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It was a television timeout nearing the end of the third period. Jack had skated over to the bench to see if the goalie coach had any advice for him. When he shook his head at Jack asking, Jack nodded in approval and turned to his teammates.
Mitch, who was sitting right in front of Jack, immediately pointed behind the goaltender. Jack lifted his mask and turned to see what was there. He saw a couple of the in-arena employees looking at him, both of whom quickly turned away when they noticed that Jack was looking at them. Jack wasn’t certain but he thought he saw a blush rise on one of their cheeks.
He raised an eyebrow as he turned back to Mitch.
“What was that about?” He asked. He took his bottle out of his glove and squirted it over his face, shaking off the excess liquid.
“What do you mean ‘what was that about?’” Mitch asked, looking at Jack quizzically. “The in-arena staff look at you all the time.”
“I mean, yeah? I do play on this team.”
Hutch reached over and swatted Jack with his glove. Jack looked over and frowned. “What was that for, Hutch?”
“They look at you because you’re attractive, you idiot,” Hutch said, rolling his eyes. “That girl Mitch pointed out was talking to her friend about asking you out for drinks after the game.”
Jack felt his face heat up as he skated back to the crease. He glanced over to where the girls had been. When he met their gaze, one of them winked at him and the other waved and smiled toothily. Jack did his best to smile in return but he was fairly certain it came across as awkward or goofy. He certainly knew his stomach felt awkward or goofy from that exchange, though he couldn’t exactly pinpoint if it was from excitement or from the strange look he could see on Mitch’s face as he lined up for the faceoff to Jack’s left. Sighing, Jack pushed those feelings aside and focused on tracking the puck after Edmonton won the draw.
The puck cycled along the boards for a few minutes, leaving his teammates hemmed in their zone for a long shift. He heard TJ say something about how he had been out there for close to two minutes and that everyone else was in a similar boat. Jack took a deep breath and leaned around Leon, Alexander, and Joe to try to see the puck where Tyson had it at the point. Alexander tapped his left pad, which was the telltale sign that the shot was coming to that side. Jack mumbled a quick thanks as he readied himself.
When the shot came, it hit Joe’s ankle and shifted to the right. Jack stretched his pad and goal stick in that direction hoping that either would make contact with the puck. He looked in that direction after a moment and noticed that the play had continued to the corner boards. Jack blinked as he assumed proper positioning to watch the play progress.
“Nice save.” Jack glanced over his shoulder and noticed the referee, Graham Skilliter, standing behind the net. “That’ll definitely make some highlight reels for the next month or so.”
“Oh,” Jack said, shifting to the other side of the net to follow the play. “Thanks, bud. It must’ve hit my stick because I didn’t realize I saved it.”
Edmonton turned the puck over to Hyman who tried to exit the zone but got Tyler Ennis’ stick directly to the skates. He fell and the puck instead skittered over to Mitch who passed it back to Justin, who was standing only about five or six feet in front of Jack.
“I’m sure there'll be a replay on the Jumbotron in about two seconds. Furlatt is calling Ennis for a trip as soon as Edmonton touches the puck again.”
Jack nodded and not two seconds later Eric Furlatt blew his whistle because Ethan Bear had touched the puck. Jack turned to grab his bottle, taking a quick squirt. When he turned back around, he glanced up at the clock. It told him that there were barely over three minutes left in the game. Jack took a deep breath and readied himself, even though the faceoff was on Edmonton's end.
As soon as the puck dropped, Wayne cycled it around to Jason who passed it back to TJ. TJ toed the blueline for a moment before he found a lane to shoot. The red light behind Mike Smith lit up and the powerplay unit swarmed TJ at the sideboards. Jack banged his stick against the ice a few times as he watched everyone skate down the bench for their fist bumps. TJ skated over to Jack, tapping both of his pads with his stick.
"Figured you needed a goal to win the game," TJ said, chuckling. "Can't really finish a game nill, nill. This isn't soccer."
Jack tapped the seat of TJ's pants with his goal stick, smiling. "Thanks there, bud. I'll do my best to make it count."
TJ smiled, leaning in to press his helmet against Jack's. "That's all any of us ask, Soupy. For you to try your best. We love you regardless. Mitch especially. I hope you know that."
A large knot had formed in his throat so all Jack could do was nod and smile weakly; he hoped that TJ found that sufficient enough thanks. When TJ smiled and squeezed his shoulder, Jack got his answer.
"What's…" Jack coughed, clearing his throat. "What's taking them so long to drop the puck?"
