Work Text:
Mack wasn’t sure exactly what he expected when he landed at Logan Airport but it wasn’t Will Vote in a hoodie and sunglasses looking smug as shit. Maybe if it had been a different Will, the Will who was so closely tied with Will Vote, he wouldn’t have felt as dejected as he did stepping out of the gate.
Will Vote walked over with a stupid smile on his face and leaned in conspiratorially way too close to Macklin that he had to take a step back.
“Woah- Your chauffeur is here, Celly.” It’s clear Voter is surprised by Mack’s taking a step back, Smitty was always more touchy, but Macklin couldn’t bring himself to really care right now.
“Will didn’t say you’d be here.”
“He didn’t want you getting an uber or something.”
Which sounded like something so quintessentially Smitty that it made Mack smile ever so slightly before he pushed it down in favor of not being rude to the brunet who’d actually come to this insane airport to pick him up.
“Uh- thanks. For picking me up.” Mack runs a hand through his hair and starts walking through the airport, keeping his head down somewhat just in case people are looking.
“‘S not a problem. He wanted to be the one to do it but…”
The words shouldn’t hit Macklin the way they do but he has to push back the tears that welled up in his eyes, knowing exactly what Will was referring to. Instead of trusting his voice to not break, which he didn’t trust in the slightest, Mack opted for a smile nod.
This seemed to satisfy the older man and they walked mostly in silence, which Mack appreciated because it meant he didn’t have to think about what he’s saying or what others want from him. After a few minutes though Voter starts talking about whatever he, Smitty, and their other Boston friends have been up to this past month or however long Mack had been gone. It had been too long and that was all he knew.
Mack tried his best to pay attention to what Will was saying, it was only polite after all, but with the loud buzz of the airport around them and everything that came with being in an airport it took a lot for Mack to just breathe. He hoped that Will wasn’t saying anything too important.
Getting out of the massive building and into Will Vote’s car is all Mack wants right now, and he’s grateful as the brunet guides him through the crowds. As much as he hates the crowds it’s probably for the best that there’s this many people so the two of them can fade into the anonymity so many people provide.
Feeling fresh air on his face lifts some of the weight off Mack’s chest and when he gets in Voter’s car he rolls the window down to keep the fresh air going. He’s thankful Will doesn’t question it as he starts the car and they start down the highway, a quiet falling over the two of them again as Voter drives. Mack might have thought to get a conversation going to seem like he wasn’t ungrateful or being rude but right now he didn’t think he could muster up much more; and if he knew Smitty he hadn’t sent Voter to pick him up without talking to him first.
The Smith’s house comes into view sooner than Macklin thought it would and he feels a bit more of the weight on his chest lift at just the thought of being with his Will soon. They’ve shared plenty of texts and phone calls but there’s nothing like actually being in the same room as Will, at least in Mack’s opinion.
Voter doesn’t even get to stop the car before Mack’s unbuckling and scanning the porch for Will even if he hadn’t seen the blond anywhere the entire way up the driveway.
“Thanks again, Will”
“Wha- Yeah o’ course.”
With that Mack practically jumps out of the car, making sure to grab his bag out of the backseat, and he’s just around the side of the car when he hears the front door open and Smitty steps out of the house.
The look on Will’s face is pensive until he finds Mack and he seemingly switches to the version of Will he knows his boyfriend needs. His shoulders fall and he opens his arms, giving Mack a small nod and a soft smile they both know is reserved for the brunet.
Mack stares at Smitty for a moment, perhaps almost half expecting him to be out doing something with how busy he'd been recently, before he’s thundering up the porch steps and throwing himself into Will’s arms.
“Hi Mackie.” Will’s voice is so soft that Macklin wants to use it as a blanket for his frayed nerves as he buries his face in the crook of his boyfriend’s neck.
“Hi,” he mumbles as Will’s arms wrap around him.
Will chuckles fondly under his breath and waves to Voter, who’s only just getting out of the car, before he guides Macklin inside the house.
Colleen calls out in greeting and Macklin returns it, not wanting to be rude since he was staying in her house after all, but he doesn’t pull away from Will as he does so. After a month and a half apart Mack doesn’t want to let go of him unless he absolutely has to, Dickie and Toff’s chirps about them being codependent be damned.
