The day West had been waiting for, for over two years was finally here - moving day. He'd made the decision to leave after that day in the Sheriff's office, when Dennis had blamed him for his brother beating him blue and bloody, when he realised no one was truly on his side, not even the people who promised to serve and protect.
That was then. He had mixed feelings about leaving now, things were going well with his family, but he still felt that space would do them all good. Brittany had already left, they'd spent their last day together in her room eating junk food and talking about everything and nothing at all like they used to do on friday nights when Paul came home too early. They'd said their goodbyes, but neither of them were hurting because they knew it was only temporary. Some friendships outlasted the test of time, the test of distance. They were going to be okay.
Then there was Killian, he was sure any other person would've asked him to stay, or maybe he'd just been dating the wrong people before, but Killian was selfless, he wanted West to pursue his dreams, to turn into the best version of himself, to be the creative he was always meant to be, to meet caring and supportive friends with the same interests as him, and after everything, to come back to him.
6 months was all it took for them to form an unbreakable bond. He never truly hated Killian, not really... even when he tried hard to. The moment he set his eyes on him at that party, he knew he would be his undoing, there wasn't much he could do to stop it, so he just let it unfold, even when the little voice at the back of his head that sounded like Paul told him it would end in tears.
He'd never listen to that voice ever again, that voice that was just the essence of fear, that voice which had never been right.
"What the-- Where'd all your hair go?" A stunned West asked when the person who'd been running through his mind suddenly appeared in his driveway as he packed the last box into his boot. He was bald.
Not bald, bald, his hair had been trimmed down into a neat buzzcut, but bald, nonetheless.
"That's really the first thing you're gonna say to me?"
"Hey, " West tried again, he pulled Killian close then, placed a soft kiss on his cheek, "Now?" He urged.
Killian rolled his eyes affectionately and said, "Wanted to try something new. You like it?"
He wasn't about to tell him how Sparrow had stuck multiple pieces of chewed gum in his hair while he was asleep the previous night. He had dignity and wasn't going to admit he was being bullied by his own kin in his own home. He got him back by dousing him in ice cold water that morning, though, it was rather satisfying to wake him up from a very peaceful sleep that way. With that being said, he was dreading what Sparrow had planned when he came back from Michigan.
"Yeah... suits you."
That earned him a smile from Killian.
"You ready?" He asked, his fingers moving to pull at the strings of the black hoodie under his leather jacket. The action reminded West to thrift a couple of hoodies and jackets when he got settled in Michigan so he'd be prepared for winter.
West nodded, then handed him the car keys before attending to Paul who was lingering in the doorway.
"You gonna be okay on your own?" He asked, a gentle expression settling on his face.
"Yeah." Paul smirked with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "Regina's coming over." And he had plans for the both of them.
"She's been over here a lot, lately."
"Aren't you the one who encouraged me to go after her?"
West flashed back to an incident involving whipped cream and toys (that weren't kid friendly) he was unfortunate enough to witness a couple of days ago. He'd just got back from the movies with Killian, the front door had been unlocked, and Paul's excuse for making West feel like washing his eyes out with bleach, was that he thought he'd be sleeping over at Killian's. Like he'd ever slept over at Killian's.
"That was before my eyes got assaulted by you two going crazy on the couch. I'll never forget that image, Dad, so thanks for that."
"We like to have fun." Paul shrugged. He was already pulling out his phone to call his lady friend.
"See you in a couple days." And with that, he and Killian started the 12 hour long drive.
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They arrived in Michigan at around 7am the next day.
It had been a long and eventful ride, but they had switched drivers every couple of hours, so one of them could nap. They'd also listened to One Direction's entire discography, much to Killian's chagrin, but he'd kept his comments to himself after West agreed to buy him pizza and an extra, extra large chocolate milkshake at one of the roadhouses on the way.
West had learned something else about Killian on their trip; he was easily bribed with food.
"Look what I found..." West exclaimed as he brought out a heavy, worn out box from his new closet. He placed the box on the bed before fishing out a Playboy Magazine with Tana Reid in a suggestive pose on the cover.
"Boobs!" Said Killian with a waggle of his eyebrows, his hand already reaching out to grab the magazine.
"Boobs. West affirmed, "Oh, and... DVDs... tons of 'em."
Boobs were nice. Killian liked boobs, they were squishy and soft and cute, and he liked putting them in his mouth. But in that moment, with him staring at Tana Reid's boobs and them staring back at him, he felt nothing. Maybe Tana Reid just wasn't his type.
He browsed through the selection of porn DVDs, but none of them piqued his interest, "Hetero sex? No, thank you."