"Smith tweaked something in his knee and needed the training staff to go attend to him."
"TJ! Soupy! We're ready!" Bogosian called from somewhere behind them.
"Remember, we're proud of you." TJ tapped his helmet against Jack's one last time before skating back to the bench.
As Jack readied himself in the net, he swallowed every emotion that had surfaced during that conversation with TJ. He didn't need to have a breakdown about this right now. Not while he was trying to preserve a 1-0 lead with two minutes fifty-eight seconds left in the game. He could have his breakdown about this when he was in the comfort of his bed.
Those last two fifty-eight went by in a blur. Jack couldn't even tell you anything that happened, save for the fact that Edmonton didn't score. How they didn't score, he didn't know. He was almost on autopilot because of how unsuccessful he had been at trying to push his emotions aside. They had crept back in and they were all he was thinking about, no matter how much he should've been focusing on the game. But he was only human. And humans aren't always going to be one hundred percent invested in their job, no matter how much they love it.
When the team swarmed him at the end of the game, Jack felt overcome with emotions. It had been an incredibly long time since hockey had made him have such positive overwhelming feelings. Being with Toronto was more than he could've ever hoped for. They loved him more than he could've ever hoped for; he loved them more than he could've ever hoped for. He and the Toronto Maple Leafs were a match made in Heaven.
"Soupy, hey," Mitch said, placing his hands on Jack's shoulders. "Why're you crying, bud?"
"Hmm?" Jack mumbled, only half tuned into his surroundings. "What was that, Mitchy?"
"Crying. Why're you doing it?"
"I'm no--" Jack stopped when he realized that his eyes were watering and leaking. "Oh. I guess I am, aren't I?"
"Is everything okay? You're, like, the most brave dude ever. Seeing you crying makes me want to cry." Mitch frowned, grabbing Jack's glove as they skated off the ice.
Once they were down the tunnel, Mitch led Jack into the empty trainer's room, closing the door behind them. Jack sat in one of the office chairs and Mitch knelt in front of him, sliding his gloves off and placing them at Jack's feet. Mitch hovered his hands over Jack's pad straps and glanced up at Jack; Jack removed his helmet before nodding his approval.
As Mitch unlaced the straps, Jack slid his hands out of his glove and blocker. He placed them in his lap, running a hand through his hair and shaking it loose of sweat when it came out.
Mitch moved Jack's pad off, placing it in the ground to his left. He moved his hand down to Jack's skate, carefully working on unlacing the boot.
"I asked you a question, ya know," Mitch said without looking up.
"You did?" Jack replied, genuinely confused. "I must've zoned out between getting off the ice and now I don't remember it."
Mitch patted Jack's knee before he slid Jack's skate off. He placed the skate sideways on top of the pad before moving his attention to the straps of the other pad.
"I'm not mad at you. You did look really out of it." Mitch fumbled with one of the straps, cursing sharply as he tried to unlace it. When it finally came unlaced, Mitch flipped it off and stuck his tongue out at it. "Fuck you, you stupid strap."
Jack scoffed and kicked Mitch with his socked foot. Mitch looked up and stuck his tongue out at Jack.
"This is why I never became a goalie," Mitch mumbled as he went back to unlacing the straps.
A few moments passed, filled only by Mitch cursing obscenely at Jack's pad straps. Once the last strap was unlaced and the pad was off and to Mitch's side, Mitch puffed his chest before reaching down to start unlacing Jack's other skate.
"Anyways. I asked you before if everything was alright. You were crying and you never cry."
Jack swallowed thickly, running a hand through his hair.
"Ye… Yeah. I'm grand, bud," Jack said, though he knew even a dead man could hear that he was lying.
Mitch looked up, pursed his lips, and raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?"
"Ye… no. No, I'm not sure." Jack slouched in the chair, dropping his head on his hands. "A few things that happened in the period confounded me at the end there."
Mitch placed Jack's skate sideways on his other pad before he stood from his kneeling position. He motioned his hands up a couple of times. Jack got the hint, raising his arms above his head. Mitch grabbed Jack's helmet, glove, and blocker and placed them on one of Jack's pads. When he turned back to Jack, he lifted Jack's jersey over his head, draping it over the back of his chair. Mitch then unhooked Jack's chest protector and dropped it atop his goalie pads. Once all of Jack's equipment was out of the way (save for his pants), Mitch sat in Jack's lap and wrapped his arms around Jack's neck. Jack swallowed a nervous breath as he wrapped his arms around Mitch's midsection.