Once they get to Will’s room Mack heads directly for the bed, shedding his shirt and pants as he goes. Will smiles fondly and shakes his head, grabbing a worn out Sharks branded shirt from his closet and tossing it to Mack before climbing into the bed as well.
Mack sighs as he rests his head on Will’s chest, their bodies curling around each other like they always seemed to do. He feels Will’s hand thread through his hair and his eyes flutter closed, the remnants of the pressure that had been on his chest lifting now that he’s home.
Anywhere Will was constituted as home for Macklin.
“You awake, superstar?” Will asks after gently kissing Mack’s forehead. It’s a stupid question, it almost makes Mack roll his eyes, because Will knows Mack isn’t asleep. They know each other's bodies too well for it to be any different.
“Yeah.” Is what Mack offers back, curling even more into Will as his boyfriend wraps an arm around his waist and pulls him closer.
Will hums softly and continues playing with Mack’s hair, his eyes occasionally drifting to the top of the brunet’s head as he tries to be as comforting for him as he can be. He smiles softly when Mack finally wraps his arms around Will’s neck and he kisses Mack’s forehead again, knowing sometimes he just needed silence instead of probing questions.
“I really thought we had it,” Mack mumbles against Will’s chest after about 15 minutes of silence between them and it breaks Will’s heart.
He knows how much Macklin wanted Worlds to work out this year, especially after the Olympics and with being given the C even after Crosby joined the team.
Will sighs softly and his hand that was running through Mack’s hair moves down to cup his jaw, his thumb brushing over Mack’s cheek but not forcing his boyfriend to look up at him.
“I know you did baby,” he whispers. “I know.”
Will’s learned over the couple of years they’ve known each other that when Mack does talk about his feelings it’s best to let him do it at his own pace, that he needs the time to process and actually think through what he’s going to say before he actually says it.
“We- I know we didn’t have the same roster that we did at the Olympics, but all the guys there deserved it and worked so hard to get there, Will. We were clicking and things were working, except on the power play which… is still frustrating, and we weren’t good enough.”
The last few words come out in an almost desperate whisper and Will can hear the tears Mack is fighting to hold back. He knows Mack needs this release, though. That he needs to get this out of his system and have it processed before they continue with their summer.
“You guys won the first eight games,” Will offers.
“But we lost the two that really mattered. When it came down to it we weren’t good enough. Again.”
Macklin lets the tears fall now, being both tired of holding it together and exhausted from the flight and the jet lag.
Will brings his hand back up to cup the back of Mack’s head and he presses a long kiss to his forehead, letting his own eyes close as he holds back the want to go and throttle something.
Because he knows Mack doesn’t deserve to feel like this, that Mack and the rest of Team Canada did their best even after the Bouch injury and the obvious frustrations.
But he also knows that Mack does feel like this right now and he can’t change that. So, Will will hold his boyfriend for as long as he needs it; or even longer than that.
“You were good enough, Mackie. I promise.”
Macklin sniffles and cries a bit harder at that, his fingers grabbing at Will’s hair at the nape of his neck. Will’s heart breaks a little more but he only holds Mack tighter.
“I know, it sucks. It really really sucks. But you captained Team Canada, not just anyone can say that. Only, like, superstars can, which you happen to be.”
That gets a weak laugh out of Mack but it makes Will smile, it’s at least a laugh. A real Macklin Celebrini laugh, music to Will’s ears.
“I don’t know what I’d do without you, Will.”
Will gives a small smile at that and squeezes Mack’s waist momentarily before tilting his head up just enough for Will to be able to see his face.
Mack’s eyes are red and puffy and there’s tear tracks on his cheeks but Will thinks he’s still the prettiest person he’s ever seen.
“I think you’d do just fine.”
“No, I’m serious,” Mack says with a small pout that makes Will kiss him. It’s a slow, gentle kiss like ones they’ve shared before. A kiss that says everything for them.
Will pulls away and brushes a piece of Mack’s hair out of his face.
“Well it’s a good thing you’ve got me pretty good, huh Mackie?”
Mack gives that a breathy laugh and kisses Will again with a nod.
“Yeah, I suppose so.”
They settle under the blankets and talk about random things for a while before Mack eventually falls asleep in Will’s arms. For his part Will watches his boyfriend sleep peacefully and starts a plan in his head for how he’s gonna make the best few days great for Mack.
Before he falls asleep himself Will kisses Mack’s forehead again and whispers a soft, “love you, superstar.”