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There were a lot of things Alex was learning about his boyfriend Willie, the Olympic figure skater and guardian of two younger siblings who he befriended at his hockey team’s practice rink.
First, figure skaters had a lot of costumes and hair and makeup products. He thought his and his roommate and teammate’s Reggie’s bathroom was cluttered, but Willie had more products than Alex knew existed. While his own skin routine consisted of a respectable face wash and cream to help his inevitable dry skin from being on the ice so much, Willie had cleanser, serum, moisturizer, sun cream (wait, should he be wearing sun lotion in the rink?), and a combination of eye creams that Alex was certain Willie was too young for. Then there was the foundations, eyeshadow, mascara and at least three kinds of lip products. There were straightening products (“helps to keep my hair up"), volumizers (“but sometimes I like keeping my hair down, the fans love it”- so did Alex), and so much hair spray.
Their closet was a treasure trove of old costumes, skates, skate supplies, workout clothes, duffle bags, and work clothes for Willie’s various jobs at the rink (‘it’s not just the concessions, I do ushering and crowd control, ticketing, and even housekeeping if Jim needs to call out to take care of the kids’).
“But what about when someone needs to take care of your kids?” Alex had asked. "Or you know, you?"
Willie immediately stiffened. The skater’s life had turned upside down when their parents were suddenly killed in a car crash and they became guardian to their younger brother Jaden and teenaged sister Carly. Their figure skating career was put on pause while instead, Willie obsessively worked as much as they could to bring in income, figured out how to get their siblings through school- and grief- and tried as hard as they could to keep custody when so many adults were convinced he couldn’t do it.
After befriending Alex and the rest of the L.A. Phantoms, Willie found the village he needed to get not only the kids but himself back on track and now, they were finally able to start competing again. Alex had been warned by Willie’s sister that he could become a lot during training time as he went into ‘Willie Mode’ and hyperfocused on competitions. He could understand the hyperfocus, Alex had been there himself, especially during playoffs, but nothing could compare him for this.
Willie was at the rink daily earlier than anyone else in the building to get in extra practice time, and they were often headed to the gym to workout after work while the kids played on their tablet and phone. If the two got to hang out, it was a gym meetup, where Alex learned that a figure skater’s cardio and strength routine was nearly as grueling at ice hockey. It was a bit worrisome to realize just how often Willie did this routine, considering they were also working a full-time job on their feet all day- and rarely stopped to take breaks and often forgot to eat. Alex took it upon himself to start taking Willie a plate of food from the Phantom’s catering, or to make them a meal from his own meal prep. He found himself ‘accidentally’ making too much so Willie could take some home for the kids.
“Alex,” Willie told him firmly one day, “between the pasteles from Victoria, the leftover nachos and burgers from work, and the Sunday casseroles that Janet from ticketing ‘practice makes’ to test out for church potlucks and gives for the kids to try first trust me, the kids are getting more than enough to eat. It’s very sweet and I appreciate it, but you don’t have to go through the trouble.”
“So you’re getting enough to eat while training?” Alex challenged. “Three square meals, protein, carbs, and veggies?”
Willie squirmed. “I mean…when I remember to?”
Ah. So that was the disconnect. Instead of showing up with food, Alex took to sending Willie friendly reminders via texts and gifs to make sure to take breaks- and loaded Willie’s many phone alarms up with even more phone alarms. When Willie admitted the system helped, Alex felt relieved.
A week before competitions Caleb, Willie’s coach and owner and general manager at the arena, insisted Willie take a week off- paid leave- to focus on training. The idea seemed perfect, except it also meant Alex saw less of Willie and slowly, heard even less from them via texts.
When the calendar ticked days since Alex even heard from Willie, he decided to go old school and show up at the Ortega’s doorstep.
“Heyyyy Alex,” Carly greeted awkwardly. The fourteen-year-old opened the door only enough for Alex to see her face and proof of life. “Willie is uh, busy…”
“Ow!” Willie’s voice cried from the hall. “Jaden! How many times do I have to ask you to take your laundry upstairs?!”
