Chapter Text
March 18th 3:21 PM
From: [email protected]
Subject: New Campaign Ideas
Hello Harris!
You may have heard through the grapevine that we’re planning on releasing new tape colors and designs! I know that someone of your guys (*cough* Rozanov *cough*) may be interested, so I am sending you this incredibly official campaign proposal. We come to you for a day, take a handful of photos, maybe fool around a bit- super lowkey! Playoffs are coming up (congratulations!), so we want to make this as low-stress as possible for your guys.
Let me know if this is something you will be interested in!
An important note: any player is welcome to participate, no matter their orientation. As you know, we strive for inclusivity, and it is important to us that we make all players feel welcome in any campaign that we do.
Thanks a bunch!
Rebekah
Pride Tape Communications
XXX-XXX-XXXX
***
March 18th 3:46 PM
From: [email protected]
RE: New Campaign Ideas
Hey Rebekah!
Thanks for reaching out! I’ll definitely ask the team! For now, you can safely anticipate three participants, but I’ll let you know of any future additions.
We have an extra week before playoffs this year, so if we do this, the third week of April would be our best bet.
I can’t wait to see the rest of the pitch!
Peace,
Harris Drover he/him
Director of Communications
Ottawa Centaurs
XXX-XXX-XXXX
~~~
Ottawa Centaurs 2021/22
3:51 PM
Harris Drover
Hey team! I just received an email from my friend Rebekah over at Pride Tape! It hasn’t been announced to the public yet, but they're planning on releasing some new tapes, and they want our help with the campaign!
Ilya Rozanov
ME
I WANT IN
Harris Drover
You were called out by name. I would hope so!
Ilya Rozanov
YES!
Shane Hollander
I can assume I have no choice?
Harris Drover
Sorry Shane! Management would have my head if you said no 😕
Shane Hollander
At least it could be worse?
Troy Barrett
I’ll do it!
Harris Drover
I already told Rebekah you would
Troy Barrett
❤️
Harris Drover
Does anyone else want to join? Rebekah said allies are welcome to!
Evan Dykstra
nah
Zane Boodram
Way to be enthusiastic man 🙄
Evan Dykstra
sorry!
I just think we should leave this one to the professionals!
Wyatt Hayes
I agree!
Troy Barrett
Is Roz even a professional?
Ilya Rozanov
A professional back breaker
Message was deleted by Shane Hollander
Shane Hollander
For the love of God, not in the team chat!
Nick Chouinard
Really didn’t want to see that.
Ilya Rozanov
It is the truth!
Zane Boodram
Thin fucking ice bro
Harris Drover
Electing to ignore that!
@Luca Haas would you like to join?
Luca Haas
Um
Oh.
In his (arguably not many) years of living, Luca Haas hadn’t thought about his sexuality. Okay, maybe that was a lie. He’d thought about it, and decided he liked who he liked, and it didn’t matter if he went into specifics or not. He played good hockey, and that should have been the end of it.
Then Scott Hunter came out when Luca was in Juniors. He still remembered what it was like, even overseas, how huge it was; how big it felt to know he wasn’t the only one
And then Ryan Price and Eric Bennett soon after.
Barrett, Hollander, and Rozanov in the past year.
They all changed the game, active players or not. They proved to the world that being themselves and playing hockey weren’t mutually exclusive.
That was what the campaign Harris announced, Luca realized, was about. That coming out in professional sports wasn’t signing that retirement check. It was an opening to something more.
Before he was playing with his idols.
Now it was his turn to be one.
But first he needed a second opinion. An outsider’s opinion.
~~~
Luca wasn’t proud of it, but he ended up cornering Wyatt Hayes after practice a few days later. Hazy was a safe bet, in terms of coming out. He didn’t want Rozanov’s fanfare, or Barrett and Hollander questions about the photoshoot he couldn’t answer; the same went for Harris.
He needed to talk it out with someone who didn’t have any stakes in the game yet knew his way around; who he could walk through his problems with and not feel judged.
