Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ryan wasn’t sure how MacTavish learned of his upcoming marriage to Gabe, though neither of them had been being exactly subtle so maybe it wasn’t so unexpected. He walked into the G.M.’s office trying to keep his nerves under control, something he failed at completely the second he saw that Bettman was seated across from MacTavish.

“You wanted to see me sir?” he asked uncertainly looking from Bettman back to MacTavish.

MacTavish nodded. “Have a seat Ryan. Stop fidgeting, you’re not in trouble,” he added as Ryan sat down.

“That’s…why am I here then sir?” His gaze drifted back to Bettman.

MacTavish punched a button on his phone. “Are you there Sherman?”

“You bet, I’ve got Landeskog here with me.”

Ryan felt his heart rate pick up again. Whatever MacTavish said he doubted it was a good thing that he and Gabe were in a phone meeting with their general managers and the NHL commissioner only a month after they’d decided to get married. Bettman confirmed his fears a moment later.

“I understand you two are getting married.”

“Yes sir,” Ryan said preparing himself for the worst.

“We we’re planning on just a small ceremony,” Gabe said over the phone, sounding like he was having thoughts similar to Ryan’s. “Maybe a handful of friends and our families…”

“No,” Bettman interrupted, shaking his head.

“You can’t tell us not to get married,” Ryan said determined to put an end to this farce. He stood up. “And if we have to leave the NHL to do it—”

“Sit down Ryan,” MacTavish said sternly. “Nobody said anything about leaving the NHL.”

“Quite the contrary,” Bettman agreed.

“Would someone please tell us why we’re having this meeting then?” Gabe asked sounding stressed.

“I’m going to change the way the NHL views homosexuality,” Bettman obliged a slightly manic look in his eyes. “You two are going to help. Your wedding will be a turning point in franchise history.”

“I guess that would be okay,” Ryan said hesitantly.

“What did you have in mind?” Gabe asked.

“Nothing huge,” Sherman said. “We’ll have you do a few public appearances, talk to a few magazines.”

Bettman was nodding as Sherman talked. “The more publicity the better,” he added once Sherman had finished. “I’d like to include some of the bigger names in the hockey world on your guest list but I can email you that later once we’ve decided the final cut. Agreed?”

“What do you think Gabe?” Ryan asked thinking that if they could do this with the full approval of the commissioner it would be a lot easier.

“I guess so long as we keep it from turning into a circus it would be all right,” Gabe said finally.

“Obviously we want you two to be seen together,” MacTavish said dryly. “So I’ve cleared your schedule for the next week, Ryan, so you can do some press releases with Landeskog in Denver.”

“Then the next week Gabriel will join you in Edmonton,” Sherman said.

Ryan wasn’t sure he wanted to talk to the press about him and Gabe but it would have to happen eventually and at least this way it was on their terms. Getting to spend a few unexpected weeks with Gabe would make the minor annoyance of the media worthwhile.

Gabe was there to pick him up from the airport along with what looked like every paparazzi in the state of Colorado.

“Hi,” Ryan said self-consciously kissing Gabe on the cheek as cameras flashed from behind the line airport security was enforcing. He could feel his face heating up.

“We don’t have to do this you know,” Gabe said grabbing Ryan’s bag and leading the way towards his car. “We can tell Bettman to shove his plan.”

Ryan glanced over at the sea of flashing cameras. “I think it’s a little late for that. We just have to get through a couple of public appearances and they’ll find someone new to bother.”

Gabe looked unconvinced as he put the bags in the trunk and got into the car. They didn’t talk much on the way to Gabe’s apartment but it was a comfortable silence and Ryan felt himself starting to relax now that they were away from the cameras.

There were more reporters outside Gabe’s apartment but Gabe ignored them driving straight into the underground parking garage.

“Hi,” Ryan said again once they were in the privacy of Gabe’s apartment kissing him properly this time.

“Hi.” Gabe smiled softly, running his fingers through Ryan’s hair. “So I thought we’d stay in tonight—”

“Yes,” Ryan said instantly, pulling Gabe in for another kiss.

Gabe laughed against Ryan’s lips. “Bedroom?”

Ryan pushed him in the direction of the bedroom and let that be his answer.

Chapter Text

Gabe was woken up by the sound of his cell phone trilling near his ear. He fumbled for the phone and swiped his finger across the screen. “Hello?” he mumbled.

“Gabriel, it’s Greg. Can you and Ryan make it to the Downtown Aquarium by eleven?”

Gabe glanced at his alarm clock, just after nine. “Um sure. Why?”

“We want the public to see you two out enjoying yourselves. They’ve got a new exhibit opening today so there’ll be lots of people there and reporters covering the event. Answer any questions the reporters might ask but do your best to pretend that you’re just two people on a date. I’ll call you later tonight to talk about how it went.”

