harls bothering wyatt | 02.25.26
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
No title available

Product Placement

izzy's playlists!
trying on a metaphor

Kiana Khansmith
TVSTRANGERTHINGS

No title available
Show & Tell

Andulka
No title available
Sade Olutola
ojovivo
One Nice Bug Per Day
YOU ARE THE REASON
will byers stan first human second
he wasn't even looking at me and he found me
KIROKAZE

pixel skylines
todays bird
seen from United States
seen from Spain
seen from Spain

seen from United States
seen from United States

seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom

seen from United States
seen from Malaysia

seen from Brazil
seen from United States

seen from T1
seen from France

seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Serbia
seen from United States
seen from Türkiye
seen from Japan
@semprestars
harls bothering wyatt | 02.25.26
pre-game: thomas
nsfw (oral fixation)
this is a long one, fair warning
when wyatt’s alarm goes off, thomas wishes for the sweet release of death. while sleeping next to wyatt never fails to help him feel more rested, he is exhausted down to his dna. he lets out a long, truly pitiful groan, burying his head into the back of wyatt’s neck. wyatt turns off the alarm and for a few blissful seconds, thomas deludes himself into thinking they can spend the rest of the day, the rest of their lives, in this bed. wyatt, on the other hand, is in game day mode. he sits up, turning to look back at thomas with a small smile before heading off into the bathroom. thomas lounges for a few more minutes then drags himself from the warmth and comfort of sheets that smell like wyatt to go make breakfast.
morning skate is pretty uneventful. mostly because the guys are struggling to make anything happen. wyatt and a few of the other guys are in their heads, hyperfocused on the game later. thomas and the rest are too damn tired and are attempting to conserve their energy for tonight. when they make it back to the locker room, everyone showers as quickly as they can, eager to get home and take a nap before they have to be back. thomas catches wyatt’s eyes as he gathers his stuff, sees the question in them, and nods.
the ride back to wyatt’s is silent. when they arrive, wyatt immediately goes into the den to put film on to review. thomas veers toward the kitchen. wyatt always gets a chef during playoffs to meal prep for him, so making lunch is a simple matter of heating up carefully measured portions of protein. thomas can hear the film playing, knows that wyatt is sitting on the couch, leaning forward, fully immersed, despite having already seen the footage probably a million times. he brings his plate to him, and they eat in silence. wyatt watches the film, thomas watches wyatt. he notices the way his brow seems to grow more and more furrowed. how tight is jaw is. how stiff his posture is getting.
thomas cares about hockey. it’s practically his whole life. he loves it, even when it doesn’t necessarily love him back. but his overthinking and anxiety comes after the games. going over every single time he touched the puck, every penalty, every missed shot. sometimes, the overwhelming feelings will come on mid-game but for some reason, he is pretty calm before. sure he gets a little nervous or worried, sometimes excited. but all manageable. wyatt becomes a different person before the games. no matter how big or unimportant the game is, wyatt is like a machine who’s only purpose is to stress about hockey. thomas has watched it for years, has tried to help before, but this time, it’s different.
he grabs the remote off the coffee table and turns the tv off, causing wyatt to whip his head accusingly in his direction. “come on,” thomas says, grabbing wyatt’s arm. “rest. now.” wyatt opens his mouth to argue, but thomas shakes his head and pulls him along. “just for a little while. all the game film in the world won’t help you if you’re exhausted on the ice.”
they climb back into wyatt’s bed, facing each other this time. thomas lets his hand drift up to wyatt’s cheek, tracing his thumb over his cheekbone, ignore the feeling of wyatt’s horrible playoff beard against his palm. “sorry, i just-”
“i know,” thomas interrupts. “don’t apologize. just…rest, okay? just for a little while?” wyatt nods. and thomas closes his eyes, letting sleep drag him under.
when he wakes up, he reaches absently across the bed, his fingers closing on empty sheets. he cracks open an eye and finds wyatt’s side of the bed abandoned. he sighs, pushing himself up and grabbing his phone off the nightstand. wyatt must have plugged it up when he snuck out of the room. he checks the time. a decent nap with plenty of time before they have to head back to the aac. he rubs his face roughly, trying to wake himself up, knowing he’s gonna need to be on his best game when he leaves the room.
he makes his way to the den and finds wyatt pacing in front of the tv, the game film on, but muted so as not to wake up thomas. he watches from the hallway as wyatt paces one way, looks up at the tv, and then turns muttering to himself about what he saw. and then again. and again. back and forth. thomas lets him get five more reps in before stepping into his path. wyatt jumps, completely lost in his brain. he looks awful. he’s been biting his lower lip, his hair is completely unruly and he’s got a bit of a crazy look in his eyes.
“you’re up,” he says, looking guiltily from thomas to the tv and back. “i’m sorry, tom, but i couldn’t sleep.”
“are you okay?” thomas asks.
“i’m fine,” wyatt says, shrugging. he looks to the tv just in time to see a goal being scored by the avs and he lets out a scoff. “whatever, like that’s so impressive. i mean, it’s just that…”
and suddenly wyatt is ranting. his words are fast and angry, to the point of near incoherence. thomas tries, he really does, to keep up but wyatt is moving between thoughts nonsensically, the flow of his conversation perfectly illustrating the spiral that’s been going on his brain all day. thomas isn’t sure how long he talks, but the longer it goes on, the more worried he gets. this season has been wyatt’s best and he knows that people are relying on his friend in an extreme way, so the light break from sanity isn’t surprising. that doesn’t mean thomas has to like it.
eventually, wyatt stops to suck in a deep breath. “i have to shower.” he mutters, then continues his rant. thomas follows him to the bathroom, his breath catching when he walks in to find wyatt stripping his clothes off without much thought. thomas stares, greedy and struggling for breath, and makes a conscious effort to ignore his growing erection. wyatt climbs in and turns on the shower. the sound of the water drowns out his voice so that thomas only catches a word or two but he stays in wyatt’s line of sight. even with the hot water steaming up the glass door of the shower, thomas can see enough to drive him crazy. it’s nearly impossible to stay focused, his attention drifting and catching on wyatt’s body every few seconds. which is why, when wyatt sticks his head out of the shower and says, “hello are you listening to me?” thomas nearly jumps out of his skin.
“yeah, yeah of course, it’s just kinda hard to hear over the water.” thomas says, crossing his arms over his chest.
“okay so then come in here.” wyatt says, like it’s so obvious. like it’s nothing. thomas takes a deep breath. he’s trying to kill me. “come on, tom, i need your thoughts on this part.”
in absolute awe that this is his life, thomas abandons his clothes on the floor and steps in to the shower with wyatt, standing behind him. close, but not touching him. he forces himself to listen to wyatt; to focus on hockey; to answer wyatt’s questions and match his musings with his own. he takes the soap from wyatt with barely any skin to skin contact, manages to actually wash himself and answer wyatt in intelligent, full sentences. he completely ignores his now painfully hard dick, because the last thing wyatt needs right now is to add thomas’s desire to his overcrowded brain.
it takes a while but eventually wyatt tires himself out. he trails off on a sentence and then lets out a deep sigh, and tilts his head back letting the water flow over his face. thomas waits a moment, making sure he isn’t just preparing his next monologue and then tests the waters. “i think that might be a new record,” he says quietly and wyatt chuckles.
“i think you’re right,” wyatt responds, and he sounds more like himself. “holy fuck i’m ridiculous.”
“well if it makes you feel any better, i don’t think the length of time you talked is the most ridiculous thing to come out of this.” tom mutters, his eyes falling on wyatt’s ass mere inches from his still hard dick.
