Work Text:
Montreal, August 2016
Hayden blew out a breath. He was a professional athlete, but somehow chasing his toddler around was the most exhausting thing he’d ever done. Jackie worked by his side, attempting to herd the three girls onto the living room couch to watch a movie. Behind them, Shane sat at the kitchen table, waiting patiently for Jackie and Hayden to finish their parental herding.
Ten minutes later, with flushed faces and heaving chests, Jackie and Hayden sat down at the kitchen table across from Shane. Amber was strapped to Jackie’s chest and fast asleep, even after the physical endeavor her mom had just gone through.
“So,” Hayden said, attempting to control his breathing again, “what’s going on? Why did you want to talk?”
Shane paled and nervously tapped his fingers against the table. “I, um… I wanted to talk to you both about something, um, important.”
Hayden stilled. He wasn’t used to seeing Shane like this — so unsteady and nervous.
“Oh God, is this to do with your concussion? God, I’m going to kill Marleau,” Hayden seethed.
“No, it’s not that. I’m fine.”
“Wait, are they trading you? Shane, I’ll go to bat for you. They can’t do that. You’re the only reason we win anything these days.”
“No, I’m still playing for Montreal,” Shane answered. “But I did want to—”
“Oh my God, is Rose Landry pregnant? Are you having a secret baby with a movie star?”
Beside him, Jackie gave his arm a light smack.
“What? No! Just—fuck, give me a second.” Shane took a deep breath. “I’m gay.”
“Oh.” Hayden was still thinking about Shane’s theoretical secret baby with Rose. That would be one cute kid.
“Yeah,” Shane said, clearly bracing for a poor reaction. His eyes crinkled like he was in pain.
“Oh, is that it?” Jackie said, breaking the tension. “Shane, we already knew that.” She said it with a slight laugh as she got up from the table to quiet the screaming girls on the couch.
“What?” Hayden turned to face his wife as she lectured the girls to sit down and watch their movie. “We most certainly did not know that.”
Shane sat in silence, watching the interaction.
“Oh, I guess I just knew that. Hayden, honey, I didn’t realize you didn’t know,” Jackie replied nonchalantly.
Hayden turned back to Shane, who was still sitting there, gaunt after his confession. Hayden decided to leave the questioning of his wife until later.
“Shane, that’s great, man. Happy for you — and thanks for telling us. Although some of us already knew, apparently,” he muttered, shooting a quick glare at his wife. “Doesn’t change a thing though, man. You know we love you no matter what.”
The change in Shane was visible — his shoulders dropped, breath whooshing from his lungs, color rushing back into his face.
“Okay,” he said, almost to himself. He looked up, and Hayden caught the slight glint of tears in his eyes. “Thank you. I love you guys,” he said with a smile.
“Aw, we love you too, buddy,” Hayden said, mirroring his smile.
“I’m going to tell the team too, but I wanted to talk to you first.”
“Well, I feel honored,” Hayden said, straightening his posture with mock seriousness.
Jackie wandered back to the table, the girls now silently watching their movie. “So, no secret baby with Rose Landry, but are you seeing anyone?”
If Shane had been pale before, he was a stoplight now, his face turning crimson. “Oh, I don’t, um…” He scratched at the back of his neck awkwardly.
“Boston Lily is a guy,” Hayden blurted, with absolutely no grace. “You’ve been hooking up with the same guy in Boston for years,” he added triumphantly.
“Yeah,” Shane confirmed quietly, “but I’m not really ready to talk about that yet.”
“Oh my God, I’m sorry. We’re so nosy,” Jackie backpedaled.
Then the conversation shifted to Shane’s plans for the final days of summer before hockey picked back up and he and Hayden would be back on the ice.
But Hayden was silently thinking over the years he and Shane had visited Boston — and all the times Shane had slipped away to see his mystery man.
-
“Well,” Hayden quietly prodded his wife as they got ready for bed. The kids were all, miraculously, tucked in and asleep.
“What?” Jackie whispered back.
He climbed into bed, and she followed, and he turned to face her.
“We knew Shane was gay??” he asked.
“Oh, that,” Jackie said. “I thought you knew.”
“How was I supposed to know? He was dating a movie star a few months ago. A female movie star, I might remind you.”
Jackie responded with a knowing grin. “Yeah, but c’mon, Hayden.”
“What?”
“Oh, come on,” she said, rolling her eyes. “It’s so obvious.”
God, his wife was so beautiful when she knew everything. Focus, Hayden.
“How was it obvious?” he asked, wondering how he’d missed the — apparently — glaring signs that his best friend had been playing for the other team.
