of course Voter is there with Will. and for some reason, we don't appreciate his haunting presence enough, but I think his relationship with Will being so unnoticable on daily basics is what makes it so dangerous and painfully beautiful.
because he's not Gabe. he's not Leno. he's not one of these two guys Will shares such a big spotlight in the fans' eyes. he's the part of life Will kept a little bit more to himself, a guy who knows his place in Will's life and doesn't have to openly fight for it, because he already has it stable and secured in Will's heart.
it's the guy who's always somewhere next to Will, with this quiet confidence of someone who had known him for ages and is sure that will continue knowing him for another long ages. it's the intimate friendship between two people not even remembering lives without each other properly, with all the strong feelings of devotion blooming through the years instead of fading away.
and there's Mack, who always had only his family and hockey, and teammates. Mack talking about never building relationships. Mack finding Will, slowly learning the beauty of having your own person in life, with all the happiness that is the part of it, but also the strange possessiveness of what if someone will take it for me? i need to hold it, hold him close, dig my claws deep, not allow anybody take away the happiness coming in a form of a person i just tasted.
and then, in the middle of that, is the haunting feeling of knowing that there is still someone who was there before, someone his person belonged to before they even met, someone having a stable ground in his person's heart. Voter's presence is not quite the same as Gabe's and Leno's. they might be something he could already copy with. on the other hand, Will Vote might be something Macklin will never be able to fully reach, never be able to pull Will out of it or at least push himself in there to stand between, or at least with them. there's a thick wall separating him for the boy who has a special place in Will's heart and Will's life. Mack's playing for Canada, far away in Europe while Voter is just existing in the domestic bubble with Will, because that's just what they do, spending a peaceful summer days with Will, something Macklin can't afford.
