19. Weston

CHAPTER 19

As much as he could be, Weston liked to be an easygoing guy. He didn't like to be the problem. He didn't like to put people out or cause extra work.

However, it was hard to be that go-with-the-flow kind of person when "the flow" could land him in the hospital.

"I'm sorry this is a pain in the ass," Weston said, reading through the recipes that Quinn, Hunter, and Jonathan had compiled for their meal.

"It's not at all. There is literally no point in doing this if you can't eat it with us," Hunter said from across the dining table. They were at Hunter's place, and Jonathan was asleep on the couch. Fall cleanup season was taking it out of him. He was excused from prep because he picked up gluten-free muffins for them the day before.

"I'll do all the peeling," Quinn volunteered. They were making mashed potatoes and apple crisp. He'd be busy.

"I can do the gravy," Weston said. "It's tricky." There was an art to it.

They assigned out the stuffing and the green bean casserole that was Jonathan's only nonnegotiable. He had his own French onions he'd put on his portion, and they'd make some crunchy breadcrumbs for the rest. They decided on the canned cranberry sauce and a salad from a bag.

Since none of them wanted to roast an entire turkey, they just got a turkey breast, which would go in the oven alongside the casserole.

The morning was already quickly winding down, so they got started. Weston helped Quinn peel apples and potatoes, while Hunter put a record on and went to cube up bread for the stuffing. He was making Mike Griffin's recipe, which was just as much a family recipe for Hunter as it was for Quinn and Jonathan.

Jonathan slept for a while longer, waking when Hunter put the sausage on the stove.

"I love Thanksgiving food," he mumbled, wiping sleep from his eyes as he headed into the kitchen, going straight for Hunter. He wrapped himself around Hunter's back, dropping kisses on his neck and cheek, whispering something to him that made him giggle. They were too fucking adorable together.

Weston wondered if he and Quinn were that cute together.

"What?" Quinn whispered, following Weston's gaze. He couldn't imagine what his face looked like.

"They're just cute."

"They are." Quinn's smile looked genuine. A few months ago, he'd literally thrown hands (or hand) at the news of his brother and his best friend together. Quinn looked like he was really at peace with it now and wasn't just pretending.

Weston wanted to believe that Quinn loved him. Being around Quinn made him feel whole, and his attention made him feel worthy and proud. But they'd jumped headfirst into this, and Weston didn't have the relationship experience or the confidence to trust that.

Quinn leaned in close to kiss him. "I'm so glad you're here. You're making this the perfect day."

He was laying it on thick, but Weston needed to hear it, regardless.

He got complacent slicing apples and nicked himself with his paring knife, which was how he learned that Hunter had a giant box of Band-Aids, every single one of which was some licensed character. He bought them for his students.

"These are cute," Weston said, picking through them. "I thought Quinn said you taught high school."

"I do. In some ways, high schoolers are really grown up. They have complex thoughts and grand ambitions. But in other ways, they're still just kids, and sometimes they want to embrace that younger vibe. Plus, I think it's comforting to them."

Weston picked out one with a rainbow unicorn on it, from a show he'd never watched.

"Good choice," Hunter said, putting the bin of Band-Aids back in his linen closet.

"What time did Mom want to FaceTime?" Jonathan asked Quinn. Quinn checked his phone.

"In forty-five minutes. Oh, by the way, we're going to FaceTime the whole fam, if that's okay with you. You've already met most of them," Quinn said, turning to Weston.

"Just your sister left, I think."

"Yup. Syd. She's going to ask you an inappropriate question or two because she lacks boundaries."

"She pries because she cares," Hunter said, clear that he knew Quinn's little sister well.

They came to a good stopping point on their prep, and Weston offered the streaming setup for the video call. Might as well.

"If that futon can hold four grown men," Jonathan said.

"I hate that futon," Quinn said with a shrug as he led them over to his side of the house. It was cute and fun, and while Weston personally wouldn't buy property with someone he wasn't married to, he saw the appeal. But he and Sierra wouldn't survive sharing a building with each other.

Jonathan helped Weston get the call set up as Hunter and Quinn sat in the middle of the futon.

"We're all sitting gently," Hunter said as it creaked underneath them.

They made the group call to everyone, and the Griffin family got to be together on Thanksgiving.

"Where are you?" Syd asked Brady immediately. If Weston didn't already know Syd was a Griffin, he wouldn't have picked up on it on his own. While her brothers took after their mom, Syd looked like Mike, with dark brown hair that was in a braid hanging over her shoulder.