"Care to share what those things were?" Mitch asked, burying his head in the crook of Jack's neck. "I'm willing to listen to whatever the problem is."
Jack nodded, clearing his throat. "After Hutch said that girl wanted to ask me for drinks, I made eye contact with her and her friend on my way back to the crease." Jack felt Mitch's heartbeat falter a little. To compensate for that, he ran his hands slowly along Mitch's ribcage. "Something weird fluttered in my stomach. I'm just not sure if it was from her winking and her friend waving or from you looking like you wanted to murder someone after seeing what they did."
"Mmm," Mitch mumbled, his heartbeat faltering a little more. "I know what I want the answer to be."
Jack ignored Mitch and continued with his explanation. "Then, at the end of the period, I was overcome by the fact that there's no place I'd rather be than in Toronto." Mitch's heartbeat began to even out a little after Jack said that. Jack hummed as he reached up and unlatched Mitch's helmet, sliding it off and dropping it at his feet. He pressed a soft kiss on Mitch's forehead; Mitch's heartbeat suddenly spiked again. Jack brought his hands down and ran them softly along Mitch's ribcage. "You guys all love me more than I could've ever hoped for; I love you guys more than I could've ever hoped for."
"Some more than others." Mitch's voice was barely above a whisper as he spoke. His heartbeat had taken to a sporadic beat, almost as if he was nervous or scared of something.
"What is that--" Jack started.
"What did TJ tell you?" Mitch cut Jack off lifting his head to look at the goaltender.
"Oh, uh…" Jack mumbled. "That all anyone could ask of me was that I tried my best. And that everyone loves me. You especially. But what does--"
Mitch's only response was to grab Jack's face and pull him in for a kiss. Jack startled but made no move to push Mitch away. The kiss only lasted a few moments before Mitch pulled back and swatted the back of Jack's head.
"That. That's what it has to do with anything."
Jack felt his entire face and the tips of his ears burn red-hot as he sat there and looked at Mitch. Mitch rolled his eyes and patted Jack's cheek
"Soupy, Christ," Mitch said, dropping his head back into the crook of Jack's neck. "I've been flirting with you for months. How have you not noticed yet?"
"Flirting with me for months…?" Jack replied, scratching his beard. "Since when?"
Mitch giggled, vibrating against Jack. "Every morning when I bring you your coffee."
"But you--"
"No, I really don't," Mitch mumbled. "I only bring everyone else coffee after they've asked me to. I bring you your coffee when I buy mine on the way to the arena because I know your order by heart."
"T-"
"Two sugar, oat milk, caramel and hazelnut shots. Yeah., bud I know."
Jack ran a hand through Mitch's hair, stopping briefly to soothe his scalp. Mitch hummed, nuzzling closer to Jack.
"I know that you like your post-game shower to be exactly seventy degrees and not a degree warmer or colder."
"Mitchy, I--"
"Not done yet."
Jack promptly shut his mouth and returned to soothingly running his hands along Mitch's ribcage.
"I know basically nothing makes you angry. Save for people that don't know how to use their signals properly when they're driving."
"Pisses me off to no end."
"I know, bud. I know," Mitch mumbled, pressing a kiss to Jack's neck. "You also laugh like a moron at those stupid cat videos on YouTube. And just stupid cat videos in general."
Jack chuckled, running a hand through Mitch's hair. "Cat people see stupid cat videos and we have to laugh. It's the law. Sue me if you don't like it."
"I never said I didn't like it, you goober."
"Yeah, yeah Mitchy."
Mitch hummed, squeezing Jack tightly. Jack smiled and squeezed back. Mitch wiggled around a little and hummed some more. He huffed a breath after a moment and curled in on himself. He mumbled something that Jack didn't hear, prompting Jack to card his fingers through Mitch's hair.
"What was that, baby?" Jack said, pressing a kiss to Mitch's temple.
"Said I was gonna love you until the good Lord comes to collect us."
Jack froze, staring down at Mitch. "You… you don't even believe all that strongly in Jesus and God, Mitch."
"You're right, but I believe that you believe. And that's good enough for me."
"Mitch, I--"
"I said I loved you, by the way. Or did you miss that?"
"Wha…? Oh! Yeah! Sorry," Jack said, distantly. "It's been a while since I've been with a guy. Sorry if I'm rusty."