“Sorry!” Jaden’s voice squeaked. “And uh…I think the pizza is done. Beyond done maybe.”
“Shit!”
Sure enough, Alex smelled smoke and that was it.
“Carly. Move.”
“You’re the one blocking the fire route!”
He practically pushed her and Jaden both outside to safety while he ran for the kitchen.
“Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Willie was shouting as they punched the counter beside the now very burnt frozen pizza.
“Hey,” Alex called gently as he rushed over to turn off the oven and check on Willie. His heart skipped beats when he noticed Willie’s hand was shaky and red. “Hey, it’s okay. Here.”
Carefully, he led Willie over to the sink to run the burnt hand under cool water. While Willie was doing that, Alex turned on the fan over the stove and cracked open the kitchen window and patio door.
"How is it?" Alex asked when he came back over to check his partner's hand.
"I think I'll live," Willie grinned, "though I wouldn't say no to a kiss to make it better."
Alex was more than happy to do just that before planting a gentle kiss to Willie's forehead for extra comfort.
“I’m sorry,” Willie said shakingly. “I’m sorry, I forgot to set the fucking timer. I could have burnt down the whole house. Are the kids okay?”
“They’re safe, they're on the porch,” Alex assured him. “I wanted to make sure they were out of the way, in case things were bad in here.”
Willie looked up, touched by his words…and then frowned. “Wait, when did you get here?”
Alex let out a long breath, fighting the urge to respond with ‘don’t you mean, thanks Alex for making sure I wasn’t dead in a fire and also, sorry I have ignored your texts for three days?’
“A few minutes ago. I hadn’t heard from you in awhile. I just wanted to make sure things were okay.”
They turned off the water and dragged a still-shaky arm over their face.
“I’m fine. I mean, I was until I nearly burnt my own kitchen down making fucking pizza. But I’m fine, really. It’s just…”
Hesitating, Willie’s eyes dashed around the kitchen and dining room. The kid’s lunch bags were opened on the counter, with a pack of sliced bread opened beside them but left out along with an open can of jelly as though Willie had forgotten he was in the middle of making lunches for the next school day. The calendar on the fridge was still turned to the last month. Dishes were stacked in the sink, laundry was piled on the table along with a litter of homework and textbooks.
“A lot?” Alex suggested. He offered his friend an encouraging smile. “Of course it’s a lot, Willie. But that’s why you have me and the others, we want to help. And I’m here so, how can I help?”
Finally, Willie’s façade faded.
“I don’t know where to begin,” Willie confessed, “I’m so in over my head. Between work and the kids and getting ready for the Olympics…it’s too much. It just hit me today that I don’t even know where the kids are going to stay while I’m gone. I was gonna ask Ray if he could watch them, but he’s going to the games with Caleb to do photography and now…I don’t know. Plus the kids are disappointed because they usually at least go to the Opening Ceremonies, but there’s no one to watch them. There’s barely even anyone to watch them while I train. This is so fucking hard. I just…I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.”
“Why don’t I watch them?” Alex blurted out without thinking.
Shit. What was he doing? He had never taken care of kids on his own for more than a few hours, let alone three days. Let while traveling. But Willie’s eyes widened with so much hope that he couldn’t take it back.
“Really?” Willie asked. “You would do that? I mean, it’d be great but I know you’re busy…”
“Nah,” Alex replied. “We play at home this week, and I have three full days off. I can bring the kids to the rink game nights, the Wags can help keep an eye on them. They’ve been desperate to know how they can help.”
“Wait…seriously?”
Willie had gotten to know some of the Wives and Girlfriends (and boyfriends) of the players through hanging out with the team, and many of them really did often stop Alex to ask if the Ortega kids needed any hand-me-downs or spare school supplies.
“And if Willie ever wants to hang out with you to celebrate a win, we would be more than happy to keep the kids over for a sleepover.”
The wink Alex was given made him blush as pink as his hoodie. Admittedly, they had taken the Wags up on that deal once or twice.
