Work Text:
Harris grimaced scrolling through the comments of Troy’s Q&A video he had posted to the Ottawa Centaurs' Instagram page a few hours ago. He had already been anticipating the flood of negative comments after posting the official announcement that Troy was joining the Centaurs, but he had hoped the video would have provoked a discussion of Troy’s answers instead of getting the same comments defending Dallas Kent.
He tried to interact with a couple of comments on any posts he made, but the newest member of the team was making it almost impossible. Harris was almost ready to give up when a comment caught his eye.
barretxleclerc damn he’s almost smiling, ottawas admin is already doing miles better than toronto
Harris liked it and closed the comment section to rewatch the video. Even though he had recorded and edited the video, he noticed that Troy started the video looking almost afraid, then started to relax as the video played.
Maybe the Troy fans wanted to see more of his smile, Harris thought, that’s something to keep in mind to get more positive comments on Troy’s posts.
*
He tried to post at least one photo dump of the team’s practice each week, with the only exceptions being when the team had away games and Harris couldn’t go with them. He was doing his daily 15 minutes of scrolling through the comments of the newest post.
rozysgirl ilya is so hoooot
haasyupdates we love you luca!!!
troysabs17 is that a troy barrett smiling?!!
batmanssidekick lets go hayes!
toronto4life barret can only smile during practice bc hes getting destroyed on the ice
troysabs17 fuck off
While Harris had been in the rink taking photos, Troy had looked at him with half a smile. It honestly looked more like a smirk on Troy's serious face, but Harris hadn’t been able to resist snapping a picture. It was his job to show the players in their best angles, so even if he didn't have a chance with the hottest (and straightest) player in the team, he could at least share his best pictures with the fans.
*
rozysgirl OMG CHIRON
barrettsabs TROY WITH CHIRON HELLO???
censfan this is a chiron fan account first, centaurs second
futuremrsilya ilya with chiron ily admin
troysabs17 the admin loves troy with chiron and so do i
barrettsabs ikr, he's never had the spotlight this much in team posts
barrettswife oh to be able to adopt a dog with troy barrett
Damn it, the fans had clocked Harris on this one. Almost half of the pictures he had uploaded to Instagram and Twitter had featured Troy, he'd told himself it was to show the fans Troy's softer side, but who was he kidding, he felt fuzzy inside every time he looked at the pictures (and he had definitely only looked at them a normal amount, he swore).
*
The posts he made after every visit to the hospital were always a hit, but this time Harris wanted to delete Twitter from his phone. It wasn’t enough that he had been exposed to Troy’s blinding smile almost all day at the hospital, he also had to re-live it on his timeline.
The pictures in the official Centaurs account had gotten a few of the usual comments, but some family members of the kids had posted their pictures with Troy to feed his small (but growing) fanbase. Harris didn’t need that fanbase feeding his crush on Troy while he was trying to get over the man (and failing miserably).
k @finel1ne
um i dont even go here but the hockey team visited my brothers hospital and i wanna know whos this cutie
[image cropped to only show Troy]
replying to @finel1ne
lola @troysabs17
oomf casually met troy barrett (my husband)
replying to @finel1ne
andy @louisxroz
bestie that’s THE troy barrett
Marianne @ottawamarianne
Thank you @OttawaCentaurs !! Nathan always loves when you visit
[photo of a kid surrounded by his parents, along with Troy and Wyatt]
replying to @ottawamarianne and @OttawaCentaurs
taylor @mv33xrozanov
wait… why does troy look kinda cute here
lola @troysabs17
Troy nation we’re being fed
Marianne @ottawamarianne
Thank you @OttawaCentaurs !! Nathan always loves when you visit
replying to @troysabs17
andy @louisxroz
“nation” and we’re like 5 people
replying to @troysabs17
mar @barrettsabs
Fr!!!! Do we know who took those pictures? I kinda wanna send them flowers
replying to @barrettsabs
lola @troysabs17
lmao girl calm down, I think it’s probably just their social media manager? Or someone from the hospital staff
replying to @troysabs17
mar @barrettsabs
whoever they are, they need to take all of troys pics from now on, he looks too pretty!!
*
[Instagram carousel post featuring Troy and Ilya wearing Christmas sweaters with Chiron]
ottawacentaurs Happy Christmas Eve from our MVP! and Ilya and Troy as well 🎄🎅🏻
censfans Merry Christmas!!
haasyupdates no luca? boooo
rozysgirl merry christmas to me!! Ilya with chiron are my gift!
barrettsabs what did the admin promise Troy to get him in that outfit? whatever it was keep doing it admin
batmanssidekick awww Troy looks so cute here
futuremrsilya i just know ilya was being a little shit to have troy blushing like that
*
[Instagram carousel post of behind the scenes photos of the team through the year]
ottawacentaurs Happy new year!!!🥳🎉🎊✨️🎆🎇 Let's look back at some of our best moments this year!!
censfan happy new year! here's to hoping we make it into the playoffs this year!
toronto4life lmao you wish
censfan literally who asked you
barretxleclerc omg troy smiling quick make a wish
haasyupdates happy new year luca!!!
troysabs17 admin what sort of magic are you using on troy
barrettsabs oh to have troy look at me like that
guardiansf1 is troy in love with their sm manager? I know our sm sucked but I've seen that man smile more in 1 month with the cens than all his years in toronto
guardiansf1 and mind you this team SUCKS so it's not bc they're winning
troysabs17 you don't even go here (but lowkey you have a point)
Spending new year’s day scrolling through the Toronto Guardians Instagram account while nursing a mild hangover was not in Harris’ plans, but damn it, the comments had gotten to him. He wanted to see if what the fans were saying was true.