And that someone was Hazy.
The showers were running full force as he worked up the nerve to even ask Wyatt if they could talk. Luca was a naturally nervous being, but it was like his anxiety wanted him to cop out. It was just Hazy! That was the whole point of talking to him first.
It’s just Hazy.
One foot. Two feet. Three-
“What’s going on, kid?” Wyatt’s voice cut through the noise.
Luca jerked his head forward to look Wyatt in the eye.
“I, um-” he tried. Like the patient man he was, the goalie only waited there, letting Luca find his footing.
“Can I talk to you, when you’re done?”
Wyatt clapped a hand on Luca’s shoulder. “Yeah, kid. Gimme five? Unless you wanted to wait for this place to clear out?”
It was like Wyatt could read his mind. “Yes. Cool. Waiting is good.”
Based on the clanks from the showers, Luca suspected that he had around ten minutes tops to get his head on straight before he had to bear his soul.
Great, he could do that.
He spent more time in the showers than was strictly necessary trying to put his brain back together. Should he ease Hazy into it? Should he jump the gun and say “I’m gay” before walking away nonchalantly without any further context?
Before he knew it, Luca was the last one in the showers. He dried off quickly, changed, and made his way back to the stalls, where Wyatt was waiting on the bench.
Alone.
Even though he asked for it, Luca still felt like he was walking towards the gallows. When he sat down, he strategically did so in a way where he didn’t have to look Hazy in the eyes.
Small victories.
“What did you want to talk to me about, kid?” Hazy asked.
Ignoring his obvious shaking hand, Luca asked, “Do you think I should do the campaign?”
Wyatt was quiet for a moment before responding. “No offense, but why are you asking me?”
Luca shrugged.
Wyatt hummed and wrapped an arm around Luca, pulling him close, and Luca went instantly, his head falling to Wyatt’s shoulder. He didn’t know how much he needed a hug until then.
“I am going to ask you a question, Haasy,” Wyatt said, lowering his voice. “But you don’t need to answer it. Not if you don’t want to.”
Luca nodded.
“Are you asking me because you want to be an ally, or is it because you want the campaign to mean something more?”
“I-” Luca’s voice cracked slightly. “I think I want it to mean something more.”
There it was. Out in the open, unable to be taken back.
Before he knew it, Wyatt’s angle had changed, and two strong arms were wrapped around Luca, his face buried into Wyatt’s neck.
“Thank you for telling me,” Wyatt whispered in Luca’s ear.
They stayed like that for a while before Luca pulled away first.
“Thank you,” he said. “I really needed that.”
Hazy gave Luca a soft smile. “Of course, Luca. It felt like you hadn’t really done that before.”
“Only to my sister,” Luca replied honestly. And it was true. He had come out to her in Secondary, after the Admirals won the Cup. After Scott Hunter came out first.
“Oh wow,” Hazy breathed. “But why me? I’m honored, but really? Our captain is bisexual, you have two gay teammates, but you came out to me first?”
“I needed to talk to someone else about it,” explained Luca. “Someone…”
“Who isn’t queer,” Wyatt finished, confirming to Luca that goalies (at least their goalie) could in fact, read minds.
“Exactly. Yes.”
Wyatt nodded. “You didn’t want to tell Harris until you’re sure, Troy would tell Harris, Roz has too much energy, and Hollander would tell Roz? And all of them would ask too many questions you don’t know the answer to?”
That was… exactly it.
“You read my mind,” Luca chuckled. “You keep doing that. It’s weird. Magic.”
“Goalie intuition,” Wyatt clarified. “Not magic.”
Same difference.
They sat in silence before Wyatt asked the question.
“Why now?”
Luca took a breath to center himself, “Hunter coming out meant a lot to me, obviously.”
Wyatt made a noise of acknowledgment but didn’t interrupt.
“But even then, I wanted to keep that part of me separate. But this campaign? It’s bigger than me,” he paused. “It’s for everyone needing to see themselves. Is it weird that I want to be the person Hunter was for me? And this campaign. It will make it easier.”