Sherman hung up before Gabe could wrap his mind around what the general manager had just said enough to be angry. He dropped his head back onto his pillow and groaned.

“Who was that?” Ryan asked next to him.

“Sherman. He’s sending us to the aquarium on a date,” he said in disgust keeping his eyes closed.

“Reporters?”

“Yeah.” Ryan was quiet and Gabe opened his eyes. Ryan had propped himself up on his elbow and was looking down at Gabe.

“Do we have time for breakfast?”

“We could grab waffles on the way.” Gabe started to sit up and Ryan pushed him back down.

“That’s not exactly what I had in mind,” Ryan said grinning.

They arrived at the aquarium fifteen minutes late which Gabe thought was pretty good time considering. They paid their admission and headed into the aquarium.

“Wow,” Ryan said looking around.

Gabe grinned as the crowd moved around them. “Which exhibit do you want to see first?”

“The one with the otters,” Ryan answered immediately looking intently at the screens that were showing scenes from the different exhibits. “Which one is that?”

“Um…” Gabe looked at the map and brochure he’d gotten at the front desk. “The North American Exhibit. Come on.” Gabe enjoyed the fact that everyone was too busy looking at the fantastic sights the aquarium had to offer or trying to keep their children under control to pay attention to him and Ryan. He grinned when Ryan stepped closer and slid their hands together. They wandered through the aquarium that way until they came to the otter enclosure where Ryan reverted into a six year old, running up to the edge of the enclosure and chattering to the otters in delight. The otters seemed equally delighted to see Ryan, not that Gabe could fault them for that, playing on the dark rocks.

They spent the better part of the next two hours with the otters Gabe only convincing Ryan to leave with the promise of food.

“We can’t spend all day with the otters,” Gabe teased as they walked towards the aquarium’s restaurant.

Ryan sighed dramatically. “I guess. We don’t want the other animals to feel neglected. Hey, they don’t serve seafood here do they? Wouldn’t that be kind of like cannibalism?”

Gabe laughed. “You’re weird.” They passed by the newly opened Mangrove exhibit and Gabe remembered the reason why they were here. He hesitated to attract attention when they were having such a good time. He glanced over the crowd and was relieved that it looked like most of the press had gone already.

“Mr. Landeskog!”

Gabe cringed as a voice called his name from the side of the exhibit. “Keep walking,” he said but Ryan had already turned to look. Gabe relaxed a little when he recognized the man walking over to them, a sports reporter who was clearly here with his family instead of working on a story. “Hey Dave,” he said managing to sound friendly. “How’s the new exhibit?”

“Definitely worth seeing. Of course, I’d see more if I didn’t have to keep track of my rugrats. Good thing my wife is here too.” He laughed. “Sorry to bother you guys. We got a call that you were down here and the paper thought it would be cool to get a couple of statements.”

“Sure,” Gabe said glancing at Ryan who nodded.

“Cool. Is this your first time at the aquarium Ryan?” Dave asked dropping the formality of last names.

“Yeah. It’s pretty awesome from what I’ve seen so far.”

“I don’t imagine you guys get to see too much of the city when you’re in town for games so it must be nice to have someone here to show you around.”

“It’s a good excuse for me to see some of these places too,” Gabe joked. “It’s funny how long you can live in a place and have never visited its main attractions.”

“There’s been rumours floating around that you two are planning on tying the knot. If that’s true do you think it’s going to affect your game?”

Gabe shook his head. “We’ve been together long enough while playing on opposing teams that I don’t think it’ll change things much.” Technically the press release about their wedding wasn’t until tomorrow but he didn’t think it would matter too much giving Dave a jump on the information.

“David!” a blonde woman called holding two little boys by the hands. “Catch Maria, she’s heading for the mermaid grotto again!”

“Thanks for the interview guys,” Dave called over his shoulder as he hurried to catch up to a dark haired girl.

“That wasn’t so bad,” Ryan said as they started walking again. “Is it naïve of me to hope that everyone at the announcement tomorrow is that cool?”

Gabe shrugged. “If not that’s their problem. I hope they have good steak here.”

They stayed at the aquarium until closing then went out for dinner, not getting home until late. They were once again woken by Gabe’s cellphone the next morning.

“I’m going to start muting this thing,” Gabe muttered before answering. “Hello?”

“Gabe, it’s Greg,” Sherman’s voice came over the phone sounding stressed. “I don’t want you to panic but we’re going to have to do some damage control at the press conference this afternoon.”

“What? Why?” Gabe asked sitting up. “Is this about the reporter we talked to yesterday?” He couldn’t think of anything that had been said that would require damage control.

