Chapter Text
It was Joe’s second day of practice, and boy was he not excited. When he got home, he replayed the practice in his mind and realized that Matt probably hated him for being so rude. He wasn’t trying to be rude, obviously, but there was something about Matt that felt different from the rest of the team.
As soon as he walked into the locker room, Mitch came up to him. “Joe, we need to talk.” He said ominously, and then walked out of the room, motioning for Joe to follow.
“What’s up?” Joe said nervously.
“Do you hate Matt?” Mitch asked. Joe knew this was coming, but wow, Mitch got straight to the point.
“Uhh, no.” Joe replied, unsure of what to say.
Mitch raised an eyebrow. “Then why are you, like, avoiding him?”
Joe hesitated. “I… don’t know.” He said, hoping Mitch would understand in a way. Mitch grabbed his arm and led him to the gym, where Matt was. Joe had no way to get out of this, did he?
“Matt, get over here.” Mitch shouted. This was it, the whole team was gonna hate Joe. He was some weird, gay, freak who crushed on guys four years younger than him. On top of that, Matt was a rookie.
Matt walked over slowly, like he was afraid of scaring Joe away. “What’s up?”
“Joe has something he would like to say to you.” Mitch said, and backed away, still watching the scene unfold from afar.
“Uhh… I’m, uh, sorry for avoiding you.” Was all that Joe could say.
Matt smiled. “It’s okay!” So obviously Matt wasn’t the kind of guy to hold grudges.
Mitch sighed and walked over again. “Matt has a crush on you!” He said, and ran away.
Joe’s eyes widened, and so did Matt’s. “I… uh…” Matt looked like he was on the verge of tears. Why would Mitch do that?
“It’s okay! I’m, um, well the feeling’s mutual.” Joe said, not sure how else to put it.
Matt’s eyes widened again. “Really? You’re not just saying that?” He sounded like a little kid.
“No, but, uh, what do we do now?” Joe said, confused more than anything.
“KISS!” Mitch yelled from across the room. Luckily the only other man in there was Auston, so Mitch wasn’t revealing too much. Wherever Mitch was, Auston followed.
Joe looked at Matt, who grabbed Joe’s face with both hands. The next thing Joe knew, they were kissing and he could hear Mitch giggling like a teenage girl. Maybe being on the Leafs wasn’t so bad after all.