Work Text:
Jack’s cleaning the milk frothing wand on the espresso machine when the door jingles and three men walk in. He barely glances at them before continuing to scrub the caked on milk off the wand. He’ll help them in a second; he just needs to get this clean before the next customer orders something with frothed milk. When the wand is sufficiently cleaned, Jack actually looks up at the customers and realizes… oh fuck. It’s Nico Hischier, Mikey McLeod, and Nate Bastian from the New Jersey Devils. He gulps.
His eyes linger on Nico for much longer than they should. The man is attractive, but his behavior on the ice is enough to make Jack run away with his tail between his legs. Jack’s not sure if he’s even seen the man smile before. Nico’s crazy scary when he wants to be--checking players into the boards with the force of a train, glaring down the offensive players until they shy away, and even making some of the bigger guys like Wilson second guess messing with him. Not to mention his level of skills on the ice. He knows how to get the puck and where to put it.
Jack snaps out of his trance when the said man clears his throat. Oh shit, he was staring.
He’s not going to be able to take this order. He needs Dawson to take it before he trips over his own feet.
“One second,” he says to them before going to the back and looking for Dawson. Jack finds him leaning against one of the counters with his phone in his hand, scrolling mindlessly through whatever app he has open. It’s probably Twitter, and he’s sure to be looking through scores and reactions to the latest Devils games. That’s why he’s the perfect one to serve the Devils. “Dawson,” he calls, “I need you up front.”
“Why?” Dawson looks up from his phone with a confused expression on his face.
“I can’t serve these customers, so you need to do it.”
“Why can’t Bratter do it?”
“Because I’m choosing you. Now go out there.” He slaps Dawson on the ass and watches as the other man heads out to the front with a smile.
Dawson visibly stops for a moment in probable surprise before doing his whole customer service spiel and treating them just like any other customers who walk through the doors of their small coffee shop.
The order’s relatively easy--two iced coffees with milk and an iced blonde vanilla latte with extra sugar. Jack takes a double-take when he sees the latte is for Nico. He never imagined that Nico would be a ‘lots of milk and sugar’ kind of guy. Jack shakes his head briefly and continues watching from the doorway to the back.
Once their drinks are ready and Nico’s paid (again, he’s paying?), he leaves a sizable tip in the tip jar and walks out with Mikey and Nate behind him. There’s no smile, no “have a nice day,” but he wasn’t rude, either.
Jack just hopes they don’t come in again so he won’t have to deal with Nico or his stupidly attractive looks again.
“Dude, what the hell? The literal Devils come walking in and you push me to take the order?” Dawson says when there’s no other customers. He turns around and glares at Jack for a moment. “You know how big of a fan I am. I could’ve made myself look like an idiot!”
“You always look like an idiot,” Jack says, running a hand through his hair. He’s sure he looked like an idiot, too, staring at Nico for however many seconds without a pause.
Dawson frowns, and his eyebrows pinch together. “Hey, I do not.”
Jack shrugs. “You kinda do. But whatever, that’s not the point.” He walks behind the counter. “I knew you could take the order because you are such a huge fan. And look, you did great.”
Dawson puts his hands on his hips. “But why couldn’t you take the order?”
Jack stops for a moment with his eyes wide. “I, uh, just thought you’d be better for it.”
Dawson raises an eyebrow.
“Okay, okay,” Jack holds his hands up, “he scares me, okay?”
“Who?”
“Nico,” Jack says.
Dawson pauses, as if considering the statement. “Yeah, I guess I could see that.”
“Dude, he’s scary. Have you seen him on the ice?”
Dawson looks at him like ‘are you kidding me?’
“Right,” Jack says, feeling a little bit stupid.
“He’s not going to hurt you, dude.”
“I know, I know, I just…” he trails off, thinking about Nico’s perfectly sculpted face. How could a man so innocent and sweet looking be so scary? And how is he friends with two of the most smiley dudes on the entire Devils roster?
“Look, he’s probably never going to come in again, so you’ll be fine.”
Jack hopes so.
--
Three days later, Nico comes back to the coffee shop.
Unfortunately, Jack’s the only one up front making drinks, so he can’t call anyone else to take the order for him. He would call Dawson anyway and say fuck the rules, but Dawson’s off today. So he needs to pull on his big boy pants and approach the other man before he starts looking like even more of an idiot.