“Not unless you gave him pictures of you and Ryan having sex. I’m going to send you the pictures so you’re not blindsided but the PR guys should have this mess sorted out before you have to get behind a microphone.”

They ended the call and Gabe opened the email attachment that Sherman had sent him.

“What’s going on?” Ryan asked leaning over Gabe’s shoulder. “Oh,” he said seeing the photos. “Isn’t that…?”

“My apartment,” Gabe finished grimly. He looked over at the window then got up and pulled the blinds closed. He’d never had a problem before so the blinds were always open.

“Well,” Ryan said still looking through the photos. “We are announcing that we’re getting married today and there were already rumours about it. People had to expect we were doing more than holding hands.”

“That doesn’t mean I want them to have visual confirmation. I guess we have to leave it to the PR guys now. Do you want pancakes? I’m going to go make pancakes.”

Chapter Text

Ryan knew Gabe was upset but he wasn’t sure why he was quite as upset as he was. The pictures weren’t as bad as they could have been, they were modestly covered by the sheets for the most part. Ryan had honestly seen racier things on TV. Before he could follow Gabe to the kitchen, Ryan’s cell phone rang. He looked at the call display and was surprised to see Hall’s number. They hadn’t talked much outside the rink since he and Eberle had split up since Ryan had been spending most of his time with Eberle and Hall had been avoiding Eberle.

“Hallsy,” he answered the call, “What’s happening man?”

“Dude, do you know there are naked pictures of you and Landeskog online?” Hall blurted out.

Ryan grimaced. “It’s been brought to my attention yes.” He flopped back onto his pillow.

“Oh. Um…”

Ryan started to grin as Hall dropped into an uncomfortable silence. “You should have planned something to say after that,” he suggested.

“In hindsight, yeah, that would have been helpful,” Hall laughed. “So how is everything? I never got to tell you congratulations.”

“Thanks,” Ryan said smiling.

“Anyway I’d better go, it was good to talk to you again Ryan.”

The call ended and Ryan looked at the phone in confusion for a second before getting up and heading into the kitchen. Gabe was standing in front of the stove, spooning batter into a frying pan.

“Hey,” Ryan said slipping his arms around Gabe’s waist and kissing the edge of his jaw. “Do you want to talk about what’s bothering you?”

“It’s nothing, I’m just overreacting.” He turned his head and kissed Ryan’s cheek. “Would you mind setting the table? The pancakes will be ready soon.”

The press release about their upcoming marriage was being held at the Pepsi Center and Gabe relaxed a little once they got inside. Having the home ice advantage was important in more things than hockey.

“Relax,” Ryan murmured as they got behind the podium and Gabe started to tense up again. Sherman and Sakic had talked to the press ahead of them and the P.R. guys had gone over with them what questions they could expect and what answers to give.

The low drone of voices quieted as they sat down and the questioning started.

“Are you surprised at the reaction you’ve gotten within the NHL about your relationship?”

Ryan smiled, relieved that the first question wasn’t about the pictures, he wasn’t sure what Gabe’s reaction would have been. “No. We have a great bunch of people in the NHL, everyone has been very supportive.”

“What’s your opinion on the photos that came out this morning?”

Ryan cringed and glanced at Gabe. His fiancé had tensed but that was his only outward reaction to the question. “Um,” Ryan said turning his attention back to the reporters. “I guess we’re both a little disappointed that someone would be so desperate for attention that they would resort to intruding on people’s lives.”

“Being professional athletes you must be used to a certain amount of interest in your private lives. How is this any different?”

“Do you let people photograph you while you’re in the shower?” Gabe asked dryly.

That drew a laugh from the reporters and moved them past the photos onto more generic questions about how long they’d been together and what plans they’d made for the wedding but it was still a relief when the meeting ended and they were back at Gabe’s apartment.

“I think that went well,” Ryan said hanging up his coat and flopping down on the couch. “Don’t you?”

That got a smile out of Gabe. “As well as could be expected I guess.” He sat down on the couch, lifting Ryan’s legs up from where they’d been stretched and settling them across his lap. He ran his hand idly along Ryan’s calf. “Do you think it would throw a wrench in Bettman’s plans if we left Denver early?”

“You probably shouldn’t look so thrilled at the thought that it might. Hey, don’t stop,” he objected as Gabe stopped rubbing his legs. Gabe grinned and obligingly started again. “Where would we go? Edmonton?” Ryan asked.

“Maybe. Or we could just disappear for a few days, go camping or visit our parents or something.”

“That sounds like fun but you know we can’t.”

“Why not? Are people counting on us to give them more tabloid gossip?”