“really? then what is?” wyatt says clueless and fucking adorable, leaning back. thomas steps forward without thinking, letting wyatt’s head fall back against his chest. the only problem is that brings wyatt’s body into contact with thomas’s. wyatt lets out a surprised noise and stands back up, spinning to face thomas. “oh fuck, tom, i’m sorry! i didn’t even think…oh my god, wow okay yeah, you’re right. i’m ridiculous and i’m so fucking sorry. i am just so in my head.”
“shhh, it’s fine.” he turns wyatt back around, in part so he can let the water wash over his face again and also so he doesn’t have to look at thomas’s erection while he’s spiraling.
“i don’t know why i feel like this. it’s so much worse than it’s ever been. i feel like i’m going crazy.” wyatt mumbles, his head tilting back and then snapping up again. thomas steps forward and pulls him gently against him again, standing a little awkwardly to avoid contact below his chest. if wyatt is annoyed or uncomfortable with thomas’s situation, though, he sure isn’t showing it. he just leans further back, propping himself up with thomas. wyatt’s mouth is slightly open, water trickling into it and every so often he takes his bottom lip or the inside of his cheek between his teeth. “even now my fucking brain is reeling. what’s wrong with me that i have a hot as fuck guy naked and hard behind me in the shower and i can’t stop thinking about face off percentages?”
“you’re passionate.” thomas says, “nothing wrong with that.”
“something wrong with me.” and now his thumbnail is suffering through his teeth.
“don’t say that.” thomas says, his voice firm. he reaches around to grab wyatt’s wrist. “and don’t bite your nails.”
wyatt sighs, chooses to bite his lip again instead and then leans back further into thomas. his ass brushes thomas’s dick, and suddenly an idea pops into his head. his breath skips a little, and he opens his mouth to offer it to wyatt but then stops himself, mulling it over, trying to look past the initial thought to the motivations behind it. wyatt senses the change in him and tilts his head so he can look up at thomas from his resting spot on his chest. “what is it?”
“i, uh, well i had an idea, but i think it was stupid and probably super wrong and selfish.”
“what’s the idea?” wyatt asks curiously, unaware of the war raging in thomas’s brain.
“well, it was actually more of a theory.” thomas says, and now wyatt is standing and turning to look straight at thomas. “just something i thought might help.”
“let’s do it.” wyatt says immediately.
“well…” thomas falters, suddenly feeling a little nervous that this might be too far. but wyatt is chewing on his lip again. “do you trust me?”
“what? of course i do.” wyatt says instantly. he brings his hands up to either side of thomas’s neck.
“no, i mean like really trust me. like you know i wouldn’t force you to do anything you didn’t want to do or anything you aren’t comfortable with. and that no matter what i would always take your comfort and boundaries more seriously than anything else. you know that, right?”
“yes, i know all that,” wyatt says, “but i will admit this is kind of freaking me out.” he brings his thumb back to his mouth, and before he can start biting it thomas has made up his mind.
he grabs wyatt’s shoulders and turns them, guiding him gently on to the stone bench set into the back wall of the shower. wyatt sits and looks up at him, and thomas has to turn his back for a moment. he takes a second to turn off the water, gathering himself and then turns back to wyatt. “i want you to stay still, okay? this isn’t about me. i have a theory about something that might help you calm down. at least a little.” wyatt’s eyebrows furrow a little but he nods. “open your mouth wyatt.”
he does. instantly. and thomas wants to drop to the ground and kiss the ground around his feet. that level of trust is more intoxicating than any drug on planet earth. he has to take another minute to regroup and wyatt just stays sitting, mouth open waiting patiently. thomas approaches him slowly, reaches out to run this thumb along his cheekbone, then his jaw and finally his lip. wyatt’s tongue pokes out to meet his finger and thomas’s theory gains a little traction. he slips his thumb into wyatt’s mouth and wyatt closes it instantly. he runs his tongue along thomas finger, bites it gently, sucks. “open again please.” wyatt does hesitate this time, a sort of panic entering his eyes. “it’s okay. i know. trust me.” slowly, wyatt opens, allowing thomas to slip his finger out.
he takes a deep breath and grabs the base of his cock, rubs the head against wyatt’s bottom lip. wyatt whimpers and moves his head to take thomas into his mouth, deep and fast, but thomas places a hand on his shoulder and pushes him back as gently as he can. “no, that’s not what this is, wyatt. remember just stay still. i’m not doing this so i can cum. i mean, let’s be honest i will, but that’s not what it’s for. this is part of my theory, and i promise it will make sense. just…just stay still okay?”
“okay,” wyatt says, in a small voice, looking up at thomas from beneath his eyelashes.
thomas starts again, rubs the head of his cock against wyatt’s lip and then pushes it slowly inside. wyatt whimpers as soon as the weight hits his tongue. “close your eyes,” thomas says through a grunt. wyatt does and thomas pushes a little further into wyatt’s mouth. he stops with more of his dick out of wyatt’s mouth than in, but this isn’t about him. as crazy as it may sound, it really isn’t. he braces himself with his forearm on the wall of the shower and watches as wyatt’s inhales though his nose become more even and measured. when his breathing turns normal for the first time all day, or at least as normal as it can be with your mouth full, he opens his eyes and looks up at thomas, who is watching everything very closely. his tongue runs along the bottom of his dick and thomas mutters a curse. “more?” thomas whispers and wyatt swipes his tongue over the head of his cock in answer. thomas pushes in a little more, gasping. it’s not hard to tell when he gets the perfect amount in because wyatt’s eyes flutter closed. thomas stills, letting his cock twitch in wyatt’s mouth, letting wyatt hold it there for as long as he wants. slowly, as thomas’s grip on his self control frays more and more, wyatt’s shoulder relax. the tension fades from his body, and he lets out a whimper. then his eyes slowly open and he looks up at thomas again, only this time there is no question hidden behind the blue. instead, there is gratitude. thomas registers it about one second before he registers that he is about to cum. his eyes widen in shock and he tries to pull away, but wyatt knows thomas just as well as thomas knows him, and he bobs his head forward, taking thomas deeper, the head of his dick brushing the back of wyatt’s throat at the same moment thomas explodes. wyatt watches thomas the whole time, and thomas feels like he might die. like this orgasm with this man might actually kill him.
wyatt waits until the last of thomas’s cum lands in his throat before he pulls back. he releases’s thomas dick long enough to swallow and take a few deep breaths and then he pulls it back into his mouth, just a little, running his tongue over it in different patterns, causing thomas to grunt and curse and his hips to jerk once or twice. they stay like for a while. even as thomas’s dick grows softer and his breathing returns to normal. wyatt’s eyes are closed again and every so often, he will whimper and run his tongue over thomas again. eventually, thomas, runs his hand through wyatt’s, hair, pulling his head back until only the head of thomas’s dick remains in his mouth. his eyes open slowly, and thomas smiles at him.
“as much as i want to let you take as long as you need, there is a possibility i will get hard again. and we do have somewhere to be soon.” wyatt sighs out of his nose and slowly opens his mouth. his head falls forward to rest against thomas’s stomach, and he is more relaxed than thomas has ever seen him before a game. “how do you feel?” thomas asks, lightly scratching his back.
“calm.” wyatt answers. “like someone muted my brain.”
“glad to know my theory was accurate.” thomas whispers, and wyatt laughs.
“i don’t fully understand what just happened,” wyatt mutters, shaking his head, his hair soft against thomas’s skin.
“you put things in your mouth a lot. especially, when you’re anxious. it’s a coping tool, i think. i don’t know the psychology behind it but i just thought maybe…”
“you were right. thank you.” wyatt says, and he stands, a little shaky but with a smile on his face. “should i feel embarrassed about this?”
“no.”
“okay, let me rinse off and then we can go.” wyatt says, placing a kiss on thomas’s chest before sidestepping him to reach for the water.
“rinse off? we just showered.” thomas laughs. wyatt turns to him, his cheeks almost as pink as thomas’s usual shade, and looks down, and that’s when thomas notices the cum on wyatt’s stomach. his eyes widen and he tries to remember seeing wyatt touch himself, but- “okay now that you should be embarrassed about.”