"What? We've both done it..." West said. He'd only ever been intimate with one girl, Ophelia. They had been each other's firsts.
It was awkward, to say the least, but the many times after that with her had been great. He enjoyed it. But it wasn't something he missed or even thought about.
"Yeah, well, we're in a super gay relationship, if you haven't noticed."
"So, we're not watching Midsummer's Night Cream?" He teased, holding the DVD up to Killian's face.
"We're not watching Midsummer's Night Cream." Killian asserted. He eyed the second DVD in West's hand before his nose wrinkled in distaste. "Not watching Womb Raider either."
West packed the DVDs away then sealed the box.
The covers for those videos were... explicit, to say the least. Killian was sure he'd have penis-filled nightmares about them later on.
"Well," West shrugged casually, "There isn't any gay porn in there."
Killian's eyes almost shot out of his skull at West's remark, but he was able to rein his shock back in quickly.
"Have you ever watched... gay porn?" He questioned. If anyone was going to ask unanticipated questions and say unanticipated things, it was going to be him.
"Uh... no. Not really."
"So, you have no idea what goes on--"
"A hole is a hole, and I intend to fill it."
West had won this round of "Unanticipated things to say at random times", Killian gathered, the titters that escaped his mouth sounded something akin to a dying walrus.
"Wise words."
Then, his expression turned serious, "Just know I intend to fill it, too."
At that moment, West's face could've been mistaken for an oversized beetroot what with the blush that had settled on his cheeks, "We should, uh..." He stammered, the thought of Killian fucking him(He still remembered how big he was compared to him) destroying his ability to form a coherent thought. "b-burn these, probably. "
A proud smirk from Killian, He'd won the round, the whole game. "Let's."
------
They spent the rest of the day tidying up the sparsely decorated apartment, unpacking West's clothes and other belongings, and making out in virtually every room 'til they were blue in the face.
It was night time in the city. The noise has quieted down, but not too much, as everyone settled down for the evening in their homes.
It looked exactly as how West had imagined it - bright, irradiant. Lights twinkled from all the many differently shaped and sized buildings booming with life inside of them.
And even as beautiful as they were, they couldn't replace being able to see all the different constellations in the night sky back home. Nevertheless, he was grateful he was able to see all these sights with his own two eyes.
The boys stood side by side, sharing a cigarette on West's tiny 8th floor balcony, and he was recalling the moment he'd caught Paul red-handed in Regina's metaphorical cookie jar.
"I'm telling you, man. I walked in on them butt naked... on the couch. I've been sitting on the floor ever since."
"Trust me, I know how you feel. I used to walk in on my parents doing it all the time." Killian handed the cigarette to West, who then placed it between his lips and took a drag. "I'm having war flashbacks."
"I mean, I'm happy for my Dad, you know? He seems happy with her, but I could've gone without seeing his... everything." He shuddered. There are just some things that a kid should never witness his father doing. That had to count as some form of childhood trauma.
"And what about your other Dad? Things going well?"
"Yeah, actually, he's pretty cool. And apparently he's Taiwanese, not Vietnamese, like my mother."
"So, you're Vietnamese, Taiwanese and American."
"Pretty much." West nodded.
"Have my babies?"
"Maybe if I was a seahorse."
Killian wracked his mind, trying to figure out what he meant, if that statement was maybe a metaphor they'd learnt in english class, his mind came up with zero answers.
"What?" He questioned in bemusement.
"Male seahorses. They can get pregnant."
"Okay, how do you even know that?"
"Animal planet, duh."
"Sorry," Killian chuckled, bumping his shoulder against West's, "Didn't think you watched anything other than korean dramas."
West gave him a playful punch before putting out the cigarette on the railing and throwing the remains in the empty flowerpot the previous owner had left behind.
"Oh! Before I forget," Killian clapped excitedly, "I got something for you."
He headed back into the apartment to retrieve West's housewarming gift from his backpack. Something to spruce up his apartment and give it some life and color. It had been inexpensive, and he suspected West would appreciate it.
He handed him the gift, it was wrapped in brown craft paper with white string holding everything together.
"What's this...?"
"Open it."
West unwrapped the gift warily, he had an idea of what it was, it was in the shape of a canvas, though nothing could prepare him for what his eyes were met with next. "What-- how did you--"
It was a painting of his mother. Of the only picture he had of her, the only piece of her he'd ever have.
It was painted with bright vivid colors, the artist managed to accentuate her jade colored eyes and flowing dark hair. The field she'd taken the picture at had been grainy in the photo due to wear and tear, and West unfolding and folding it back up again everytime he wanted to see her face, but somehow, the artist had managed to make it come to life again. It looked so real, and it felt like he was right next to her on that field.