He smooths out his apron before walking up to the counter. “Hi, what can I get for you today?”
“Hi,” he doesn’t smile. “Can I please have an iced blonde vanilla latte with extra sugar?” His tone is polite, though.
It’s the same drink as before—overloaded with milk and sugar. Jack briefly wonders how the trainers feel about him having that much sugar in one sitting. They either know about and don’t care or they don’t and Nico won’t tell them.
“Sure, he says. “What size?”
Nico seems to think about it for a moment. “Medium.”
Jack nods. He starts making the drink by adding the ice, pumping the sugar syrup and vanilla into the cup, then pouring the milk and making the espresso shot to top it off. While he goes through the motions, he decides to gently ask Nico about how his season is going.
Nico’s face lights up a bit. “Oh, it’s not… great? But we’re solidifying as a team, and I think we’re really improving from last year.”
Jack adds a lid to the cup and sets it on the counter. “That’s good to hear.” Then he adds, “Your total is $3.25.”
“Thanks,” Nico puts his card into the chip reader and waits for the ding to take it out. Still, he doesn’t smile.
Jack wishes he would. It would make his already pretty face look so much prettier. He might fall to his knees if that happened.
“Have a good day,” Jack says.
Nico puts his card away and picks up his cup. “You too.” He walks out.
—
When Jack arrives at Dawson’s apartment, Bratter and Janne are already there and stuffed together on the same couch. They’re sitting in front of the television and watching the Devils play the Bruins, yelling at some dumb call one of the refs made.
“He didn’t even touch him!” Bratter exclaims, holding his hands up in the air.
“Yeah, Nico’s innocent,” Janne says, standing up and pointing a finger at the television.
Jack stops dead in his tracks. Nico did something? He shouldn’t be surprised at this point, but after meeting the man… he is a bit spooked by the idea of Nico purposely hurting someone--or not--according to his friends. It’s more likely that Nico did do something and was trying to get away with it from what Jack knows.
“What did he do?” He asks, stepping into the living area of Dawson’s apartment.
Bratter turns to look at him. “The refs think Nico slashed a guy on the wrists.”
“Did he?”
The room goes silent except for the sound of the game on the television.
“Well…” Janne says.
Uh-huh. Just like Jack thought. Nico might not do these things on purpose, but he’s still breaking the rules and causing pain for others. He should be punished for it.
The camera pans over Nico, who’s yelling at the refs and grumpily sitting in the penalty box. His thick eyebrows are pinched together and his lips are pouty and swelling from him biting them.
Jack doesn’t realize he’s blushing at the sight until Dawson points it out.
“Uh oh, it looks like someone has a crush on Nico.”
Jack’s eyes widen before he takes a deep breath and smooths down the front of his shirt. “No, I do not . He’s just a famous NHL player who happens to also be a customer at our coffee shop. There’s no feelings there for him.”
“Then why were you blushing?” Bratter asks.
“I wasn’t. It’s just--it’s hot in here.” Jack runs a hand through his messy hair.
“Sure.” Janne rolls his eyes. “I’m sure--yes! You suck Bruins!” He yells at the television when Nico scores on a rush out of the penalty box. Janne turns to Bratter and they high five in one swift motion.
Jack lets out a long sigh. He managed to dodge a bullet, and yet, did he really?
--
The next time Nico comes into the coffee shop, it’s clear he just got out of practice or came back from working out. He’s wearing a white t-shirt and a pair of gray sweatpants that hug his hips perfectly. His hair is messy, with rogue strands standing up in different directions. He looks undoubtedly sexy, though, and Jack has to prevent himself from word vomiting every thought that goes through his mind.
Instead of saying, “oh my god, you look so hot” when Nico comes up to the counter, Jack says, “Hi, welcome back. What can I get for you today?” He’s sure Nico’s going to order the same sugary drink, but he figures he should ask anyway.
“Can I get my regular?” Nico asks.
Jack nods. “Medium iced blonde vanilla latte with extra sugar?” He writes Nico’s name on the cup he grabs even though there’s no one else in line.
“Yeah,” Nico says, running his hand through his hair. “Good memory.”