“shut up, tom,” wyatt orders. but thomas is smiling so wide he feels like his face might crack in half.
thomas teases him about it the entire way to the arena.
i mean completely untouched, johnny.
i didn’t even notice, how is that possible?
maybe it’s not about having something in your mouth at all, maybe my dick is magic.
wyatt groans and blushes. thomas grabs his hand from his lap and places a kiss on his palm to assure him he’s joking. they pause and smile at each other before getting out of the car. and a few hours later, they both have their best games of the season and the dallas stars have a spot in the western conference finals.
*ahhhhh sorry this took so long to post!! i’ve been toying around with how i would introduce wyatt’s oral fixation since before i even started publishing this. i just hope i did it justice. ik this one is long so i appreciate you guys reading it. i really hope you like it!! more to come!!*
actually having to work at work today so no writing rpf on the clock for me but i will be posting the next part later. it’s been in my head all day!! can’t wait to get it down
wyatt johnston - postgame
filler: thomas
thomas is smiling like an idiot as they board the plane back to dallas, the memory of his night with wyatt, the conversation they had this morning, and the knowledge that wyatt wants to be with him creating an intense and unshakeable feeling of euphoria. as he walks down the aisle of the plane in front of wyatt, it was like he could feel his presence there, like they had morphed into one being. thomas supposes it’s a bit ridiculous to feel like this after one blow job each, but he just can’t shake the feeling that it’s more than that. the same word that had been rolling through his head since he felt wyatt tracing his features this morning comes back to the forefront of his mind now. real. he had been honest when he told wyatt he had only been with a few people but all of those instances had been something inconsequential, a moment of weakness, a lapse in judgement, an oppressive horniness. other than his first time with his high school girlfriend, who he loved in a way that can only be described (in hindsight) as platonic, none of them had meant anything at all to him. he couldn’t even remember all of their names.
but this…no matter what label they put on it, no matter what it was now or what it became in the future, it is real. thomas likes wyatt. he feels connected to him. he knows him through years of teamwork and friendship, a solid foundation built on fondness, mutual respect, and then attraction. it’s real. as much as that surprises thomas, who has spent so long living in fantasy, it’s true. so when he finds his mind drifting near the edges of the positive force field inside his mind he repeats the words like a mantra. a drum beating in his brain. real. real. real.
he feels wyatt lower himself down into the seat next to him, his arm brushing against thomas’s and causing a bolt of electricity to fan out from the spot. he smiles down at his lap, feeling like a school kid with a crush. it isn’t hard for thomas to pretend that nothing has changed between them. they were close before, so if thomas leans into wyatt a little on the plane or smiles more brightly at him than anyone, well, that’s not all that unusual. again, thomas marvels at the fact that there is no awkwardness. now that they have both made it clear they want to continue down the path thomas started them on, thomas was sure there would be some adjustment pains. nothing extreme but maybe some awkward laughter or uncomfortable pauses. but so far, everything has been as normal as ever.
that is, of course, until tyler seguin plops down across from them, bags under his eyes and his signature shit eating grin on his face and says, “so boys, how did it go last night?”
wyatt, who unfortunately had taken a swig from his water bottle seconds before tyler arrived, coughs, choking and trying not to spit water over everyone. tyler’s eyes widen and thomas has to look out the window to avoid bursting into laughter. tyler has no such concerns though, barking a laugh when jamie comes up the aisle and stops to whack wyatt on the back a few times. wyatt gives jamie a thumbs up after a couple of more hacking coughs and then inhales large, greedy gulps of air. thomas takes a few deep breaths as well and turns back to the conversation, finding tyler with a huge smile, jamie with a confused expression, and wyatt looking absolutely terrified. “sorry, man,” wyatt says, clearing his throat one more time for good measure. “wrong pipe.”
thomas snickers and tyler looks between the two of them for a long moment. “well, shit, i don’t know how you do it kid, but i’m glad you can.” he says, and wyatt shrugs. thomas, feeling a little wild with adoration, reaches under the table that’s set up for cards between the two rows of seats and squeezes wyatt’s thigh. to his credit, he doesn’t even blink, although thomas catches a hint of a smile.
the flight isn’t long, just at two hours. they spend it chatting and playing cards, allowing themselves some time to relax. when they arrive back in dallas they pile on to the team bus for a “light” practice. the exhaustion of six hard games, multiple flights, and then the practice has caught up to everyone on the team, but the added element of a late night has wyatt and thomas dragging a little extra. thomas notices tyler and jamie seem to be feeling their age a little as they collapse in their lockers. thomas looks at his exhausted team and for the first time today, a little negativity finds its way into his thoughts. they look rough, haggard. roope is nursing an injury from the first round and is barely containing a limp as he makes his way to his locker. thomas is exhausted in a way he didn’t even know was possible. jamie is clutching at his ribs, shooting tyler a look that thomas interprets as we are getting to old for this shit. the fact that they didn’t have an extra day to rest, that the game that would decide whether they went to the western conference final or not was tomorrow, well it didn’t bode well.
thomas is a zombie through his shower and the drive back to his apartment. his body aches, his brain is muddled, and all he wants is to fall into bed and sleep for a month. but when he finally gets ready for bed and slips under the blanket, he finds himself staring at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep. “are you kidding me?” he says to no one. he tosses and turns, every minute that passes by feeling like a personal attack. his brain just won’t stop churning out worst case scenarios.
what if he has another bad game? what if they lose? what if the easy victory gave their opponents the confidence boost they needed to beat the stars? what if they win but someone gets hurt? roope is already hurt and one more game might push him past the point of being able to play. if that happened, there is no way they would be able to-
his phone buzzes on the nightstand and thomas reaches for it, blinding himself with the brightness after staring into the dark room for so long. he blinks until wyatt’s name appears clearly on the screen. and he’s out of bed, slipping on a pair of slides, and grabbing his keys before he even finishes reading the text.
johnny: do u think roope is gonna make it thru the game
thomas climbs into his car typing out a quick response before starting the engine.
tom: i’m not sure tbh he seemed pretty fucked today
johnny: ikr
johnny: idk tom i have a bad feeling
thomas pulls to a red light and sends another message.
tom: is that why you can’t sleep
johnny: i guess. brain won’t stfu
tom: maybe you need to take your mind off of it
johnny: it’s like 1 am.. how do you suggest i manage that
thomas smiles, pulling into a temporary parking spot in front of wyatt’s apartment building. he spares only a second on hesitation before jumping out of the driver’s seat and jogging up to the call panel beside the locked door. he’s visited the apartment enough to not have to search for wyatt’s, and he presses it, a loud buzzing disturbing the quiet night.
johnny: ur kidding right
thomas laughs at the message and waits until the pitch of the buzz changes and he hears the click of the door unlocking. wyatt’s building is pretty nice, with a lobby more similar to a hotel than anything, the night doorman/amateur security guard-fred-on alert as he hears the doors open. thomas always wondered why wyatt didn’t get a house. it’s not like hockey players in dallas are a-list celebrities or anything, but he knew for a fact there were a few stars fans in this building, fred included. to thomas, who was private to a fault, it seemed worth shelling out the extra money for more privacy. when he had brought it up wyatt had just shrugged, and said “oh come on, we both know fred is willing and able to risk his life in the line of duty.” with a smile on his face. thomas waves at the noble and self sacrificing fred as he approaches his desk.
“mr. harley!” he says warmly, sticking his hand out for a shake, which thomas returns, hoping he doesn’t look awkward as he does. “i didn’t know you were swinging by tonight.”
“neither did i,” thomas shrugs, “can’t sleep so me and jonny are gonna have a last minute strategy session.”