“Seriously!” Alex promised. “For real, whatever help you need. I can help you get the house together so things are ready for the kids to be here with me for a few days. I can help you pack, whatever you need. And if things get out of control, I got so much back up I can call in. But really, we’ll be fine. You should get to focus on you for once. This is the Olympics we’re talking about.”
And, Alex knew there was extra pressure and grief involved, since it was Willie’s first competition without their parents.
“Yeah,” admitted Willie, “it’s a lot of pressure. It kind of would be nice to have some extra help.”
Alex beamed. “Then I’ll be your Mary Poppins. You know. If Mary Poppins was a gay hockey player who had a bag full of dirty gym clothes instead of trinkets.”
Willie snorted. “Well, Mary, maybe we should figure out dinner first? And clean this up.”
They looked around helplessly at the smoke-tinged kitchen, clearly dreading having to still cook after all of that.
“I’ll order in something,” Alex offered, getting out his phone. “What do you think the kids would want?”
They looked up at each other. Oh shit. The kids.
Carly and Jaden were not impressed to have been left out on the porch for that long.
“We thought you had actually died in a fire!” Jaden whined.
“And yet you didn’t call the fire department or ambulance or anyone?” Willie pointed out.
Sirens sounded in the background and Carly and Jaden both put on their biggest ‘remember how much you love us’ smiles.
“Shit,” Willie paled, “you did call them.”
“On the bright side,” Carly pointed out, “we’re all alive!”
She did jazz hands in celebration while Willie dropped their head to Alex’s shoulder in defeat.
After the fire department was satisfied that the ‘house fire’ was some minor kitchen smoke they checked out Willie’s hand and volunteered to change out the smoke detector batteries (‘those definitely should have gone off. Be sure to change them out, daylight savings are good times to do it. And your kitchen fire extinguisher is expired.’), Willie, Alex and the kids waved the crew goodbye and let out collective sighs of relief. He didn’t tell Willie, but Alex had walked the fire fighters back to the truck to ask a request privately:
“Hey. About insurance and billing. Can I um, give you and the ambulance guys my address to send any invoices to?”
If any of the team recognized him, they did a good job of hiding it.
“Nah man,” one of guys grinned, “those kids did he right thing calling us. We didn’t even have to put anything out, no one went anywhere in an ambulance. You’re good, don’t worry.”
He winked at him though in a way that gave Alex the impression that the team was going to make sure that this stressed-out single guardian and their kid siblings weren’t going to pay a sent with all they had on their plates. Either that or they recognized him as an L.A. Phantom player and weren’t about to bill him. Alex made a mental note to make a generous, anonymous, donation to the local fire department either way.
“Okay, listen up,” Willie announced as they all filed back into the house. “Alex is gonna hang out here for a bit to help me out while I get through the last of Olympic training. And he’s going to stay with you guys while I’m out of town.”
“You mean, on the days we’re not at the Olympics, right?” Carly asked. “Because we still get to go see some of the days our very own sibling is competing in the most legendary games of all time, right?”
Willie hesitated at first, looking to Alex for help. Obviously, they had been overwhelmed at the idea of having their kid siblings at the Olympics to look after, even with Alex’s support, but Carly had a point, they definitely deserved to go cheer their sibling on.
“I promise you, I’ve got this,” Alex told Willie. "You helped me, now it's my turn to help you."
He would forever appreciate how much Willie helped him with his panic after the head injury that nearly traumatized him from ever stepping foot on the ice again. He knew what it was like to feel overwhelmed, out of your depth, and alone. Willie deserved help just like he got.
“Yeah!” Jaden jumped up and down. “Alex has got this.”
“We can go for the Opening Ceremony and first games,” Carly summarized, “then back to school to make sure we don’t miss class.”
“And then back for the closing!” Jaden pleaded. “Please Willie? Please please pretty please?”
Jaden and Carly both did their best puppy dog eyes, and Alex joined them.
