This is so important. Mack looks distressed and is calling for Will (or even Willy not completely sure). And you can see how his whole body language changed just from talking to him. Just think about what Rick said in the article. How is he a release for Mack.
Also, we know that too, how literally Mack only listens to Will and can calm him down. Watch the podcast.
rick celebrini in fanfiction: you must only hockey. no feelings or friends. 17 more reps of doom and despair.
rick celebrini irl: this is william charles patrick smith who i hand picked to be my child prodigy’s very special boybestfriend. he has taught him how to be a better person. he is his guiding light in the darkness. my son in law, i would lay down my life for him.
A summarised list of miscellaneous things that have brought us to this point (them becoming the most popular hockey rpf pairing despite this being their SECOND year) :
Less than 2 years ago they were rivals, genuinely hated each other. Nowadays they mention one another anytime the opportunity presents itself (fondly and smiling softly).
They openly and happily admit they spend most breaks together. They used to sneak out of their respective houses to have dinner together.
They‘re side by side at every anthem and skate out one after the other at every game.
They often go out to lunch, and golf, and basketball games, and sometimes broadway shows on their own. They still share hotel rooms (and anytime they had to room with someone else, they called the experience ‘strange’). They admit to being disappointed when their stalls aren’t next to each other in the locker room.
They sometimes ditch the group to play sewer soccer by themselves.
They accidentally have matching suits (and cars, and shoes)
They spend most of their free time at each other’s house and have gone through a considerable number of classic movies (not horror) and niche romcoms.
Will puts up with Mack’s white noise at night, and Mack puts up with Will’s synth pop music in the morning. They would be each other’s emergency contact. They objectively perform better on the ice if they’re on the same line.
They have a joint TikTok account. The username is both their names smashed together — wcpsmrc — and it used to be Will’s personal account. He offered it up. Instead of, yknow, making a new one.
Mack often seems to instinctively lean into / sway towards Will if they’re standing / sitting close enough.
(Not to say Will doesn't lean into Mack's space, because he does. A lot. But as far as i can tell Mack does it more often)
(i mean. look at those nfl game pictures, that man tries to have as much direct contact with Will as possible) -- (they're different pictures, i swear) -- (also peep the iron grip)
On the bench Mack tends to yap nonstop right into Will’s ear (bc personal space isn’t a thing) and Will lets him, silently nodding along.
(Mind you, on average that’s 40 minutes on the bench per game).
They look for each other after scoring. They look for each other even if they’re not the ones who scored.
Will taps Mack's ass after celebrations (I'm not fucking joking) and Mack simply smiles.
During cellys they refuse to let go of each other, even as the other guys crowd them.
Mack has an assist on all of Will’s goals. Will has an assist / was on the ice for most of Mack’s goals. They’ve already entered the top 5 scoring duos (and they weren’t even on the same line the first month of the season).
They made each other wear their college jerseys after losing a bet.
Other teammates use them as a measuring scale when explaining how close they are to other players "we're good friends but not like will and mack, those two are different".
When they get to hotels, they rarely use the TV at all because they spend too much time talking. Additionally, Toff has said sharing a wall with them during roadies is Hell because those two will be wrestling/play fighting/laughing and “making weird noises” until midnight. They also order milk and cookies every night.
When one of them is being photographed to capture that ‘tying his skates before the game’ picture, the other one is usually trying to make them laugh by being an idiot behind the camera.
They have a specific handshake they do in the locker room before skating out onto the ice
They’re together so often there are virtually no candid videos of one without the other in the background.
Mack is helping rehab Will through strength training.
Will stays nearby when Mack argues with a ref.
If they’re not sitting together on the bench, Mack constantly glances over at Will, even if someone’s talking to him.
There have been multiple instances of Will pulling a face or doing something funny in between whistles to get a laugh out of Mack (ie: pretending to eat the salts).
And they’re both pathological liars. For instance: Will often claims to be a communication student at Boston College to avoid social interaction, and Mack claims to be 6’ft.
He is, in fact, not 6’ft. He is 5’11.
Honorary mention to their banter:
“That didn’t happen” “It did happen and there’s proof” “He’s being dramatic” “There is a HOLE in my WINDSHIELD?” “There’s a small dent in your windshield, you can barely see it” “ITS THE SIZE OF YOUR FIST??”
***
(disclaimer: some of these events have been exaggerated. i am looking at it through an rpf lens)