Rating:

Explicit

Archive Warning:

No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories:

M/M, Multi

Fandom:

Game Changers | Heated Rivalry - All Media Types

Relationships:

Scott Hunter/Carter Vaughn, Eric Bennett/Scott Hunter, Eric Bennett/Scott Hunter/Carter Vaughn, Eric Bennett/Kyle Swift, Eric Bennett & Holly | Eric Bennett's Ex-Wife, Eric Bennett/Carter Vaughn

Characters:

Scott Hunter (Game Changers), Eric Bennett, Carter Vaughn, Kyle Swift, Holly | Eric Bennett's Ex-Wife, Matti Jalo

Additional Tags:

Open Relationships, Queerplatonic Relationships, Platonic Kissing, Blow Jobs, Masturbation, Relationship Negotiation, Friendship, Bisexual Carter Vaughn, Demisexual Eric Bennett, POV Eric Bennett

Language:

English

Series:

Part 9 of hypotheticals

Stats:

Published: 2026-08-01 Words: 4,685 Chapters: 1/1

my advice is always ruin the friendship

Summary

It feels less outside of their control when they kiss this time. The heat builds slowly, with every breath passing between them, their fingers lacing together and Scott’s free hand on Eric’s cheek, moving to the back of his neck. It may not be as all-consuming but it is electric, and Eric feels it everywhere in his body.

“Holy shit,” Carter says from behind them. “You guys have crazy chemistry. What the fuck.”

So they’ve been told.

-
Scott, Carter, and Eric have a talk and a little adventure on the road. Eric comes home to Kyle and shares some good news with Holly.

Notes

“…and once that’s been sorted out, all you’re going to need to do is sign the contract and the place is yours.”

Scott is nodding along while Michelle, the lawyer they hired to help with the Kingfisher sale, lays out the last steps. Apparently there were some inconsistencies in the books the owner Gus kept that came up during the due diligence process (at which Kyle rolled his eyes and said he was surprised there were books), but it looks like most of that has already been cleared up in the meantime.

They’re sitting side by side on the edge of the bed in Eric’s hotel room in Detroit, the phone on loudspeaker.

It’s been a good week. They’ve won their first two away games in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, things with the Kingfisher are moving forward, and things with Kyle have been moving forward as well.

Eric thought he was going to lose his nerve, but he powered through: The first I love you passing his lips fucked out and just about delirious certainly wasn’t the most elegant approach, but the way Kyle’s face lit up told Eric elegance wasn’t required. And then Kyle said it back. He still hasn’t come down from the emotional high that gave him. They love each other! And he can tell Kyle whenever he wants now, and he will return it and grin at him and kiss him. It’s all absolutely astounding.

A knock on the door and Carter’s voice from the hallway interrupt their phone call and Scott goes to open while Eric finishes up the last of their follow-up questions with Michelle. Carter kicks his shoes off and sits down on the bed behind them, draping his arms over Scott’s shoulders.

“Man, I thought you were making out in here or something,” he says after they hang up. “Being all secretive and shit.”

“Maybe we were,” Eric says, because he’s still in an excellent mood and also because it will annoy Carter a little. He’s been so irritated about not being there for Eric and Scott’s kiss that it’s actually a little funny at this point.

“With the lawyer on the phone and everything,” Scott points out and Carter shrugs.

“She might be into it.”

And then, easy as anything, Scott smiles and turns to the side a little, and Carter kisses him.

That’s probably what he came here for, Eric realizes belatedly. It makes his stomach feel a little funny to see them together like this. For all the talk he’s heard about it at this point, he’s never actually seen (or actively imagined) what it’s really like, Scott and Carter together.

He isn’t entirely sure what to do (watch, like a creep?), so he scoots to the side a little bit, giving them more room, but is stopped by Scott’s hand on his knee.

Carter pulls away from Scott and looks at Eric, his eyes soft. “If you’re feeling inspired…you know. And it’s cool if not.”