“Well, since you brought it up — Rose Landry. He was so awkward around her. All the photos of them together looked like they were best friends out to dinner, not two people in love. There was no chemistry.”
Hayden had not noticed that. “Okay… and anything else?”
“Yes. Shane has never brought up a girl in all the time we’ve known him. He never brings anyone back to hotels after a night out — you said that. He doesn’t date. He’s always awkward around me and the other wives,” she explained. “In, like, a cute awkward way, not in a mean way,” she added quickly. “And there was that one time he was drunk and we were watching a game and he said Scott Hunter was hot. Like, hello?” She finished with a dramatic flourish of her hands.
“Everyone thinks Scott Hunter is hot,” Hayden shot back. “That doesn’t mean you’re gay. It just means you have eyes.”
Jackie gave him a look. “Oh, shut up. I’m just saying.”
Hayden shook his head. “I just feel like a moron for not realizing. Like, of course he never introduced Boston Lily to us. Boston Lily is a dude. I just don’t understand why he didn’t tell us earlier. We would’ve accepted him.”
“Well, maybe Boston Lily didn’t want people to know either. Maybe he’s not out.”
Hayden’s mind began to whirl. “Do you think it’s someone high-profile?”
Jackie shrugged. “Maybe. I guess that would make sense, since Shane has been so covert about him for all these years.”
“Huh. I wonder who it is. Maybe when we play Boston this year I can get him to tell me,” Hayden schemed.
“Don’t push him, honey. Let him do this in his own time.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know.”
They fell into a comfortable silence, but Hayden’s mind kept racing. He tried to think of movie stars and singers that lived in New York. Maybe even a model. He didn’t know Shane’s type. Was he into pretty guys, or did he like a more rugged type? He had no clue.
And so Hayden fell asleep that night thinking about his best friend’s taste in men — and how to unmask the mystery guy.
Boston, January 2017
Hayden stepped out of the hotel bathroom, wrapped in a towel around his waist. In the room, Shane was pacing, gathering the few items he’d unpacked and placing them back into his suitcase.
“Going somewhere?” Hayden said with a smirk as Shane lifted his bag.
“Uh… yeah.” Shane shifted awkwardly. He was still uncomfortable whenever Hayden mentioned his Boston man. “I’m heading out for the night. I’ll be back at the hotel in the morning to catch the bus with the team to the airport.”
“Alright, man. Have fun. Send my love to ‘Lily,’” he said, miming quotation marks with his fingers.
Shane shook his head. “I’ll send your love, but…” he chuckled, “never mind. I’ll be sure to pass it along.”
Hayden raised an eyebrow but let it go, deciding to enjoy an empty hotel room — no incredible wife stealing the covers, no kids screaming, and no hockey roommate snoring obnoxiously without admitting it.
As the door clicked closed behind Shane, Hayden ruminated on the mystery man conundrum. He opened Google and half-heartedly typed in “celebrities that live in Boston”, scrolling through the list. He passed by all kinds of baseball and football players. No way Shane would have time to date another athlete — the schedules would never line up.
He focused on singers and actors instead. Maybe Shane hadn’t actually been dating Rose Landry, but perhaps he did have a type. Hayden scrolled further and landed on a few Boston Raiders players, laughing quietly. No way a Raiders player would want to hook up with Shane after the complete ass-whooping his team had handed Boston tonight.
Montreal, February 2018
“Hey man, you want to come over this weekend and hang out with me and the kids? I promised Jackie I’d watch them all day on Saturday so she can hang with her friends without worrying, but I could use some backup forces” Hayden continue packing up his locker after their practice.
“Hey don’t try to rope me into babysitting”
“C’mon man, I’m vastly outnumbered. I need some man power”
“If you don’t want to be outnumbered then stop having a million kids with your wife”
“I can’t help it, she’s so beautiful and the kids are so cute at first. And then they turn one and become little demons. Please Shane, I’m begging you.”
“No man, I’m out of town this weekend. And even if I was in town then the answer would still be no. If you want me to babysit then I’m going to need some payment.”
“I can’t afford you Shane”
“Yes, you can. And more than that, you can afford to hire an actual sitter or nanny? Why are you freaking out? “
“Jackie said we’re not hiring a sitter when I’m available and that “if I can do it all day long when you’re traveling, then you can do it for 8 hours” Hayden raked his hands through his hair.
“Fine, you won’t help me. You’re no longer my best friend, I’m replacing you with Comeau” Hayden turned his back to Shane, grabbing his bag and slinging it over his houlder.