“oh, come on now, those colorado boys ain’t got nothing on you guys,” fred says, and thomas gives him a half smile.
“well, let’s hope,” thomas says, looking to the elevator that will lead him to wyatt’s floor. “oh, i left my car out front.”
“you going back out tonight?” fred asks
thomas pretends to think about it, hoping his cheeks aren’t pinking up in front of wyatt’s 60 year old doorman. “nah, man, i’m probably gonna crash here.” fred sticks his hand out and thomas drops his keys into them.
“i’ll leave a note for brian,” (the day guy), “and you can just grab them in the morning.”
“you’re a lifesaver,” thomas says, which causes fred to beam. again, thomas eyes the elevator. “so am i good to head up?”
“oh, sorry mr. harley, but i have to wait for confirmation from mr. joh-”
the elevator dings before he can finish and wyatt hurries off, shooting daggers at thomas on his way to the desk. “thanks, fred, you’re the best!” wyatt says, a little too enthusiastically. well at least fred is happy. he jerks his head towards the elevator and thomas follows him after throwing a quick farewell at the beaming doorman. wyatt remains silent until they are inside his apartment, but as soon as the lock clicks he whips around to face thomas. “are you out of your mind?!” he demands. thomas shrugs, hands in his pocket, trying to look properly scolded. wyatt rolls his eyes and then sighs, closing the gap between them to wrap his arms around thomas. thomas hugs him back, practically melting into his touch.
“you said you needed to take your mind off it,” thomas whispers innocently. and wyatt scoffs, pushing him away as he catches the reference.
“it’s late tom,” wyatt groans, even as he allows thomas to pull him close again. “we have to sleep.”
“i know that.” thomas assures him, moving his hands to the backs of his thighs, bending to get better leverage before picking wyatt up. he whimpers a little, wrapping his legs tight around thomas’s waist, and for the first time since he grabbed his keys, thomas is pondering the intelligence of this plan. because how the fuck is he supposed to ignore that sound? he carries wyatt to his bedroom, placing him on the bed carefully, pulling his shirt off before climbing in next to him. wyatt leans forward, as if drawn by a magnet, but thomas grips his waist and nudges him so he’s on his side. “sleep first.” wyatt rolls his eyes but allows thomas to adjust them both, pulling wyatt’s back flush against him, threading one of his own legs between wyatt’s, an arm between wyatt’s head and pillow. wyatt presses a small kiss on the inside of thomas’s bicep and not even five minutes later, both men are asleep at last.
5355 walk ins + take offs <3
the talk: wyatt
wyatt spent the night dreaming about thomas, and opening his eyes to the man’s serene face gave him a weird sense of vertigo. almost like he had never woken up at all, and he was going to get to spend the rest of his life living in a dream. he didn’t move, barely breathed, taking in every inch of the face he had seen almost daily since they met, feeling a little like he was seeing it for the first time. has he always looked like this? wyatt found himself thinking. he’s beautiful.
it’s a corny thing to think, but there it is, at the forefront of wyatt’s brain as he watches thomas sleep peacefully inches from his own face. he’s pretty tangled up with him, but he lifts his free hand to his friend’s face, using his pointer finger to lightly trace his features. his eyebrow, his cheekbone, the bridge of his nose. he touches him softly, reverently, like he’s touching an ancient manuscript or a priceless painting. thomas smiles when his finger brushes against his lips, but he keeps his eyes closed. let’s wyatt finish his exploration. eventually wyatt’s finger stills, and thomas’s eyes flutter open. it hits wyatt hard, right in the chest, seeing the adoration in them.
“hi,” tom whispers, his voice rough with sleep.
“hey,” wyatt whispers back. “sorry if i woke you up.”
“it’s okay,” thomas grumbles, stretching largely and then pulling wyatt closer as he relaxes again. “probably the first time in my life reality is better than my dream.”
“what were you dreaming about?” wyatt asks, tilting his head back to get a good look at his face from where it’s nestled into thomas’s chest.
“you. this.” thomas sighs.
“that doesn’t make any sense, tom,” wyatt laughs and even with his limited view of his friend’s face, there is no missing the sight of his dimple.
“sure it does. this is real. real is always better.
there goes that feeling again. like someone just punched wyatt directly in his heart. but…in a good way. “i don’t think i’ve ever slept that well in my life. but, we do have a plane to ca-”
“nooooo,” thomas groans, ever the mature responsible adult. he pushes wyatt head back down and into his chest, hugging him tightly against his body. “that’s not the reality i want right now, johnny.”
wyatt laughs, the sound muffled from thomas’s shirt, and pokes him in the side, shoving gently, trying to escape. thomas just tightens his grip, and soon they are laughing, pretending to fight each other. wyatt feels…giddy seems to be the only applicable word. it’s a lightheaded, walking on air, sunshine in his veins type of happiness. eventually thomas rolls them and puts his knees on either side of wyatt’s hips hovering over him, his smile brilliant, his cheeks that adorable shade of pink wyatt has seen a million times but never quite appreciated until recently. thomas looks down at him, shaking his head. “real.” he whispers and wyatt can’t help but smile. thomas’s eyes dart down to wyatt’s lips and then he’s leaning down, and wyatt….well, wyatt panicks.
“i don’t want you to kiss me!” he blurts. thomas freezes. pulls back. wyatt squeezes his eyes shut and rubs his face roughly, knowing that when he opens his eyes thomas will be looking at him with a hurt expression and that feeling of living the dream will be long gone. he can picture it so clearly, and he hates it. he hates that he said it. hates that he feels it. hates that-
“okay.” thomas says. wyatt’s eyes shoot open and thomas is just staring at him. he looks almost amused.
“okay?” wyatt repeats.
“yeah, okay,” thomas says. “is it any kissing? or just on the lips?”
“uhh, just…just on the lips,” wyatt says, feeling a little unsure.
“okay.” thomas says again, ducking his head and placing a soft kiss on wyatt’s jaw, then down to his neck. the pleasure is immediate, and wyatt has to fight to keep his mind on track.
“that’s it? you don’t…i mean you don’t have any follow up questions? you don’t think that’s weird?” wyatt asks, feeling like he’s missing a piece from a puzzle.
“why would it be weird?” thomas asks, moving across his throat to the other side of his neck, barely lifting his lips from wyatt’s skin.
“i don’t know?” he says on a laugh. “maybe because i willingly put your dick in my mouth last night and now i don’t want you to kiss me?”
wyatt is being crass on purpose, like using such direct language will break through the lust fog that thomas is living in. even now, he’s chuckling lightly against wyatt’s skin, dragging the collar of his shirt away from his neck to get access to more. a small whimper leaves wyatt’s mouth as thomas grinds his hips down, and wyatt gets a small glimpse of how thick that aforementioned fog actually is. he takes a deep breath and grabs thomas’s face in his hands, dragging his head away from his work on his collarbone, forcing him to look at him. thomas smiles kindly down at wyatt. “it’s not my place to question your boundaries wyatt.” he says. “obviously, if we keep doing this, i would like to discuss it at some point in the future. but for now-”
“if?” wyatt interrupts. he ignores the stab of fear puncturing his gut.
“well, that’s another conversation we need to have.” thomas says, leaning back and allowing wyatt the space to sit up as well. he does, leaning against the headboard and trying to force a sense of calm into his expression. “i would like to continue this. i don’t have a name for it yet. and i don’t particularly think we should rush to put one on it. but whatever this is, whatever we are, i don’t want it to stop.”
wyatt nods. “are you gay?” he asks, well…blurts.
thomas’s lopsided grin appears on his face, and wyatt can tell he’s trying to hold back a laugh. “yes.” thomas answers, nodding, pressing his lips together to try to stop the smile from growing.
but wyatt didn’t really feel like laughing. “i don’t know if i am,” he whispers, dropping his eyes and digging at a piece of dead skin on the inside of his thumb. “have you been with girls before?”