“Gabe…”

“No.” Gabe stood up abruptly and Ryan’s feet hit the floor. “You know what? Forget it. I’m going to bed.”

“It’s only four o’clock.”

“I’m tired!”

Ryan winced as the bedroom door slammed shut. He’d give Gabe a little while to cool down and then he was going to find out what had turned his normally good humoured fiancé into a raving lunatic.

Chapter Text

Gabe threw himself down on his bed and glared at the drapes that were still pulled across the window. He knew he owed Ryan an apology but that wasn’t a conversation he wanted to get in to right now. He fell asleep after a while, stretched across the bed. When he woke up it was light outside and he was under the covers. Ryan’s side of the bed was rumpled so he must have come to bed but he wasn’t there anymore and Gabe felt a lonely ache at the sight of the empty space beside him.

He slid out of bed and wandered through the apartment, hearing no sound that indicated there was another person there. He ended up in the kitchen where the smell of coffee lingered and found a note stuck on the fridge. He relaxed a little when he read it, smiling at the way Ryan left a message in the same shorthand he used when texting. They were out of milk so Ryan had decided to go for a jog to the store and pick some up.

Gabe poured himself a cup of coffee and stared out the kitchen window, wondering what time Ryan had left. He heard the door open and the sound of Ryan’s laugh. He wandered over to greet him.

“I’ll talk to you later Ebs,” Ryan said ending the phone call with a grin. “Hey.” He kissed Gabe lightly. “Feel like going for a swim?” He called over his shoulder as he walked into the kitchen to put the milk in the fridge.

Gabe started after him. “Um, sure?” he said hesitantly, leaning against the doorframe. “Aren’t we…you’re not upset over last night?”

“Nope,” Ryan said still grinning. “Want to know why? You’re upset over the loss of privacy right?” He continued without waiting for Gabe to answer, “So Ebs and I are going to give the press something bigger to focus on.”

Ryan looked so delighted with himself Gabe didn’t have the heart to point out the many flaws in his plan.

“What could possibly be bigger than your wedding?” Matt asked looking confused as he flipped the puck idly towards Gabe.

Gabe shrugged, caught the puck easily and sent it back to Duchene. “I was kind of afraid to ask for details.” There was some noise from the other guys on the ice and Gabe glanced over to check on Ryan who had wanted to do some skating to keep his game sharp but had been uneasy about joining the Avs for a casual practice. Ryan waved at him and Gabe waved back before turning his attention to Matt again. “We’re leaving for Edmonton tomorrow morning so I guess I’ll find out soon.”

“All right guys!” Roy’s voice broke over the sound of pucks on ice. “That’s enough for today, consider yourselves emancipated. Landeskog, you got a minute?”

Gabe skated up to the coach. “What’s up Coach?”

“You looked a little tense out there today. Can I give you some advice?”

It threw Gabe for a second that Roy was asking, usually he just told you whatever he was thinking. “Yeah, sure.”

“Don’t let this wedding stuff get into your head. It’s just like hockey, keep your focus on that moment of the game and ignore everything else. Remember that and you’ll get through this just fine. Now get out of here and have some fun.”

Gabe nodded. “Thank you.” He started to skate over to the boards where Ryan was waiting.

“Hey Gabe!” Roy’s voice rang out again. Gabe turned back. “Congratulations.”

Gabe grinned. “Thanks!” he shouted back. He reached Ryan and they headed into the locker room together.

“Hey,” Matt said catching them as they came in. “A few of the guys are getting together at Talbot’s tonight. You two want to come?”

Gabe glanced at Ryan. “Sure,” he said when Ryan nodded.

“Cool, come around 7:30.”

Matt left and Gabe and Ryan changed quickly.

“So we’ve got most of the afternoon to ourselves. Anything you wanted to do before we leave Denver?” Gabe asked as they left the arena.

Ryan glanced over at him and the look on his face made Gabe blush. “I meant for sightseeing.”

Ryan laughed. “I know but my interpretation is more fun.”

Gabe couldn’t argue with that and drove faster than he should have back to the apartment.

7:30 came too quickly and they were late getting to Talbot’s house, the clock edging closer to 8:00. It looked like they were the last ones there judging by the number of other vehicles parked along the street and in the driveway.

“A few guys huh?” Gabe said when Maxime opened the door. “Looks like the whole team is here.”

“Pretty near,” Talbot agreed grinning and leading the way into the living room. “Matt said it was your last day so we had to scramble to put this together.”

Gabe’s jaw dropped when he saw the room decorated in a dizzying array of Av’s and Oiler’s colours. There was a hand painted banner stretched across the room, the word congratulations spelled out in alternating blue and orange letters.

“We wanted to show our support since we know the last week hasn’t been easy for you guys.”