“Look, I – yes. General yes to...this.” He gestures between them all and feels incredibly daring about admitting to his friends that this is what he wants, even if they already know. But it took a lot of work to admit it to himself, so everything kind of feels like a big step. “But I just don’t think I fully understand how it works?”

And that’s the truth. Yes, he might have heard enough at this point – from Scott, from Carter, second-hand stories from Kyle. The concept of exploring your sexuality with a trusted friend isn’t entirely foreign to him, even though he did that whole friends with benefits thing a little wrong (in the very best way). But it’s all been snippets. Surely there must be some sort of coherent big picture somewhere that will help him actually get it.

“Oh, yeah. I mean, ask anything you want to know.” Carter gives him an encouraging look and – okay. He can try, at least.

“So the four of you all have sex together sometimes, right?” A nod from both of them.

“But then also – you two. And Carter went out on a date with Kip, I guess? And Gloria – I mean, I just kind of don’t get it. Are you all together? Do you…swap? Swing? Switch?” He doesn’t even know what to call it.

“Yeah, things got a little, uh, complex at some point,” Scott says.

“Look, nah. It’s easy. Scott is with Kip, and I’m with Gloria, and yes, we all have sex together sometimes and everyone interacts with everyone however much they’re comfortable with.”

“Okay,” Eric says, even though that barely tells him anything he didn’t know yet, and points his finger back and forth between Scott and Carter. “So what is this, right now?”

“We’re just bros who kiss, dude.”

“So you’re not dating?”

“No,” Scott says and they look at each other like that’s somehow a ridiculous idea.

“And we’re not having sex just the two of us either. That’s mostly been a group thing so far,” Carter adds. “And, like, within reason, between Scotty and I.”

Whatever that means. Eric figures he probably doesn’t need to know every detail. He gets assaulted with enough of them out of context via the group chat that he doesn’t actually look at too much. You never know whether you’ll open it to a photo of a cute dog someone saw out on the street or a detailed explanation of anal fisting because Carter asked a question and Kip and Kyle jumped in ready to educate him. He’s not always ready for that kind of emotional roller coaster.

“And the dating thing is new,” Scott adds. “It just kind of felt appropriate to call it that.”

“And who’s dating who…?”

“Oh, so, me and Kip, and then Gloria and Scott, and also Kip and Gloria.”

“But you and Kip are both gay,” Eric says. “That’s – I don’t really understand that.”

“Well, it’s more of a friend date to begin with, I guess? Just, you know. Dress up and go out, kiss goodnight, that kind of thing.”

Friend dates. Bros who kiss. They’re just making these things up. It has progressed from explaining stuff that actually exists to inventing whole new concepts. It’s kind of giving Eric a headache.

“And Scotty’s really very, very gay about it,” Carter clarifies and Scott rolls his eyes. “But Kip can be a little flexible with Gloria sometimes. It’s hot.”

“A little flexible,” Eric repeats, as if that means anything to him.

“And then Scott and Gloria have the whole – you know, dominance thing, but it’s not sexual. Or, well, I guess it can be, but only when it’s all of us.”

“The what? Guys – okay. I give up.” Eric rubs his hands over his face. “Just tell me where you want me to fit into all of that. And Kyle.”

“You can do whatever you’re comfortable with,” Scott says, which is sweet, but incredibly unhelpful.

“So if I just, uh – I’ll take Bros Who Kiss?” Eric tries. It makes it sound like some sort of sports club and he briefly regrets his choice of words, but Carter looks delighted with it. Eric won’t completely rule out the possibility that he’s going to get it printed on a t-shirt within the next 48 hours.

“Yeah, we can be that. Kip and Kyle probably would be, too. And everything else just kind of develops as you go along. Or it doesn’t.”

The sheer variety of options that puts on the table does not help Eric’s head feel any clearer, but maybe they can take it one step at a time.

“That’s all, without partners there, we’d just kiss?” He has to admit, it does sound nice. They all spend a lot of time away from home on their roadies (though that’s about to be over for Eric anyway) and he finds he really doesn’t mind the thought of that being an option. It’s still a little strange, thinking of his friends in these terms, but maybe it’s just a new way to be close.