Instead of responding, Wyatt hugged Luca so hard it probably could have been considered a tackle.
“That’s the most I’ve ever heard you say in one go,” Wyatt laughed.
“It’s important.”
“Hell yeah it is, Haasy!”
With an extra squeeze for good measure, Luca was allowed his personal space again.
“What do you think?”
“I think,” Hazy replied, “you should talk to Harris and get the ball rolling. You won’t have time to think about it during Playoffs.”
“You really think I should?”
Wyatt gave him a look. “Are you trying to talk yourself out of this, kid?”
“Nope,” Luca corrected. “I’ll talk to Harris about the campaign.”
~~~
It didn’t occur to Luca just how early he was to practice a few days later until he parked. Looking around the lot, there were only a handful of cars, and only half of those he recognized.
His plan was to talk to Harris before practice, seeing how if he waited until the end, Luca probably would have found some excuse to ignore it. And nobody wanted that.
So before practice it was.
Walking down the office hallway, Luca could hear voices echoing from an open door; Harris’ open door. Of course today would be a day that Troy would arrive early to bother his boyfriend before practice. And while Luca was getting more comfortable with coming out, he still wasn’t quite ready yet to come out to the rest of his actual team.
Luca took a deep breath and knocked on the door frame. Troy and Harris looked up from their conversation.
“Oh, hey Haasy,” Troy said, removing his hand from where it had been resting on Harris’ shoulder.
Luca gave him an awkward smile and waved.
“What’s up Luca?” Harris asked.
Luca tried to look more confident than he felt. “Can I talk to you?”
Troy, reading the room (thank God), said, “Do either of you need anything before I get to practice?”
Luca shook his head and Harris replied, “I’m fine, babe. Go have fun, and try not to antagonize Roz too much?”
“He’s the one who starts it!”
Harris laughed, and with a kiss to Harris’ temple, Troy was off.
Redirecting his attention to Luca, he asked, “what brings you to my humble abode?”
“You did this once, you can do it again,” Luca whispered, purposely ignoring the confused look on Harris’ face.
He could step out now, pretend it’s nothing, and move on with his day. But he told Wyatt he would at least ask. So ask was what he would do.
“If,” Luca said carefully, “I did the campaign, what would I do?”
Harris grinned. “The set up will more or less be like a media day, with a couple of video shoots, and both solo and group shots that you’d share to your socials. Pretty straight forward.”
Luca nodded. “If I asked to do something specific, would they do it?”
Harris raised an eyebrow. “Depends. What did you have in mind?”
“Would they… could they,” Luca stumbled over his words. He swallowed and tried again. “Could they help me come out?”
Harris, bless his soul, didn’t look phased at the question. If anything, he looked… relieved?
“As your friend, I’m so happy for you!” Harris said. “However, as head of communications, I do need to ask you some questions, if that’s okay with you.”
Luca agreed, and for the next several minutes, Harris asked an impressive amount of questions, mostly about how he wanted to handle the campaign.
One question, however, made him pause.
“Is there a label you prefer to use?”
Was he supposed to have one? Ilya was always adamant that he was bisexual, not gay, and Luca would hear Harris and Troy and even Shane refer to themselves as gay. But that wasn’t Luca. Luca was Luca, and Luca didn’t care one way or another.
He hummed noncommittally.
“Do I need one?”
“Not if you don’t want,” Harris amended. “I can just make a note that says ‘queer’ and move on.”
Queer.
Specific enough to make a point, but vague enough to where he doesn’t need to explain himself.
“That works,” Luca agreed.
“Fantastic,” Harris said, making a note on his computer. “I have one more question before you head to practice. Do you have any desire to come out to the team before the campaign launch?”
Luca wasn’t quite sure what face he made, but whatever it was made Harris scramble.
“You aren’t required to come out to anyone you don’t want,” he said quickly, and though Luca knew that, he was thankful Harris had clarified. “I just want my facts straight before we get the ball rolling.”