“a few,” thomas answers.
“and you’ve been with guys, too? other guys i mean.”
“yes. only a couple, though.”
“and when you were with the women. it…it wasn’t good?”
“it wasn’t bad. it was more like i couldn’t understand the hype around sex, you know? the first time, my first time, i was pretty young. and i was expecting this amazing, life changing thing. and it was nice. i mean, i had no experience with anyone, so obviously it wasn’t awful. but when i told my friends about it, the way they talked about it, there was something missing. my first time with a guy, though, suffice to say i finally understood what my friends were talking about.”
“i’ve been with women before,” wyatt responds, nodding to no one, trying to remember the feelings he had before. “and i liked it.” after a moment of silence, he starts to feel a little panicky, so he adds, “but i like what we did, too. i like being with you.”
“johnny, look at me please,” wyatt lifts his eyes immediately, finding thomas smiling at him so kindly, so patiently that wyatt feels the insane need to cry. “straight and gay aren’t the only options, you know? and even if you are one of those, or somewhere in between, it’s not something you have to figure out right this second. you don’t have to check a box to keep being with me.”
“i do want to,” wyatt says immediately, “i want to keep being with you. i just don’t know how that looks or what it means.”
“it looks like this,” thomas says , shrugging, taking wyatt’s hand and threading their fingers together. “and like this.” he leans down and kisses wyatt’s cheek. “and like however else we want. and it means that we like each other. we like spending time together. we like making each other cum.”
wyatt let’s out a surprised laugh and then nods. “i feel ridiculous.” wyatt admits, leaning forward to wrap his arms around thomas’s waist. thomas’s hands find their way back to wyatt’s hair, rubbing small circles into his scalp. thomas laughs, the sound rumbling against wyatt’s ear where it’s pressed against him. “it feels like it’s my first day on earth and i have no idea what i’m doing and what’s going on.”
“which is your worst nightmare, of course,” thomas mumbles, and wyatt doesn’t have to look at him to know his dimple is out again. “i think you’re doing pretty well, but i might be a little biased.”
“i’m gonna figure it out, tom,” wyatt promises. “i don’t know what this is, or even what it could be, but i want this. i want you. so i’m gonna figure it out.”
“i’ve got nothing but time.” thomas answers, and suddenly wyatt understands exactly what thomas meant when he said real is always better.
hello!!
first of all thank you so much to everyone who is reading my stuff! i started writing and posting this because i was in a bad place mentally and it gave me something to channel my focus into. i had no clue anyone would read it and even less of a clue that people would like it lol!!
i have a new part coming out today and i will keep posting but i did just wanna give a bit of a disclaimer. there isnt some big overarching plot or direction for my “fic” (collection of one shots? idek atp). like this isn’t a fully fleshed out fic as much as its just my take on wyharl’s relationship. it’s not necessarily building to anything.
i just wanted to make that known in case you were waiting on like a bigger story to come through. even if just one person is reading my take on these stupid gay men that i love so much, i wouldn’t want to disappoint them!!
okay that is all. thanks so much and i will have a new post later today!!
♥️
just needed you to know you're out here changing LIVESSSSS with this wyharls fic. every time i see new updates, i alr KNOW it's gon be gooddddd.🙂↔️ i save your updates to read before i go to sleep so like a lil bedtime story for myself ✋🏻🙂↕️🤚🏻 your writing is so so so good !! i really wish more people knew about it, but thank you so so so much for always feeding us with your writing bc it is IMMENSELY appreciated !! hope you're always happy and healthy !! 🥹🫶
ahhh omg this is so sweet!!! you have no idea how much this means to me actually!! i’m glad you’re enjoying it 😭 thank you so so so much!!!
figured out: wyatt
nsfw
wyatt didn’t like being bad at things. he was a perfectionist, on the ice and in life. he liked knowing what he was doing, and he liked being the best. his fumbling, unsure handjob skills made him want to scream in frustration. it shouldn’t be that hard, really, i mean how many times has he used that same hand to make himself feel good. at first, after the first few movements of his hand, he was sure that thomas was going to stop him. that he was so unbelievably horrible at this that thomas would change his mind. he would be kind about it, of course, but the desire for wyatt would fizzle out. but then, thomas had groaned, had cursed and moaned his name. wyatt was in awe that such simple, unskilled movements were enough to wrench those sounds of thomas’s mouth. that his hesitant attention almost drove thomas over the edge so quickly.
he felt proud. he felt powerful. he felt desired. and mostly he felt the intense need for more. he wanted to hear exactly what he could do to thomas, wanted to feel him lose control. so dropping to his knees in front of his friend wasn’t hard. the desire to do this, to take thomas’s dick into his mouth, though, didn’t stop the worry from wriggling into wyatt’s brain. he knew thomas had enjoyed what wyatt had been doing before but that didn’t necessarily mean he would be impressed by what he was going to attempt to do now. at least with the handjob wyatt had some semblance of what to do. a starting point.
he had been so sure when he dropped to his knees, but now, kneeling with his friend’s hard dick inches from his face, he paused. “wyatt,” thomas says softly, his hand running through his hair. “you don’t have to prove anything to me. we don’t have to. you don’t have to.”
“i want to,” wyatt says. his voice doesn’t shake, thankfully, but he doesn’t move. he sighs deeply and thomas twitches when wyatt’s breath hits him. “it’s not that.”
“so what is it?” thomas asks kindly, still running his hand through his hair, his nails scratching softly against wyatt’s scalp.
“what if i’m bad at it?” wyatt whispers, feeling like such an idiot. “what if you don’t like it?”
suddenly thomas is laughing. a strange scene for wyatt who is still eye level with his dick. true to the childish whine that had left his mouth moments before, wyatt is pouting. he looks up at thomas, and waits for him to stop laughing. it takes a minute but eventually thomas grabs wyatt’s face in his hands, a hand on each cheek. “wyatt, if you think there is anything you could do that i wouldn’t like, anything at all that involves your mouth on my dick that wouldn’t fucking redefine my understanding of the word pleasure then i think you have seriously misunderstood this whole situation.” his voice is still tinged with humor, but his eyes are so serious, his hands on his cheek so gentle, his dick still rock hard. “just take it slow, remember? there’s always an adjustment period. you always have to do the work to figure out what works for you and whoever you’re with. the fact that you’re working with different equipment now only adds to that.”
“but you’ll tell me?” wyatt says, needing to be reassured. needing to know that thomas won’t suffer through something he doesn’t enjoy just to spare wyatt’s feelings. “if you don’t like it. if it’s not…”
“i’ll tell you,” thomas promises softly.
wyatt nods, and takes a deep breath. the thought of just diving right in seems a bit over confident so instead wyatt pushes up the hem of thomas’s shirt and presses soft, open mouthed kisses over the exposed skin there. thomas’s hands are moving in wyatt’s hair again, and soft sighs fall on wyatt’s ears from above. feeling a little brave, wyatt scrapes his teeth lightly over thomas’s hip bone, smiling against his skin when he lets out a surprised fuck. that one word relaxes wyatt enough to move his hand from thomas’s thigh to the base of his dick, guiding it into his mouth.
as the head slides past wyatt’s lips and lands a little heavily in his mouth, it feels…fine. a little strange, foreign almost, but it’s not bad. not at all. thomas groans and his hands fist in wyatt’s hair, the pull in his scalp sending a thrill down to his stomach. wyatt takes more into his mouth, flattening his tongue against the bottom of his mouth to make more room. he pulls back, allowing some oxygen into his lungs and then tries again, taking a little more into his mouth. once he gets familiar with the feeling and thomas’s moans become louder, wyatt falls into a pleasant rhythm, moving his head smoothly, using his hand for the rest that he can’t get into his mouth comfortably. he gets more comfortable, more eager, and all of his worries melt away.