“Okay,” Willie sighed dramatically, as though they were ever going to be able to say no. “I guess we’re all going to be at the Olympics this year after all.”
“YES!” The kids hi-five each other and did a happy dance that the adults couldn’t help but to grin at before joining in.
The next morning, Alex woke up at Willie’s insanely early wake-up call time for training of 5AM so the two could change cars and get what they needed out of their vehicles. It was a problem they didn’t realize they had until Alex woke up thinking of it in the middle of the night: his two-door Lexus wasn’t exactly kid-friendly, nor was it registered with Jaden’s school. So Alex would take Willie’s mini-van and the skater would take the Lexus. All he needed from his car was the gym bag he kept hidden in the back under the emergency blanket. It was all that was even in his trunk, actually.
Willie though…
“Holy…shit…” Alex breathed when Willie popped the trunk.
The trunk was stuffed floor to ceiling with every kind of gym bag, container, hockey bag (Jaden’s), old back packs, soccer balls and basketballs for park trips.
“Is that a whole skateboard?” Alex yelped.
“Oh yeah,” Willie grinned as he proudly retrieved the board from being wedged between a box of figure skating costumes and what looked like Carly’s raincoat. “I don’t ride as much as I used to. I wondered where I left that. I think leg warmers I need are just under here…”
He tried to tuck something that could have been leg warmers out from under the box instead of simply picking up said box, which Alex did promptly to help him. That’s when he saw the shimmering gold.
“Is that an actual Olympic Medal under here?!” Alex cried. “Just…casually stuffed under a bunch of shit in your trunk?”
Willie frowned. “It’s not shit, it’s like, important stuff from training. And old stuff from competitions. And a bunch of the kid’s stuff that has probably been in here since my parents’ asked them to move it out years ago and…yeah, I see your point.” He shrugged. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”
Alex’s jaw dropped as he watched Willie casually pick up the medal and set it on top of another box in the car trunk like it was a cheap necklace from the mall.
"And this isn't the Olympic one, it's from the US figure skating championships."
Willie admired the medal for a full second before handing it over to a stunned Alex.
“I have more where that came from. You can keep if you want.” Willie smirked as they grabbed a gym bag and giant water bottle from the car, as well as a paperback horror book. “That’s where I left this thing. It’s been due at the library for like, months.”
Alex shook his head. “How do you live like this?”
With a fluttery laugh, Willie slapped a hand on Alex’s shoulder, clasping his muscle with a grip that sent his heart skipping beats.
“It’s called organized chaos, man. And also, ADHD.”
PhantomPain: You know how I always joke that living with you is like raising a child?
SaveAHorseRideAHockeyBoy….yes 😐
PhantomPain: So…I owe you an apology.
Adult Famous Rich Reggies were nothing like preteens and teenagers. Not only did the kids have school, Jaden’s hockey practice, chores and meals to be fed, they each had their own routines and problems. Like the struggling math grades Jaden hadn’t told Willie about yet or how Carly was secretly staying up in her room and no one had noticed because Willie was out like a light for the night the second his head hit the pillow.
He genuinely didn’t know how Willie had been doing it. Just Willie’s own schedule alone would have done him in, and he was saying that as a professional hockey player.
“Jaden has to be at school at 7:50am, but the bell rings at 8:15. The carpool line is insane and traffic is even crazier so trust me, drive like you need to get there by 7:20 and you’ll be on time. Carly takes the bus. Jaden needs to take his hockey stuff with him because he has practice right after school. His friend’s mom will take him but he’ll need to be picked up by 5. Carly has a math test tomorrow that she has to study for no matter how much she doesn’t want to, and she has to remember to bring her math textbook home with her. Remind her that. There’s plenty of bread and peanut butter for sandwiches and chips and stuff for lunch in the cupboard. Waffles for breakfast, but Carly doesn’t like to eat breakfast at the moment because it makes her nauseous. She says she handles it fine but there are cereal bars hidden behind the flour in the cabinet. Sneak one into her back or she’ll be starving by second period. There’s some chicken tenders in the freezer and broccoli you can steam and some rice…somewhere. Please don’t order fast food they do not need to get spoiled on that and for the love of god, they need to eat a vegetable. Oh, and laundry is way past due for Jaden if you don’t mind working with him on that. Any questions?”