Luca thought for a moment. The front office would probably want a heads up, and who could blame them?
“You can tell the front office,” he decided.
Harris bobbed his head while making a note. “And the team?”
He weighed his options. If he waited for the campaign to launch, his notifications would be endless. He loved his team, but they were overwhelming on a good day. If there was only a way to divert attention, even a little bit…
“How early do you get the campaign before it goes live?”
Harris raised a brow. “A couple of weeks before, why?”
“What if we looked at them together, as a team? You have less emails-”
“And Roz can make a scene if the guys get overwhelming. I like the way you think.”
”It’ll work?”
Harris flipped through a calendar on his desk. “If I get the email during round one, we schedule a team meeting before round two, to leave the rest of the playoffs open.”
“That seems a bit ambitious, Harris.”
Harris grinned. “Are you kidding? You guys have been dominating this season! You’re going all the way through. Without a doubt.”
Luca went shy at the statement. “I don’t want to take attention away from our win, if you think we will.”
”I know we will,” Harris corrected. “And I think, if you ask the team, they’d support you.”
Well, if that was the case.
“Let’s do it.”
~~~
March 25th 11:15 AM
From: [email protected]
Subject: Centaurs Campaign Participants
Hey Rebekah!
Attached is a document containing our guys willing to participate, as well as some additional information that you may need.
With that being said, a special opportunity has been proposed to us by one of the players. He would like to hopefully use this campaign as a chance to publicly come out. We stand by his decision 100%, and would like to work with you in achieving his vision.
Don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions!
From the trenches,
Harris Drover he/him
Director of Communications
Ottawa Centaurs
XXX-XXX-XXXX
attachment: [pridetape.doc]
***
March 25th 2:36 PM
From: [email protected]
RE: Centaurs Campaign Participants
Hello to you too, Harris!
Oh my gosh, this is so exciting! Please congratulate your player for us! We will help him however we can.
During the shoot, we planned on pulling a few quotes from your players to go along with the campaign, but we can reach out to a journalist friend of ours if you player would like to do a full profile instead of just a few quotes- whatever he is comfortable with. He’s running the show here.
At some point in the near future there will be an email pertaining to scheduling and all the boring stuff, so keep an eye out for that!
And, once again, we’re so proud of your player for allowing us to help him with this moment.
Queerly and sincerely,
Rebekah
Pride Tape Communications
XXX-XXX-XXXX
~~~
April 12th
Instagram Stories
8:02 AM officiallucahaas [a picture of his breakfast with the caption “Busy day ahead.”]
8:15 AM pridetape [a picture taken inside of an ice rink, with no discerning features.]
8:30 AM shanehollanderhockey [picture taken outside of the Centaurs practice facility. There is no caption, only the clock sticker with the time.]
9:22 AM rozanov.i.81 [Ilya has somehow found himself in some bisexual lighting. Nobody is asking any questions about where he found it. There is no caption except a sticker of the bisexual flag.]
9:40 AM harrisdrover.sm [A picture, not of himself, but of Troy chilling in a hair/makeup chair, looking at his phone. There is no caption, but Harris did tag the account @t.barrett.]
9:42 AM troybarrett17 [shared Harris’ story to his own, with the addition of the haircut emoji and the selfie arm emoji.]
~~~
April 12th, 9:32 AM
Two minutes.
That was all the time Luca had before he would officially be late to his own coming out.
He had two more minutes of peace before the inevitable chaos his openness would bring. He loved his team, truly, but their presence was overwhelming on a good day. To Luca, Ilya would probably classify the day as a great day, which meant he was going to be very… energetic.
Bzzt
Harris
Hey Luca! I just wanted to make sure everything was okay!
If you need me to, I can cancel, no questions asked.
Luca read and reread and read again the text from Harris. He appreciated the sentiment, but at this point, the only thing between himself and inner peace was a group of hyperactive toddlers grown men, and honestly? He could work with that.
After leaving Harris on read for what could have been a moment too long, he responded with:
Luca
In the parking lot.