it’s a new feeling. not bad, not necessarily good, but the sounds thomas is making is more than enough to make wyatt never want to stop. he would keep thomas’s cock in his mouth for the rest of eternity if it meant he could also keep hearing his soft grunts, his deep moans. the “that’s it, fuck yes just like that” thomas let’s out makes wyatt whimper, which in turn makes thomas moan again as the sound vibrates against him. his hands never leave wyatt’s hair, pulling and tugging but never forcing wyatt to take more. the stinging on his scalp should be uncomfortable but every tug seems to travel from the top of his head to his own dick.
wyatt can feel some spit falling down his chin but he couldn’t care less as he grabs thomas’s thighs and takes more into his mouth, stopping only when he feels like he might gag. he considers continuing anyway, gag reflex be damned, the need to feel more, to feel all of it strong and desperate. the only thing that stops him is the knowledge that gagging might not be the sexiest of sounds and the fact that thomas was coming apart. wyatt felt it in the tremor of his thighs and the way he had his hair fisted tight and unwavering in his hands. wyatt needed to see, had to watch what happened to his friends face as he let go. so he raised his eyes up to thomas’s face, finding him already looking down at him. his eyes go wide in shock and a little fear and he pulls back instantly, nearly too slow to avoid cumming in wyatt’s mouth. wyatt watches, mesmerized as thomas strokes himself through it, his eyes never leaving wyatt’s face. it isn’t until thomas calms and reaches down to wipe under wyatt’s bottom lip that he realizes his mouth is still open, but he doesn’t close it right away. it feels wrong, now. empty. like it’s missing something. thomas notices too, and the thumb he was using to wipe wyatt’s chin slips into his mouth. wyatt whimpers, thomas groans, and then he pulls his finger out, looking dazed as if he isn’t sure how it got there in the first place.
when wyatt climbs to his feet, unsteady and rock hard thomas leans in to kiss him. wyatt turns his head slightly at the last second, causing tom’s lips to connect with his jaw instead. he tells himself it’s just because he was surprised. because it seemed a little weird to kiss him with the phantom feeling of his dick occupying his tongue. if thomas finds it strange or hurtful, he doesn’t let on, just kisses his jaw, his neck, his hand snaking into wyatt’s pants. wyatt wonders absently if maybe he should protest, take care of himself like thomas had that first night, but the second his fingers close around wyatt, there is no way in hell he could say no. he thrusts up into thomas’s hand, unable to stop himself. thomas has latched onto his neck, kissing him roughly, his free hand finding wyatt’s hair yet again.
something takes over wyatt. something feral and desperate. he’s thrusting into thomas’s hand wildly, clinging to him, whimpering pathetically. thomas is whispering praise and reassurance into his skin between kisses, and wyatt is losing his mind. he needs more. more. more. and thomas gives him everything, using his grip on his hair to wrench wyatt’s head back for better access to his neck, whispering the most filthy praises, putting just enough pressure to make every thrust perfect. wyatt’s orgasm hits him hard and fast, overwhelming him so all he can do is hold onto thomas, let it wash him away, and hope his knees don’t give out.
when he’s finally done, thomas kisses him. on his neck, jaw, cheek, forehead. everywhere but his mouth which wyatt is grateful for, though he can’t articulate why as he just whimpers and hangs onto thomas. he feels his friend wrap one arm around his waist, hook his other under his knee. feels the floor fall away, and although he knows thomas has picked him up, he feels like he’s flying. they aren’t far from a bed, but the whole way there, thomas continues whispering. wyatt catches pieces in his useless state:
“thank you” “perfect” “so good” “fucking beautiful” “for me”
he sets wyatt gently on the bed, then turns to grab his discarded sweats, the sudden lack of contact too much for wyatt to bear. he lets out another whimper, no longer embarrassed by it, and thomas shushes him gently grabbing his clothes and taking large strides to get back to wyatt’s side. he climbs into the bed and pulls wyatt as close as he can, only for wyatt to thread his legs between thomas’s to move even closer.
“so?” wyatt asks, already fighting sleep. “what’s the verdict.”
“safe to say we figured it out,” thomas whispers, kissing him on his forehead as wyatt drifts off to dreams that are inevitably filled with the man he’s tangled up with.
thomas harley tying wyatt johnston's skates
figuring it out: thomas
nsfw
thomas isn’t breathing. he isn’t sure when he stopped needing oxygen to survive. it was probably at the same moment wyatt had told him he didn’t regret what happened the last time they were in a hotel room together. those words had become thomas’s life force, replacing oxygen as they had left wyatt’s lips. a more logical part of his brain reminds him that he does still need oxygen but wyatt’s hand is on his chest, and thomas is terrified that the rise and fall that would happen if he started breathing again might spook him. it isn’t until wyatt’s hand moves, off his chest, down his stomach, and catches in the waistband of his sweats that he finally breathes. the inhale is shaky, uncertain.
wyatt hooks his pointer finger into the drawstring waist and hesitates. for a moment, thomas wonders if he should say something, do something, take the lead and let wyatt follow. but he had done that already and this was wyatt’s choice. what happened next would be up to him, and even if that meant nothing, even if his choice was to withdraw his hand and go lay down without another word, thomas would accept that. he waits, as still and silent as humanely possible, and eventually wyatt does move. he lays his forehead against thomas’s chest, right over his heart and chuckles a little.
“i don’t know what to do,” he whispers, and something cracks open inside thomas’s chest.
“it’s okay, wyatt, we don’t have to do anything. we can figure it out. take it slow.” thomas says, placing his hands on wyatt’s waist, ready to push him back.
before he can gather the willpower to push him away, though, wyatt slips his hand past the waistband he had been stuck at. when he wraps his hand around thomas, a soft curse leaves both of the men. thomas digs his hand into wyatt’s hips, the soft cotton of his shirt bunching up under his fingers. “wyatt, you don-”
“shh,” wyatt interrupts, another slow pump of his hand, “i’m figuring it out.” he slows down even more, causing thomas’s breath to hitch. “taking it slow.”
a low groan escapes thomas and he moves his hands from wyatt’s waist to the sides of his neck, placing a thumb under his jaw to tilt his head up. wyatt’s pupils are blown wide, a proud smile on his lips, and his cheeks flush when he meets thomas’s eyes, his hand speeding up between them. thomas smiles and shakes his head lightly, before the pleasure takes over and he has to shut his eyes to stop himself from cumming too soon. with anyone else, it would have been embarrassing. so close to losing control after a couple of hesitant, testing strokes, but this is wyatt. he’s never wanted someone as much as he has wanted him. and after what happened last time, he was sure he would never experience this. the heady realization that this was happening, mixed with the pleasure wyatt’s hand was giving him was all too much.
“wait wait wait,” thomas says, dropping his head to rest against wyatt’s. wyatt stills his hand but keeps thomas dick in his grip. “sorry, trying to take it slow.”
“you don’t mean…” wyatt’s voice is full of wonder, “already?”
“are you seriously laughing at me right now?” thomas asks, a chuckle undermining his indignation.
“only a little,” wyatt says, pulling his head back to kiss thomas’s pink cheekbones.
for a second they just stand there and thomas wonders distantly if this should feel awkward. both of them standing there, fully clothed, wyatt’s hand wrapped around thomas’s dick but neither of them moving, joking about how thomas was about to finish too quickly. but the happiness coursing through thomas’s body leaves no room for anything else. he’s not thinking about the game or what happened before. he’s not thinking about the aftermath of this or what will happen next. he’s not thinking about his choices versus wyatt’s choice. all he can think about is how damn lucky he is.
“you good?” wyatt asks, laughing when thomas cringes a little.
“i’m…” thomas stops, shaking his head. good wasn’t the right word.
