#271 projects

will gives mack a confused look. ‘wait. i’m not like reading this wrong, right? like. you’re. uh. gay?’

mack must give will a disturbed look because will suddenly cringes, exclaims: ‘you were listening to wham!’

'when?'

'when we met! upstairs, outside the bathroom. you were very naked and listening to wham!'

mack narrows his eyes at will, says dryly: 'i think you're making some very stereotypical assumptions about me. it's so upsetting. i might have to tell my brother.'

it's all worth it for the way will flushes, embarrassed, ashamed. it's the first time mack's really seen him lose his cool and it's hilarious. mack just wants to tease, wants to pick at him until the thread comes loose, until he glimpses what's beneath that unshakeable exterior.

pt 1

aahshshhs thank youuuuu so much 🥹

pt 3

Yeah, so, Mack's got a problem.

And it's a boy-shaped problem. Got blonde curls and a summer tan. A toned, athletic body. He's got a goofy fucking grin, all teeth, and he laughs more than he talks. Giggly like a teenage girl. His eyes are blue. So blue. And a lot of the problem is that his eyes are always trained on Mack. Always fucking staring. It's starting to bug him out, to be honest.

So, Will is Mack's problem.

Will Smith. Aiden's friend from college.

Will, who is somehow slotting into their summer vacation, staying at their home in Vancouver for two weeks. Will, who is the perfect, charming kid his mama fawns over and the kind of athletic type that his dada can hold a conversation with. RJ's taken to him, too. Following him around like a shadow until Aiden tells him to leave them alone. Charlie is about as enamoured with him as she can get. She says 'good morning' to him when he slouches into the kitchen in the morning, curls all tousled and mouth cracked open around a yawn. So, yeah, he's in Charlie's good books too.

But Mack - to Mack, he's a problem.

Because Will comes down, sleep-softened and smiling, and pulls the seat out next to Mack at the table. Aiden's still in bed, still sleeping, and that's one blessing, that he doesn't have to witness this shit. Because Will gets his cereal, thanks Mack's mama with a gravelly voice when she slides him a mug of coffee, and then he knocks his knee into Mack's under the table.

Mack jerks away. Scowls at him and stabs his spoon into his soggy cereal like he might impale it on the rounded end if he tries hard enough.

But Will touches him again. Knees knocking together, then away again, then back together. And Mack doesn't say anything because, like, his brother and sister are right there. And his mama is floating around, getting coffees for her and Rick.

And Will is warm. His skin is warm where he presses his leg right up against Mack's. Mack's shorts are shorter than Will's, so he feels the hem of them, a little itchy against his thigh. And then, where they've ridden up a little, the warm, firm muscle of Will's quads, pressed up so purposefully against Mack's.

Mack twitches away. Not as far as when Will first knocked his knee to Mack's. But away enough. To, like, get away from him. Kinda.

Whatever. The third time Will does it, it's when Robyn's left the kitchen, humming to herself. And Charlie and RJ are arguing about taking the kayaks out.

This time, Mack doesn't move away. He stays stock still. Just - just because. He doesn't want Will to think he's a pussy. Doesn't want him to think he can't take a bit of teasing. And also, Will has nice legs. They're especially nice when they're squished up against Mack's.

Will leans into him, turns so his lazy grin is solely directed at Mack. 'Morning, princess.'

'I told you to stop calling me that.'

'You like it, I think,' Will says, kind of smug, like he doesn't think it at all, like he knows how much it makes Mack squirm. Like he knows Mack came fast into his fist thinking about it in the shower that morning: that warm, deep voice in his ear, princess, Will's tan legs in his shorts, how it might feel to grind against the firmness of them, fffuuck. He's going to get hard again. Will elbows him, 'don't frown. You're not a morning person, huh?'

'I am actually. I'm just not a you person. Your presence is putting me off my cereal.'

Will snorts, ignores him. Asks: 'You gonna swim with us after lunch?'

Mack shrugs, noncommittal, but yeah he is. It's his pool way more than it is Will's. He doesn't need a fucking invite.

'Good. 'Cause I'm gonna need someone to get my back.' When Will sees the look of abhorrence on Mack's face, he smiles sweetly. 'Don't worry, baby, I'll get yours.'