Work Text:
Rekindling Old Flames?
Ottawa Centaurs Star Player spotted with Ex-Boyfriend
This past Friday, Luca Haas was spotted at a gay bar with a group of friends, including his alleged ex-boyfriend (TMZ reported on Haas’ leaked sex tape which had fans online in a chokehold) Dario Angelini, Canada’s figure skating heartthrob. The pair was reportedly sharing heated looks and left the bar together. Haas, who is celebrated as one of hockey’s most prominent young talents, has recently been rumored to be dating German actor and model Yannick Adler. Though it hasn’t been confirmed outright, their relationship seemed to be official after they were photographed together several times over the past few months, holding hands and kissing in public. Now, fans aren’t so sure anymore.
baby cens + responsible adults 🦫
Bolduc: [link]
Bolduc: told you, haasy
Holmberg: fuck tmz
Young: ‘heated looks’ and it’s dario staring at haasy while haasy infodumps about spiderman
Holmberg: lmao
LaPointe: wow i had it backwards
Luca: ughhhh fuckkkk
Bolduc: reportedly left the bar together? what’s up with that
Smith: I hear they make shit up for clout all the time.
Luca: we left together because he was drinking and I offered to drive him home, that’s it
Luca: this is so annoying. nothing happened.
Smith: So wait, is he your ex or not?
Luca: NO
Luca: we were never together, we never even hooked up. people just thought we did. or wanted us to or whatever.
Smith: oh ok
Bolduc: ysk people are tagging Yannick under this on twitter
Luca: 😑😑😑
Once again, Luca considers just throwing his phone into the Rideau canal. The only downside is that it's his only way of contacting Yannick. Which he should definitely do now.
Right when he opens their chat, a text from Dario pops up.
thank you for coming last night, it really meant a lot.
Going out with Dario and his friends was fun. Luca enjoyed it; it was nice not being surrounded by hockey players for once. Luca is fond of his teammates, his friends, they’re great- but they’re hockey bros. Straight hockey bros. It was nice being in a group of other mostly queer men. And it was nice talking to Dario. There was a reason they got along well in the first place, and Luca was reminded of it last night: Dario is funny and easy to talk to. Luca is glad they reconnected, but now stupid TMZ makes him feel weird about it.
Dario hasn’t mentioned the article. Luca reads his text, then re-reads it. It's a normal text. A nice, normal text from a friend. Right?
He returns to the chat with Yannick, thumbs hovering over the keyboard. Their last text was Yannick apologizing profusely for not being able to make their agreed-upon FaceTime time yet again because of work. It stings to read it now.
Luca: hey just a heads up, there's another gossip article out about me from last night, I just want to make sure you know it's bs. I went out with Dario and some of his friends last night to a bar. Nothing happened of course bc I love you. I drove him home because he was drunk, that was it. I love you and I would never cheat on you!!!!!!!!
Luca cringes at himself upon the re-read, but leaves it. Unfortunately, there is no quick reply.
Instead, there's another text from Dario: lol just saw the article. the devil works fast but tmz works faster.
Luca: thank you for inviting me, it was fun.
Luca: the article sucks.
Dario: just gossip who cares
Dario: unless you’re in trouble now 🫢
Luca: my bf is still asleep I think, so no. I told him I was going to the bar w you
Dario: will you be in trouble when he wakes up?
Luca: no I don't think so
Dario: so it's all good :)
Dario: which is great bc I wanted to ask you to come to a friend’s party with me tonight.
Luca: sorry I can't, we're playing Nashville at home tonight
Dario: after, then
Luca: I'll see about it
There is a weird feeling in the pit of Luca's stomach when he reads through their texts. He can't put his finger on why, though, so he decides to take screenshots of the conversation and send them to the group chat for clarity.
Baby Cens + responsible adults 🦫
Luca: [images]
Bolduc: he was into you, and he still is into you
Young: the ‘it really meant a lot’ is sus
Smith: Seems normal to me. Just nice.