Only for you. Jack smiles. “Yeah, I guess so.”
Jack goes through the motions of making Nico’s drink, and by the time he’s finished and places the drink on the counter, there’s someone else in line so he can’t spend too long talking to Nico.
“Thanks,” Nico says, picking up his drink. He takes a sip from it and closes his eyes. When he opens them again, they’re bright and Jack can’t help but stare. “Just don’t tell the trainers,” he jokes.
Jack’s mouth falls open before he can stop it. What? Did Nico just make… a joke? He quickly closes his mouth and rolls his eyes, shaking his head. “I won’t if you won’t.”
“You’re a good man, Jack.” Nico gives him one last look before turning around and leaving the shop.
Okay, so clearly Nico does pay attention because he picked up on Jack’s name. And saying he’s a good man? Wow. Maybe Nico isn’t who Jack thought he was. Just maybe.
--
“But you don’t understand. He’s so pretty but he’s so scary on the ice,” Jack explains, sitting next to Ty on the couch in their living room. He runs a hand through his hair and sighs.
“...You don’t see him on the ice.”
“Yeah? But it changes how I think of him. What he does on the ice reflects who he is as a person.”
“Does he intend to injure anyone?” Ty asks, changing the channel to ESPN. SportsCenter is on, and they’re talking about the best teams in the league. Ty sets the remote down and turns to look at Jack.
Jack shakes his head. “I don’t think so.”
“Then he’s not a bad guy. He’s just a little rough around the edges.”
“But…” Jack bites his lip.
“But what?” Ty prompts.
“I’m so confused.” Jack looks down at his hands. “Should I try to go further with him or should I back away?”
“That’s up to you, man, but… I don’t see any reason why you can’t try to get with him.” Ty places a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “Unless you just want a one night stand, then… maybe don’t do that.”
“I don’t just want to fuck him!” Jack exclaims. “I do want to fuck him, but that’s not all I want to do.”
“Good job, buddy. You’re growing up.”
Jack shakes his head. “Why am I even friends with you?”
“Because I let you live with me and feed you. You didn’t even know how to make broccoli without my help.” Ty laughs.
“Shut up,”
“Yeah, yeah.”
--
When Nico comes into the shop again three days later, Jack decides that he’s going to take Ty’s advice.
He smiles widely when Nico walks in and immediately begins making his regular drink. Thankfully, the shop is quiet so he can talk to Nico today without having to worry about any other customers interrupting. There probably won’t be another customer for half an hour.
While Jack makes Nico’s drink, he takes occasional glances at the other man and notices that Nico’s staring right back at him, not trying to be subtle about it at all.
“Hi,” Jack says softly, smiling at Nico.
“I see you remembered my drink without me even asking.” The corner of Nico’s mouth quirks up.
“How could I forget such a sugary drink like yours?” Jack asks. He laughs and places the lid on Nico’s drink, placing it in front of him.
“I thought we weren’t going to talk about that.”
“You only said that we couldn’t tell the trainers,” Jack says.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Nico smiles.
Jack’s mouth almost falls open again. Nico’s… smiling ? Since when has Jack ever seen Nico smile? Never. Nico has never smiled during interviews, on the ice, or here in the coffee shop before. Jack would like to frame this moment and keep it with him forever.
He looks at Nico’s smile and the way it lights up his entire face. His perfectly white teeth shine back at him and make Jack want to kiss him with enough force to knock their teeth together. Fuck, he’s in so deep for this man. He needs an industrial size bulldozer to get himself out of this hole.
“You look so pretty when you smile,” Jack says before he even realizes it. He slaps a hand over his mouth. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t--”
“No, no. It’s okay. I don’t hear that a lot. It’s… nice.” Nico grabs the cup off the counter and takes a sip. “It’s good like always.”
“At least I didn’t fu-- mess that up.” Jack laughs nervously.
“You didn’t mess anything up, Jack.” Nico smiles again and Jack feels all the air leaving his lungs. “I have to get going, but it was nice seeing you again.”
“Yeah, you too.” Jack breathes.
He needs to get control of himself before he embarrasses himself any further.
--
About two weeks later, Janne comes into work holding his phone in his hand and shaking it. “Guess what I got?” He asks, smiling widely.
