Love Was The Law - Preview
He was raised to follow the rules. But falling for him was never part of the plan.
Will Smith has always known who he’s supposed to be: the hometown hockey star, the loyal son, the good Catholic boy. Boston College was supposed to be the perfect fit: close to home, big on faith, and a straight shot to the NHL. But the closer Will gets to his future, the more it feels like a life he never actually chose.
Then he meets Macklin Celebrini.
Openly gay, infuriatingly talented, and impossible to ignore, Macklin skates into Will’s life with bright eyes and no apologies. Their connection is instant—playful, magnetic, and dangerous. Because Will isn’t out. Not to his family, not to his team, and definitely not to himself.
Caught between his devotion to his faith and the pull of something he’s always tried to bury, Will is forced to confront the truth: some things you can’t pray away. And some people are worth the wait.
Will pauses and watches him skate. He’s never watched a male figure skater before. The intensity behind the skater's eyes pierces through Will’s soul, even though he’s not even looking directly at him. Will can't take his eyes off him. He watches as the man skates gracefully across the ice, moving his body in ways Will could never imagine. He doesn’t even realize he’s holding his breath until the skater jumps into the air higher than he’s ever seen someone jump before and lands perfectly on one of his blades, and Will lets the breath he was holding out. It was perfect; at least, that’s what Will thought. But the skater stopped and let out a loud, annoyed groan before catching Will’s eyes on him.
“Do you have a fuckin problem?” The skater’s voice echoes through the rink.
“Nah, man,” Will shrugs, putting his hands in his pockets, “that was sick.”
The skater looks back at the woman standing by the bench and skates off the ice, putting something on his blades while saying something to the woman. Will thinks their conversation is done, so he continues to walk towards the trainers’ room. But the skater yells out, “Hey, wait!” Will watches as he jogs over to him in his skates. “I’m Macklin. What’s your name?”
Will’s too stunned to speak. What kind of person just stops practicing to come say hi to probably the first person to walk in the rink today, other than himself, Will thinks. “Uh… Will.”
“Sorry if I scared you. I just moved here from Vancouver to train while I’m in school. I go to BU, but their ice rink is being used for kids' hockey or something, so here I am,” Macklin giggles, and Will is taken aback. He had never heard a man giggle before, at least not like that. Macklin’s laugh was so bubbly and kid-ish. “But, anyway, I don’t have many friends around here, and you seem nice.”
Nice? Will can’t believe it. He has never been told he seems nice. Most people who talk to him say he seems like he’d be a douche bag. “Uh... thanks? So you do like figure skating? Are you like any good?”
Macklin giggles again, and Will’s heart jumps into his throat. “I mean, I’d hope so; otherwise, I wouldn’t have gone to the Olympics last winter.”
Coming soon to an AO3 near you!