“you know, i think it’s a good thing you stopped me,” wyatt whispers. before this moment, before wyatt had slipped his hand under thomas’s clothes, those words would have terrified him. now, with the comfort of knowing wyatt wants this too flowing through his veins, thomas is just curious at what will leave his friend’s lips next.
“really?” thomas asks, leaning forward to kiss his neck, because he wants to. because he can. “why is that?”
wyatt leans forward and kisses thomas’s neck, right under his ear and thomas feels his dick twitch, still in wyatt’s hand. wyatt loses himself in kissing thomas, dragging his teeth against the sensitive skin of neck, sucking lightly, careful not to leave a mark, but not able to stop either. then he brings his mouth closer to thomas’s ear and whispers, “because there’s something else i want to figure out.”
then he pulls away, leaving thomas reeling at the sudden absence of wyatt’s lips and hand which he has also pulled away. he hooks his finger into thomas’s waistband again, and then he pulls, and thomas is left trying not to black out as wyatt drops to his knees in front of him.
harls yanking wyatt's jersey | 02.27.26
confession: wyatt
everything was fine. normal. that was what surprised wyatt most in the days since that fateful night in that random hotel room. a part of him thought that maybe the fact that he had gotten a blowjob from a man, his best friend and teammate at that, should have surprised him more. and a slightly larger part thought maybe he should be more surprised about the fact that he had enjoyed it, loved it even. but no. all wyatt could think about was how everything was absolutely fine.
it had taken two days for his memory of what happened to come back to him and even now, two weeks later, there were still pretty huge gaps. but when he finally had filled in the largest holes and he understood why thomas had looked so hurt when wyatt had mentioned regret in the bathroom the next morning, he had expected the worst. but miraculously, the worst never came. there were no awkward pauses, no conversations filled with resentment or hurt, no innuendo. everything was fine.
so why did wyatt feel so awful? nothing had changed. so why did it feel like wyatt had lost something?
sometimes, he would find himself staring at thomas and the urge to say something was so strong it felt like a physical weight on his chest. but he didn’t say anything. even if he wanted to. even if he spent most of his time in his friend’s presence forcing himself not to think about it. even if, sometimes, when he was alone and allowed himself to revel in what had happened, the desire was so overwhelming he never lasted more than a couple of rough tugs of his own hand. he had taken the time to pick apart his feelings and he knew that he wanted more. he wanted thomas. but then his friend would make a joke and give him that easy smile and he knew he couldn’t risk it. because even if it felt like he had lost something, that wasn’t actually the case. he could handle it. push it down.
couldn’t he?
~~~
the sound of the goal horn blasted through the arena and it took all of wyatt’s restraint not to slam his stick into the low wall blocking in his team’s bench. he didn’t have to look up at the jumbotron to know that the score was now 4-1. he didn’t need to see the time ticking down to know they had five minutes left in this game and no chance of coming back. they were going to lose. the series would go to game seven in dallas. and if they lost it would be in front of their home fans.
the aftermath of the game, the ride back to the hotel, his shower, it all passes in a bit of a blur. like he is moving in slow motion while the rest of the world moves in fast forward. he doesn’t like losing. most professional athletes don’t, but it had always hit wyatt too hard. left a sour taste in his mouth like he had eaten something bitter. it’s like he’s in a bubble, all alone despite his teammates sharing the defeat. maybe that’s why he jumps when jamie says his name, a little too loud like he had tried to get his attention already. wyatt blinked a couple of times and focused in on his captain, who was sitting on the bed opposite his own.
“i think you should switch rooms with seggy,” jamie says, “apparently tom is having a rough time and tyler can’t get through to him.”
wyatt’s heart picked up to an unnatural and dangerous pace. “and you think i’ll be able to?”
“oh come on, kid, you two are thick as thieves. if you can’t get through to him, none of us will have a shot,” jamie says, “just pat him on the back. tell him it isn’t his fault. flash those puppy dog eyes. whatever.”
wyatt prays his cheeks don’t look as flushed as they feel. “i mean yeah, i can try. you know how he gets though.”
“if you get through to him, great, if not, just go to bed and we’ll work it out tomorrow on the plane.” jamie orders, always a captain.
“yeah, yeah, sounds good.” wyatt grabs his bag. “tell seggy to text me their room number.” he stops in the bathroom to grab his tooth brush and deodorant, catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror. deja vu hits him like a truck, and he takes a few deep breaths, willing himself to act normal. everything is fine.
when wyatt gets to the room, he barely has enough time to pull his hand away from the door before tyler is swinging it open. he gives wyatt a grateful smile and hurries down the hallway without a word, bag slung over his shoulder. wyatt takes a deep breath, puts his own feelings aside and enters the room.
thomas is pacing, like a caged animal. and his hair is sticking up like he’s been rubbing his hands through it. his cheeks are flushed red, and when he sees wyatt standing in the hallway he lets out a bitter laugh. “i’m fine, johnny. you can tell them to call off the suicide watch.”
wyatt nods and throws his bag on the bed, aiming for casual. “it was a tough game. it happens.” wyatt shrugs.
“yeah to me,” thomas mumbles.
“come on, tom,” wyatt says, ducking into the bathroom and then approaching him carefully. “we all have bad days. and no one was playing well tonight. the team lost. not you.”
for as much as wyatt hates losing, thomas hates it a million times more. he takes every lost game personally, like he was the only one on the ice. sometimes he is able to shake them off but a game this big? wyatt knew he was struggling. the sudden desire to go to him and hug him surprised wyatt, but he pushed it aside. “i played like shit, johnny. i cost us two goals. and please don’t say we all have bad days. because you don’t. you don’t get it, okay? your bad games are better than half the league will ever achieve.”
“tom, come on, you always do this. it’s oka-” wyatt tries, taking another step toward him. he isn’t looking at wyatt, but maybe if he could just catch his eye. but thomas doesn’t want to be comforted. he doesn’t want reassurance. he wants to wallow.
he cuts wyatt off harshly, “it’s not okay. we could lose wyatt. and if we do, it won’t be that you didn’t score enough goals, or that jamie wasn’t tough enough, or that miro was slacking on the blue line. it will be ‘we need to talk about thomas harley’ or ‘when are they going to realize harley isn’t worth it,’ okay? you are the golden boy. you rise above. i don’t. and i shouldn’t. not when it’s my fault. not when i’m letting everyone down.”
“you didn’t let me down. not more than anyone else, anyway.” wyatt says, keeping his voice steady and quiet. “no one blames you, man. and no one who knows anything about hockey doubts that you belong on this team.”
he scoffs again and a sense of desperation takes over wyatt. he’s talked thomas off this particular ledge before. countless times. and sure, sometimes it was easier or more effective, but it had never affected wyatt quite like this before. he felt like thomas’s pain was seeping into his bones. like he could feel how much thomas was hurting, how angry he was at himself. and wyatt wanted that to stop. he wanted to grab his friend’s shoulders. shake him. make him understand how special he was. how important.
“i’m not trying to be an ass,” thomas mutters, finally looking over at wyatt. he looks devastated. broken. “i just can’t stop thinking about it. i just need to take my mind off it. i’ll be fine, johnny. i always am.”
“okay so let’s get your mind off it,” wyatt says, like it’s nothing. “what can we do?”
“we have to be up early,” thomas says. “it’s fine. i’m sorry i was being a dick. let’s just go to sleep.”
but wyatt feels the desperate need to fix this. to help his friend. to wipe off that horrible expression that is way too similar to the way he looked in the bathroom after wyatt had lied to him. seeing thomas look so broken, so sad it bothered him before but things were different now. even though everything was fine and everything was the same, wyatt was different. and it hurt him to see thomas hurting. even now, as thomas turns to yank the duvet down the bed so he can climb in to go to bed, wyatt is searching every corner of the room for a distraction. something to think about besides the game. he’s watching the tense line of thomas shoulder, begging the universe for help.
and then, stupidly, desperately, wyatt blurts, “i remember!”
it’s almost comical. the way thomas freezes, his fist gripping the duvet. it’s like wyatt’s words were some kind of magical spell words designed to turn men to stone. he watches his shoulders rise once. then twice. he’s taking deep breaths. he drops the blanket but makes no move to turn around. “you remember?” he repeats, and his voice sounds strained. wyatt feels so many things, fear, anxiety, embarrassment, but he also feels a surge of respect that his friend didn’t pretend to not know what he was talking about.
