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“ God , you fucking suck , Marchand . “ Binnington's words stabbed like a spiraled blade right into Marchands's chest . He wasn't expecting it , honestly . Binnington was his teammate right now . That sentence was something he heard from opposing players for his entire career and it never bothered him , but to hear it from someone who was on the same team at practice ? It hurt more than losing game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final to St Louis in 2019 . He was trying not to break down , and he nearly missed the goalie's next words . “ You're an annoyance to be around on top of it . I don't know how Bergeron put up with you enough to marry you , let alone give you the C after he retired . I'm sure you'd run this team into the ground if you had any sort of captaincy here . “
Marchand tried to skate like nothing was wrong , tried to hide how much those words had hurt him , and he was so focused on that that he didn't even see the puck that was on the ice in front of him . When he stepped on it , it caused him to fall into the splits painfully . He got up slowly after the coach began to tell him to head to the trainer . He did what he was told , and was told to rest off the sprain .
He went to his hotel room , thankful that he wasn't rooming with anyone , slammed the door behind him , and collapsed onto his bed . He didn't remember falling asleep , but he did remember waking up from a nightmare . He could hear Binnington's words , but said by Bergeron's voice , telling him how annoying he was , how much he sucked , how much he didn't deserve the C . He couldn't breathe , couldn't stop the tears that rolled down his cheeks , and certainly couldn't control the sobs that left his mouth .
Marchand had forgotten that he was sharing a wall with Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar until he heard them call his name and knock on the door . He couldn't get his sobbing under control enough to respond before hearing the door open . “ Hey . . What's the matter ? “ Makar asked , walking over to the bed , sitting down next to him and pulling him into a side-hug . MacKinnon stood awkwardly by the nightstand , grabbing Marchands's phone . The Avalanche forward looked at the lock screen , seeing that it was a photo of Marchand , Bergeron , and Lauko . He swiped up , bringing up the enter passcode screen . He tried 9437 . Wrong code . . He then tried 3794 . Success ! He opened the contacts , finding the contact ‘ Bergy ❤️ ‘ right at the top of the favorites list .
MacKinnon stepped out of the room , calling Bergeron . “ Hey , babe , why are you calling right now ? you should be resting after practice ! “ Bergeron's voice sounded out . “ This is MacKinnon . Maker and I found Marchand crying . . What cheers him up the best ? “ He asked , sighing . “ What ? ! He's crying ? ! “ Bergeron said , shocked . “ Usually just being held , having some lavender tea with honey , something sweet to snack on , and a happy Disney movie helps him . What happened ? “ MacKinnon took a breath before responding . “ We don't know . He's . . He's not doing well at all . He hasn't said a word , just sobs . “ Bergeron grumbled slightly , looking at the time . “ Damn it . . That's not good . . I can't get there until late tomorrow morning , but I'm booking the next available flight up there . See if you can calm him down and see what happened , please . Thank you for calling me . “ MacKinnon hummed in response as he heard Bergeron end the call .
He opened his own phone , looking at Doordash and ordering a container of raw honey , some chocolates , some pie , and some cake pops . He paid for them after putting in the address for the hotel and Marchand’s room number . He walked back inside , seeing Marchand being cradled by Makar , wrapped in a blanket , and rocked back and forth . It was odd seeing the Bruins captain looking so . . “Small” isn’t the right word . . Deflated . He looked utterly exhausted on top of it , like he hadn't slept at all . MacKinnon sat down beside Makar after putting the small coffee pot on to heat water for tea , grabbing the remote and turning on The Land Before Time . After a moment , he Began to talk . “ The doordash order will be here in 30 minutes . “ He said softly , lightly patting Marchand's shoulder .
“ Wha . . ? “ Marchand asked through a hiccupped sob , confused . “ I ordered some sweets and honey for tea , Brad . “ MacKinnon said , shrugging . “ Bergeron will be here soon , tomorrow morning probably . “ He said , turning back to the TV as the movie started . When there was a soft knock , MacKinnon got up to grab the sweets and the honey , and began to make the tea after giving Marchand the cake pops . “ Here . “ He said , putting the tea in the still shaking Bruins player's hand . Marchand took a sip of the tea , taking a small bite of the cake pop right after .