So far he was cursing their social media manager for being so boring, he would bet anything that they were an older millennial, maybe even gen x. It was full of basic pictures during games and a few sponsored posts. He couldn’t decide if the difference in Troy’s social media presence was due to Harris' amazing work or the lack of emotion in the Guardians’ account, or a mix of both. But definitely not because Troy had a crush on him.
*
lola @troysabs17
Troy nation we need to discuss something important
replying to @troysabs17
andy @louisxroz
again the nation is just like 5 of your mutuals
replying to @louisxroz
lola @troysabs17
I swear we are growing!! We're at least 10 people now
replying to @troysabs17
elena @reputat1onroz
what's up bestie
replying to @reputat1onroz
lola @troysabs17
im glad you asked bestie… who is the centaurs sm manager and why is troy lowkey in love with them
replying to @troysabs17
elena @reputat1onroz
omg i know!!!! I thought I was the only one seeing the heart eyes, that girl is sooo lucky
replying to @troysabs17
andy @louisxroz
Im pretty sure they have it somewhere on their website, hold up
replying to @louisxroz and @troysabs17
andy @louisxroz
soooo @reputat1onroz sorry to burst your bubble but their sm admin is a man
[screenshot from the Ottawa Centaurs website stating names and corporate emails of the communications department]
replying to @louisxroz and @reputat1onroz
lola @troysabs17
interesting…
replying to @troysabs17 and @louisxroz
elena @reputat1onroz
ok I found his ig and there are 0 pics or mentions of troy there, he doesn't even follow a private troy account, do we think it's one sided??
[screenshot of Harris Instagram page]
replying to @reputat1onroz and @louisxroz
lola @troysabs17
girl its been like 5 minutes, the fuck??
*
Ottawa Centaurs @OttawaCentaurs
First practice back home after quite a trip, let’s show them we come back stronger than ever!
[Photos of the team during practice]
replying to @OttawaCentaurs
Dan @centaursfan
Glad to know everyone is okay! Go cens!
replying to @OttawaCentaurs
elena @reputat1onroz
MY BABIES ARE OKAY THANK YOU
replying to @OttawaCentaurs
lola @troysabs17
happy that everyone is okay but god that announcement almost gave me a heart attack
replying to @OttawaCentaurs
andy @louisxroz
let’s go cens!!
*
[Troy's first Instagram selfie]
troybarrett17 Working hard. Always room for improvement.
barretxleclerc OMG TROY HAS INSTAGRAM
troysabs17 HI MY LOVE WELCOME TO INSTA
batmanssidekick Hi Troy!
barrettsabs EVERYONE BACK OFF THAT'S MY HUSBAND
censfan Nice pic man
barrettswife he posted this for me I just know it
troysabs17 I just know this is Harris hard work, thank you for making my man finally make an insta
elenaswiftie everyone say thank you Harris
barretxleclerc who tf is harris
troysabs17 @andytommo he follows harris👀
andytommo girl that’s his coworker
elenaswiftie lola im more delusional than you, but harris doesnt even follow him???
troysabs17 noooooo harris cmon follow back your man
*
elena @reputat1onroz
took him a few days but he finally followed back his man
replying to @reputat1onroz
mar @barrettsabs
girl were u stalking his followers?
*
Dan @centaursfan
LET'S GO CENTAURS!! WE CAN BEAT THE ADMIRALS
replying to @centaursfan
Dan @centaursfan
1% chance, 99% blind faith
lola @troysabs17
Let's go Troy!!!
replying to @troysabs17
elena @reputat1onroz
have u seen the video harris posted of the team walking to the rink?👀
replying to @reputat1onroz
lola @troysabs17
not yet I was at work
replying to @troysabs17 and @reputat1ionroz
lola @troysabs17
omg elena!!! that look that loook!!! My man was thirsting for Harris and I'm sooo here for it
replying to @troysabs17
elena @reputat1onroz
IKR!!! he’s looking at him like he’s imagining every position he wants to fuck him
replying to @reputat1onroz and @troysabs17
andy @louisxroz
Every day im more surprised by the things you post on here
replying to @reputat1onroz and @troysabs17
John @admiralsnorris
The rpf weirdos got to ottawa, I almost feel bad for those guys
*
“So I've been looking at the recent comments in the teams' social media,” Gen started after they were done reviewing a batch of photos of the team from the most recent game.
“You know that's kinda my job right?” Harris was internally praying the conversation wouldn't go where he thought it was going.
Gen smirked, “Oh really? Then you have already seen that fans think Troy has a crush on you?”