LaPointe: inviting you to another event immediately is sus
LaPointe: maybe I’m jaded but it makes me wonder if he wants ppl to see you together again for the rumors
Luca: I don’t think he would do that
Holmberg: idk man I’m having a hard time judging this cause it’s probably different for gay guys? cause you could hook up but you could also just be friends
Bolduc: are you saying you can’t be friend w women
Young: uh oh bergy, roz is taking your m&m away
Holmberg: noooo you dumbfucks
Holmberg: you know what I mean
Holmberg: I’m saying we are not the experts on this, maybe you could aks troy
Young: or the dads
Ilya Rozanov: are you referring to shane and me as your dads
Bolduc: asdfghj i forgot he’s in here
Luca locks his phone and rubs his face with a groan.
He needs to get out of bed, he needs to have breakfast. Yannick still hasn’t texted him back. It’s two in the morning in Germany right now, so it’ll be hours before Yannick wakes up anyway. By then, Luca will be at the rink, getting ready for the game against Nashville.
Nashville.
Luca remembers the DM sitting in his Instagram inbox. My wife doesn’t have to know. Ew.
He checks his phone again for good measure.
No new texts.
-
They win against Nashville 5-3 which is nice, and the goal Luca scores definitely makes him feel better.
When they line up to shake hands after the game, Luca does his best to treat Hill, the guy who propositioned him, like everyone else, giving him a quick “Good game” and nothing else. Hill, to Luca’s relief, seems just as uncomfortable about the whole thing now, and doesn’t even meet his eyes.
Luca moves down the line slowly, Hazy in front of him chatting everyone up.
One of Nashville’s forwards, Maverick Murphy (whose name is so comically American that it makes Luca’s sisters laugh every time), holds on to Luca’s hand after the handshake a little longer than usual, pulling Luca into a brief hug. They barely know each other, so Luca can feel himself tense momentarily.
“Awesome game, dude,” Murphy tells him, clapping him on the back, “We’ll get you next time.”
Luca feels himself relax, giving a little sheepish laugh. “You won’t.”
Something glints in Murphy’s eyes, and they wander down to Luca’s chest, then back up. “Cocky, I like that. Hey, if you’re free tonight or next time you’re in Nashville, I’d love to buy you a drink.”
“Sorry, already got plans tonight, but I’ll keep it in mind,” Luca gives him a smile. Hazy in front of him finally moves on, and Luca gives Murphy a quick nod before proceeding to the next player in line.
When they’re on their way off the ice, Young catches up to him, laughing and shaking his head.
“What?” Luca asks.
“What?” Young imitates him with a laugh.
“What?! What’s your deal?” Luca bumps his shoulder into him a little roughly.
Holmberg appears on his other side with a grin. “Dude.”
“Okay, are you going to tell me what’s going on or do you want me to guess?” Luca shoots them a slightly annoyed look. His patience is thin after this morning, even with the win under his belt.
“Okay, dude,” Young lowers his voice, “Unless I’m totally delusional, Murphy was hitting on you.”
Luca says nothing for a second, replaying the interaction in his brain. “He just complimented my game.”
“We basically stomped them into the ground and he says ‘awesome game’ to you,” Holmberg tells him like there is something obvious Luca isn’t getting.
“And then he asked to buy you a drink,” Young continues.
“You can be friends with players from other teams,” Luca tells him mildly.
“Yeah, I don’t think he wanted to be friends, buddy.” Holmberg squeezes his shoulder. “Not the way he looked at you.”
“Oh, now you know when a guy is into me?” Luca asks, and Bergy laughs, holding up his hands.
“Hey, man. I’m just saying, I’m not the expert. But that was unmistakable.”
“You’re all seeing things,” Luca grumbles, ready to move on. The whole thing is making him uncomfortable, and right now, he just wants to celebrate an awesome win.
“Accept it, you’re irresistible to men,” Young smirks, and grabs Luca by the shoulders briefly, shaking him, before they’re finally, mercifully engulfed in the cheers and celebrations of their teammates.
Later, in the locker room, Luca checks his phone. No new messages. His stomach clenches.
-
They end up at Monk’s, of course. Luca canceled on Dario, sending him a text about how he was just too beat after the game. It’s not the whole truth.