"I-I saw where you hid the picture of your mother, so I kinda stole it so I'd get it recreated." Killian stammered upon noticing the indecipherable expression on West's face. He couldn't tell what he was thinking.
Had he gone a step too far by stealing, or rather, borrowing the picture?
"I also kinda bribed Clancy into making this a while ago," He continued, implicating himself further. "Told him if he didn't, I'd report him to Principal Hughes for spiking the punch on prom night, for an asshole, he's a pretty decent artist. It also just occured to me that I practically committed crimes to get this for you, but it was so, totally worth--"
"I love you."
For a moment time seemed to stop for Killian, he wasn't sure if he was hearing him right, if he even said anything at all. "You... What?"
West set the painting aside before taking ahold of Killian's hands, the emotion as clear as day on his face, in his eyes. "I love you... God, I love you."
The words felt so natural to West in that moment, professing his love to Killian. It was shocking to him... how he'd never said those words before. They felt right, and he wanted to say them over and over again, he wanted to shout it out to the world. He was in love. In love with a beautiful boy.
"You-- you love-- Why are you-- is it because of the painting?"
"And everything else. You don't even realize it, do you?"
"Realize what?" A wide-eyed Killian whispered.
"How amazing you are? How caring you are? It's the little things you do that make me--"
It seemed Killian needed a bit of clarification.
"That night... at the skate park, I didn't even have to tell you I needed you before you came rushing, it was like, 2 AM... and, there were ghosts." West chuckled, the memory replaying in his mind like it just happened an hour ago.
"You made me see things from a different perspective, I don't think I could've ever forgiven my Dad without your support.
Sometimes I think... I've always been in love with you... maybe-- maybe it was hard for me to come to terms with it because of my..." He swallowed, "--past. You changed me, you helped me realise that I didn't have to be ashamed of who I was, that I didn't have to be afraid to be happy, to finally fucking live.
I've always been so close to saying it...
Everytime you shared a milkshake with me... or held my hand, or lit my cigarette, or came to see me in the hospital with my favorite flowers in hand, which I'm willing to bet you also stole, even though we weren't on very good terms at the time. Everytime you made horrible jokes, everytime you showed people kindness, everytime you were just you. "
"It amazes me, how big your heart is, and the fact that you can't even see it... you're putting your whole life on hold to take care of your siblings. You could be going to school like the rest of our graduating class, you passed up living in luxury in Florida with your best friend, just for them... that says a lot about who you are as a person, and what's important to you.
And this..."
His right hand reached for the painting, and his breath hitched as he admired it in complete awe. He was sure he'd stare at that painting, at his mother's beautiful smile, forever.
"This is the kindest thing anyone's ever done for me. I'm just sorry I didn't say it sooner."
Killian had a million things to say, but he felt like this was West's moment, plus, he was still trying to process everything he had just said. He had no idea that that was how West saw him, how everyone else saw him. He was just being human, being the person that his parents raised him to be before disaster struck and his home broke.
He noticed the frown on West's face, he was waiting on him to say something, anything. "So, this is like, a full blown love confession, huh?" He replied, a smile the size of Texas, one which West immediately returned, settling over his features.
"I guess so."
"You're right, I did steal those flowers."
And with that, Killian hastily pulled West against him, locking their lips together in a searing kiss. They frantically held onto each other, leaving no visible gap between them as the kiss grew more desperate, more passionate. All of Killian's troubles seemed to melt away as they deepened the kiss, all that mattered was this moment. Not Linda, not Harper leaving, certainly not the responsibilities he had waiting for him back home. Someone loved him. West loved him. That's exactly what was missing from his past relationships - reciprocity. He'd tried so hard to please them, to fix them, to show them how easy it would be if they'd just let themselves love him.
Being with West was effortless, a walk on the beach, it was just like breathing.
The beginning had been harrowing, for sure. He'd tried too hard, he'd made some mistakes, but once he let go of that savior complex and just let things happen on their own, all the magic unfolded. West meant everything to him, he was the only love he'd ever known to be true, he was his confidant, and West's his, he was his best friend and everything in between. All that was left was for him to say it.
He drew back from West's lips, missing them as soon as he did, "I'm usually the one who gives big speeches." He admitted. "I don't even know what to say... except... I love you, too."
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anyway they always have such weird conversations omg... what do you think West's and Killian's personality types are?
and just so u know I have no idea what a walrus sounds like
one last chapter <3