Harris sighed, “so what? It's just a small portion of fans, you know how the internet is.”
“So the internet thinks that the man you described as the hottest player in the league,” Gen did air quotes, “has a crush on you and you have nothing else to say?”
“Nope,” he was trying to keep his face neutral to avoid giving anything away.
“Mhm,” Gen arched her eyebrows, “so if I said Alain mentioned he was getting jealousy vibes from Troy at the bar last week before you introduced them, you wouldn't care at all?”
Harris pretended he didn't feel butterflies in his stomach when he heard that, “look can you just drop it? I'm really not in the mood to talk about it right now.”
At least Gen had the decency to look apologetic, “sure, but you know you're a catch right? Any man would be lucky to date you. Hockey player or not.”
Harris smiled, “thanks Gen.”
*
elena @reputat1onroz
OMG TROY WENT TO FABIAN SALAH'S CONCERT?!?!
andy @louisxroz
troy nation im worried about lola
replying to @louisxroz
mar @barrettsabs
Why
replying to @barrettsabs
andy @louisxroz
Troy posted his story 10 hours ago and she hasn't come here to scream about it
elena @reputat1onroz
um guys, is now a good time to mention my cousin swears he saw Harris at Fabians concert last night
replying to @reputat1onroz
mar @barrettsabs
Girl, how does your cousin even know who harris is?
replying to @barrettsabs
elena @reputat1onroz
sooooooooo i might have rambled to him about my theories (with screenshots and everything) for a little bit
replying to @reputat1onroz
mar @barrettsabs
bestie ily but please stop
lola @troysabs17
hello folks I just woke up from a 10 hour nap
lola @troysabs17
hey guys WHAT THE FUCK
lola @troysabs17
hello folks I just woke up from a 10 hour nap
*
[Video of the centaurs during practice]
ottawacentaurs another week of hard work to make the playoffs 💪💪
toronto4life u wish
futuremrsilya why are you even here
troysabs17 @elenaswiftie ok yeah im convinced, you're not too delusional, harris and troy have something going on
rozysgirl i can't even concentrate on my man bc troys heart eyes are taking up the whole video
elenaswiftie hearteyes? that man is looking at harris like he’s a 5 course meal
andytommo if i had a dollar for every time troy turned to look at the camera…
censfan we get it troy u r in love with the social media admin, can you concentrate on the game pls? We need to make the playoffs this year
batmanssidekick the shippers got you too?
censfan what can I say? I have eyes and I'm seeing a man in love
“So there's something we should talk about,” Harris said while scrolling through the Instagram comments on the most recent post in the Centaurs page.
Troy hummed from his place on Harris’ lap. They were on the couch in Troy’s place, the Boston/Buffalo match playing on the TV while Harris was softly playing with Troy’s hair.
“Some fans have noticed that you’re a little bit smitten with me,” he was trying to downplay it in case the attention made Troy anxious.
“Well they're wrong,” Troy turned to look up at him with a big smile on his face. Harris’ face must have shown complete confusion because Troy giggled and sat up, “I’m more than a little bit smitten with you.”
Harris smiled and leaned in to kiss him. Troy pulled him in to deepen the kiss.
“No, but seriously,” Harris said when the need for air separated them, “you’re not worried about the fans figuring it out?”
“I’m going to come out in a few days anyway,” Troy shrugged, “no point in denying it if I’ll confirm it just a couple of days later.”
*
[Troy’s coming out video]
troybarrett17 This is me.
troysabs17 IM SO PROUD OF YOU MY BABY🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈
barretxleclerc #loveislove🏳️🌈
batmanssidekick congrats!🏳️🌈
barrettsabs what did men do to deserve him?😩 (congrats tho)
rozysgirl love you troy!🏳️🌈
elenaswiftie I KNEW IT!!!!!!!
toronto4life thank god we don't have you in the team anymore
barrettswife damn, I guess I need a new username
censfan congrats man!
andytommo proud of you!🏳️🌈
*
Ottawa Centaurs @OttawaCentaurs
Ready for the match!! #PrideNight
[video of the players walking out of the locker room]
lola @troysabs17
that weird cut off when troy walked out of the locker room?? I know my man was going to kiss his man
Ottawa Centaurs @OttawaCentaurs
Ready for the match!! #PrideNight
replying to @troysabs17
andy @louisxroz
girl you need to stop calling him your man
replying to @louisxroz
lola @troysabs17
no<3
elena @reputat1onroz
harris drover can you fight?
replying to @reputat1onroz
andy @louisxroz
hate to burst your bubble but he only came out, we don't know for sure that he's dating harris
mar @barrettsabs
4-1 TO OTTAWA YES CENS!!!
andy @louisxroz
welp nevermind
andy @louisxroz
hate to burst your bubble but he only came out, we don't know for sure that he's dating harris
elena @reputat1onroz
Hard launching the same day he came out, he really said “don't even think about it men, im happily taken”
lola @troysabs17
Me (a Toronto girlie) realizing there's no way Troy would come back to live in Toronto now
[This is the Bad Place.gif]