And when he thinks of that time in Buffalo, kissing Scott; Kip and Kyle on their laps and getting up to a bit of mischief – he can see how that could have gone further. Hell, he’s imagined it once or twice, though always somewhat hesitantly because it felt almost forbidden. But it’s not, now.

“Yeah, that’s basically it.”

“Aren’t you…worried?” Eric doesn’t really know how to put words to what he actually wants to say. They’ve been friends for so long, and it feels more real and solid than ever, with all their secrets out in the open, everyone genuinely being themselves. He loves these guys. They’re closer than family. It feels reckless to put at risk what they have.

Scott seems to get it, and he looks thoughtful for a moment. “I mean, I was. Still am, sometimes.”

“Look, I get it, boys. But we’re solid. You’re both so careful,” Carter says. “I’ll make sure we all talk to each other, and no one’s gonna break off the friendship because what, you decide you don’t wanna touch each other’s dick anymore? So we don’t, problem solved.”

“You’re not touching my dick,” Eric blurts out. It comes out sounding almost appalled, which wasn’t intended, and he doesn’t want to make Scott and Carter feel bad, but – it feels like a line he’s not sure he wants to cross. “I mean, it’s not – that’s not never, just…not right now.”

“That’s cool. It’s called a boundary, my friend,” Carter says with a grin and clasps his shoulder. “Well done, we love to see it in the wild.”

The world is a strange place, in which you can apparently just touch your friends’ dicks for fun. Or not.

He still doesn’t think it’s all quite as simple as Carter makes it out to be, but maybe that’s something he can bring up with Scott alone sometime. They’re both much better at visions of doom and general rumination than Carter; they’ll bring the correct vibe to the conversation.

“Okay. Okay, I think…that’s all the questions for now.”

“Amazing,” Carter says. “My turn for questions then. Can I kiss you?”

It makes him feel at ease, the way Carter asks. He’s learned that with Kyle a little bit, the asking and talking and checking in and making choices about what he actually wants or doesn’t want. And it’s not that he never talked to Holly like that, but it always felt like things were a lot more predetermined for them. Like there was no need to talk much about individual steps because the plan was so clearly laid out by the whole world. How to treat each other, how to have a relationship, how to have sex. It was easier to just follow along than to question any of that.

“Yeah,” Eric replies quietly, and Carter puts one hand on his cheek and leans in.

He’s a little careful with Eric but also very determined, the same way he was that first time in Buffalo. It’s always easy to feel comfortable with Carter, and it translates to this as well. Eric puts a hand on his waist, exhaling a sharp breath when their tongues slide together. It’s not inherently sexual, but there’s a sense of potential that it could be. Carter is a good kisser. Eric lets him set the pace, matching however far he wants to take it, and wraps his other arm around his shoulders. It feels almost sweet, in a way. Carter puts a hand on his chest, just resting it there, and slows their kiss down until he pulls away with a grin.

“Yeah, I know exactly why I wanted to do this again.”

Eric huffs out a laugh, and while is first instinct is to feel a little embarrassed, it’s actually nice. He’s as simple at heart as probably any of them; he just wants to do a good job.

Carter stretches out on the bed on his side, propping his head up on his hand. “And now, you two owe me. Kip said that was the hottest thing he’s ever seen.”

“Kip was...a little excitable that day,” Scott deflects, licking his lips in one of his little nervous gestures. They’re still sitting side by side, though a little farther apart, and Scott’s hand hasn’t left Eric’s knee during the entire conversation. He covers Scott’s fingers with his own and moves closer, until their legs press together.

It feels a little different than with Carter. Eric had put it down to that absolutely insane moment last time, with Kyle and Kip there, the build-up between all four of them. It had surprised him, how intense it got. But the spark he felt is still there now. And he’s sorted it all out in his head, put the pieces together, and came to the very simple conclusion that he’s very attracted to Scott. That spark, the passion, the energy between them...is attraction.