“A stripper.” Bratter laughs.
Janne rolls his eyes. “No. I got tickets to see the Devils! Right behind the net.”
Oh no. He’s going to want Jack to go with them.
Jack doesn’t think he can stand seeing Nico again, especially after he embarrassed himself last time. And to make it even worse, he’ll be seeing the Nico that he doesn’t like to see--the aggressive side of him.
“You know,” Jack rubs the back of his neck. “I think I’m gonna be busy.”
Janne, Bratter, and Dawson all turn to look at him. Dawson’s the first one to speak. “No, you’re not.”
“Maybe I am.”
“All you do is work or hang out with us,” Janne says.
“Okay, then maybe I’m getting sick.” Jack coughs weakly into his arm.
Bratter purses his lips together and sighs.
“Stop making excuses. The game’s tomorrow night, and you’re going.” Janne stares directly at Jack.
“Fine, fine.”
“We’re third row from the goal.”
Jack blinks several times. “ What.”
“So you can make kissy faces at your boy,” Janne says and imitates Jack making faces at Nico.
“You stop that right now!” Jack goes around to the front of the counter and punches Janne in the arm.
Janne continues making a kissy face right in Jack’s face.
“Boys, stop it,” Dawson says.
“He started it first.” Jack frowns, eyebrows pinching together.
“Everyone go to your stations and shut up. This is an issue to deal with tomorrow.”
“Fine,” Jack grumbles.
--
The walk to the Prudential Center from the parking garage is easy enough, but Jack’s nerves are rising by the second. They get into the building and go through security without any issues, Janne shows the tickets and they’re scanned, and then they’re on the escalator to find their seats.
Everything feels like a blur to Jack. Normally, he’d be pumped to be sitting this close to the glass, but after meeting Nico and having this whole… fiasco happen, he’s not so sure he even wants to be here right now.
“Do you guys wanna get food?” Dawson asks when they come off the escalator.
“I’m not hungry,” Jack says immediately.
“Well, I am.” Janne rolls his eyes. “Don’t ruin this for me, Jacky.”
“I’m not doing anything. Leave me alone.” Jack’s aware he sounds like a moody teenager, but frankly he doesn’t care.
“Boys, stop it. We’re getting food, and Jack, you don’t have to get anything. Then we’ll go to our seats so you can chill out.”
“Warm ups are starting soon, let’s go.” Bratter encourages.
Jack just mumbles an “okay” as they go to get their food.
--
Warm ups begin just as they get down to their seats. Jack’s on the end, sitting next to Dawson. Then Janne’s next to him, and Bratter’s next to Janne. The glass feels so close to him, he could reach out and touch it.
He sees Nico almost immediately, skating around the ice and talking to some of his teammates. Nico looks good, like he always does in his uniform. It hugs his body in just the right places to make him look absolutely delectable.
Jack can’t help but stare at him for the rest of warm ups and even into the first period. He’s snapped out of his trance by a loud bang and the sounds of cheering coming from around him. He blinks and there’s Nico, having hit one of the Predators into the glass right in front of him. Nico raises an eyebrow at him, and that’s when Jack realizes that Nico knows he’s there and is doing this for him.
He feels sick to his stomach.
Nico’s hurting someone to get his attention. The guy looks like he’s alright, but still. Hits can become dangerous in a matter of seconds.If he had hit his head or something worse had happened… Jack wants to leave. He wants to get up and leave right now. He starts to get up, but Dawson grabs his hand and pulls him back down.
“Sit down. The game just started like five minutes ago.”
“I have to go to the bathroom,” Jack says, shoving Dawson’s hand away.
“No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do!” Jack exclaims. A couple people around them look at him.
Dawson sighs. “Fine, be quick.”
Jack quickly makes it to the top of the stairs once play has stopped and rushes to the bathroom. He pushes open a stall door with his foot and closes it before crouching down and retching into the toilet. Jack takes a deep breath before deciding that that’s all his stomach wanted to expel and runs his hand through his hair.
He flushes the toilet and stands, fixing his clothes. He can do this. He can make it through the rest of the game. It will be fine.
--
When he makes it back to his seat and sits down, there’s five minutes left in the first period. Forty-five minutes left if the game doesn’t go to overtime. Jack takes a deep breath. It’s fine.
