Work Text:
Herc sauntered into the casual coffee shop right off campus with an air of practiced nonchalance. He knew that he would never come off as unintimidating given his size and loud voice, so nonchalance was as close as he could get. Besides, he was on a secret mission of sorts.
Washington had sent him a text at 6 in the morning. Normally, Herc would have complained about the text and the fact that it was rude to wake people up on days when it was still technically summer for upperclassmen. But when he shook away his sleep and actually read the message, he had shot out of bed ready to go. Something was wrong with Laf, and they weren’t talking to anyone about it. They had apparently left the fraternity house at 5:30 without telling anyone where they were going.
Herc took a minute to gather his things before shooting a text back to Washington.
[To: Washingdad] sent at 6:10 AM: Did you happen to see what they were wearing when they left?
[From: Washingdad] received at 6:11 AM: No.
[From: Washingdad] received at 6:11 AM: Does that matter right now?
Herc didn’t bother to answer. Instead he just assumed the worst and headed to the coffee shop that Laf snuck off to when they were about to have a breakdown. He had to play it off like he just happened to stumble into the coffee shop or Laf would get suspicious of his intentions and shut him out. Hence the need to be nonchalant. Herc casually opened the door with a small tinkering of bells to welcome him. Sure enough, seated in the corner of the shop facing away from the door was Laf.
As Herc approached the lounge section of the shop, he took in the state of Laf, who was arguably his best friend. They had their hair up in a bun. To most people this would seem normal, but Herc recognized that this was not Laf’s signature “messy bun”. It was more of a ballet bun which told Herc that Laf didn’t want their hair touching their neck or face. They had on their headphones: a clear sign that they didn’t want to be disturbed, but their foot wasn’t tapping out any particular beat. Herc knew this meant that the headphones were just for show, more to trap Laf’s thoughts in and block out the rest of the world as opposed to their usual function of playing music. The last thing Herc noticed was something he expected to see. Laf was wearing an old but well-loved Hockey jersey that had the name “Mulligan” across the shoulders.
Herc thought back to giving Laf the jersey. He had come to college with the girl he thought he was going to marry. When it came time to order spare jerseys in the fall for the upcoming hockey season in the spring, Herc hadn’t thought twice about buying one for her. When he had shown up at her dorm to surprise her with it on the first day back for spring, he had been the one surprised to find her in bed with one of his teammates. To say he was devastated was an understatement.
Laf was his roommate that year. At the time, “he” and Herc had immediately bonded over a love of Parisian fashion and musicals. Over the course of the first semester, Laf had come out as nonbinary. Herc had taken it in stride and supported Laf in whatever way they needed. Laf was his first friend, and Herc would have supported them no matter what.
When the breakup happened at the start of second semester, he didn’t leave bed for a week. He thought he was going to flunk all his classes and lose his spot on the team. Herc remembered snapping at Laf over something trivial and then having a major anxiety attack because he had thought he had pushed away his best friend. Laf had walked back into the room in the middle of it. They had quietly grabbed a blanket, settled in behind Herc, pulled him up into sitting position, and pressed a cup of hot something into his hands. From there, they had talked him down from his panic, talked about what was wrong, and then let Herc sleep with them in their bed. When Herc woke up the next morning, he had emails from his professors about the work he had missed as well as their sincere apologies about his emotional trauma, a call and multiple texts from his coaches and teammates to check in on him and send their support, and there was a mug of tea beside a protein bar on his desk that had a simple note to the side of it. “Be home at lunch. Shower and eat. I’m taking you to get the comfortable food tonight. <3 Laf.”
That afternoon, they had dragged Herc to the café he was currently standing in. They had talked about nothing and everything. He had thought that he and Laf were already close, but by the time the duo had left the café, Herc knew that Laf was the closest friend he would ever have.
When the first game of the season rolled around, Herc had woken up to a goody bag from Laf that had all of his favorite things in it as well as a note to support him in facing the teammate who had slept around and a promise that they would be in the stands that evening. When the puck dropped that night, Herc looked up and saw Laf outside the glass cheering him on. The teammate that had slept with Herc’s girlfriend made the mistake of commenting negatively on Laf’s appearance. That player left the ice with a black eye and a bloody nose. When they got back to the room, Herc had pulled out the jersey he had been keeping and asked if Laf had wanted it. Laf had fake tears in their eyes when they dropped to their knees and exclaimed, “Of course I will be your ice bunny!”
Herc and Laf had spent the rest of that night laughing.
After the season ended that year, Herc had Laf keep the jersey. He had said, “Wear it when you need to remember the laughter we shared and all that emotional shit. Then I’ll know I need to step in and kick someone’s ass for hurting my best friend.”
Laf had preened under the compliment and Herc’s rare slightly emotional vulnerability. From then on, the jersey became a symbol that something was up with Laf and that the only place they would be found was that café.