Alex’s heart was pounding as hard as it did during overtime play as he scrambled to take down notes.
“Yeah, uh…where does Jaden go to school?” Alex asked.
Willie looked super stress to realize Alex didn’t even know that much, because of course he didn’t yet. “This is a bad idea. They’ll wonder why you have him. If anyone sees a random stranger besides me dropping him off…”
“Willie,” Alex called gently, placing a supportive hand on his friend’s shoulder. “All those families are going to be paying attention to their own kids. If anyone asks, I’m a friend who’s helping out. You can sign a note and call the school with a message telling them I’ll be taking Jaden this week if it makes you feel any better. I’ve got this. When will you be home, by the way? Should I save you dinner?”
The skater’s face melted, and Alex realized it must have been far too long since someone offered to save Willie leftovers for after practice.
“I’ll be pretty late so I’ll probably pack some ramen to take with me,” Willie replied, “but uh, that would be great.”
Alex frowned. “You’re taking ramen? That’s it? Dude you’re like, training for the Olympics! I thought you said you guys were good on food.”
“We are. I mean, the kids are,” Willie shifted anxiously. “But I’m off work for training, and even if I’m off paid, I still gotta save that money because I’m about to travel and-"
Alex placed a finger over their lips. “You, go upstairs, take the longest shower ever, start to pack for the freaking Olympics, give me an hour and you will have more than just ramen to eat tomorrow. I promise.”
Willie looked a little too desperately hopeful that Alex could pull that off- it was heartbreaking to see. This guy needed a break so, so bad. He needed someone to take care of him, and Alex was happy that he got to be the one to do it.
“Okay,” Willie agreed. “But no-“
“Spending a bunch of money on you, I know,” Alex told them. “I still think it’s weird to not take advantage of a rich guy who wants to be taken advantage of-“ he blushed at how that came out, “I mean uh…I respect your wishes. Go, I’ve got this.”
An hour later, Alex was proudly admiring his containers of veggie fried rice, ramen, and breakfast bowls (broken up pieces of waffle and eggs but technically, in a bowl so, it was fancy). He even found a frozen banana that had been thrown in the back of the freezer for god knew how long, saved for banana bread he was sure and combined it with the last of frozen blueberries so Willie could have a smoothie. He took a photo of his proud meal prep setup and sent it to Willie. When there was no response by the time he finished the dishes, Alex went upstairs to check on the three Ortega’s. Jaden was asleep with the light on and handheld video game in hand; Alex carefully placed the game on the kid’s desk but kept the light on, knowing Jaden was prone to nightmares in the dark. Carly’s lights were off but the obvious glow of screen light under covers told him she was reading under the covers on her phone. Alex gave her a five minute warning, expertly ignoring her groan of protest before moving onto Willie’s room.
“Willie?” He called while rapping his knuckles on the door.
When there was no answer, he pushed the door open. There was his Olympian, sprawled out on the bed top of an array of clothing Willie had half-packed into a suitcase. He had fallen asleep packing. A soft smile crossed Alex’s face as he draped a blanket over his sleeping partner and turned the lights off.
Proof of child at school, Alex texted Willie.
It was Jaden’s idea to send a selfie of him with his favorite teacher at the drop off lane to send to Willie to reassure them the youngest made it to school safely.
“Have a good day!” Alex sing-songed out the window. “Oh wait, don’t forget your lunch!”
Then it was time to start his morning routine. Alex had to admit, he definitely felt thrown off with his days focused around multiple other people with their own routines. It felt nice to head to the gym for his usual private workout, to physio, to jump on a call with his agent, and finally home to Willie’s to make lunch. He blast some Bowie while picking through the cabinets and fridge for anything passable as lunch food- didn’t they just order groceries?