“ Can you tell us what happened , Brad ? “ Makar asked , feeling Marchand tense in his arms slightly . “ Um . . I just . . “ Marchand started , looking down . “ I don't want to talk about it right now . . “ He said , pulling the blanket up over his head like a hood . “ I'll talk about it later . . “ He said , looking away . “ Okay . Just let us know when you're ready . “ The defenseman said , just holding onto Marchand as they watched the movie .
By the time the credits rolled , Marchand was fully asleep and had Makar in a Koala grab , complete with an iron grip . MacKinnon looked at them , smiling slightly before turning off most of the lights , other than a lamp at the bedside . “ You know . . He's not a bad guy . . He may be an ass on the ice , but he's a great guy off it . “ Makar said , holding Marchand gently as he ran his hand through his hair , removing the gel in the brunette strands .
When Bergeron got to the hotel , Marchand was just beginning to wake up . He wasn't quite lucid yet , but he was getting there . “ Baby , what happened ? “ Bergeron asked , cupping his husband's face gently . “ Binner . . Binner told me that he didn't know how you could've put up with me enough to marry me . . That I sucked . . That I shouldn't have gotten the C on the Bruins . . “ Marchand mumbled , leaning into the hands of the retired Bruins captain . “ That bastard . . “ MacKinnon hissed before he stormed out , slamming the door behind him . “ Oh no . . “ Makar said , shaking his head .
“ He needs to be off the damn team ! “ MacKinnon shouted , throwing his hands up while talking to the coach . “ If he can't put his own emotions about Marchand aside for this tournament , what about the rest of us ? ! What about his Blues teammates if they play on any of the other teams ? Is he just going to give them free goals because , at the end of the day , they're his own teammates ? ! “ The Avs forward raged , clearly upset . “ Bring Carey Price in , or Flower , or Comrie , or even Blackwood , but Binnington is not staying on this team . Marchand , Makar , and myself will back out of this tournament if he stays , and I'm sure that a lot of others will follow if we do . “ He said , watching the coach nod and begin to make calls , hoping to get one of the goalies MacKinnon had mentioned before the very first game in 4 days .
As MacKinnon was raging at the coach of team Canada , Bergeron was cuddling Marchand , trying to lighten the load on Marchand's shoulders and make him feel better . “ Bradley , you got the C because I knew you were ready . I talked to Coach Monty because I wanted the C to be on the right jersey . You bring so much good to that team . All of your teammates love you , Boston loves you , and most of all , I love you . “ He said , kissing away the tear stains on Marchand's cheeks while rubbing his back . “ People think you suck , and that you're annoying because they have no counter for you . They don't know how to play opposite of you , so they resort to claiming that you're horrible and annoying to make themselves feel better . . “ He stated , planting a kiss to Marchand's nose and hoping to finally get the smaller man to crack one of his signature smirks . “ I'm sure MacKinnon is talking to someone about how you were treated . Nobody deserves that , and especially you don't . You may be called a ‘ little ball of hate ‘ , but you're my ‘ little ball of hate ‘ and nobody will ever change that . You understand that , Bradley ? “
Marchand nodded , peaking up as heard the door open . the defenseman had stepped out to grab a bag , one Bergeron had asked him to grab . Bergeron took the bag , smiling at Marchand before pulling out a worn , black and yellow plush bunny and a worn brown plush bear that was in a bruins sweater . “ Here . I thought you would want these . . “ The retired Bruin said , watching as Marchand latched onto the stuffed animals tightly and leaned into the hug Bergeron was giving him .
“ Thank you , Pat . . “ Marchand said , hiding his face into Bergeron's shoulder . Also in the bag was a roller of one of Marchand's favorite scents , the cologne that Bergeron wore . Bergeron rubbed a small amount onto his neck , knowing the scent would calm Marchand down even more .
“ Pack up and head back to St Louis , Binnington . “ The coach said to the Blues goalie after the door to Binnington's hotel room was opened . “ I appreciate you coming out for this , but someone with a better save percentage has accepted to play for team Canada . “ He said before turning to leave . “ I paid for your flight home , it leaves in 5 hours . “
Makar looked at his phone after hearing a text , laughing slightly . “ Oh , Nate must've tore the coach a new one . Binnington is leaving , and Carey Price is coming in . “ The defenseman started , “ I'm surprised he was willing to come out of his micro-retirement for this , but maybe the coach told him what happened and he decided to join us . “ He said , sitting down .