OMW
Harris
Wonderful! I’ll meet you in the lobby!
See you in a minute!
There was Luca’s answer. Shaking out his nerves, he pulled himself together enough to meet Harris inside.
“You ready to do this?” Harris asked, as the pair trekked towards the ice.
”Would you believe me if I said yes?” Luca said tentatively.
Harris stopped abruptly and turned to face Luca.
“You can say no.” Harris said softly. “You’re not going to let anyone down by saying no.”
Luca found an ugly spot on the wall that, at the moment, was far more appealing than looking Harris in the eye.
“I need to do this for me,” Luca whispered. “I don’t like making it a big thing, but I just… need it out there.”
Harris nodded and allowed the topic to drop. The rest of the walk was silent.
The first thing Luca heard when arriving at the photoshoot base camp wasn’t the low rumbling of people doing their jobs. No, it was a slightly more sparkly Ilya Rozanov bellowing, “HAASY!” followed quickly by Luca’s here? from Troy and Hey, Haas! from Shane.
Luca hesitated in the entryway, eyes wide and unsure what to do next. He was surprised how easily they accepted his presence, even under the guise of being just an ally.
“Didn’t believe the guys when they said leave this to the professionals?” Troy chirped from his perch by the makeup vanity. Shane and Ilya were on the floor nearby, and though Shane tried to disguise a snort with a cough, Ilya did no such thing.
“I don’t think you can get more professional than this,” Luca shot back before his brain could catch up to his mouth.
Oops.
“No way,” Shane whispered, looking awestruck.
Ilya cheered. “Baby Centaur can chirp!”
“It wasn’t that hard,” Luca defended himself weakly.
“You came out to us with a chirp, man,” Troy exclaimed. “That took balls.”
Harris, who Luca momentarily forgot was beside him, placed a hand on his shoulder, and squeezed. “Didn’t that feel great?”
“Yeah,” Luca agreed.
With another light squeeze, Harris let go, and strode across the room where Troy was making grabby hands towards his boyfriend.
“You just saw me,” Harris teased, and Troy made an exaggerated pout.
“You were too far away!”
Luca noticed Shane poke Ilya in the ribs. “This asshole does it too. I walk away for thirty seconds, and when I come back, he acts like he hasn’t seen me in months!”
“I know what not having you for months is like.” Ilya shook his head. “Never again.”
Shane made an appreciative hum and wrapped his arms around his husband. “Nope. Never.”
It was a very sweet sight. Luca had only been in the closet for a couple years and it was driving himself crazy. It was hard to comprehend how these two men, with so much love to give, could do it for a decade.
Unfortunately, Troy did not carry the same sentiment. He faked a gag instead. “Barf,” he complained. “Get that shit out of here.”
“But Troy,” Ilya smirked. “You know you aren’t in Toronto anymore. We love free over here.”
“A little too free,” Troy mumbled. And well, if Troy held on to Harris a little tighter, Luca wasn’t going to tell.
“So Luca,” Shane brought the conversation back around to him. “Is this like a down-low thing, or…”
Luca shook his head fervently. “For now, yes. But this campaign—it’s me coming out. Publicly.”
Ilya beamed and clapped his hands together, slightly disturbing where Shane’s own were resting.
“This is the best news ever! Who else knows?”
That last remark earned him a well-placed elbow from Shane.
“Babe, chill,” Shane hissed.
“It’s okay,” Luca said. “I mean, my sister was the first person I told. Hazy figured it out after I asked him if I should do the Campaign. The Pride Tape people probably, and then you guys.”
”How long are we keeping this from the team?” Troy asked not unkindly.
Luca shrugged. “Before the campaign drops, so whenever Harris gets the footage to review?”
Before anyone else said anything, someone from Pride Tape walked into the room. Her badge read:
Rebekah
she/her
Communications
“Luca!” Rebekah grinned, holding out her hand to shake, which he did. She was tall, with dark hair streaked with blue. He looked down at her hand and noticed that her arm was covered in floral tattoos. “It’s so great to meet you!”