Mitch chuckled, his breath tickling Jack's neck. "It's fine, Soupy. I knew it had been a while. That's why I didn't come right out and tell you how I felt. I wanted you to figure it out on your own so you could have enough time to decide if you were ready to chance being with a dude again."
"Mitch…" Jack trailed off after his words caught in his throat. He took a moment to gather himself before continuing. "Of course I'm ready to chance being with a dude again. Nobody is ever gonna love me as you do, baby. You already love me more than my last few partners."
Mitch sniffled, wiggling around in Jack's lap. Jack ran his hands along Mitch's ribcage and pressed a kiss to his temple. "It's okay, baby. You're safe with me."
"I'm gonna love you the only way I know how, Jack," Mitch mumbled, his voice strained at wet. "And that's by doing actionable things. Like bringing you your coffee every morning. Or remembering what temperature you like your post-game shower."
"Whatever you need to do, I'm okay with. If it makes you happy, it makes me happy."
Mitch let out a sigh that was soon followed by soft, even breaths that sounded like snoring. Jack ran his hands along Mitch's hipbone and whispered sweet nothings into his temple. Mitch huffed but didn't awaken. Jack smiled and pressed a soft kiss where he had been whispering. Mitch mumbled nonsense and smiled in his sleep. A small smile washed across Jack's face as he continued to run his hands along Mitch's hipbone.
Mitch had been asleep in Jack's lap for ten or fifteen minutes when the door of the trainers' room swung open. Justin was standing on the other side, a relieved look on his face.
"There you tw--" Justin started.
Mitch huffed, shifting in Jack's lap. Jack looked up at Justin and gave him a death glare.
"Quiet. He's sleeping," Jack said, voice hushed but stern.
Justin chuckled leaning against the door frame and crossing his arms over his chest. "Does that mean you finally got your head out of your ass and noticed that Mitch is in love with you?"
Jack groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "How many of you knew?"
"Literally everyone. Except you. Even T-Bear knew. And he's an Oiler now."
Jack shook his head and chuckled weakly. "For a goalie, I really have a hard time seeing what's right in front of me."
TJ appeared beside Justin and smiled triumphantly. "There you are! Keefe is going crazy looking for you and--" TJ paused and blinked when he noticed what was really in front of him. "Keefe told me Mitch would be with you. But did I believe him? No. Idiot, I am."
"Yeah, yeah," Jack mumbled. "I finally got my head outta my ass so Mitch and I are dating now."
"We… we are…?" Mitch chimed in, his voice groggy from sleep.
Jack looked down at Mitch and kissed his forehead. "Yes, baby. We are. I'm gonna love you like there's no tomorrow."
Mitch lit up as he reached up and grabbed Jack's face to pull him in for a kiss. Jack smiled into the kiss, holding onto Mitch's jersey for traction. When they pulled apart, Justin and TJ were smiling softly at them from the doorway.
"We'll tell Keefe we found you," TJ said, turning around. "But we'll also tell him that you unstuck your head from the hole in your ass so you two need some private time."
"Th… thanks, Teej," Jack said, his face and the tips of his ears burning red-hot.
TJ turned back long enough to smile before walking away. Justin watched TJ walk away before he turned back to Jack and Mitch. He smiled fondly at the couple as he pushed off of the door frame.
"I should get back too," Justin said, motioning over his shoulder. "I don't need Keefe mad at me next. Just know everyone--myself included--is really proud of you for tonight's game, Soupy. You did amazing." Justin walked away but stopped halfway up the hallway and turned around. "Congratulations on the relationship as well. Everyone is gonna be so stoked for you two.."
"Thanks, Hollsy," Jack and Mitch mumbled at the same time as they watched Justin walk away.
Once Justin was out of sight, Mitch looked up at Jack and smiled fondly. Jack looked down at Mitch and returned the fond smile. They stared into each other's eyes for a few moments just gazing at the fondness and pure emotion they each could see staring back at them. When they looked away, Jack brought one of his hands up and cupped Mitch's chin, tilting it up and bringing their lips together.
While they kissed, Jack felt his entire world coming together. He was happy in Toronto because he loved everyone here more than he could've possibly imagined. Because he loved Mitch more than he could've possibly imagined. He was happy here because everyone loved him more than he could've possibly imagined. Because Mitch loved him more than he could've possibly imagined.
Everything about Toronto was perfect because everything about Toronto involved Mitch. Mitch was Jack's everything. He was willing to admit that. Even if it had taken him a while to realize that in the first place.
Mitch was Jack's everything and he was going to love him like there was no tomorrow.