“I think you’ve blown his mind,” Ryan joked throwing an arm around Gabe.

“You guys didn’t have to do this!” Gabe said recovering. “How long did this take?”

Duchene shrugged. “An afternoon.”

Talbot passed a couple of beers to Gabe and Ryan. “Consider this your bachelor party Gabe.” He ruffled Gabe’s hair.

Gabe ducked out of the way grinning. “Come on man,” he said smoothing his hair back down.

“I hope you know what you’re getting into with this one,” Talbot teased. “Such a prima donna.”

“I like your teammates,” Ryan said once the party had settled into a rhythm and they had some time to themselves. “They’re almost as crazy as mine.”

Gabe laughed. “Yeah, they’re great.” He took another drink from his bottle and found himself looking at their reflections in the glass doors that led onto the back porch. “Ryan can we talk?”

“Of course.”

Gabe led the way onto the back porch, relieved that no one else was out there. He closed the door quietly and leaned against the railing.

“You’re not breaking up with me are you?” Ryan asked his voice only half joking.

“No! Of course not!”

“Well that’s a relief. What’s this about then?”

“I owe you an apology for last night.” He held up his hand to stop Ryan from interrupting. “This has been just as stressful for you and you don’t deserve to have me snapping at you.” He hesitated then continued. “You’re only partly right about the reason why I’ve been tense; I’m a hockey player in the NHL, I’m used to a certain loss of privacy.”

“What is it then?” Ryan asked sounding genuinely confused.

“I don’t want to be one of those couples that lives so much in the public eye that they lose themselves and each other in the image that the public portrays them as.” He blushed. “I’m sorry, that sounds dumb.”

“No it doesn’t.” Ryan stepped closer, leaning in so that their foreheads were touching. “I don’t want to lose you either but I think so long as we remember to listen to each other and not what everyone else is saying we’ll be okay.”

Gabe leaned into the touch of Ryan’s hand on his face. “All right,” he said shakily. He laughed a little. “I guess if both you and Coach Roy are telling me the same thing I’d better believe it.”

“Do you still want to escape for a while?”

“No, I’m good for now.”

“Okay but please tell me if you start feeling overwhelmed about anything and we’ll deal with it together.”

“I found them,” Matt’s voice startled them as he appeared at the patio doors. “They’re out here being mushy!"

“You’ll have time for that when you’re married,” Talbot shouted from inside. “Get in here and enjoy your party!”

Chapter Text

“We’re going to be late,” Ryan said hopping on one foot as he tried to put his sock on and throw the last of his things into his duffel bag at the same time.

“We’re not going to be late,” Gabe said grabbing Ryan’s bag from him to finish packing while Ryan put his sock on. “Calm down.”

“We’ve only got an hour to get to the airport,” Ryan reminded him. “We’re going to miss our flight.”

“We’re not going to miss our flight.”

They managed to get to the airport in time despite Ryan’s doomsday predictions. Ryan was jittery the entire flight. His leg bouncing up and down as they sat and by the time they landed Gabe was worried that he was going to fly into space the second he was outside.

“We’ll have just enough time to drop our bags off before we have to head to the arena,” Gabe said glancing at his watch as they walked to Ryan’s car.

“Can we stop and get coffee?” Ryan asked.

Gabe looked at him. “No. You’re already wired enough. If you have any more energy you’re going to go super nova.”

Ryan laughed. “I’m not that hyper, nice space reference though.”

“You really are that hyper,” Gabe assured him. He turned the radio on and started singing along, utterly tone deaf, until Ryan started to laugh.

“God you’re embarrassing,” Ryan said grinning when they reached his apartment building.

“Me?” Gabe widened his eyes in mock disbelief. “You have wounded me to the quick good sir.” He pressed his hand dramatically to his chest, then laughed when Ryan rolled his eyes and pushed him gently out of the way so he could grab their bags out of the trunk.

They only had one duffel bag each so Gabe had no trouble carrying them both, ignoring Ryan’s half-hearted objections as they took the elevator up.

“I think I lost my key,” Ryan said when they stopped in front of his apartment, realizing it wasn’t on his key chain.

“Good thing you gave me your spare then,” Gabe teased setting the duffels down and pulling out his set. He slid the key into the lock and pushed the door open. A blast of heat exploded out of the apartment, knocking Gabe off his feet and slamming him into the wall behind him. His head spun and through the haze of smoke and the ringing in his ears he tried to make sense of what had just happened. He felt something brush against his hand but he couldn’t move and then the world stopped, everything around him going blank.