"I'm in a closet," Brady said. "I'm at Blake's with most of the Americans, and anyone else who wanted to hang out today, and it's so fucking loud. Every surface in here is marble and it echoes for days."

"Doesn't explain the closet. Thought you already came out."

"And for a moment, I thought I missed you."

"Speaking of which, where is your new man?" Nancy asked, like the thing she'd been promised had been taken away.

"Hard to get him to leave the kitchen. He knows where I am and said he'd say hi."

"Then I get to introduce you all to Maeve," Syd said, a wicked little smile on her face as she tugged someone into the shot. Her new partner had the side of their head shaved and was bright red with embarrassment.

"The figure skater?" Quinn asked. Maeve nodded.

"I'm sorry we're a lot," Jonathan said.

"It's nice to meet you all," Maeve said stiffly. Syd just beamed and pressed a kiss to their cheek. Maeve was hot. Weston was happily…taken? But he could still appreciate solid bone structure.

Brady told them about the absolute whirlwind of a day he'd had, helping prep a lot of meals that got delivered while also helping his boyfriend, Cole, get Thanksgiving ready for the team. At least Cole had a lot of help with both. And several spreadsheets.

"Quinner said you're all doing a gluten-free Thanksgiving, is that right, Weston?" Brady asked. Weston had not anticipated being addressed directly.

"Yeah," he squeaked out.

"And my brothers haven't fucked that up?"

"I'm supervising," Hunter said. Laughter rumbled across the futon, which creaked in protest.

"It's going to be great," Weston said confidently. "My own family doesn't do this for me, so it's sweet that these guys are. Thanks for the good kids, Mike and Nancy."

Each one of them had a moment to catch everyone up on their lives. Quinn talked about streaming with Weston and how much fun they were having. Syd was on track to graduate and had started nearly every game of the season so far. Brady was still doing well after an early season groin injury that tended to flare up in goalies. Mike and Nancy were planning on driving their RV up to Utah in the new year.

"Babe, why are you in the closet?" a disembodied voice said. Brady had been found.

"In my defense, this closet is huge." It was a rich-person closet for sure. It was even nicely lit. If Weston had a closet like that, he'd convert it into a compact little stream room and still have space for all his clothes. What a reminder of how different pro athletes' lives were.

Brady pulled Cole to sit down next to him. And damn. Quinn had told Weston about Brady's sexual awakening, and Weston understood. Being attracted to everyone could be confusing and could make it easy to push away the queer parts of yourself. But faced with a smoke show like that, of course Brady realized he liked men. Cole looked like a fucking rockstar, a lock of his brown hair falling in his face, his soft black t-shirt askew.

"Everyone, this is Cole. Cole, this is…more than usual," Brady said while laughing.

"Raise your hand if you're related to this man," Cole said, poking Brady in the chest. The Griffins obeyed. "Oh yeah, those are your brothers for sure," he said, obviously pointing to Jon and Quinn on Brady's phone screen. "They have your face, just about."

"Not everyone can be the most beautiful Griffin child. It's not their fault," Syd said.

Weston was blown away by how the Griffins treated each other. Like they all genuinely liked each other. Like they enjoyed spending time with each other. Like they respected each other and their partners. Weston's family gatherings always ended up with yelling, and here he was with Quinn's family, listening to an amount of giggling that Weston only experienced around friends, not family.

Sydney told a Thanksgiving story about a young Quinn who nearly burned their house down by trying to reheat turkey in the toaster, and the entire video chat erupted in laughter. The futon shook as their laughs took over their bodies until there was one final creak. Then something in the futon snapped, and the four of them collapsed inward.

"Shit." Hunter laughed, smooshed in the middle with Quinn.

"Alright, I guess it's time to wrap this up," Nancy said. "No one is injured, right? Good. We love you all so much!"

Weston ended the call as they collectively tried to pull themselves out of the wreckage.

"RIP," Hunter said. Jon looked it over and declared it completely done.

"For the best, I guess. That was a college futon. Time to buy a real couch for in here."

"I can help you pick one," Hunter volunteered. Thank god. He could go for another Ikea trip soon.

They got the food in the oven, and Weston excused himself to go call his family. His conversation wouldn't go the same way.

"You want me to come with?" Quinn asked.

"Nah. It'll be quick. And then I think I might take a nap? Rest my eyes?" He was making fun of Quinn for falling asleep on him during the stream, and Quinn laughed. It was easy to see, now, where he got his good-naturedness from.

"I'll come wake you when dinner is ready."