“yes,” wyatt says, nodding to put emphasis on the world even if thomas still has his back turned to him. “i didn’t. at first. but then most of it came back to me. there are still…gaps…and there are some things that might have been more imagination than reality. but i remember.”
“why are you telling me this?” thomas asks, clenching his hands into fists by his side. he sounds angry and wyatt’s fear ratchets up a couple of notches. did i just make a terrible mistake?
“you said you needed to take your mind off the game,” wyatt replies lamely. and thomas finally whips around to look at him. his cheeks are red again, his eyes blazing, his brows furrowed. yep. definitely angry. “but i also…”
“you also what?!” thomas is yelling now. wyatt wants to take it back. to go back under the safety blanket of mutual dishonesty. he had made the mistake of thinking he was brave.
“i’m sorry, tom, i just, i need to talk about it. i can’t pretend anymore. you said you needed a distraction, well i need to talk about this so i just thought we could kill two birds with one blow job.” the words come out too quickly for wyatt to over analyze them and he flinches when he realizes what he just said.
“i didn’t want to pretend,” thomas says, the anger gone.
“so why did you?” wyatt asks, although he’s pretty sure he knows the answer. mercifully, thomas spares him the blame. he just looks at him. and wyatt nods. “i’m sorry, tom, really i am. i was just confused…and, i don’t know, i guess i was scared.”
“do you regret it?” thomas asks, crossing his arms and then dropping them again, like he doesn’t know what to do with his body. wyatt takes a step toward him.
“no.” his voice is firm. certain.
“but you don’t want it to happen again.” thomas is nodding to himself. like that makes sense. like there was no universe in which wyatt would want what he does.
“i didn’t say that,” wyatt wishes he could muster more than a whisper but he would take what he could get at this point.
“i don’t need your pity, wyatt. i get it, okay, i’m the sad sack and you want to take my mind off the game or whatever but you don’t hav-”
“for fuck’s sake, tom, why can’t you see how fucking amazing you are?” wyatt is feeling angry now. but he takes a deep breath, steps closer again, lets out a small sigh of relief when thomas moves too. they are standing close now. too close. not close enough. wyatt places a hand on thomas’s chest, feels his heart beating quickly under his palm, knows his own is matching that frenzied rhythm. “it’s not pity.”
brave or stupid. right place or wrong time. fate or choice. wyatt isn’t sure. all he knows is that his hand starts moving down his friends torso, stopping at the waistband of his sweats, and thomas isn’t stopping him.
offseason wyharls for @marviless
the aftermath: thomas
waking up next to wyatt felt more like a dream than anything his brain had ever concocted while asleep. when thomas’s brain and body had finally calmed enough for him to fall asleep, he had been tangled up with wyatt, scared that his heart was beating so hard it would wake wyatt who had his head nestled against his chest. when he woke up, clear headed and more well rested than any other morning in his life, he opened his eyes to the back of wyatt’s head. he must have moved sometime during the night, but he hadn’t gone far. he was slotted so perfectly against thomas that it felt like he had been made to fit within his arms. he stared at the back of wyatt’s head for what felt like hours, trying to stop his mind from racing.
eventually, he had to get up so he pressed the lightest of kisses against wyatt’s shoulder and went to take a shower. he turned the water on and let it heat up, staring at his reflection in the mirror, amazed. he was smiling like an idiot, his cheeks flushed, his pupils a little too wide. the shower helped, grounding him and giving him time to reflect. he had imagined last night so many times, but never in his wildest fantasies had wyatt been the one to initiate it. and he had, hadn’t he? he had wanted it as much as thomas. and he had enjoyed it. wanted more.
but the hot water was doing more than washing his body, it was cleansing his thoughts. he was drunk. really drunk. he was about to have someone else doing exactly what you did before you burst into the room. he was horny. left wanting. you made your desires clear. and worst of all: he never said he wanted it to happen again.
thomas stayed under the spray of the water until it turned cold and he couldn’t take it anymore. when he climbed out of the shower and looked in the mirror, his expression was no longer one of a man who was sure. who was happy. he looked like the ghost of whoever had entered the bathroom. it was then he remembered that all of his toiletries were in the room he was supposed to have slept in last night. another reminder that this wasn’t some heaven sent twist of fate but the direct result of thomas’s decisions. he needed to think. he needed to figure out what came next. he pulled on the robe that was folded up in the cabinet under the sink and exited the bathroom as quietly as he could. he didn’t look at wyatt as he left the room, walking quickly down the hall and knocking on the door that was supposed to be his, hoping one of the men inside was awake.
jamie opened the door, hair wet from his own shower. he widens the door, and thomas enters without a word. his bag is on the bed closest to the window and he grabs it, mutters a quick thanks and heads back out. wyatt is still sleeping when he gets back so he shuts the bathroom door, hoping to avoid whatever is coming a little longer.
just think. you can figure this out. you just need to talk to him about it. even if he doesn’t want it to happen again, it’s not like he’s gonna go running to the team to tell them what happened. he’s your friend. your best friend. and even if he wanted to, he wasn’t exactly a bystander. you can figure it out. just make a plan.
it wasn’t until thomas caught his own eyes as he was brushing his teeth that a different thought entered. maybe it isn’t up to you. and that was it, wasn’t it. thomas had made the decision to come to the room. thomas had interrupted wyatt and the girl from the bar. he had made his feelings known. yes, wyatt had wanted it enough, but it wasn’t some divine intervention with all the right circumstances. it was a series of events set in motion due to thomas and his decisions. maybe what happened next should be wyatt’s choice.
so when wyatt stumbled into the bathroom, looking like hell on two feet, thomas tested the waters. and wyatt was just swimming lazily on the surface, unable to remember the riptide that was busy dragging thomas under. thomas had been brave last night, he had gone after what he wanted, but in the harsh light of the bathroom he didn’t feel brave anymore. he felt scared. so when wyatt said he didn’t remember what happened, thomas took his word for it. in the mirror, he could see the edge of the bite mark he had accidentally left on his friend’s thigh and it seemed to trap his vision. he was too defeated to pick apart wyatt’s expression and a part of him didn’t want to know whether he was being honest about the gaps in his memory, so he let himself look at that mark that would fade soon. he let himself bask in the memory of what had happened so he could recall it when his own brain inevitably starting playing tricks on him and tried to convince him nothing had ever happened. then, he shrugged it off, gave his friend a smile and left the bathroom trying to ignore the sounds of wyatt puking, purging the alcohol and hoping he wasn’t trying to purge the memory as well.
despite the pain and the knowledge that all they would ever have was that one drunken night, thomas didn’t let his friendship suffer. over the next few days, the next week, thomas made sure that he didn’t act any differently than he had since him and wyatt had become friends. he had lost the chance of something more but he couldn’t bear the thought of losing what he already had. wyatt seemed the same as well. no flinching if thomas touched him. no avoiding eye contact or awkward laughs. there were some moments where thomas would catch wyatt looking at him strangely, his eyes a bit glazed, as if he was remembering. but then he would blink and thomas was sure he had imagined it.
and that was fine. thomas had lived in his imagination for almost the entirety of their friendship. that, too, stayed the same. and it was fine. he was fine. sure, he wanted more from wyatt, he always had. but at the end of the day he had his best friend. and thomas would take that over nothing any day.