Right - (boyxboy)

Chapter 15 - Commodore Point (Reprise)

"Where are we going?" Will asked, starting to feel restless as he sat in the passenger seat of Oliver's rented car. The radio was playing softly in the background and the blonde was humming along to himself under his breath, a moment that almost felt like deja vu.

Oliver's response to Will's question was the same as it had been for the last half hour of their car ride. "It's a surprise," he said, taking his eyes off the road for a second to give Will a reassuring smile.

Will groaned, knowing that that was going to come, but hoped that the blonde would actually tell him what was happening. 

They were quite far out of town by this point, surrounded by shrub and empty fields, some sheep grazing in a few paddocks along the way. It was only as Oliver made a turn off the highway did Will realise where they were probably headed, the vast expanse of blue slowing becoming more and more visible.

"The beach?" Will asked, though it was more just to confirm his suspicion. "Really?"

"Surprise!" Oliver exclaimed, not bothered by Will's lack of enthusiasm as he drove past the entrance of the beach car park and continued up the hill, taking the car off-road for a moment to stop at the top.

"This is..." Will began to say as he realised where they were.

"Commodore Point, yeah," Oliver finished for him, looking at the brunette to the side of him to gauge his reaction. "Surprise?" he repeated, not as enthusiastically this time. 

Will's mouth opened and closed a couple times as he tried to process what was happening. "I-wha-umm, yeah, it's definitely a surprise," was all Will could come up with as he tried not to trip over his tongue. "Why are we here?"

Oliver was quiet for a moment as considered his words carefully, thinking about the conversation he'd practiced in his head. He took a shaky breath as he tried to stable himself mentally, turning in his seat to take Will's hands in his own and look him in the eye.

Will, noticing the anxious look in the blonde's eye, began to feel nervous, a sense of dread slowly creeping down his spine. "Ol, what's wrong? Why are you acting all weird?" he asked, worried, but Oliver just shushed him, maintaining his eye contact with the man he loved. 

"Will, I-" he began to say before clearing his throat, eyebrows furrowing as he mentally kicked himself for stuffing up already. "A couple of years ago, I was having some drinks with a friend from uni, long day at work and wanted to unwind, all that sort of stuff. Anyway, we were talking about life, he was telling me about the time he had to give up a scholarship he'd worked so hard for because his fiancée at the time didn't want him to move. Called it the biggest mistake of his life, and he asked me what my biggest regret in life was...

"I could've said a whole bunch of things: the time I decided to stay at work to finish off a report and missed Max's first steps; the time Lanie and I fought because I thought she was cheating on me; hell, even the time I got so drunk that I got arrested for picking a fight with a bouncer and almost got expelled 'cause of it... 

"I've done some pretty dumb things in my life that I'm not proud of, but-" Oliver said before pausing for a moment, taking another breath to steady himself. "But the biggest mistake I ever made was leaving you here after that kiss, Will. I think I've told you before, back in high school when you wouldn't speak to me, but I want you to know that even after all these years, I wish I'd stayed."

Will's heart fluttered at the words, a part of his 17-year-old self still alive and well deep in his soul. These were words he'd wanted to hear ten years ago, and even if he'd moved on from it, no longer hurt or angry for being left alone after a moment like that, it was still nice to hear that the blonde regretted it.