“No, don’t replace me” Shane said “I’m out of town man, I’ll be in Ottawa, I’d be there if I could”
“Ottawa again”Hayden said. Shane seemed to spend every weekend in Ottawa these days. He had started going up at the beginning of the season and it felt like he spent more time there than here these days.
“Are your folk all right,” he questioned?
“Yeah, why” Shane answered, confused
“I just thought something might be wrong, you’re going to see them every weekend”
“Oh, yeah..” Shane trailed off “they’re fine, I just am enjoying spending time in Ottawa”
“Dude, no one enjoys spending time in Ottawa” Something was definitely up “Why are you actually going up”
Shane was evasive as hell “I’m just visiting.” he said “stop interrogating my travel plans just because you want me to babysit” Shane said with a mocking glare.
“Fine fine, abandon me to a day with my children, I can only hope I survive”
“I’m sure you’ll be fine. Like Jackie said, she does it every day”
Hayden couldn’t argue with that as they left their practice rink and headed to their respective cars.
-
“Did you manage to trick Shane into being your backup tomorrow?” Jackie asked him that evening.
Hayden swirled around in the kitchen, bringing a hand to his chest in mock shock at the accusation. “You think I would call on my friends to help me instead of just enjoying a wonderful day of bonding with just me and our children?”
“Yes,” Jackie answered simply.
Hayden dropped the act. “Shane’s in Ottawa this weekend again. I’ll be watching them solo tomorrow, which I am happy to do because they are the light of my life and I am their father.”
Jackie quirked an eyebrow at him. Hayden tried again, more dramatically. “Alright, they’re little demons and I’m terrified of them, but my wonderful wife deserves a day of relaxation, and I can handle them,” he finished.
“Better,” she said with a small shake of her head.
“Shane’s in Ottawa again? I hope David and Yuna are alright,” she added, worry evident in her tone.
“That’s what I said! Shane says they’re fine and he’s just ‘enjoying Ottawa,’ or some bullshit like that,” Hayden replied.
Jackie quietly rubbed her fingers together in their symbol for the swear jar — a gentle reminder for Hayden’s crass language.
“No one enjoys Ottawa,” she said.
“Exactly, that’s what I said!” Hayden repeated, shaking his head. His wife was on the exact same wavelength as him, as usual.
“Maybe he’s got an Ottawa lover?” Jackie said, tilting her head mischievously.
“Ew, Jackie, don’t say ‘lover’ — that’s gross,” Hayden groaned.
“Oh yeah, that’s it for sure. Shane’s got himself an Ottawa lover,” she emphasized the last word, enjoying the dramatic effect.
“No way. He’s been seeing Boston Lily for like ten years. No way he’s seeing someone in Ottawa,” Hayden said firmly, shaking his head.
“Maybe Boston Lily moved to Ottawa,” Jackie said with a shrug. “Maybe Boston Lily is now Ottawa Lily.”
“Let’s say you’re right — which of course you’re not — why would someone move from Boston to Ottawa? That’s crazy,” Hayden said, pacing slightly.
“I don’t know. If we’re still thinking they’re someone high-profile, maybe they’re filming here, or their team traded them here,” Jackie suggested.
“No, no way he’d be able to spend every weekend with someone who was actively filming something, and there’s no MLB or NFL Ottawa team,” Hayden argued, crossing his arms.
“Maybe he’s in the NHL,” Jackie said with a sly grin. “Ohhh, maybe it’s Rosanov! He just moved to Ottawa,” she added with a shake of her head and a laugh. They were both aware of the decades-long rivalry between Shane and Ilya.
A beat passed. “No, there’s no way,” Hayden muttered, his head swirling. Not possible. And yet… it made sense. A lot of sense.
Jackie paused in the kitchen. “No way, right? There’s no way Ilya Rosanov is Shane’s mystery man.”
Hayden felt dizzy. “No, it can’t be. He hates the guy.”
“Maybe he doesn’t,” Jackie suggested. “Maybe they’re lovers,” she emphasized again, and Hayden shivered and mock-gagged.
“No way. We’re playing Boston next week. I’m sure Shane will be sneaking off to his man, and we can squash this outlandish thought,” Hayden said, running a hand over his face.
Jackie grinned. “I’ve got fifty bucks that says he stays in the hotel with you the whole Boston trip because his mystery man is in Ottawa.”
“You’re on,” Hayden replied, laughing despite himself. Because there was no way. Right?
Boston, February 2018 – Hotel Room
Hayden leaned back into the hotel pillows, preparing for a night of trashy reality television he couldn’t watch at home without Jackie ruthlessly taunting him. He had ordered room service, raided the minibar, and was all set when Shane emerged from the bathroom after his shower.
