monty blushed at the memory now resurfacing: him getting out onto the ice, searching for his mother maniacally waving while his nan swore she couldn’t tell which helmeted player monty was, and finally kian. kian had rarely missed his games and he swore that looking up to find that dimpled smile and those bright eyes made him play out of his mind. especially when kian was clad in his spare jerseys- that did something to him he would never admit out loud.
“yeah i’d love that actually,” heat flooded up his neck this time, “babes, i’ll be able to bench you by the time the summer’s over.” monty sent a wink his way, flexing in what probably was the dorkiest way one could. “guilt tripped? don’t go spreading lies now, ki.”
a fog of nostalgia had been ghosting this entire conversation, bringing up old memories that made monty wish he had never left this town. and never left kian. the memories he missed during his time away was haunting him and with the state of shrike now, he wasn’t quite sure that they would ever feel the same, “god i miss those days.”
yours. that word took an agonizingly long time to fully process in monty’s muddled head. all yours. he didn’t hide the way the words made him feel, hardly because he couldn’t. it was so extremely frustrating how easy kian had it with shaking his demeanor- it was his friend’s second nature it seemed. it always was, even in their younger days but now it felt heightened. he was scared to explore that and find himself in deeper shit than he was already in. he ran both hands over his face, putting on a strained smile, “and you are so brave. going at such great lengths just to cop a feel, eh?”
he felt kian’s fingers on his face, his shoulder’s already relaxing, “gosh ki, it sounds like you’re about to get on one knee for me right now.” the laugh building in his chest was soon silenced as kian’s lips meet his in what wasn’t nearly a long enough kiss. his head followed as the other pulled away and he quickly snapped backwards, completely frozen and not being able to focus on the word’s that were leaving kian’s lips. his lips that monty continued to stare at. they had shared plenty of pecks on the cheeks and monty swore there was a drunken night where the two had shared a little more but this felt too different. like it meant something too different.
shit. monty meant for the swear to stay in his head but he felt it when it was too late to take it back. he quickly turned away from kian, biting on his lower lip in hopes it would thwart any further obscenities, and let his knees give out onto the dining room chair, “no- i mean- yeah thank you but this is fine. thank you.”
it was funny, how his earliest memories were just full of monty, his grandmother, and their family. not even looking far back could he find a time where his own family had been kind to him, had taken interest in any of his hobbies, his friends, or anything that was part of his world. he guessed it was better that way, cause maybe if they had looked a bit deeper they might’ve stopped this love whatever this was that blossomed between the two boys. so even if the youngest of the nine chase boys wasn’t able to truly know what it was like to enjoy time with his own loving family, he felt more than welcome with monty’s.
“pretty sure there’s a lot about me that you love,” he mentioned teasingly, laughing slightly at the idea of being benched by monty. “now that’s definitely on our list babe, can’t wait till those biceps are all over me.” all laughter and love, as kian scrunched up his features once monty told him to not go spreading lies. “how could i ever forgive myself, if i didn’t tell my very best friend that his mud pies were oh so amazing,”
this is what he was missing in his life, this spark of joy and love that had been gone ever since monty moved back to perth. was this the way it would’ve been like had he never left? or would it be more, would he have had the courage to take that leap that could’ve possibly ruined their friendship, but showed them that they could be so much more. kian wished they could be more, ever since he was a kid seeing monty as his knight in shining armor, waiting to be rescued by him. “me too, you’ve always been my favorite thing about shrike, monty solace.”
monty had the power to bring out all those feelings that kian had buried deep down, the ones that the facility would’ve loved to used against him, to break him and make sure that this type of love wouldn’t exist. but his love for monty had been far too strong to break, his conviction to get out and have the chance to see him again were part of what kept him moving forward. love was not weak, it was strong and durable, and even in the hardest of times, it persevered. “what can i say, you can’t let yourself be shirtless around me cause i might just go feral.” he giggled. brushing his own strands of hair out of the way, he pulled up on the sweatshirt that was oversized for his frame, and almost hid the fact that he was wearing short underneath.
“is this your way of asking me to get on both of them?” he giggled, raising a brow. kissing monty had been his dream, and even if there had been drunk nights where their emotions took hold, this time it felt different, as if a deeper meaning had been rooted here. kian wished he could do nothing more than kiss him, his body ached to be held by him, his lips yearned for that feeling once more, as if every fiber in his being screamed for monty, and it was so painfully beautiful. “you don’t need to thank me,” he said coming forward to face monty once more, his deep bright blue eyes staring up to meet his friend. “i wanted to do that, and i’d be lying if i said i didn’t want to do it again, to do more.” he mumbled.
“find me when you’re done eating, i’ll hop in the shower with you,” he whispered.
