nervous about, and froze as soon as he got it open. It felt like it took hours for Wymack to finish reading the letter, but really couldn’t have been more than a couple minutes. Kevin’s eyes had drifted to the letter, too nervous to watch his expression.
“Kevin.” Kevin looked up and was shocked to see Wymack’s misty eyes locked directly on him. A single tear cut a trail down Wymack’s cheek but he didn’t bother to wipe it away.
Wymack pushed himself away from the table and Kevin was worried he’d upset him, that he was going to walk away from him, but he just stepped around the table and hauled Kevin to his feet and pulled him close, strong arms encircled him and held tight. Kevin wrapped tentative arms around Wymack and just stayed there for a long moment, only letting go when Wymack did. They averted their eyes and Kevin pretended not to hear the hard way Wymack cleared his throat.
“Thank you, Kevin.” He clapped him on the shoulder and turned away. When Kevin didn’t follow, he called over his shoulder, “Are you coming? I recorded one of your documentaries, we can watch that if you want.”
Kevin smiled even though Wymack couldn’t see it and followed him to the living room. He shot a quick text to his group chat with Andrew and Neil to assure them that he was fine to stay and got settled into the couch beside his dad to spend the next few hours watching documentaries and game shows, only interrupted by Kevin adding in facts the documentary missed and adding scathing commentary for the inaccuracies, and Wymack’s gruff insults about the stupidity of game show contestants.
It was the first Father’s Day Kevin ever celebrated, and it may be twenty two years late, but he swore to spend every Father’s Day from now on with the father that had taken him in when no one else would, even before knowing the truth.