He let go of Rebekah’s hand to scratch the back of his neck. “Good to meet you too,” he replied, hoping he didn’t sound too nervous.
Rebekah must have noticed something, because she dialed it back a few notches.
“How are you feeling?”
Luca shrugged. “Nervous? Relieved? A combination of the two?”
She nodded knowingly. “That’s pretty much how it goes. Coming out to the world is a pretty big deal, and I’m glad that we’re able to help you out here.”
“You didn’t have to,” Luca said. “I’m probably derailing your plans a bit.”
Rebekah looked at Luca like he had grown another head. “Are you kidding? This is the dream! Our mission is to prove that sports, especially the more hostile ones like hockey, are for everyone. Supporting your journey is important to us, and will never be a hardship. It’s something we need to hear.”
Luca could feel the heat rise through his neck at Rebekah’s declaration. That was… a lot to hear out loud He was acutely aware of the impact his coming out would have. But, hearing that from someone who was virtually a stranger, well, he needed a moment to process it.
“Woah,” was the only word Luca could form.
Rebekah chuckled awkwardly. “Sorry,” she apologized. “Too much?”
“No!” Luca assured her. “No one else, outside of my team, has said that to me before. It’s surprising.”
Rebekah made a soundless oh with her mouth before clapping Luca on the shoulder, like they’ve been best buddies their entire lives.
“Well, get used to it bud,” she said cheerfully. “You’re gonna get a lot more of that soon.” Rebekah then gestured to the vanity where Troy had set up shop.
“Go sit over there while I go find our stylists. Barrett!” She called out, causing Troy to almost take a tumble out of the tall chair, jolting his boyfriend in turn. Harris appeared to be attempting to stifle a giggle, but Roz had no such class and laughed, leaving Shane to hiss Ilya!
Rebekah at least looked apologetic. “Sorry! Wasn’t trying to scare you! Could you please move and give Luca the space?”
Troy gave a thumbs up, and, after nudging Harris out of the way, hopped down from the seat.
“I think the rest of us should go ahead to the ice,” Harris said when Luca got comfortable in front of the mirror. “Let’s give Luca some space to get pretty.”
Luca buried his head in his hand with the hopes of hiding how red his face inevitably was.
“Any prettier and he’s going to have more deals than Hollzy!” Troy smirked.
“Leave me out of this!” Shane yelped.
In the mirror’s reflection, Luca saw Harris roll his eyes. “If you boys don’t get a move on, I won’t ask to do a sappy couples picture with you, Troy.”
Luca snorted when Troy’s face went slack with overdramatic fear.
“You wouldn’t.”
Harris answered only with a small shrug, and with that, Troy hurried out of the room, Harris close behind.
“Need anything before we go?” Shane asked, using his husband’s shoulder to pull himself up off the floor. Luca smiled when Ilya threw his hands out in a help me motion, which made Shane roll his eyes.
Luca shook his head. “I don’t think so?”
Ilya didn’t look too pleased with that answer. “You want us to stay? Get you anything? A hug?” He took his captain/pseudo-father/big brother responsibilities seriously.
“A hug would be nice?” Luca whispered. He blinked and Ilya was already wrapped around him, pulling him tight. Shane was right behind him, with a hand on Luca’s back.
“I know I joke,” Ilya breathed, chin resting on the top of Luca’s head. “But I am very proud. It is hard, yes, but it will make you happy; like it made Shane and I happy.”
Luca’s eyes welled up. “Shit,” he chuckled, voice breaking. “Thanks, Cap.”
Ilya released him quickly, but did not back away. Instead, he studied Luca intently, face scrunched up with worry.
“You are crying,” he announced. “I did not mean—”
Luca wiped his eyes with the collar of his shirt. “Good tears, I promise. Overwhelming, but good.”
Shane gave him a few comforting pats on his back. “We’ve gotta go, Haasy, but text Harris if you need anything?”
