Chapter Text
Connor is starting to think this was a mistake.
Like, most of him had known that since he first even considered going along with it, but something about it had called to him. Maybe it was the idea of getting to introduce Chad to some of the guys on the team, which had made more sense when there were more people planning to come than just Bitty and then a bunch of NHLers. Maybe it was for the best, to be starting with just the captain and some others more removed from the situation, because Connor is well aware of how the team talks about the LAX bros. And it’s not – look, that’s an argument for another time, because Connor’s certainly met some assholes in the LAX house, but Chad isn’t – he acts like he’s a part of all that, maybe to protect himself, but he’s not. Not really. Not in the ways that count.
They’re throwing their bags into the trunk of Zimmermann’s 7-seater family car, which he owns because god knows why, and Chad’s running late. Probably still deciding which outfits to pack, the self-absorbed fucker. Connor feels like he’s gonna shake out of his skin, and he can’t decide which part is worse: standing around with Bitty, Jack, and god damn Alexei Mashkov, of all people, three people he couldn’t be less comfortable with, or the idea of all of this with Chad added into the mix, someone he never knows where he stands with.
He has no actual problems with any of them, to be fair. Bitty is – he’s a good captain, okay, he leads the team well and he supports the freshers and is always there if you need or whatever, and Connor gets on fine with him, especially surprising considering the whole party incident from a few months ago, but the only reason they moved past all that is because Connor vowed to completely ignore that it had happened and has refused to have anything remotely resembling a coming out conversation with Bitty. Jack is a really good guy too, and Connor’s looked up to him for as long as he can remember, but there’s still something uncomfortable under Connor’s skin when he looks at Jack and Bitty holding hands like neither of them ever got told they could be gay or pro hockey players, but never both. Mashkov is – what the fuck even is there to say? He’s Russian, so frankly Connor’s surprised he’s even okay with Jack and Bitty, and he’s not overly convinced he wouldn’t have a massive problem with Connor and Chad, if there was, y’know, anything to have a problem with (that is, anything significant, anything public or noticeable). All the guys on the team last year who knew the guy were always going on about how much of a goddamn teddy bear he is, which has gotta be a joke, right? Like, Connor’s seen him racing down the ice with murder in his eyes, and ‘teddy bear’ seems pretty far from ‘murderous and massive Russian’. Like, it’s fine, Bitty wouldn’t have let him come if he was gonna be a problem, but Connor’s still rightfully anxious about it.
Plus, apparently they’re meant to be waiting for a sixth person, Chad’s lateness aside, and Connor doesn’t actually know who it is. It’s not like they’re playing it up to be some secret, because Connor hasn’t exactly gone out of his way to find out, but if its not someone on the SMH team or the Falcs, Connor isn’t inclined to look forward to this.
Once they’re finished piling the bags into the car, Connor takes a step back and looks over to the LAX house across the road, willing Chad to come out already.
There’s a joke there somewhere. Connor is forcefully ignoring it.
Chad eventually emerges, meeting Connor’s eyes, which have probably been staring daggers into the front door of the house. Chad grins, unbothered by the approximately 17 bags he’s carrying, and bounds his way across the street, because he’s a goddamn child. Connor tries to keep glaring at him, but he’s self-aware enough to know there’s probably a disgustingly sappy grin on his face, which he’s trying to hide and certainly failing.
Once Chad gets over to the car, he puts all of his bags straight into the spot in the trunk reserved for him, and seriously, Connor knew this was going to happen, but how on earth does he have that many god damn bags? What did he even pack? Supplies for an apocalypse bunker? Three different outfits for each day? But then Chad turns around, facing Connor, and Connor’s not going to say that his knees are weak or anything, cause that’d be pathetic, but it’s a close thing. He’s certainly not thinking about fashion or potential apocalypse bunkers anymore.
Chad’s walking towards him now, this grin on his face, and it’s – it’s exactly like that one smile he always has, like at the party right before Bitty saw them, like when they’re sitting on Chad’s bed watching a movie and Connor doesn’t know if he wants to cry or walk out or just never let go of Chad, and god help him if Chad kisses him right now in front of his captain and his captain’s boyfriend and the scariest fucking Russian in the NHL they are going to have words . That is, if Connor ever recovers. It’s kind of a case-by-case basis on whether or not Connor will survive Chad kissing him, but he seems to have done alright so far.
