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Everyone is winding down as a night of laughter and light conversation comes to a close when Auston catches Mack’s arm from where he’s talking to one of the kids.
“Hey, I think we should talk, yeah?”
“Sure” Mack eyes him suspiciously
Mitch’s head perks up as he eyes the two crossing the room before settling in a vacant corner, a bit away from the rest.
“What did you want to talk about? I know my speed could use some work, if you have any tips-”
“Mack,” Auston shoots him a small, disarming smile. “I don’t want to talk about hockey.”
A crease forms between Macklin’s brows
“You didn't? Then what did you want to talk about?”
Macklin follows as Auston’s gaze lands on where Will is gesturing to Jumbo excitedly, deep in conversation as he feels his face heat.
“Auston-”
“Relax. I’m only saying something because I have a lot of knowledge in this area.”
Macklin scowls, “I doubt that.”
“Yeah?” Auston prompts as Macklin hears a voice peep up from behind him.
“Everything okay over here?” A voice that Macklin is sure belongs to Mitch Marner says as he comes into his field of vision.
Oh.
Oh.
Mack looks back to Auston where he’s watching the realization with a small smirk on his face.
“Everything is fine, Mitchy. Just giving some advice, you know center to center.”
“Center to center, huh? You should probably get Smith then too, really pass on the wisdom.”
“Will’s game is fine” Mack registers the words leaving his mouth as the two whip around to face him, clearly just remembering the other’s presence.
“And yours isn't?” Auston raises a brow.
“There’s always room for improvement.” Mack counters
“Fucking superstars” Mitch sighs as he walks away
Superstar
Mack looks back across the room at Will, who’s now looking back at him, something like concern swimming in his eyes.
“I’m fine” Mack mouths to him, which seems to settle him enough before he’s turning back to Jumbo.
Macklin nearly sighs in relief before the 6’3 nuisance next to him pipes up again.
“I was like that with Mitchy too- always super protective. Although I guess you could say he was protective of me first” Auston says, considering.
“Will and I aren’t like you and Mitch. Despite how much everyone likes to say we are.”
“Do you want to be?”
“What?”
“You seem to be pretty keen on making sure I know you guys are different. You don’t want to be leading the team? Be the dynamic duo? One’s name always closely followed by the other?”
“No.”
“No?”
“I don’t want everyone to keep scrutinizing what we are doing. I don’t want to hear people speculate about our futures or I’m gonna miss what I have with him now”
“You think he’s gonna leave?”
“Of course he’s going to leave. Have you seen us? No offense but there’s a certain amount of losses you can’t ‘The Future is Teal’ your way out of”
“And you won’t? You’ll stay.”
“I’m supposed to save the franchise, Auston.” Mack whispers, tears welling in his eyes, as he shakes his head to clear them.
“Do you think I’m a good hockey player?”
“What?”
“In the nhl- do you think I’m a good player?”
“I think you’re better than good, Auston”
“How many times have the leafs passed the second round of the playoffs since I got drafted?”
“Aus-” Mack protests weakly
“Is that my fault?” Auston presses
“Of course it isn't, you have a whole team around you.”
“And you don’t? Smith, Eklund, Toffoli, none of them matter? It’s all up to you?” Auston challenges
“I’m first overall” Macklin pushes, punch behind his words.
“That isn’t the death sentence you’ve been taught to think it is.” Auston says softly
Macklin chuckles despite himself, “Have you seen Chicago?”
The older of the two cackles as the tension between them dissipates.
“Let’s go outside” Auston suggests.
“Why do you keep trying to take me further away from everyone tonight, man?” Mack jokes as he stands up to leave, not before beelining for Will though.
“You good, superstar? Will asks once he feels his presence behind him. Some part of Mack’s chest warms as he realizes Will didn’t have to turn around to know it was him.
“All good,” Mack confirms, “Auston’s just taking me outside for a minute.”
“Do I need to be worried about that” Will starts to turn before Jumbo interjects
“Stand down, puppy”
Mack smiles to himself at the endearment before patting a pouting Smitty on the shoulder before following Auston out the back door onto a porch a little ways away from the house. They are far enough away that the moonlight is what’s illuminating them now. The warm glow of the kitchen a ways away, as Macklin puts his hands around his waist, a little cold despite it being San Jose in late march. He hopes whatever Auston dragged him out here for was worth it.
The sound of crickets broken as Auston speaks with a little laugh.
“I’d give you my sweatshirt but,” he shrugs his shoulders, “I have a feeling our boys wouldn’t be too happy about that.”
“Oh fuck off they wouldn’t suspect anything.”
Auston seems to consider that, turning the words over in his head as Macklin daydreams about the sweatshirt in the backseat of Will’s truck parked in the front of the house. It’s been traded back and forth between the two of them so many times Macklin isn’t even sure of who owned it in the first place.
“Marnes wouldn’t,” Auston finally coincides, “but if I know anything about new relationships it’s that they are fragile-”
Macklin is nodding along before his next words hit him like a truck.
“So I bet Will would get a bit jealous anyway.
It’s like a bucket of cold water was just dropped on Macklin’s head- Auston can’t think that Will and Mack- he can’t.
Auston misinterprets his silence as agreement, “God knows I would’ve been jealous in the beginning if Mitchy walked into a room wearing Sidney Crosby’s sweatshirt.”
“Did you just compare yourself to Sidney Crosby?” Mack feels himself go a little faint with the absurdity of this whole situation.
“That depends- do you think Mitch could make a good Malkin?”
The pair stare at each other for a couple seconds before bursting out into laughter, sobering Auston steps forward with intention.
“C’mere” he says opening his arms and Mack melts into him.