“You okay? You look a little pale.” Dawson frowns.
“I don’t feel well,” Jack says, and it honestly isn’t a lie. His stomach still feels a bit queasy from watching the hit.
“Can you make it through the rest of the game?”
Jack nods. He can do this.
Dawson pats his knee. “Good.”
--
Jack makes it through the rest of the game without having any major problems, but just barely. It seemed like every five minutes Nico was laying another hit on some unsuspecting player, and quite a few were right in front of the glass where Jack was sitting.
In all actuality, Jack doesn’t know how he made it through. And he especially doesn’t know how he’ll face Nico again without wanting to puke again. Maybe he’ll make Dawson take the order again if Dawson’s in that day.
He has to do something.
--
Two days later, Nico comes back into the coffee shop. Jack’s in the middle of helping another customer, so he doesn’t notice him at first. When he does notice Nico, he’s holding a cup of ice and milk in his hand and almost drops it on the floor.
Nico has a black eye, and his hair is a bit mussed like he’s been running his hands through it repeatedly. Jack shakes his head. He probably got that from fighting someone. It tracks.
Jack finishes making the customer’s drink as fast as possible and then rushes to the back to see if Dawson’s around to take Nico’s order.
He finds him in the back sitting on a counter and scrolling through his phone.
“Can you take this order?” Jack asks.
“I’m on my break, can’t you see?” Dawson says, rolling his eyes.
“Fuck,” Jack curses. He’s going to have to take this order himself.
He goes back out to the front of the shop and slaps a smile on his face. “Hi, your regular?”
Nico nods. “Yeah, that would be great.”
Jack begins making Nico’s drink, ignoring him through the process of putting ice in the cup to the end when he places the lid on top.
“Did I do something wrong?” Nico frowns and winces a bit.
Jack doesn’t want to say anything, but it comes tumbling out of his mouth anyway. “Maybe it has something to do with your hits in front of me, or maybe your black eye. You probably got that from fighting, right?”
Nico blinks. “I didn’t realize my hits bothered you, and I didn’t get this from fighting. A teammate hit me with his stick during a celly.”
Jack raises an eyebrow. “Are you sure about that?”
Nico sighs. “I’m not the guy you think I am.”
“Really? Because your behavior on the ice makes me think you’re definitely not a good person.”
“I’d like to think I’m a good person.”
“Keep telling yourself that, buddy.” Jack taps the counter.
“What can I do to prove it to you?” Nico asks.
A lot more than you’re doing , Jack wants to say. “I don’t know,” he says.
Nico seems to think about it for a moment. “Why don’t we meet up together outside of games and the shop?”
Jack shrugs. He doesn’t exactly want to see Nico any more than he already does.
“It’s perfect, Jack. You can see who I actually am away from the public.” He smiles widely.
Fuck, he does look so beautiful when he smiles. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.
“And if you can’t convince me?” He places his hands on his hips.
“I will.”
“Why are you so sure of yourself?”
“Because I get what I want. I’m captain, remember?” Nico winks at him.
Fuck.
“Fine, give me your phone number so we can set it up,” Jack says.
Nico hands over his phone instead for Jack to put in his number, then he texts “Hi” to Jack so that Jack has his number.
He puts his phone back in his pocket and picks up his drink, taking a sip from it. “You won’t regret this.”
Only time will tell.
--
Jack’s shaking when he knocks on Nico’s door. He doesn’t know how he’s going to do this. Four whole hours at Nico’s apartment sounds like absolute heaven and hell at the same time. They had decided over text that it would be a good amount of time to be around each other in case one of them wanted to bolt. More like if Jack wanted to bolt.
Nico opens the door with a bright smile on his face and Jack’s knees already feel weak. “Hey, come on in,” he says, holding open the door for Jack.
Jack slides in past him and makes a beeline for the living room. The space is large with a couch in the center, a rug on the floor, a glass coffee table, and at least a sixty-five inch television hanging on the wall. Jack doesn’t want to admit it, but he could get used to this place. It’s much bigger than his own apartment that he shares with Ty. They can only afford so much from their combined thirty thousand a year salaries.
“Do you want something to drink?” Nico asks.
“Water?”