Chad clearly notices Connor’s distress, because he walks over, says “hi,” softly, and goes in for a hug that absolutely most definitely involves a kiss on the top of the head. Connor curses, not for the first time, that Chad is taller than him. It’s an unfair advantage, and Chad has been weaponizing it since they first met.
Connor, despite his now quite possibly weak knees, can’t really find it in himself to be upset, so he just soaks it in, before Chad pulls away and drags Connor with him to go and be introduced to the others.
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Jack tends to find nothing more relaxing than having Bitty back in his arms, especially given how much time they’ve had apart the past few months, with Bits busier than ever with school and the captaincy, and NHL hockey as stressful as always. There’s just something about today, though, the five of them standing around Jack’s car (and no, Tater, it’s not a ‘mom van’, it’s a perfectly reasonable normal 7-seater), that sets him on edge. Jack politely draws Tater and Bitty into a conversation when Chad L walks over to Whiskey, not wanting either of them to feel too self-conscious, and he catches them hugging out of the corner of his eye.
Whiskey’s a good kid, Jack thinks. They never played together, Jack never got to be his captain, but Bitty’s always believed in him, and he’s brilliant on the ice. The whole drama earlier this year, where Whiskey wouldn’t open up and then shut down even more after Bits saw him at the party with Chad, Jack knows was really stressful for Bitty. He’s not blaming Whiskey at all, knows the kid’s got enough on his plate as is, but he worries about the tension there, how it bleeds into the game and how it affects both of them on and off the ice. Jack understands, he thinks, where Whiskey is coming from. Not so much not trusting Bitty, which might be part of Whiskey’s problem, but more that it can be really hard being out to people, even knowing that they won’t judge you or hurt you or tell anyone. Whiskey might make it to the show one day, Jack thinks, if he wants to, and Jack’s had enough of his dad’s friends tell him he just ‘can’t be gay, not if he wants to play NHL hockey’, to understand some part of what Whiskey might feel.
Still, he appreciates the kid making an effort to be closer with Bits after the party incident, because Bitty was distraught when he thought he’d hurt Whiskey, scared him enough for him to never be able to get on with the team well. And now Bitty seems to think he fits in better than ever, on good terms with his line and friendly with the rest of the team. And the fact that he agreed to come on this trip, seemed interested in bringing Chad and introducing him, is really good for the team; it feels like he’s offering up a part of his life, asking for support in a quiet way, and Jack and Bitty have spent a long time talking about how to go about including Whiskey, and by extension Chad, into the SMH group the best they can. Jack knows Bitty has a bit of lingering fear of the LAX bros, and Jack understands, knows they can be one of the more homophobic groups on campus, but Jack also knows Chad L a little better than most of the other guys, and he seems like a genuinely good guy.
When Jack was in his last year as captain, Chad L was in his first year as captain, a sophomore who looked petrified half the time and seemed to act up the ‘boofhead’ nature characteristic to a LAX bro in an attempt to be accepted as captain by his team. The few times Jack spoke to him, there were always more LAX bros around, and Chad would be polite to Jack, but never discourage the sneering the other boys would do, never quiet the whispers about Jack’s past, the jokes about drugs and rehab and sometimes about Kent. Now, though, Chad has the respect of his team, doesn’t need to put down the hockey boys to make his team listen to him. Now, Chad is walking over to Bitty, shaking his hand gently, greeting him softly, a kind smile on his face.
“I know we’ve spoken in the Varsity Captains meetings,” Chad’s saying, “but it’s nice to meet you when we don’t have to represent our sports or whatever. Connor speaks very highly of you, I know you’ve been a really great captain to him and the other boys.”
Bitty looks far less afraid than he did before, smiling at Chad and returning the sentiment. Jack squeezes Bitty’s hand, still held in his own hand, and Bitty squeezes back, smiles up at Jack but keeps up the conversation with Chad.
Eventually, Chad turns to Jack, introducing himself and somewhat bashfully telling him what an honour it is to meet him. There’s a slightly awkward moment when Chad puts his hand out for Jack to shake, but realises Jack will have to let go of Bitty’s hand, and starts apologising, but Jack shakes his hand and they laugh it off, and Jack finally knows he can be comfortable here, can trust Chad. Chad is now undeniably aware of Jack and Bitty holding hands, and Jack feels confident he won’t be weird about their relationship, and it’s not that Jack thought he would be a real homophobe, obviously, because at the very least he was seen making out with Whiskey, but that doesn’t mean part of Jack wasn’t still a bit afraid. There’s a lot resting on this, Jack thinks, how the next few days go and then how the rest of the year goes, how Whiskey fits himself back into the team dynamics. There’s also a little more than that, though Whiskey probably doesn’t realise it yet. Jack and Bits didn’t want to meddle, but they saw an opportunity and they took it, okay? The kid wants to go pro, the Aces need the kind of scoring depth Whiskey has, and Tater barely ever gets to see his boyfriend. It lined up to well to act like Jack and Bitty orchestrated it; they did little more that put the idea into the universe and let everything fall into place.