Luca rolled his eyes fondly. “You will be three rooms away for twenty minutes. I think I’ll be fine.”
“Anything,” Ilya reiterated.
“So, right now, if I asked you to leave so Harris won’t hunt you down, you would?”
Ilya gasped and clutched his heart. “My Baby Centaur, you dare treat your father this way?”
Shane grabbed his husband and led him towards the door, away from Luca. “Okay, Shakespeare. Wrap it up. Luca’s right. We need to get to the ice.”
~~~
When Luca arrived on the ice, seeing Shane and Ilya chasing each other, laughing and fighting for a puck, in front of the cameras was not what he expected. They seemed so free.
Troy was off to the side with Harris, holding his own stick.
All three of them had different colors of tape.
Which, obviously, was the point of the entire campaign. It wasn’t just the standard rainbow they use on Pride Nights anymore. They all had different patterns, different color combinations. Different representations for each of his friends.
Labels Luca wasn’t sure he wanted to use.
Half of the ice was covered in haphazard layers of carpet to allow the crew to walk freely without the risk of slipping. Off to the side, a short man with a clipboard caught Luca’s eye and beckoned for him to come closer. Upon further inspection, Luca could tell that his nametag said Ezra he/him.
“Luca, right?” When Luca nodded, Ezra smiled at him warmly. “My name is Ezra, and I’m the director for today’s shoot! I know it’s a lot right now,” he gestured towards the chaos surrounding them. “But I want you to know that we plan on making this as easy as possible for you.”
Luca blinked slowly, like a reptile in one of those viral videos.
“Thank you,” was all he managed to say.
”No problem!” Ezra said lightly. “I’ll let you get your skates on, but before you go I wanted to ask which tape you would like to display for the campaign?”
“Oh, um,” Luca stammered. “It really doesn’t matter?”
Ezra raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? You don’t have a specific flag you want to use?”
”Not really? Labels are not important to me.”
“Good to know. Would you rather just use the rainbow tape today?”
That seemed as good a choice as any.
“Yeah, sure. Whatever works.”
Ezra made a note on his clipboard. “Sounds like a plan. Get your skates on, and I’ll let you know when we’re done with-” he gestured to where Shane and Ilya were wrapped in a Pride flag with the Centaurs logo in the center of it, swaying back and forth to a silent song. “-whatever that is.”
When Luca was almost finished lacing up his first skate, Troy sat down on the bench next to him.
“Ready to be perceived by the world?” Troy asked dryly.
“Ugh,” Luca groaned. “Don’t remind me.”
Troy raised an eyebrow. “Do you… not want to do this anymore?”
“No, no,” Luca clarified. “I want to come out. But the last time I was in front of a camera like this was media day. I’m not a model like Shane and Roz. I’m not used to the—” He waved his hands around, gesturing to the scene around them. “—fanfare.”
“I don’t think they are either, and it’s been twelve years.”
“I don’t know if that’s supposed to make me feel better or worse.”
A loud shout, followed by a chorus of giggles, filled the practice arena. Luca looked up from his skate to see his captain flat on his back with Shane on top of him. He quickly tied the other one up and skated back towards Ezra, who was holding a stick already wrapped in rainbow tape.
“Here’s the stick you’ll be using for the shoot. Do whatever feels right in the moment. If you need, I have a stack of reference photos here that you can look through. I know you’ve probably been told this a million times, but this is brave.”
Luca adjusted his shoulder pads awkwardly. “It’s not really anything to write home about.”
“Are you sure?” Ezra asked. “Because from where I’m standing, you could have just come out with a Tweet. Instead, you asked to be a part of a major Pride campaign. That takes guts.”
“Oh, well, thanks, I guess.”
“No problem. Now—”
There was another thud from the direction of Shane and Roz, who were once again on the ground.
“You boys need to wrap it up over there. We still need to get the shot of Barrett in the tunnel with Harris before we can move on to Luca’s set.”
From his prison under his husband, Shane’s arm shot up into the air, giving a thumbs up.