Which is very unusual for Eric to feel for someone he isn’t in love with, but apparently this is a thing that happens to other people all the time. It’s not that the whole world is weirdly sex-crazed and superficial and Eric is the only reasonable person (which felt like a fair assumption to make at one point, given that he spends most of his time around athletes in their early twenties who tend to have a certain type of attitude). It’s actually him who’s wired a little differently, who likes to take things slowly and needs that connection first. Just one more thing he learned from Kyle, who remains endlessly patient and enthusiastic about teaching him stuff he should probably already know.

“Hey,” Scott says softly, eyes searching Eric’s face, and then he smiles. “Come here.”

It feels less outside of their control when they kiss this time. The heat builds slowly, with every breath passing between them, their fingers lacing together and Scott’s free hand on Eric’s cheek, moving to the back of his neck. It may not be as all-consuming but it is electric, and Eric feels it everywhere in his body.

Scott makes a little sound and pushes forward, tongue into Eric’s mouth, leaning into him like he’s going to climb into his lap. Eric sets a steadying hand on his hip because he thinks that would probably be okay, but Scott pulls back like he thinks better of it at the last moment.

“Holy shit,” Carter says from behind them. “You guys have crazy chemistry. What the fuck.”

So they’ve been told.

“Come on, come – lie down, Scotty in the middle,” Carter continues and somehow, nobody questions that idea.

Their bodies slot together almost automatically even though they’re much too close on the hotel bed. Scott is facing Eric, with Carter pressed against his back, mouth on Scott’s neck and his hand pushing the front of his shirt up. It’s clear they’ve done this together before; there’s no hesitation in the way they touch, a casual familiarity with each other’s bodies in a way that Eric doesn’t share yet.

“Okay?” Scott asks, cheeks flushed, and Eric kisses him again.

It’s easier not to think about it now, not to be concerned like he was a few minutes ago. Scott moans into his mouth, fingers twisting into Eric’s shirt, and when he pulls away for what Eric thinks is just going to be a breath, he turns his head to the other side and kisses Carter over his shoulder.

It’s sort of a gentle chaos from there. Carter and Eric make out propped up right over Scott’s face, then take turns with him again, Carter’s tongue in his mouth and Eric’s lips hot on his throat or the other way around; hands everywhere they can go while staying above the waist, which Eric knows is a concession to him; then Carter pushing all of their faces together at once and laughing when that does not work the way he intended.

He’s hard after two minutes, of course he is, but there’s almost a sense of safety in knowing it’s not actually going to go anywhere. It feels like playing a game. Like he’s just having a good time with his friends, because he is.

“Benny?” That’s another knock on the door and this time, Jalo’s voice from the hallway.

Eric freezes. “…yeah?”

“Everyone’s going to that Mexican place for lunch. You coming?”

Carter snorts and buries his face against Scott’s shoulder. He seems perfectly at ease, like he finds the whole thing absolutely hilarious. Scott looks a little spooked, but nowhere near panicking. Which seems unusual, but Eric is very much ready to follow his lead here.

“Yeah, down in five,” he shouts back.

“Do you know where Cap and Vaughny are?”

“In here,” Carter yells and Eric feels his headache begin to return. But then again – this is perfectly normal, right? They hang out like this all the time. It’s not like Jalo can see through the door (unless all Finns have secret x-ray vision the rest of the world doesn’t know about, in which case they all have bigger problems to worry about anyway).

“We were just – we were just talking to the lawyer,” Carter continues and then cracks up. Scott shakes his head but smiles, doing his best to avoid joining Carter’s infectious laughter.

“Okay,” Jalo replies, clearly unimpressed by whatever he thinks Carter has going on right now. “See you downstairs.”

“You’re both insane,” Eric mutters as he gets up from the bed, but he can’t fight the smile on his face.

---

They win their game against Detroit and the nap Eric takes on the two-hour flight back to New York has him surprisingly refreshed by the time they touch down in the city despite the late hour.