Except Shane wasn’t dressed in his usual joggers and sweatshirt — the outfit he always wore when leaving the hotel in Boston. No, Shane was wearing his pajamas, the ones he only wore when he was spending the night in.
“Oh,” Hayden said with surprise as Shane climbed into his bed. “Are you not spending the night with Boston man?” he asked lightly.
“Oh, uh, no. Not tonight,” Shane said quickly, changing the subject. “What are we watching?”
“Why not?” Hayden pressed, genuinely curious. Maybe Boston man was sick or out of town.
“Dude, don’t worry about it,” Shane said, a little defensively.
Hayden held his hands up in surrender. “Jeez, just asking. Excuse me for showing an interest in my best friend’s romantic pursuits.” He selected Real Housewives on the screen unabashedly.
Shane’s face screwed up at the selection. “Dude, I’m gay, but I’m not that gay. We can watch something else.”
Hayden smirked. “I didn’t pick it for you. This is my favorite thing to watch when you’re off with your mystery man. And just because you aren’t going to your… booty call tonight—”
“Don’t call it that,” Shane interrupted.
Hayden held up a finger. “Just because you aren’t going to your booty call doesn’t mean I have to change my plans.” He pressed play and leaned back into his pillows. Then he decided to push Shane a little, half out of curiosity and half because Shane had questioned his TV choices.
“Wasn’t it nice not having to play against Rosanov tonight?” he asked casually.
Shane’s expression betrayed nothing, just a slight shrug. “Yeah, I guess. We would’ve won anyway. Boston sucks this season.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Hayden replied. Then he added, glancing at Shane from the corner of his eye, “And we’ll see him in Ottawa in a few weeks anyway. Can’t believe he got traded there — he must be bored out of his mind.”
“Yeah, maybe. I haven’t really thought about it,” Shane said. Anyone else might have missed the slight quirk of his lips as he lied. But Hayden had known him for a decade — that tiny movement might as well have been a giant red flag screaming, keep pushing, there’s something he’s not saying. Naturally, Hayden kept pushing.
“You don’t ever run into him on your weekly adventures to Ottawa?” Hayden asked, aiming for casual but landing somewhere in the accusatory range.
“What are you asking, Hayden?” Shane said, turning to face him directly.
Hayden leaned forward. “I think your mystery man is Ilya Rosanov.”
Even though Shane had asked, he still seemed shocked by the accusation. His eyebrows practically met his hairline. He stayed silent for a moment. Two. Then he gave a nod.
“Oh my god,” Hayden murmured.
“Yeah,” Shane said quietly.
“OH MY GOD!” Hayden said louder this time, jaw practically dropping.
“Shhhhh, Hayden. You can’t tell anyone,” Shane pleaded.
“Oh, this is not good, buddy,” Hayden said, putting his head in his hands.
“It’s not ideal, but I love him,” Shane said, sounding slightly disappointed in Hayden’s reaction.
“No, not that. I mean… that is a whole mindfuck I need to unpack in a second,” Hayden said, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. “What’s not good is that my wife was right and I owe her fifty bucks.” He let out a deep breath. “Oh god, Shane. She’s never gonna let me live this one down.”
“You were betting on my love life?” Shane said in mock outrage.
Hayden waved him off. “Dude, Jackie and I bet on all kinds of things. It’s not even about the money — it’s about getting your spouse to admit you were right. And now I have to do that.”
“I feel so sorry for you,” Shane said flatly, clearly unsympathetic.
Hayden moved back to the real topic. “Rosanov, really?”
Shane had a dopey smile. “Yeah, really.”
“Well, whatever makes you happy, I guess. I’m going to have to meet the guy properly now, not just when he’s slinging insults at me on the ice,” Hayden said grumpily.
“Yeah, he’s an asshole,” Shane said, but there was no hatred behind it, just affection.
Hayden flung a pillow at him.
“What the fuck was that for?” Shane asked.
“For lying to me for like ten years. You’ve been hooking up with Boston Lily the whole time I’ve known you.” Hayden paused, then added, mockingly, “Oh my god… Lily — Ilya. Jesus, it was right there. What does he have you as in his phone?”
Shane’s reply came quietly. “Jane.”
“Oh my god!” Hayden yelled. “You two are ridiculous. Now I have to call my wife and tell her she was right.” He paused. “I can tell Jackie, right? If I don’t, she’ll sniff it out like a bloodhound — that woman is intense with secrets.”
“Yeah, you can tell Jackie, but you have to put it on speaker so I can hear her reaction,” Shane said, laughing.
“Fuck you, man,” Hayden said, dialing his wife as Shane chuckled in the background.