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Spring brings Shawn and Cory back to Philly for the first time since Christmas.
He hadn’t seen Jack since he wasn’t in Philly during the holidays, and though he knows that he obviously lives with Eric, he’s not really sure that Eric had told him about the fact that he and Cory are dating.
He’s a little nervous about that if he’s honest because he kinda feels like he should’ve gotten to tell him, on the other hand, Jack wanting to go to the game with them knowing that he and Cory are dating would mean that he isn’t facing potential rejection.
And … he doesn’t know how he’d handle that.
“You okay, Shawnie?” Cory asks, concerned as he pulls the trailer into the lot by their apartment.
“Yeah, yeah, I just … do you know if Eric told Jack about… us?”
Cory blinks. “He said he figured you’d wanna tell him, but it’s Eric, he could’ve let something slip.”
Shawn nods and takes a deep breath. “Okay, alright, yeah. I just… I realized we’ve been together for months and I haven’t – haven’t told Jack.”
Cory parks and turns to Shawn. “If you’re not ready to tell him, I understand and I can talk to Eric about –”
“No, no, I’m not… hiding you … I’ve never been happier with anyone else, and I – I can’t imagine asking you to hide,” Shawn interrupts. “I just – I needed to prepare myself to tell him. And – and I’m – I’ll be glad that I get to tell him.”
“But you don’t have to tell him right away, the game isn’t until tomorrow, we can have dinner and ease into it like we did with my parents,” Cory offers, and Shawn feels better.
“You’d be okay… working up to it?”
“Of course,” Cory assures him. “It’s my turn to support you in coming out in your own time, and I will always do that. Always support you.”
Shawn gives hm a smile and squeezes his hand. “Thanks, Cor.”
***
Shawn spends another ten or so minutes hyping himself up before he nods at Cory, and they make their way inside. Cory’s giving him encouragement in the elevator but if he’s honest, he doesn’t hear a single word. He’s just focused on that door that used to be his door.
“Ready?” Cory asks, but as Shawn nods, the door opens.
“Cory?” Topanga asks, uncertainly, having opened the door and clearly on her way out since she’s got a backpack on over her shoulder. “Shawn, what are you doing here?”
“Uh, we’re here to see Jack and Eric,” Shawn says when Cory doesn’t respond. He looks as if he’s frozen for a second. He wasn’t anticipating seeing Topanga at all, ever, and had no desire to, so it’s probably left him off kilter. “This is their apartment, are you living with them now?”
“No, Rachel assumed Jack would give her the apartment, we fought for it, and won,” Topanga states as if Jack giving up the apartment his stepdad paid for would make total sense. “But I’m glad you’re here, Cory, we – I – I wasn’t sure how to get ahold of you, your parents and Eric weren’t really interested in helping, but I was thinking that I made a mistake and if we could talk about it –”
“No,” Cory finally says, blinking as if he’s thawing out.
“No?” she asks, looking confused. “Cory, I can’t get into it now, but I’m sure –”
“No, Topanga,” Cory states. “I have no interest in talking to you now, almost a year later, when you didn’t give me the curtesy of more than a five-minute conversation after years of dating and a year of being engaged. No, you had your chance, you lost it. Come on, Shawn, let’s go find our brothers.”
He turns on his heel and walks into the elevator.
Topanga looks like she wants to ask him to talk some sense into him, but Shawn has no plans to try because there’s a part of him that kinda wants to stake his claim on him rather than help Topanga in any way.
“You heard the man, gotta go.”
Shawn barely makes it into the elevator before the doors close, but he catches the shocked look on Topanga’s face like she dreamt of the moment that they were reunited, and it would go just like every other moment where she decided that they could get back together.
Except this time… Cory said no.
The second that the doors close, Shawn moves to kiss him, and Cory welcomes the kiss. They don’t have long but having his boyfriend’s lips on his feels good after that.
Unfortunately, the doors open before they break apart and he hears: “Shawn? Cory?” breaking them apart.
“Jack, uh, hi,” Cory says, nervously when Shawn is a bit frozen.
Jack sounds confused as he stands beside a gleefully grinning Eric, with his mouth slightly open.
“Uh, hi,” Jack says, blinking confusedly.
“Well, this is awkward,” Eric says, still grinning and pulling on their arms so they aren’t in the way of other elevator users. “We forgot to tell you about the move, so we figured that we’d haunt the hall until you arrived, but it turns out you’re making out in the elevator!”
“Eric!” Cory warns, maybe because he thought Jack somehow missed it, but Shawn knows that he didn’t.
It seems to have jarred the Hunters out of being frozen.
“Right, uh, we were thinking of having lunch at Chubbie’s and then, we could come get the trailer and bring it by our place?” Jack offers. “Figured you guys can crash in the guest room.”
Shawn nods when Cory looks at him. “Yeah, sounds great.”
***
The car ride to Chubbie’s was awkward to say the least even with the spring weather blowing through the windows of Eric’s nice car and Eric chattering on and on about the big fight with the girls (how they lost the apartment) and finding a new place with Jack’s stepdad’s help (though he’d been angry enough to contact the landlord about the girls stealing it and Jack had to talk him down).
“The new place is better anyway,” Eric is saying, but Shawn is focused on Jack’s constant check on him through the mirror.
“How come you didn’t say anything at Christmas?” Cory questions, picking up the conversational ball when Eric’s chatter finds comes to a close.