Kyle is back from his shift at the bar and waiting for him at the house, sitting up in bed with his glasses on and reading a book. The feeling that washes over Eric when he sees him is such a strong sense of coming home that he can’t even say anything. He just drops his bag lets himself fall onto the bed, his head landing in Kyle’s lap, face pressed against his stomach.

“Well, hello,” Kyle says, and Eric can hear the smile in his voice. He strokes his fingers through Eric’s hair and lets himself be rearranged a little so Eric can wrap his arms around his middle. “Is that comfortable?”

“Not at all,” Eric mutters into the fabric of Kyle’s shirt (which is actually one of his shirts, and he likes how that makes his heart feel). His bad shoulder is already screaming at him, but he squeezes his arms tighter and holds on for another moment, then sits up and pulls his sweater and jeans off before getting under the covers with Kyle, greeting him with a long, thorough kiss.

“Miss me?” Kyle asks with a grin and Eric has to kiss him again.

“You have no idea. That was a crazy trip.”

“Mhmm, crazy in what ways exactly? Because I have this bet going with Kip…”

Eric groans. Of course.

“We have to entertain ourselves somehow, you see,” Kyle says, playing coy and trailing his fingers down Eric’s chest like the tease he is. “When our brave men are far away and we’re all by our lonesome…”

“Waiting for the Admirals to come home from the war, huh?”

“To return to us victorious, of course,” Kyle adds, “so we may once again know –”

He gasps when Eric covers the outline of his cock through his underwear, already getting hard like the energetic twenty-something he is.

“...the touch of a man,” Kyle finishes and rolls over so he’s on top of Eric, pinning his hands to the mattress with a wicked smile.

“Can’t touch you like this,” Eric says, as if that isn’t obvious.

“You don’t need to do anything,” Kyle whispers right by his ear and presses a wet kiss to the side of his neck. “Let me take care of you.”

Sometimes, Eric is fired up after a game, and it feels like he can barely wait to get home and have Kyle take him apart. But then there are days like today, where he’s taken so many hits that he isn’t sure there’s any part of his body left that doesn’t hurt; from the burning muscles in his legs to the bruises forming on his chest. Add the travel and the late night, and he’s not exactly very...functional.

Kyle never seems to mind it all that much when that happens. He once called it sober people whiskey dick and adapted, because sometimes things really are that easy, even if it’s hard for Eric to believe.

It still feels good when Kyle kisses his way down Eric’s body, his lips gentle on the blooming bruises and his hands just as tender as they follow. He sighs deeply when Kyle takes him into his mouth, only half-hard but no less sensitive for it. Kyle sucks him softly for a while, his fingers ever wandering to massage his balls or slide behind them and between his cheeks, adding that electrifying little bit of pressure from outside.

If what Eric feels with Scott is a spark, Kyle sets off the whole damn fireworks display. Right now, being with him feels like the warm, crackling flame of a fireplace in the middle of winter, somewhere for Eric to warm his hands and his heart when he comes home. Tomorrow, after a good night’s sleep, a hearty breakfast, and some painkillers, the remnants of that are going to be kindled into an all-out blaze.

Probably by adding some more wood, Eric thinks, and almost makes himself laugh.

“Something funny?”

Eric shakes his head and Kyle presses a kiss to the base of his cock like a promise to return soon and tucks him back into his underwear. He comes up to kiss Eric again and then kneels over him, legs on either side of Eric’s chest and the bulge in his boxer briefs so close to Eric’s face he feels like he can already taste Kyle in his mouth.

When he tries to touch him, however, Kyle gives him a stern look and clicks his tongue at him.

“You’re not doing anything, remember? You’ve worked hard enough, gorgeous.” He pushes his underwear down and takes his cock out, his beautiful long fingers wrapping around it with a sigh. “Just watch.”

