Realized - a Rhink fanfic

Chapter 10

Therapy didn't help much, but he'd only just started anyways. The therapist's mid length blonde hair didn't help. It only jolted memories of when Link could run his fingers through his wife's similar flowing locks. They had then become stationary, with no movement to follow, fading with their owner. No more signals ran through her body. She'd succumbed to too much medicine that did anything but heal her physically. But it perhaps provided some kind of healing to her emotional state, though unworthy of bringing an end to a woman so amazing and so strong - that was until Link's feelings for his damned handsome friend got the better of him and made the woman he loved cripple into eternal sleep. The trade off just wasn't worth it. His self esteem had followed his wife from the mortuary to the pristine white oak coffin. And it was his fault. His children watched as their father became a ghost of his former self, seeking revenge on some intangible force. Sometimes he'd pick up old pictures and stare at them for an hour. Sometimes he slept until 2, and other nights not at all. Sometimes he forgot to prepare lunch. But he always remembered one thing - Rhett.
Link slapped the money on the table of the therapy room. He indignantly took in another breath of the incense filled air and stormed out. The therapist was used to it. She sighed and collected the cash, the coins glimmering under the dim yellow lights. Link slipped into his car and followed the familiar road to his best friend - no, lover's - house, with melancholic tunes cranked all the way up as he drove. A light drizzle ensued, the pitter patter complementing the kick drums as the guitar did all it could to sooth his aching soul. It was quite a long drive from the therapist to the McLaughlin household. The rain would've stopped by the time he reached. Then amidst the depressing setting, a smile broke through Link's sullen face as he felt the uncomfortable cuboid bump in his back pocket resisting the stuffing of the cushioned car seat. A hundred thousand dollar uncomfortable bump, waiting impatiently to be given away. The man resisted the urge to burst into maniac laughter in happiness.
Then he paused in front of Rhett's driveway, taken aback.
A mob had formed around the garden. Rainbow signs littered the grass. Chants engulfed the property.
"Say yes!"
"Hashtag Rhink!"
"Make Rhink happen!"
Link groaned. His stomach dropped. The utopian dream dissolved in his mind. Who did this? Who posted it? What pills did his wife take? They seemed more and more tempting by the day. Nothing was going right.
He silently made his way to the back gate, slipping through the hedge, careful to evade prying eyes. He was greeted by Rhett, who then promptly burst into anger.
"Those bastards posted it! The fans are going crazy of course. Now they're never gonna leave us alone! Why the hell did you even say that, man?"
Curse words spewed out of a mouth two meters above ground. Link cowered. Rhett was utterly furious. Outside the window the shouts still echoed and cardboard signs waved madly. 
"Maybe we should give them what they want. I've got nothing to lose anyways."
Rhett stopped pacing. He glared at his friend. For a moment Link imagined it was time to meet his wife again. Then Rhett grunted and shifted his gaze to the floor.
"Honestly, me too."
Then he sprinted towards Link and the two yet again embraced. Link reached into his pocket with shaking hands. A small box emerged from the fabric and he wriggled within a suffocating pair of arms in his best attempt to get one knee on the hardwood flooring.
Rhett panted as he loosened his grip only too see his friend even more below him than he normally was,  clutching a black box within his hands. He didn't need to hear anything from Link. His eyes widened and his primitive instincts kicked in. His voice thundered.
"YES!"
The moment was interrupted by applause, but also by a defiant shout. Another two voices broke into frantic, confused sobs. Footsteps descended with astounding speed.
Rhett's family had caught on.
"Link, hide in the cupboard. I'll deal with it." Rhett lay a firm hand on Link's plaid covered shoulder, the fabric slightly torn from the hedge. He turned a now pale Link away to a towering piece of furniture. Link did not question a thing. His heart pounded heavily. He immediately ran towards the cupboard and turned the handle.
The handle didn't budge.