Chad’s introducing himself to Tater now, getting an overgrown Russia hug in return, and Whiskey looks a little bit terrified, so Jack goes over and chats to Whiskey while Chad grins at whatever dumb joke Tater made.
Whiskey’s nothing but polite, even kind, maybe a bit softer than usual with Chad standing right beside him. He asks Jack about his season, how the leadership position has been and how much he’s been looking to the bye-week. Jack asks him about his classes, hears about the chemical engineering professor Whiskey’s ready to kill, and he watches as the kid relaxes more and more. Eventually, he decides that he was right, Whiskey is a good kid. He also decides that these next few days will go well; barring any actual disasters, the group’s going to get along well enough that there shouldn’t be any dramas. Jack hopes that some good things will come from this, solidifying some alliances and friendships, maybe helping everyone feel a little more supported. He finally stops feeling anxious about it all, and lets himself smile, knowing it’s going to be a good trip.
Which is, of course, when a taxi pulls up the curb outside the Haus, and Kent Parson steps out, sunglasses on top of his head and blinding grin on his face.
///////////
When Kent shuts the door of the cab, waiting for the trunk to pop so he can grab his bag, everyone standing around Jack’s car immediately stops and turns to stare at him. He’s kind of used to it, not to be cocky or anything, so he gives them a grin and gets his bag out, thanking the driver and shutting the trunk. When the car drives away, he finally turns around, and like, he’s aware that there are several people there, and he’s excited to see all of them, seriously, even the lacrosse guy that Bittle’s a bit worried about and they know very little about, but. It’s been too long since he’s seen Tater, okay, and it takes him a second to remind himself they’re in public and no, he cannot go and kiss his boyfriend, no matter how much he wants to.
Instead, he heads over and greets everyone else first – a bro hug for Jack, a slightly softer bro hug for Bittle (he loves the guy, but he seriously looks breakable , and he doesn’t want to think about what Jack would do if Kent injured his boyfriend by hugging him too hard), a handshake for the lacrosse guy (Chad, he says his name is, and it makes sense to Kent in a way he’s not sure he understands), and a hug for Whisk, who looks kind of scared to shit of Kent. He hopes that changes, because Kent would genuinely love for the guy to think about signing with the Aces as soon as he’s ready to. That’s kind of the point of this trip though, right? To show Whisk that he’d fit in with the Aces.
Then he heads over to Tater, who looks like he might chirp Kent but only so he doesn’t start crying. Seriously, it’s been a while since they’ve seen each other. Talking on the phone and skyping and texting every second of every day isn’t enough when you’re in love , okay?
He hugs Tater, and then forgets to let go, and then realises a few seconds later how un-platonic that hug was, and knows Jack’s been caught by paps on Samwell’s campus before, so he pulls away reluctantly, and in an attempt to gather the spirit of every ‘no homo’ teammate he’s ever played with, holds his hand out for a fist bump. Bittle coughs to cover up a giggle, and Kent doesn’t say anything. Tater obliges and bumps his fist, but it’s very clear they’d both rather be holding hands.
Kent turns around, giving Bittle the tiny death glare he deserves for laughing at Kent’s suffering, but he knows Bittle and Jack both understand. After all, it wasn’t long ago that they were as closeted as Kent and Tater, so there’s probably no one else that understands like the two of them do.
“So,” Kent asks, enthusiastic as he has the ability to be on a Friday morning, “who’s ready to roll?”
Whisk snickers a bit, which – yeah, fair, Kent’s a goddamn dork and Whisk’s gonna be well aware of it by the time they get home.
Despite his amusement, Whisk still looks a little uncomfortable, but Bittle has already started herding everyone into their designated seats. When Chad climbs into the very backseat, and Whisk is immediately instructed to get back there too, Kent catches a glimpse of downright terror on his face before he climbs in.
Kent’s pretty sure everything’s going to be fine, because Bittle has his scheming face on and seems to think Whisk’s terror is a mark of success, so Kent grabs his seat up front and settles in for a fairly long ride.