“There were more interesting things to talk about,” Eric says, giving them a look. “Speaking of…”
“Eric,” Cory warns, but Shawn coughs as Jack pulls into the lot.
“No, it’s okay,” Shawn says, deciding to just cut the crap and get an answer on if his reaction is one of rejection or acceptance. “Jack, Cory and I have been dating since we saw the leaves fall in Vermont and if you’re not okay with that, then tell us now and we’ll –”
“Is that why you didn’t tell me?” Jack interjects as he throws the car in park and turns in his seat. “Because you thought I was some homophobic asshole?”
“No, but the look on your face and awkwardness around us –”
“I was surprised, Shawn,” Jack interrupts, loudly. “I haven’t seen my little brother in nearly a year, and I see him making out with a boyfriend when the last time I checked you were hurting over Angela and I just…” he trails off, looking hurt.
There’s a wave of relief that passes through him. “So, you’re… okay, then? It’s kinda a long story, but…”
“Of course I am. You’re my brother, I came to Philly for you, I – do you really think I’d just abandon you?”
Truthfully, yes, Shawn thinks. After all, it’s clear to him that most people in his life have abandoned him in a way. His father always leaving, his mother skipping town, Jack never answering his letters.
When it came to family, Shawn is used to getting the worst.
Used to the worst fears come true.
But he can’t tell Jack that, Cory would definitely understand, especially the way he’s subtly grabbed his hand and squeezed it lightly.
“No, I just – we’ve been lucky. And you – you weren’t looking particularly accepting when you saw and …”
Jack deflates. “Yeah, yeah, that makes sense. But I was – I’m not that guy, okay? You’re my little brother and I’m happy for you as long as you’re happy.”
Shawn looks at Cory with a smile and grins. “Yeah, I’m pretty damn happy.”
“Good.”
“Awesome! Everyone’s happy, now let’s go get some food!” Eric cheers bouncing out of the car to laughter from everyone.
“Yeah, let’s.”
***
It’s later, hanging out in Jack and Eric’s living room that the girls, Topanga in particular, comes up.
Cory hadn’t exactly considered that she was still around. Still in Philly. Still … friends with Jack and Eric.
“It was a shock to see her,” Shawn admits. “I still can’t believe you let the girls steal your place.”
Eric shares a look and says, “Yeah, well, we didn’t put up too much of a fight. We figured that it wasn’t really worth it and it’s better not to make them homeless or something. But I shoulda told you guys so you didn’t have to see her. You shouldn’t have to see her if you don’t want to.”
Cory coughs. “Yeah, well, I’d be fine seeing her if the first thing she’d said didn’t have I made a mistake, let’s talk as if assuming that I wouldn’t have moved on with my life. I want – she was a good friend, but we weren’t a good couple.”
“Yeah, judging by your stories, Shawn makes you much happier,” Eric offers, reaching over and ruffling Shawn’s hair. “And you’ve already been like a little brother to me, so now, I get to really treat you like one.”
Shawn laughs. “Like you didn’t already. Don’t you remember all your stupid dating advice.”
“It’s not stupid just because it doesn’t work on Cory.”
They bicker and joke and Cory shares a look with Jack, who looks a bit sad.
“What’s wrong, Jack?”
Jack shakes his head a bit. “I, uh, I’m just realizing how much I missed out on and how much I’m still missing out on now that you two have quit school to travel.”
Cory can see how much Jack’s been missing Shawn, but he doesn’t exactly want to come back to Philly, especially since he’s not sure about running into Topanga. (It’s not that he wants to get back together with her – he doesn’t – it just brought up a lot of awkwardness that he’d rather avoid).
“What if you and Eric joined us this summer,” Cory offers. “It’s not like we work all the time, most of the time we have like a weekend working and then days off to enjoy the nature around us.”
Shawn and Eric stop their bickering to look at him and Jack.
“You’d want us to join you, Cor?” Eric questions. “Kinda thought our last cross-country joyriding didn’t go so well.”
Cory shrugs. “Yeah, well, things are different now and could lead to brotherly bonding, right?”
“As long as you don’t run out of pants and underwear,” Eric offers, jokingly.
Jack snorts out his drink, as Shawn roars with laughter. “I forgot that story. How did you not notice that?”
“I wasn’t – I don’t look down there, okay?” Eric defends, but Cory, too, had to wonder how they made it that far into the drive without him noticing. It was hilarious to wonder about now, but he desperately wanted some pants and underwear, and Eric was desperate to not go home. The chaos of that will never be forgotten. “I’m not you.”
“I was not checking Cory out at that time, I didn’t even figure out I was bi until senior year,” Shawn counters. “Or into Cory.”
Cory raises his eyebrows as Eric asks, “It really took you that long?”
Shawn huffs. “It’s not always obvious, okay?”
“Wait, you – you liked me then?”
“Yeah, Cor,” Shawn says, turning to him. Giving him a soft look that still somehow says how did you not know?
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because you were a mess after the Lauren thing and pining for Topanga, so certain about the two of you and – you needed your best friend to not be in love with you,” Shawn admits. “Plus, I was a little confused. I had … some things to sort out.”
Cory hums. That was fair, he’d probably not react well, anyway.
He leans over and kisses his cheek. “I don’t like change, so I probably wouldn’t have reacted well, even though it seems obvious now.”
“Some things just need time,” Jack offers. “But back to the question – I think we’d have a lot of fun this summer.”
“Shawn? You in?”
“Yeah, let’s do it.”
“Good.”