Chapter Text

Ryan choked on the dust and smoke that filled the hallway as he tried to call out to Gabe. He crawled through the debris in the direction that he thought Gabe was, feeling disoriented from the explosion. He found Gabe’s hand and squeezed it tight worrying over the lack of response from the still form he could barely make out sprawled across the carpet. He could hear the scream of sirens in the distance and prayed that they were on their way there and that they’d arrive soon.

Ryan woke up in a hospital room, one of the nice, modern ones that gave the rooms a bit of colour instead of sterile white. He had fuzzy memories of the trip in the ambulance but not much after that. He started to sit up and winced, looking at his hands he discovered that they were covered in scratches. The door to his room opened and he looked up to see Eberle.

“You’re awake,” Eberle said his face flooding with relief. He pulled out his cell phone and typed something quickly before pulling a chair up to the side of the bed and sitting down. “The doctors didn’t want everyone hanging around so they elected me to stay and send them news,” he explained.

“What happened? Is Gabe all right?” Ryan tried to push aside the memory of the stillness of his hand in the hallway.

Eberle’s smile slipped and that fear surged to the front of Ryan’s thoughts. “He’s okay isn’t he?” he started to get up without waiting for an answer.

“Gabe’s fine.” Eberle stopped him before he could get out of the bed. “Banged up more than you and the doctor’s want to keep him around for a few days for observation just in case.”

Ryan forced himself to breath and nodded. “Okay but there’s something you’re not telling me. What is it?”

Eberle hesitated. “I’ve been texting back and forth with Taylor, he says the police think someone planted a bomb in your apartment because of your wedding.”

Ryan stared at him. “I want to see Gabe.” He shoved the blankets aside and stood up, grabbing the clothes that were folded nearby. He recognized them as some of Hall’s and guessed that his own hadn’t been in very good shape.

“He was asleep when I checked on him a while ago but I’ll take you to his room.”

“Thanks.” Ryan finished dressing quickly and followed Eberle down the hall.

“The doctors said once you woke up you could go home,” Eberle said when they’d reached Gabe’s room. “I’ll go check and see if they need any paper work filled out.”

Ryan was glad that Eberle was giving him time alone with Gabe but he stopped when he was inside the room and stared at the hospital bed for a long moment before getting up the nerve to walk over and sit next to it. He took Gabe’s hand in his lightly and breathed a sigh of relief that his skin felt warm and his pulse steady. He’d believed Eberle when he’d said Gabe was fine but there had been that nagging doubt clinging to the back of his mind that wasn’t satisfied with just hearing it.

“You’re going to give yourself wrinkles if you keep scowling like that.”

Gabe’s unexpected voice startled Ryan and he jumped. “Hey, how are you feeling?” he asked trying not to sound as worried as he really was.

“Like I took a bad hit on the ice,” Gabe answered shrugging it off but squeezing Ryan’s hand. “What happened?”

Ryan repeated what Eberle had told him and winced as Gabe’s smile faltered. “I’m going to call Bettman and tell him we’re done,” he said. “He can find someone else to be his poster boys.”

“No,” Gabe said.

Ryan stared at him. “I thought you’d be happy, you haven’t been too thrilled with Bettman’s plan.”

“I’m not,” Gabe admitted. “But to back off after something like this? It makes it seem like we’re afraid.”

“Jordan was going to see about getting me checked out,” Ryan said changing the subject. He didn’t think he was up to explaining just how afraid he was right now. “But I can spend the night here with you.”

“It’s all right,” Gabe said. “Hospitals aren’t the most restful places; there’s no point in us both being stuck here.”

“But…”

Gabe squeezed his hand again. “I’ll be fine Ryan.”

“I guess,” Ryan said doubtfully. “One of the guys would probably let me stay with them.”

“I bet they’ll insist on it,” Gabe said smiling.

They talked about nothing in particular for a while until Gabe’s eyelids started to droop and Ryan reluctantly left the room. Eberle was sitting on a bench nearby, playing with his phone, but stood up when he saw Ryan. “Hey, so you’re cleared to leave whenever you’re ready.”

“Thanks Jordan.” Ryan rubbed the back of his neck tiredly. “Could I get you to drop me off at a hotel?”

“What?” Eberle balked at the idea. “No way, you can come stay with me.”

“Thanks.” Ryan suddenly felt exhausted, he wasn’t sure he’d make it to Eberle’s apartment before he fell asleep.

“You know where the guest room is if you want to crash,” Eberle said once they’d reached his apartment. “I’ll be in the kitchen if you feel like talking.”

Ryan wandered into the guest room and collapsed onto the bed, thinking he’d fall asleep instantly but he didn’t, his mind running over everything that had happened. He got up and paced once around the room before giving up and heading into the kitchen, dropping onto one of the barstools that stood at the island. He put his arms on the counter and dropped his head onto them.