“ What do you guys want to eat ? “ MacKinnon asked as he entered the room , opening his phone and looking at Doordash and looking at the three of them . “ Anything with fries . . “ Marchand muttered , not looking up from Bergeron's shoulder . “ Maybe chicken nuggets . . “ He said , nodding . “ McDonald's it is . “ MacKinnon said , having Bergeron and Makar pick what they wanted and ordering it .
The four of them ate their food after it arrived , turning on a dinosaur documentary , by request of Marchand , and they relaxed in the room . By the time night rolled around , Marchand had fallen asleep against Bergeron . Makar and MacKinnon departed soon after , Makar hugging the Bruins captain and MacKinnon patting him before they went to their own room .
Carey Price smiled as he walked Into the coaches office the next morning after the call , his bag perched over his shoulder . “ So . . Binnington was being an asshole ? “ He asked , watching the coach nod . “ I'm glad I was called . I was a little surprised when I was asked , but I'm excited to play this tournament . Is Comrie playing , too ? I know Montembeault is here . “ He said , smiling when the coach told him that Comrie was playing for team Canada . “ Cool . I will see you at practice tomorrow , I'll stop and say hi to Marchand and tell him that Binnington is not here anymore . “
Price walked into his hotel room , putting his clothes down before walking over to Marchand's room and knocking . “ Are you two decent in there ? “ He asked , laughing at his own words . He had learned to knock on the door when Bergeron and Marchand were in the same room after he walked in on them while they were indecent . When he heard a response , he stepped in and sat next to Marchand . “ Hey , bud . . How are you feeling ? “ The goalie asked softly , smiling . “ Still like I didn't deserve this , or the C , but it's getting better . . “ He said , nodding . “ What are you doing here , Price ? I thought you weren't planning on playing again . “ Marchand asked , tilting his head . “ Coach called me in a panic . I heard about what Binnington said , and he said that MacKinnon yelled that you , Makar , and him would dip if Binnington wasn't swapped out . I'm sure Crosby , Doughty , Marner , and McDavid would've left with you . “ Price said , patting Marchand's head softly .
“ Wait , Binnington got taken off the team ? ! Crap . . Now he's gonna hate me more if he knew it was me . . “ Marchand stated , beginning to panic . “ Buddy , hey , it's okay . He doesn't know that it was what he said . All he knows is that he was replaced by someone with a better save percentage . “ Price said , rubbing Marchand's shoulders as Bergeron hugged onto him tightly . “ Baby , breathe , it's okay . . “ Bergeron comforted , kissing the Bruins captain on the forehead . “ It's okay , he doesn't know that it was you . He thinks it's because of his stats , not you . “
“ Yeah , it's alright . I'm sure Montembeault and Comrie are going to be more excited that I'm here instead of Binnington , too . “ Price laughed , grinning . “ I'm going to grab something to eat . There's a great Italian restaurant downtown , if you two want to come with me . I'll see if Makar and MacKinnon want to join as well . “ Price said , smiling when Marchand and Bergeron both nodded . “ Great , let's go . “ He said , leading them out of the hotel room to grab the two Avalanche players .
After lunch , they all parted ways , heading to their rooms . As the week passed , Marchand felt better and better , practicing like normal and playfully chirping his team Canada teammates , especially the younger players and Price . He heard chirps back , but it was all in good fun . He heard himself being called a rat , but it didn't affect him , because he knew they meant it kindly . He knew he would still have days of feeling the weight of the C pressing on his chest like a bucket of lead , but he had Bergeron , his team , and now Makar , MacKinnon , and Price to call if he needed help .
“ We're gonna win this tournament , I'm sure of it . “ Marchand said , sitting with Price , Bergeron , Makar , and MacKinnon at breakfast . “ You sound confident . “ Price said , grinning . “ We have a three way tandem of amazing goalies , and our skater lines are stacked . It'll be nearly impossible for us to be beat when we make it to the final ! “ The Bruins left wing said , tapping his omelet with his fork before cutting into it and taking a bite . “ Yeah , the USA team has Helle , and Otter , but we have you , Comrie , and Montembeault . We're set ! “ He said , grinning .
“ Whatever you say , Marchy , whatever you say . “ Price laughed , laughing even more as Bergeron wiped whipped cream from his pancakes onto Marchand's nose , and hearing Marchand's offended whine . This will be one fun tournament , especially when they head back to Boston for the second half .