He managed to find a can of black beans and another of diced tomatoes, but something was tucked behind the cans…another fucking medal, this time from the World Championships.
What is actually wrong with you? Alex teased as he sent the picture to Willie.
FigureMeOut: Oh shit. Yeah, Carly used to hide that one for fun to see if we’d find it. Guess I never found it the last time.
PhantomPain: …………most kids just play hide and seek.
FigureMeOut: Yeah, well, my family is special 😊
Shaking his head, Alex gave up on cooking lunch and ordered a burrito. The no ordering food rule didn’t apply to just him, right?
While he was at it, he ordered a fill in grocery order so they’d all have food to get them through the next few school days. Then they’d go from there once Willie was headed off to the Olympics.
The Olympics.
This was all too surreal. Truthfully, he didn’t know a lot about figure skating at the Olympics so he turned on some of the pre-Olympics coverage while he ate and almost immediately, got overwhelmed on Willie’s behalf.
There was his boyfriend, on national TV, with his face plastered up there as the poster child of the winter Olympics.
“Ortega will be returning to the Olympics after taking time off to grieve the loss of their parents. It will certainly be a mix bag of emotions for the fan-favorite headed into the games this year. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.”
Anxiety cursed through him, and Alex had to turn the coverage off. The idea of using Willie’s grief as a soundbite infuriated him- but the realization of just how hard not only physically but emotionally this Olympics would be for Willie hit him like a truck. Here he was acting like this week was about going through motions- being there to get the kids to school and keep the house together while Willie traveled, as though they were going out of town for a simple competition. He wasn’t sure he had appreciated enough what Willie must be going through. All he knew was that he was relieved and proud that Willie had been brave enough to agree to him helping out. Least he could do was make it worth Willie’s while.
He spent the rest of the afternoon picking up the house, folding any clean laundry he found and washing what he could. He restocked supplies in the kids’ bathroom and changed the sheets on Jaden’s bed. He didn’t even want to know how long it had been since those were washed. Alex also didn’t dare go into Carly’s room (“go in there without my permission and you die” she had warned).
By the time he picked Jaden up for school, he had a packing list for him and the kids, confirmed their travel plans with the travel agent Caleb set them up with, and planned out a rough schedule in his agenda for the days leading up to the opening ceremony.
After picking Jaden up, it was straight to the rink- where the kids were just a little ecstatic to have a pro hockey player in their midst. (Alex had called the coach ahead of time to give the heads up he would be dropping Jaden off and offered to do a session with the kids, as there was almost no way he would fly under the radar of a bunch of pre-teen hockey kids). And it felt good, seeing a kid who wasn’t at all related to him be so proud to introduce him and talk endlessly about how cool he was. He had met tons of kids in his hockey career, had signed countless posters and jerseys. It was different though, developing a relationship with one of those kids. Becoming something of a…fun uncle. He never imagined he would have this in his life, and he wouldn’t take it for granted now that he did.
Just like that, two hours later and Alex was heating up the veggie chili he pre-cooked for dinner. Thank you, past Alex. Willie was later than he expected, and when he checked his phone at 9PM and there were still no signs, he considered texting the SOS number in his phone for Caleb. Then right on cue, Willie walked in, looking bone tired as they dropped their bag and skates in the foyer, tossed their keys in the general direction of the keyring on the wall and simply leaned back against the door. Too exhausted to even make it to the couch.
Alex knew that look. That was his post tough loss look. When he and Reggie practically had to carry each other up to their apartment and collapsed on the couch for a long cuddle and snooze before eventually trudging off to their respective rooms.
“Hey,” Alex greeted cautiously. He swallowed. “Hard day?”
The figure skater nodded.
“I just…I’m not ready.” Willie looked as crushed as Alex felt hearing that. “I only have one day of training left, there’s just no way. I’m not perfect enough.”
“You know everyone’s going to be proud of you know matter how you place, right?” He offered softly as he walked over.