Nico nods and grabs a water bottle out of the fridge. He hands it over to Jack when he makes his way into the living room. “What do you want to do?”
Jack shrugs. He doesn’t really want to be here in the first place.
“We could play some NHL 22?” Nico offers, sitting down on the couch. His long legs bend in a way that shouldn’t be sexy to Jack.
“Okay, I guess.” Jack figures it should remove the tension between them.
Nico gets everything set up in minutes and then they’re playing.
--
“Hey, why do you have to be so good at this? It’s not fair! You already play for a living.” Jack shakes his head and leans back against the couch.
“It’s not my fault you suck.” Nico laughs. The sound is heaven to Jack’s ears, rich and deep like a dark roast coffee.
“That’s so rude of you.” Jack frowns playfully.
He’s having a much better time than he thought he would, and before he even realizes it, the whole four hours are over and he doesn’t want to leave.
Nico turns off the game console and sets his remote on the coffee table. Jack does the same with his.
“See? Wasn’t this fun?” Nico asks.
“Yeah… I guess you’re right.”
“I’ll text you when you can come over next, okay?” Nico places his hand on Jack’s knee, and a bolt of lightning works its way up Jack’s leg and through his body.
Jack nods. “Sure.”
Nico smiles again.
--
A week later, Nico comes into the shop again and Jack makes his drink just like he usually does. This time, though, Jack takes his break and they sit in the corner at a table and talk about everything from Nico’s hockey season to Jack’s family back home.
“How is it playing professional hockey? I used to play as a kid, but I never wanted to go any farther than that.” Jack asks, leaning back against the couch.
Nico takes a sip of his coffee. “It’s… it’s a lot of responsibility. A lot of traveling and being with your teammates and just… trying your best all the time.”
“That sounds like a lot,” Jack says.
“It can be a lot.” Nico nods. “Especially being captain, but it’s worth it in the end. I wouldn’t want to do anything else.”
Jack laughs. “I wish I could say the same about myself.”
“Well, what do you want to do with your life?”
“I don’t know yet. My brothers both play hockey. You probably know Quinn--he’s on the Canucks. And my brother Luke was drafted to the Devils. But me… I have no idea. Not one clue.” Jack plays with his hands in his lap.
“That’s okay. We all take time to figure out what we want to do.” Nico places his hand on Jack’s shoulder and rubs gently. The bolt of lightning is back in Jack’s body.
He licks his lips. “I guess.”
Nico’s staring at him quietly.
Jack’s eyes flick to Nico’s lips, and they’re so perfect Jack could cry. He wants to know what it feels like to kiss Nico. He’s sure it would be the most magical and earth-shattering feeling in the world.
He looks down at his watch. “Oh shit, I have to get back to work.”
Nico nods, a bit breathless. “Yeah.”
“I’ll see you soon?”
“Of course.”
--
A long three weeks later, Jack’s at Nico’s apartment again.
They’re sitting on the couch together with their arms and legs touching each other. Nico looks over at Jack and bites his lip before asking, “do you want to play again?”
Jack’s eyes immediately move to Nico’s lips, noticing they’re a bit swollen and red. The look suits him and makes Jack want to kiss him even more. He reaches out his hand and places a finger on Nico’s bottom lip, pulling it down a bit. He can hear Nico’s breathing quicken. “I… in a little bit.”
Nico nods quickly.
Jack pulls his hand away before leaning in and pressing his lips to Nico’s in a soft kiss. He pulls away and looks at Nico. Nico’s pupils dilate and he nods again, leaning back in to kiss Jack again. Jack pushes Nico away from him before crawling into his lap and straddling him on the couch.
Nico moans and wraps his arms around Jack’s waist, pulling him in closer. “You don’t know how long I’ve waited to do this.”
“Mmm, I can guess.” Jack rests his forehead against Nico’s.
“Ever since the first time I met you.” Nico laughs.
“I’ve wanted to since you smiled in the coffee shop.” Jack breathes. He kisses Nico again, savoring the feeling of fireworks that go off in his body.
“Can you agree that I’m not who I seem?” Nico says, breathless.
“Yes,” Jack smiles.
“See? I always get what I want.” Nico meets Jack’s lips in a passionate kiss.
Jack just rolls his eyes and laughs.