“Maybe this conversation will be easier to have when we aren’t face to face” Auston says from where his chin is propped on top of Mack’s head.
“Like a confessional” Mack whispers under his breath
Auston makes a noise, “I didn’t know you were religious.”
“I’m not.” Macklin pauses before elaborating, “Smitty is though”
“Ah” Auston responds as if that explains anything
“Are you and Mitch-” he pauses before he can get the words out.
“Together? Happy? Ask what you want to ask me, kid”
Mack clings on just a little tighter at that.
“What you have- whatever you have- is it enough?”
Auston is quiet for a long while before he answers. Mack is glad, he doesn’t want to feel like he’s just being placated with what Auston thinks he wants to hear.
“I think I’d be okay with whatever he was willing to give me. Just playing with him on the ice would’ve been enough. When he sent me that pass in our first training camp together, some part of me knew that when I broke the glass, my expectations also shattered. Everything else is just extra.”
“I don’t think I’d be okay with just playing together.” Mack digs his face into the fabric of the other’s hoodie after that confession. Hiding from himself more than he’s hiding from Auston.
“That’s okay” Auston is quick to reassure. “The question though is, are you going to do anything about it?”
“I feel like I should”
“I don’t deal in shoulds, or shouldn’ts, baby shark. You want your boy? Get him because you want him.”
“I do really want him” He says, probably the most honest he’s been about anything all night.
Auston’s arms tighten around him.
“I know you do.”
Macklin snorts, “It’s that obvious”
“To him? No.”
“Then how do you know?”
“Because I look at Mitch the same way.”
He lets the words sink in for a moment before slowly stepping away. Mack’s throat makes a traitorous little noise at the loss of contact. Auston smiles fondly at him before explaining.
“It’s getting late, and I think your boy wants to get out of here.”
He jerks his head to the window where Mitch and Will are talking, Will’s eyes flicking outside toward them every few sentences. When he finally catches Mack’s gaze he holds up his keys, a wordless request.
“You’ll be alright, and if you aren’t, if it gets too much, you can always call me. Mitch and I will be here for you, whatever you need.”
“Thanks Aus” Mack replies genuinely as they reach the door.
Stepping inside they are immediately hit with a warm wave of air Macklin is immensely grateful for. They grab their things and say their goodbyes with promises to get together soon and Macklin groans, settling in the passenger's seat, his seat, as he reaches an arm to the back searching for something. He makes a happy little noise as his fingers catch on the fabric as he pulls it over his head.
He finds himself situated as Will is looking at him with a strange expression, “What? I’m cold.” Mack explains.
Will shakes his head as he drives away from the curb.
A few minutes later Mack asks, “Who’s sweatshirt was this anyway?”
“It was mine.” Will says with certainty as Mack’s head turns towards him rapidly.
“Really? How did you know? We’ve both worn it so many times I was tracing back the origins in my mind and just couldn’t.”
Will’s face heats up as he explains, “I remember you wearing it for the first time- it was the first piece of clothing you took from me.”
Macklin just stares at the side of his head before Will stammers trying to explain himself.
“You know- I didn’t know if it was an accident or if it was on purpose- why would it be on purpose? Jesus Smitty-”
Mack gets distracted from Smitty’s spiral by remembering Auston’s early words.
“Maybe this conversation will be easier to have when we aren’t face to face”
“Like a confessional”
Or like the front seat of a car, Macklin realizes as he tears his gaze away from Smitty and out at the road. He waits before they reach a red light before speaking.
“I like wearing your things.” This time it’s Will’s eyes that he can feel burning into the side of his head. Macklin refuses to meet his gaze though, and eventually Will has to turn his attention back to the road as the light turns green. Will clears his throat.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Macklin confirms.
“I like seeing you in my things.” Will says under his breath, like Mack isn’t even supposed to hear it at all.
“Why do you think that is?” Macklin is good at a lot of things, you could ask hundreds of reporters and they’ll all tell you that. This isn’t something he’s good at, for once he needs to lean on someone else.
Smitty seems to get that, the way he always gets Mack. Whether it be a pass on the ice that connects perfectly without either of them looking, just always aware of the other. Or whether it’s to cue up a rom-com on a long plane ride home after a tough loss or be a shoulder for Mack to doze on.
“Because I like you.” Will offers simply. A way of conceding some of the control back, not all of it, but enough that Mack knows he has to be brave too.
“I like you too, more than I should probably.”
“Yeah? How much should you like me then?” A smile creeping it’s way into Will’s voice.
“Like just a friend” Macklin suffers a long sigh
“And you don’t? Like me as just a friend that is?” Will pries
“I think you know I don’t. That I lo- like you more than that.”
“Fuck. Mack-” Smitty runs an anxious hand through his hair as he presses down more on the gas ever so slightly. “Why are we having this conversation in a moving car.”
“Auston Matthews” Mack replies.
“That’s what you guys were talking about” Smitty says before bursting out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” Macklin whines
“I may or may not have gotten a similar talk from another Leaf’s forward tonight”
“No fucking way. I feel kind of bad for beating them twice now, though.”
“No you don’t” Smitty says like he knows Macklin inside out.
“No I don’t” Macklin agrees because he truly does.
“To be clear though, I like you too, and I was wondering if you’re open to me taking you out? On a proper date?”
“Fuck yes.”
“I have to text Sidney, he thought this happened months ago.”
“What?!”
“Yeah, wanted to be our gay mentor, let us know if we needed anything, too bad Matthews and Marner beat him to the punch.”
“Is this what you thought your life was going to be when you got signed to the nhl?”
“No. It’s a lot better.”
They share a secret smile as the car slows to a stop.