“It’s not just about the gold, Alex!” Willie proclaimed. “My coach counts on me, my team, my sponsorships. This is how I make money. Like, most of my money. I can make more in two weeks of sponsorships than I can in two months working at the rink. If I blow this, I won’t get that opportunity. I won’t have people wanting to work with me next competition season.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure you’re like, Caleb’s poster child-"
“Now I am. But if I let him down after everything he has done for me,” they shook their head, looking on the verge of tears. “Then there are my siblings. This isn’t just me trying to be successful so that I can afford to live. This is their futures. It’s paying for Jaden’s hockey lessons and Carly’s clothes and both of their life savings. It’s making sure we can afford to eat and I dunno, do things as a family every now and then. It’s healthcare and cavity fillings and car repairs and there is just so much I’m responsible for, Alex. If I lose my career, we’ll be even worse off. I can’t not be perfect. And today…I wasn’t perfect at all.”
He rubbed his left arm in a way that told Alex it was definitely bruised and sore.
“Injury?” Alex asked in a gentle voice, nodding toward their arm. Reluctantly, Willie nodded in confirmation.
First, he went to get Willie an ice pack, Tylenol, and big glass of water. Despite the injury and most definite real struggle today, Alex had a sneaky feeling that this was all mental. He had seen Willie skate, they were fire on the ice. They were art. Willie just needed someone to believe in him enough that it would convince himself he was still worth rooting for…and their parents weren’t here to do that anymore, which didn’t help.
“Come here,” Alex whispered.
He reached out for Willie’s hand and fluttered when that soft palm collapsed into his. Willie limped with exhaustion and soreness that Alex knew came from new bruises that battered their body, all in the name of doing what they loved. He led Willie to the kitchen table and set up his laptop in front of them, made sure they took the pain meds and situated the ice pack appropriately and sipped on the water. Alex kissed the hurt elbow just like he had the burnt hand, then cued up to a compilation they saw from Olympic commentators who were very excited about the Willie Ortega returning to the ice.
“Watch,” Alex instructed.
His partner's own life danced in the reflection of their eyes as Willie watched the edit of clips, from their first competition as kids, to photos of them with Caleb, holding up ribbons and medals, to the winning routines from the previous Olympics.
Welcome home, the ending header read as the video froze on a photo of Willie grinning ear to ear, Olympic medal in hand.
“You are good enough,” Alex told them. “You are perfect, Willie. You’re so perfect that your brain has created this new ridiculous level of perfect to achieve, but you’ve done this before.”
“But that was before-“ Willie’s voice broke, “that was before I lost everything. And now, I just don’t know if I can’t do this on my own. Any of it.”
Their head hung low and Alex shifted a chair over so he could sit by Willie.
“Can I touch you?” Alex whispered.
Willie nodded and finally, finally Alex wrapped his arms around them. His heart leapt as Willie accepted the hug and buried their head into Alex’s shoulder. The soft cries from his friend broke his heart, but Alex held them tight to support them through it.
“You had a hard day,” Alex told them, “and you’ve had a really hard year, and none of this has been easy. Yeah, you have more on your plate than ever, but you’re not alone. You’re a good big sibling. You knew how to accept needing my help. You’re a good sibling Willie, you love them so much. But you and I both know they won’t forgive you if you run yourself to the ground and beat yourself up because you don’t think you’re perfect enough. You’re perfect enough, for them, just by being there for them.”
“He’s right, you know,” Carly’s voice spoke up. With a gasp, Willie jumped away, doing a bad job of pretending like he wasn’t crying. His sister rolled her eyes. “Come here, you big dork.”
Jaden was beside her at the foot of the stairs, and Alex melted as he saw the small family share a big hug.
“We love you,” Carly declared, “no matter how many sponsorships you get.”
“Though if you could get one for a car like Alex drives, that would be awesome!” Jaden teased, effortlessly making Willie laugh and Alex beam.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Willie grinned. “Thanks, you guys.” He turned to Alex. “And thank you, Alex. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“You have no idea!” Carly informed them. “He cleaned the gutters! Did you know the gutters were supposed to be cleaned?”