After staring at Laf and reminiscing for longer than socially acceptable, Herc went up to the counter and ordered two different herbal teas: one for him to wake him up and the other for Laf to help calm their nerves. With tea in hand, Herc finally sat down across from Laf in the lounge. Laf looked up with a start. They had been lost in thought , and the look in their eyes told Herc that they were looking for a fight. Or at least, they had been. When they registered that Herc was the one sitting across from them, their eyes softened. When he pressed the tea into their hands, their eyes brimmed with tears. “Oh, mon meilleur ami, je suis tellement désolé. I ‘ope that you were not dragged from bed at such an early ‘our on my behalf.”
Herc reached over and wiped away the tears that Laf could no longer hold back. “Shh, hey, it’s alright. I couldn’t sleep anyways. Figured I would come get some tea and ended up finding my best friend instead. What’s going on lil’ Mulligan? You can talk to me.”
Laf struggled to find words in English. “I cannot make the words come out of my tongue right now. A moment?” Herc nodded, patting their thigh comfortingly. Laf wondered how they had been so lucky to find a best friend as accepting and perfect as Hercules Mulligan.
Laf had been afraid upon first impression of Hercules Mulligan. The hulking mass of a man that was Herc turned out to be a big softie who could talk fashion for hours at a time and would scream along to even the most obscure musicals. He had helped Laf realize who they really were.
Herc had been the first to switch pronouns, the first to show up in the dean’s office when Laf was being picked on for wearing the clothes they felt most comfortable in, the first to throw a punch when someone at the local bar mis-gendered Laf on purpose, and the first to show Laf any kind of acceptance since their parents had passed away. Herc held Laf when he was crying in his arms, murmuring things in French that he would never understand. Herc had been the one who cleaned their wounds when they won bar fights they had no right being in. Laf used to joke that if Herc were single and not straight, they would propose on the spot. When Herc’s idiot (now ex) girlfriend cheated on him, Laf had taken care of him, just like Herc had taken care of them. They had emailed professors and coaches, picked up assignments, and dutifully shown up to games to make sure Herc knew he was loved and appreciated.
Their whole friendship had been mutually beneficial, and Laf had never expected to find that with anyone else. Herc had convinced them to sign up for rush their sophomore year, and the rest had been history. Now here they sat. Weeping in their favorite café over what?
“Herc,” Laf started putting thought into getting the H on his name, “I think I ‘ave fallen into love. With a boy I met three days ago. And I am scared. I don’t believe in love upon seeing someone. I don’t even really understand love. But I really like ‘im. But Lee told me that ‘e’s pretty sure there is a bylaw about brothers dating brothers. And John wants to join our ‘ouse more than anything right now. And I just want ‘im to be ‘appy. So I didn’t talk to ‘im all day yesterday. My head won’t stop screaming that ‘e couldn’t really be into a freak like me anyways.”
Laf refused to meet Herc’s eyes. Herc grabbed Laf’s hand and gently ran his larger thumb across Laf’s smaller fingers in a comforting way. “Let’s break this down together, ok?” He waited for Laf to nod. “First of all, you are not a freak. And if someone called you that, I will kick their ass into next semester. Second, love is weird. Maybe don’t tell him you love him so early, but it is ok to feel strongly for someone. John seems like a good kid, if not a little quiet and a little strange. You are the perfect one to help him come out of his shell. Have you seen him smile around you? It’s not the same smile I see around anyone else. Thirdly, there is absolutely no such bylaw. Lee can go suck his own dick. If his big heard that he had said that to you, his ass would be grass.”
Laf didn’t know exactly what that phrase meant, but laughed softly with Herc regardless. They checked their phone and saw that they had a message from John.
[From: Just John <3] received at 8:11 AM: Hey Laf! Didn’t hear from you yesterday. Figured you were busy with your side of rush. Want to get lunch? My treat.
Laf looked towards Herc. “ ‘e wants to take me out for lunch. Should I go?”
Herc snorted in a relatively undignified manner. “Laf, you have been pining about this dude for like 4 days. Please go. You and John won’t know what you have until you feel it out. Besides, tomorrow is bid day. When their little squad joins the house, it will be better for y’all to have had one on one time to get to know each other. You might want to change though.”
Laf looked at the glimmer in Herc’s eyes and cautiously asked, “Why should I change?”
“As much as it would amuse me, I doubt you even you could get laid with another guy’s name so prominently across your shoulders.”
Herc managed to sidestep Laf’s playful swat and just smirk at all of Laf’s defenses of his innocence and how he wasn’t as easy as Herc seemed to think. They gathered their stuff and shot a quick text back off to John confirming lunch. Herc was going to walk them back to the house and help them get ready for the date. “It’s all going to be ok,” thought Laf happily as they exited the café with their best friend.