“At least one of them has their shit together,” Ezra muttered. He turned his attention back to Luca.
“Will you be ready to go in a few?”
Luca thought for a moment. “I think so. Though, can I take a look at those reference photos?”
~~~
Instagram Stories
12:02 PM officiallucahaas [Shared the first image of his post. No additional caption, but he added a link sticker named “I talk about it.”]
12:03 PM ottawacentaurs [Shared Luca’s team photo with the caption “Ottawa GSA in the house!” and a link sticker to the Pride Tape campaign.]
12:04 PM pridetape [Shared the aesthetic photo from Luca’s carousel post with the caption “Forever grateful to be a part of this moment.” They’ve also included a link sticker named “Luca’s story.” It’s the same link Luca posted.]
~~~
officiallucahaas, pridetape and ottawacentaurs
June 25
↗ True Colors ⠂Cyndi Lauper
[Picture one: Luca is sitting down at center ice with his back towards the camera. He is wrapped in the progress pride flag that has the Centaur’s logo in the center.] (tagged: ottawacentaurs)
[Picture two: Potentially the front view of the first picture, taken of the lap and below. In frame are a pair of skates, a stick wrapped in rainbow tape, and a puck with the Centaur logo.] (tagged: pridetape)
[Picture three: A group shot. Standing together are (from left to right) Troy Barrett, Luca Haas, Shane Hollander, and Ilya Rozanov. They are wearing Pride versions of their jerseys and holding up the Centaur’s pride flag, smiling.] (tagged: troybarrett17, rozanov.i.81, shanehollanderhockeyplayer and harrisdrover.sm)
Liked by shanehollanderhockeyplayer, ottawacentaurs and others
officiallucahaas I was 16 years old when Scott Hunter came out. As a teenager, I never thought that was possible. While as a country, Switzerland was (and still is) very open, hockey was not. I learned very quickly that if I wanted to succeed, I would need to keep that part of me separate. For years, I didn’t tell anyone. That is, until the Admirals won the Cup. I told my sister I was queer the next day.
Even then, I kept to myself. I was doing so well. There was no reason to.
Five years later, something changed. Playing on a team with three incredible individuals who just happen to be queer, and knowing a few others, has made me realize just how lucky I am. They’ve created a safe space for all athletes to just be.
It’s my job to carry on that legacy.
Thank you @pridetape for helping me do this.
My name is Luca Haas. I am 21 years old. I am a professional hockey player. I am queer.
Comments (18.7k)
📌 pridetape We are beyond proud of you, @officiallucahaas! We are honored to have had a part in this special moment ❤️
scotthunter_21 ☑️ Thank you @officiallucahaas for your kind words 🏳️🌈
officiallucahaas ☑️ ❤️
patty_p Is he for real?
admIralS_guRL @patty_p I know this looks so bland but I PROMISE you it’s genuine
scotthunterglobal @patty_p If you’re so pressed about it, his Twitter has a more in-depth statement!
hockeyhockey @scotthunterglobal It’s on his story too!
troybarrett17 ☑️ Proud to be there with you, man
rozanov.i.81 ☑️ baby gay duckling son!
shanehollanderhockeyplayer ☑️ Ilya, be nice! We’re so proud Luca!
rozanov.i.81 ☑️ @shanehollanderhockeyplayer what is not nice about that? It is all true!
boodramzofficial ☑️ Way to go Haasy!
goaliewyatt ☑️ WE’RE SO PROUD OF YOU BUDDY ❤️❤️❤️
ottawacenscentral OTTAWA GSA IKTRRRR
haasypage SCREAMING THAT’S MY SON (we’re the same age)
harrisdrover.sm Crying
officiallucahaas ☑️ I’m so sorry Harris!
harrisdrover.sm @officiallucahaas You’re fine Luca! This was so sweet! Forever proud of you ❤️
turnedthefrogsgay Luca Haas my unlabeled king 🙂↕️
puckinghell the song choice is making me SOB Luca ily bb