Ryan heard the clink of ceramic against the counter as Eberle set a cup down and he could smell camomile tea. He lifted his head and pulled the cup forward gratefully. “Thanks.” The weight of everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours came suddenly crushing down on him and he started crying, dropping his head back onto his arms on the counter.

Eberle slid around to the other side of the counter and put his arm around Ryan’s shoulders.

“I could have lost him Jordan,” he said his voice muffled by tears and the way he was sitting. “Just after the explosion I touched his hand and he didn’t move. I thought—” They sat like that for a while before Ryan was able to get control of himself. “Sorry,” he said wiping his eyes. “I didn’t mean to dump that on you.”

“Eh,” Eberle said. “What are friends for? Did you want to talk about it?”

“I took Bettman up on his offer because I didn’t want to have to hide anything. Do you think that was a mistake? What if the world isn’t ready for this?”

“Have you talked to Gabe? What does he think?”

“He wants to stay with it,” Ryan said. “I don’t think I can do this Jordan.”

“Isn’t it worth it?” Eberle asked. Ryan looked at him and he continued. “I’m not trying to be mean but isn’t Gabe worth the risk?”

“Of course he is!” Ryan glared at Eberle then sighed, thinking it over. “I see your point. I guess the cat’s out of the bag whether we keep going or not so what’s important now is how we deal with this.”

“Get some sleep,” Eberle said squeezing Ryan’s shoulder. “Things will be better in the morning.”

Chapter Text

They had just served Gabe breakfast when Ryan arrived.

“Hi,” Ryan said cheerfully, kissing Gabe lightly and pulling a chair up to the edge of the bed.

Gabe was glad that Ryan seemed to be in a better mood this morning, he’d looked pretty rough last night, not that that was surprising given the circumstances. “Hi,” he answered back. “Care to join me?” he gestured at the food on his tray.

Ryan wrinkled his nose at the oatmeal but stole all of the pineapple chunks from Gabe’s fruit bowl. “How come they don’t put pineapple in waffles?” he wondered. “That would be awesome.”

Gabe laughed. “I’m sure any restaurant in town would make it for you if you asked.”

“Nah,” Ryan said moving on to stealing Gabe’s cantaloupe. “I wouldn’t want to make extra work for them.”

There was a knock on the door and Eberle and Hall came into the room.

“Hey guys,” Ryan said as Hall snitched a grape from Gabe’s bowl. “What are you two doing today?”

Gabe gave up on actually eating any of his own fruit and pushed the bowl closer to their edge of the tray.

“Um,” Eberle said exchanging a look with Hall. “We were…” his voice trailed off and Hall took over.

“Going shopping. We thought you might like to join us.” Hall stared at Ryan intently.

Ryan stared blankly at Hall. “Oh! Um...” He turned to Gabe. “You don’t mind if I go do you?”

“No,” Gabe said watching them curiously. “Go ahead.”

“Thanks.” Ryan kissed him again. “I’ll be back soon.”

“What’s going on?” Ryan asked anxiously once they were out of the room. “Did you find out something new about the bombing?”

“No,” Hall said shaking his head. “Sorry Ryan.”

“We talked to MacTavish. He talked Bettman into moving the wedding up to next week.”

Ryan stared at them. That was a lot sooner than he’d expected; he’d thought Bettman would have wanted to draw the publicity out even longer after the attack. “That’s…” that it was a relief was an understatement and he hugged them both instead since words were failing him. “Thank you.”

Hall and Eberle looked at each other.

“We’ve also got a plan to take some of the attention off of you. If you’re interested we could use your help for a few hours.”

“Of course I’m interested! What’s the plan?”

“We’ll fill you in on the way.”

Chapter Text

Three days was too long to spend in the hospital.

“Hey slow down,” Ryan said as the elevator opened up onto the lobby.

“Sorry,” Gabe said grinning and slowing down for Ryan to catch up. “I can’t wait to get out of here. Are you sure Eberle doesn’t mind letting me crash with you?” He could understand him letting Ryan stay with him but he wasn’t sure the hospitality should extend to the guy who had once punched Eberle in a jealous rage.

“Of course he doesn’t mind,” Ryan said. “I already brought your stuff over there so it’s a moot point anyway.”

Eberle was out when they got to the apartment and Gabe felt strange being in his home while he wasn’t there but Ryan seemed completely comfortable, showing Gabe around as though he had lived there for years instead of a few days.

“Hey,” he said catching Ryan’s attention. “How long is Eberle going to be out?”

Ryan shrugged. “I don’t know. A few hours? Why?”

“Which room did you say was ours?”

They were woken up rudely by the sound of a magpie squawking on the balcony.