Willie’s jaw opened and closed; Alex blushed.
“I mean…I saw my dad do it once,” he admitted, “it’s not a big deal. Plus it’s kind of fun, doing house things. Turns out all the cleaning and projects works wonders for my own anxiety.”
“I’m not sure that’s necessarily a good thing?” Willie teased. “But thanks. You’re welcome to come clean my gutters anytime.”
Jaden snorted; his sister nudged him, hard, in warning, making both of the adults blush harder. Shaking his head, Willie took a look around the kitchen- and froze.
“Wait, where did all the crap go?”
“You mean the mail that needed to be sorted, trash that needed to be taken out, and dishes that needed to be clean?” Alex asked. “Done, done and done!”
“And we have food ready for the whole week!” Jaden said, practically bouncing over to the fridge to reveal Alex’s meal prepping. “Even the vegetables aren’t bad.”
“Woah,” Willie looked shocked. “You really are Mary Poppins.”
“I try,” Alex beamed.
“He also got all the travel plans sorted,” Carly explained, “and helped us start packing.”
“During which I found another medal, by the way,” Alex chided. “It wasn’t even out of the packaging! Plus like, two hats, a headband, Olympic sunglasses, and not to mention and entire Olympic hoodie that had fallen in your closet behind the suitcases.”
“Yeah…” Willie scratched the back of their neck. “I need to be better about that.”
“I’ll say!” Jaden agreed. “So to help you, we did this!”
He and Carly went over to the couch by the living room window and dragged from where it was hidden behind it, a picture frame collage that not only now proudly showed off Willie’s Olympic medal but past competition ribbons and medals, along with some amazing photos of them and their family celebrating. The headband had been folded so it fit into a frame. There was a new picture of Carly and Jaden, decked out in some of the old Olympic clothing they found.
“It was all the kids’ idea,” Alex told them.
“I…” Willie wiped away at a tear. “I don’t even know what to say. Thanks, guys.”
He pulled his siblings into another hug, and the kids opened their arms to let Alex join.
“Oh alright,” Alex said, pretending to be reluctant. As though hugs weren’t his favorite.
A family hug. He could get used to this.
“And all your homework is done?” Willie asked as the hug broke up. The kids rolled their eyes and nodded. “And you’re mostly packed up?”
“Yes, already!” Carly promised.
“I won’t even forget underwear this time,” Jaden assured him. His eyes lit up. “Oh, which reminded me, this came for you!”
He and Carly rushed over to the tiny closet by the foyer and pulled out a big box that had shown up on the porch for Willie when they got home. Carly had told Alex what is was, and he still couldn’t quite believe it.
“Oh hey, the merch box is here!” Willie’s eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas.
“You know what that means…” Carly pulled out her phone. “TikTok unboxing video time! Please please pleaseeeee?!”
“Okay, okay!” Willie gave in. “Let me shower and eat real quick.”
“YES!” The kids cheered as they took rushed upstairs to get ready for the video.
Willie turned to Alex again and reached out for his hand, sending his heart beating in double time.
“Thanks again,” Willie told him. “I’m really glad I have you in my life.”
And in that moment, Alex would have given anything to kiss Willie. But they weren’t there yet, and Alex had to respect that. No matter how kissable Willie looked right now.
“I’m really glad I have you in my life too.”
They hugged it out again and Alex decided the warmth and comfort of an embrace was more than enough for now.
“Now come,” Alex prompted, “eat!"
Willie's eyes lit up and he swore he heard the skater's stomach growl at the sight of veggie chili, a whole dish of cooked tofu to add into it, with crackers to top it off. "Woah!"
He wasted no time woofing down the chili, eagerly awaiting the second bowl like he hadn't eaten properly in days. Alex made them both a yogurt bowl for dessert before sending them upstairs to shower while he took care of the dishes.
"Go, get ready," Alex prompted. "I wanna find out what’s in that box already."
Willie grinned.
“Let’s just say you should get ready to find way more Olympic stuff in random places around the house…”