And that’s a form of torture in itself, but one that Eric welcomes. He lets his eyes travel over Kyle’s body, from his slightly parted lips over the definition of his arms, down to the muscles in his thighs. Kyle isn’t drawing things out or putting on a show, the movements of his hand practical and purposeful. But even that is enough to make Eric’s mouth go dry with how sexy it looks. So he does as he’s told and watches.

“Wanna finish me?” Kyle asks when Eric can tell he’s getting close, breath coming faster and hips thrusting forward into his own hand.

“Please.”

Eric feels like he must probably look a little pathetic with the way he strains his neck, mouth open, so eager for Kyle to feed him his cock, but he simply doesn’t give a single fuck about that. Not when Kyle moans and starts filling his mouth pretty much the second Eric’s lips close around him, and especially not when he pushes deeper while he comes, fingers buried in Eric’s hair and holding his head in place.

Kyle blows out a long breath and gingerly pulls out, catching a little escaping drop at the corner of Eric’s mouth with his thumb and waiting for him to lick it off.

“Hey, you know what?” he says after they've both collected themselves a little and he gets settled next to Eric, slow kisses traded between them. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Eric replies with a smile. What a good, good week it’s been indeed.

---

Even though it makes him a little nervous all over again, Eric has decided it’s time to tell Holly about Kyle. It’s not like he’s been actively trying to keep him a secret from her, but he maybe hasn’t mentioned him in so many words. And he knows how it all looks from the outside – all that needs to happen is for some photos to end up online and he can imagine the headlines. Even if there is nothing scandalous actually going on, he doesn’t want her to find out that way and jump to a wrong conclusion.

And besides, she should know anyway. Holly is still his closest friend apart from Scott and Carter, even if some people seem to find that surprising. But you don’t spend half your life with someone and then walk away as if you’re suddenly strangers; or at least Eric doesn’t.

As jarring as the word divorce sounds, it never really felt that way to him. They both recognized that they’d grown apart in a way that wasn’t fixable and set each other free. They hadn’t been in love for a long time at that point, but it was still an act of love, in a way, to let each other go. They signed their divorce papers and went out for brunch together afterwards and had the most open and honest conversation in years. It was like a weight had been lifted off both their shoulders, not feeling like they had to try and keep something alive anymore that was already long dead.

Holly already knows he’s been dating again, and specifically looking at dating men, because Eric’s sexuality was never a secret between them either. And she’s been dating, too, so it’s far from a sore subject between them. As soon as he brings up being in an actual relationship, she will understand just how serious it is to him. And he wants her to know that, too.

So he tells her the whole story.

“You’re so dumb,” is what Holly says to it, her laugh warm and joyous. “You could have told me right away. This is great, I’m happy for you.”

“It feels like such a cliché sometimes, I don’t know. And it’s – that’s not what it is, at all. But how it looks...”

“I know that. I know you. Don’t forget that,” she says gently. And that really is what matters, not some stupid Internet gossip that may or may not pop up at one point.

She wants to know all about Kyle, which is fortunate, because Eric wants to talk about him. A lot.

“You know what?” Holly says when they’re getting ready to hang up. “I think you just inspired me.”

“What do you mean?”

“There’s this guy at my gym who’s been flirting with me but I keep brushing him off because he’s…26? 27? I might reconsider now.”

“You should do it,” Eric laughs. “He might surprise you.”

“What a life, can you imagine? Both of us with boyfriends in their twenties. We’ll each have to buy an ugly sports car to drive them around in and then move to Thailand or something, complete the midlife crisis checklist.”

“Someone probably has to play golf, and I don’t really want to.”

“You’re the one who’s retiring. Golf is all yours, baby. You’re already flaking out on the borderline concerning drinking habit no one dares to mention. I can’t do it all, you know.”

They make vague plans to meet for lunch soon (which Eric doesn’t actually know how Kyle will feel about, but he’s sure that as soon as he meets Holly, he’ll just understand) and Eric smiles when the call disconnects. It feels like all the people he loves are being brought closer together. And all of that might be happening in somewhat unconventional ways, but he reminds himself he’s never really been afraid of being different anyway. So why start now, when it makes him happy for the first time?