Chapter Text
Watching team USA best Canada to win Olympic gold made Kip's fingers itch to grab his phone, to message Scott and tell him how proud he was of him, how happy he was for him, how amazingly Scott had played…but instead he pressed his fist to his aching chest. It wasn't his place to do that, not anymore. He would never regret the time he'd gotten to have Scott, but what he felt for him, still felt for him…but he knew he couldn't live the double life Scott needed him to in order for them to be together. His chest had ached every day since he's left Scott's loft, wanting to go back, wanting to wrap his arms around Scott and tell him how much he loved him, promise that he could wait, promise him anything...
That was the kind of thinking that would lead to breaking both their hearts again in the future.
Kip didn't think he could handle losing Scott Hunter, didn't know how he was going to survive losing him now. He certainly hadn't been able to go cold turkey, had watched every game, all the press leading up to the Olympics.
Scott had been looking tired and it only made Kip's heart ache more, with sorrow because he knew Scott was hurting just as much as he was. Even his smile looked strained as Team USA celebrated on the ice, cameras zooming in on Scott and Carter Vaughn, the later of who had practically jumped onto Scott's back, yelling in joy.
It was a beautiful moment…till Scott collapsed on the ice.
At first the commentators chuckled, made light of it even as Kip sat up, moving closer to the screen in concern. Amongst the dozens of people moving on the ice, he could see Scott still on his hands and knees, head hanging low. Carter was kneeling beside him, reaching over to thump Scott's back when it looked like his captain began to cough.
A real, wracking cough it seemed, because even from the distance of the camera, you could see the way his body jerked and other players suddenly moved a bit away, turning to look on in concern as Scott began to frantically claw at his helmet, fingers seeming oddly clumsy. It was Carter who intervened and pullet the helmet off, casting it aside and shouting, probably for the medics but the camera didn't have a good enough microphone to catch is words.
Then there was red all over the ice and Kip's breath caught in his throat. It was too much, if it was blood….
"Scott Hunter has just coughed up rose petals all over the Olympic ice!"
The announcers voice made Kip surge to his feet, swaying slightly. Coughed up flower petals. Everyone knew what that meant. Hanahaki disease, while not rare, was not something most saw on a public stage like this. Suddenly, everyone now knew that Scott Hunter loved someone deeply…and felt it was unrequited and or lost to him.
Kip knew he wasn't in the wrong for advocating for what he needed, but he knew he couldn't handle being Scott's secret for the years he would need before retirement, neither of them deserved that. Was this the outcome of that decision, though?
Pain lanced through his chest and he bent at the waist, hands on his thighs as he gasped, closing his eyes tightly, feeling overwhelmed. This couldn't be happening, he thought, wishing he could unsee what had happened and he swallowed then gagged, once, twice…and then he felt something in his mouth.
"Kip, you okay, Son?" his dad asked patting his back, voice clearly full of worry for him. God, Kip was so thankful for his family. No matter what happened in his life, he knew he had them and their support.
Unsure of what else to do, Kip shook his head, lifting a hand so he could cough into his fist. He knew without opening his eyes that things had gotten even worse.
When Kip opened his clenched fist, he saw a damp red petal nestled in his palm. There was a sharp intake of breath from his father before strong arms wrapped around him, pulling him close into the comforting embrace he'd known for all his life. This time though, he knew his father's hug couldn't fix everything.
"No, Dad," he said in a shaken, rough voice. "I don't think I'm okay."
The next few minutes passed in a blur. His father ushered him back to his seat on the couch, calling for his mother, who had been reading in the other room. She came in, saw the flowers petal in Kips hand and made a wordless sound of sadness, rushing over to his other side.
Medics had already removed Scott from the ice, leaving the majority of Team USA and Team Canada standing around, unsure. One of the Canadians waved away someone on the cleaning crew that had made their way onto the ice, taking off his helmet and kneeling to scoop up the petals into it.
Everyone knew it was rude to throw out someone's Hanahaki flowers. In some cases, it was all a person had to show that they had once loved someone so deeply, thowing them away was an insult. A part of Kip's mind realized it was the cute guy Scott had fought with not so long ago. Scott had been grumpy after that fight but had then laughed a little about it, though he'd never told Kip exactly why.
"What are you going to do, Baby?" his mother asked, stroking his hair, not pressuring him but there was so much fear in her voice.
Kip swallowed, wondering if the tightness in his throat was more flower petals or if it was the normal sort of choked up over stress.
When his phone buzzed in his pocket, Kip fumbled for it, having forgotten it was there. Somehow, he knew what he was going to see when he pulled it out.
SCOTT <3
He hadn't been able to bring himself to change or delete the contact.
Without thinking, he swiped to answer, breathing, "Scott? Are you okay?" before he could overthink it.
There was a brief pause when the three Grady's held their breath before a voice echoed out of the phone. "No, he's really not," the voice said, sounding shaken up and nervous. "I, uh, I grabbed his phone. Scott's heading to the hospital in Krasnaya Polyana but I'm gonna try to get them to transfer him to one in Denmark or France cuz…."
His voice trailed off because they both knew why Scott should not be at a Russian hospital right now.
"Can you do that?" Kip asked, wondering how fast he could book a flight once they knew where they were heading. This was not something they could ignore and hope got better and no way was he even going to consider having Scott's flowers cut out of him.
"Yeah, we're each other's medical proxies when we travel," the other guy said. "I'm Carter Vaughn by the way. You're…Scott's special person, right?"
"I am," he told Carter, the words still feeling so true on his lips despite everything that had happened. "I'm Kip by the way. Kip Grady."
:Nice to meet you, Kip," Carter said, heaving a sigh. "Wish this kinda meeting could have been in better circumstances...."