Gabe got up to shoo the bird away and when he returned Ryan had taken over the rest of the bed, pulling the pillows and blankets into a chrysalis around him. “Hey,” he said crawling back into bed and poking at Ryan through the blankets. “Are you going to share or what?”

Ryan mumbled something unintelligible and burrowed closer into the blankets.

Gabe sighed and decided to let Ryan win his siege of the bed and wandered into the kitchen, knowing that the smell of coffee would drag Ryan out of bed. Sure enough after the coffee had brewed long enough for the smell to travel throughout the apartment Ryan came stumbling into the kitchen.

“You’re mean,” Ryan said yawning as he took the cup that Gabe passed to him.

“Yep,” he agreed. “Good morning,” he added as Eberle stumbled into the kitchen.

“Coffee,” Eberle mumbled making his way to the pot. “Coming to skate?” he asked after taking a swallow.

Ryan shook his head. “Gabe and I made plans to spend the day together.”

Gabe smiled back at him and Eberle pretended to choke on his coffee.

“You two are so disgustingly domestic,” Eberle said. He set his cup down. “I’m going to head out early; you guys have fun.”

They were curled up on the couch watching Arsenic and Old Lace, Eberle hadn’t come back from practice yet, when the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it,” Gabe said sliding out from under Ryan.

“Mmm,” Ryan said not looking away from the movie.

Gabe got to the door when there was a crash from behind him and Ryan came hurrying out behind him.

“Um,” Ryan said clearly trying to come up with a sane reason why he’d just chased after Gabe. “This is your favourite movie,” he said. “Why don’t you go sit down and I’ll see who it is.”

“But I’m already at the door,” Gabe pointed out. The doorbell rang again.

“Yeah but you should let me get it this time,” Ryan pushed Gabe back towards the living room.

Gabe went with it because he figured whoever was on the other side of the door was getting tired of waiting. He sat back down on the couch, after setting the small table that was lying beside it back on its feet, and tried to focus on the movie but the whispered voices in the other room were distracting. The movie was almost fifteen minutes further along when Ryan finally came back into the living room.

“Who was it?” Gabe asked as Ryan sat down on the couch with him again.

“Huh?” Ryan looked at him blankly. “Oh! Um, there was no one there.”

Gabe decided to let it slide, pulling Ryan close and focusing on the movie.

Chapter Text

“Where are we going?” Gabe asked as they turned down the road away from the hotel that Bettman’s staff had booked for the wedding.

Ryan shrugged casually. “We need to make a stop first,” he said keeping his eyes on the road in front of him.

It might have just been good driving but Gabe was pretty sure Ryan was hiding something. Like he had been all week. “Ryan…”

“It’s a good thing,” Ryan said. He glanced over at Gabe uncertainly. “If you don’t think so when we get there we can leave.”

“Okay,” Gabe agreed leaning back in his seat.

Ryan’s heart was beating a mile a minute as he turned the car into the parking lot. He stopped the car and got out.

Gabe followed suit. “Where are we?” he asked looking around.

“Come on.” Ryan walked through the parking lot, up the steps of the little white chapel. He waited for Gabe at the door and they walked through together.

“You made it!” Eberle said hugging Ryan.

“What…?” Gabe said looking around. The number of friends faces in the pews was overwhelming and his family was seated with Ryan’s at the front.

“We hijacked your wedding,” Hall explained grinning. “Ryan gave us a list of people he thought you’d like to be here, I hope we didn’t forget anyone.”

“I hope this is all right,” Ryan said watching Gabe a little worriedly.

Gabe looked at him. “This is…of course it’s all right,” he said smiling. “But what about the wedding Bettman planned?”

“We talked someone into taking your place,” Hall said, his grin growing wider.

Gabe laughed. “All right. Let’s get married then.”

Chapter Text

“The sports world was rocked by the wedding of hockey superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin yesterday afternoon at a ceremony in Edmonton. Hockey commissioner had this to say about the—”

Gabe switched off the television and pulled Ryan closer on the couch. “Not even a mention of us,” he said happily. “How exactly did Hall and Eberle pull that off?”

Ryan shrugged. “They have more pull than you’d think. Anyway, Eberle told me that Crosby was happy to have a wedding and not have to deal with any of the preparation for it, though I kind of pity them for the amount of scrutiny they’ll be under now.”

“We survived it before the wedding, I’m sure they can handle the aftermath.”

“I’m sure they can,” Ryan agreed. “Though I wouldn’t be surprised if they go to ground for a few months when the season is over.”

“Speaking of going to ground,” Gabe said looking at his watch. “We’d better get going if we want to catch our flight.”

“I’m sure there will be another flight if we miss this one.” Ryan leaned in and kissed him.