colin the chameleon

colin walks into practice the next day and as he enters the locker room his eyes focus on one thing.

the "believe" sign now painted in rainbow colors.

ted steps forward once everyone settles down and says a nice speech about acceptance. he's willing the guys to be careful with their words, saying he won't tolerate any discrimination whatsoever. jaime notes "you never know who might be gay."

it's awkward, but colin feels a bit better. suddenly, he truly feels like there's no judgment. until, trent's eyes start to focus on his.

trent's in the boot room. and colin finds it a good of a time as ever for a confrontation. he exits the room a bit more aggressively than he intended to.

"how did you know?" colin asks. suddenly stressed and bewildered.

trent turns. "how did i know.. what exactly?"

"that i'm," colin gathers every inch of courage. he's a strong and capable man. "that i'm gay. i can tell that you know and i need to know how."

"you're brave, colin," trent starts. "i saw you and your wingman outside of sam's restaurant. i kept my mouth shut, but i knew a change had to be made."

colin tenses and then relaxes. he saw him and michael. he knew they should've been more careful.

"you don't need to tell everyone," trent says.
"i'm glad you told me. i'm sorry for causing all this, but you'll see it's better."

for the first time in this building, colin feels at ease. he feels like himself. and he wraps his arms around trent, causing him to drop his rainbow mug.

trent hesitates, but gives in.

will is alerted by their hugging but simply grabs the towels and shuts the door.

colin hears the door close and turns instantly. he sees will's innocent face as he waves and skirts away.

"i'm impressed with you putting up with everything for so long. it can't have been easy."

colin doesn't take his eyes off the door but replies, "it's not."

"you know, i didn't come out to my family until i was 23. my dad still doesn't talk to me, but you learn to live without. you learn to cope and you learn to find love in other ways."

"how'd you," colin catches his breath, still overwhelmed by everything. "how'd you meet your husband?"

"grade 8. but we reconnected in university," trent leans on the cabinet. "in a gay straight alliance, if you can believe that."

colin recalls when he was faced with a GSA in university. he kept his head down and ignored it.

"i don't think i can be as brave as you."

"colin, you're already braver."

-

"hey, why'd you storm out?" isaac asks, gently.

"yeah, that wasn't cool," sam says, sternly.

isaac hits him lightly and looks back at colin, hoping he takes this as a safe space.

"i had to have a conversation with someone," colin looks down and starts to wonder if he could actually do this. if he could look his best friend in the eyes and admit all the lies.

it seems like none of the guys are homophobic, to be fair. everyone listened eagerly to ted's speech. even seemed touched or moved.

colin couldn't believe all of it. the path to readiness was in front of him. he was treading carefully, still.

he looks down and notices isaac is wearing rainbow socks. isaac clocks his eyes on it.

sam gives in to a nearby distraction, so the two are left alone in the gym.

"hey isaac," colin starts, already afraid of the start. "there's something..."

colin shakes his head. looks him in the eyes.

"i'm gay. i just wanted you to know."

isaac places his hand on top of colin's head. he looks at him, tenderly.

"you're great, colin," isaac says. "i'm proud."

"i'm sorry for hiding it all, i realize it's so stupid but footballers are fucking scary. i never wanted to lie to you all," colin spewed out the words and notices his hands are shaking, "i hope you understand."

"i do, colin," isaac said simply, and brought him in for a hug.

it's nice, colin thinks. it's warm and he wants to live in this feeling.

"i'm here for you," isaac looks so serious. "the guys will be too, i'll make sure of it."

"thanks, isaac," are the only words colin can muster. it's a joy he couldn't fathom and he hasn't stopped smiling.

-