Aw :(, Dario had replied, and then, Don’t be a stranger, okay?
The guys are sitting around, drinking and chatting, in a celebratory mood. A few of the older team members are playing pool or darts. Shane and Ilya have mysteriously disappeared the way they do sometimes. Luca refuses to think about it in detail.
He should be feeling great; they won, they’re on the way to another cup, he’s here with his friends, things are awesome.
But Yannick still hasn’t texted him back, and when Luca tried to call him earlier, it went straight to voice mail.
A shot glass landing in front of him on the table rips him out of his thoughts. Young claps him on the back. “Come on man, cheer up.”
Luca drinks with him, tequila going down not as smoothly as he would like it to.
“Are you still in the dog house?” LaPointe asks from across the table.
“He still hasn’t texted me back,” Luca says, hearing how miserable he sounds.
“He’s working though, right?” Holmberg asks, clearly trying to cheer him up. “Maybe he’s just busy.”
Luca hums, propping his chin up on his hand.
“Hey, if he breaks up with you, a million other dudes are already waiting!” Luca knows Pointy is just trying to cheer him up, but this one misses. Bolduc and Smith both wince next to him, and Bolduc gives him an admonishing little “Dude.”
“What?” LaPointe holds up his hands, “I’m just saying, dudes seem to line up to even just talk to Haasy.”
“I don’t want some guy, I want Yannick,” Luca groans. He needs another drink. When he gets up from the chair, he can tell there’s still plenty room for more alcohol which he intends to fill. “I’m buying.”
“Thanks, man,” Holmberg tells him. Luca can tell they are sticking their heads together when he leaves the table.
He finds the bar, orders, waits, deep in his thoughts, frowning at the bar top. Someone stands next to him, and Luca barely registers it before a male voice says, “Hey, you okay?”
Luca looks up, embarrassed, and smoothes out his frown. It’s a guy about Luca’s age, slightly taller than Luca, with asian features and thick, black curly hair which is shaped so nicely that Luca immediately notices. Hilariously, he thinks, this guy looks like he could be Shane’s and Ilya’s son.
“Sorry,” he says automatically. Canada is rubbing off on him.
“No, you’re good,” the guy smiles. “Sorry for asking, you just looked so mad, considering you won tonight.”
Ah, a fan. Luca gives him a smile.
“No, I am super happy we won, I was just lost in thought.”
“Hey, I’m sure there’s plenty of people to cheer you up around.” The guy gestures to the full bar with a languid motion.
“Yeah, for sure,” Luca replies, then politely adds, “Are you a Cens fan?”
“Eh, casually. I mostly watch for the hot guys.” The guy winks, and Luca laughs.
“We have a few of those.”
“Yeah, you do.” His eyes linger on Luca for a full three seconds. Then, the bartender puts down the pitcher of beer and the shots Luca ordered.
“Ah, that’s me.” Luca gives Shane’s and Ilya’s love child an apologetic smile. “Have a good night, thanks for watching the game!”
The guy’s smile turns unreadable. “Yeah, you too.”
Luca carries the drinks back to their table, balancing carefully. When he sets them down, the boys look at him in silence yet again. Luca is getting tired of this.
“What now?”
“Haas, you cannot be serious,” Young says, and he’s not even sounding like it’s a joke anymore.
“Even I noticed that,” Smith says, and Luca has an Et tu, Brute? moment.
“Not every man who talks to me is flirting with me.” Luca takes a seat and starts pouring them all beers.
“Then, what did he say to you?” Bolduc asks with a smirk.
“He asked me if I was okay because I guess I was scowling. He’s a fan,” Luca replies.
“A fan of us or a fan of you?” Holmberg needles him.
“He said he watches hockey for the-” Luca stops himself, reconsiders.
God damn it.
“For the?” LaPointe raises his brows, and Luca just shakes his head, pressing his lips together.
“For the what, Haasy?” Holmberg jabs him in the ribs with two fingers, and Luca yelps, spilling a little bit of beer.
“For the… hot guys,” he admits begrudgingly.
“Knew it!” Bolduc cheers.
“Haasy, you can’t be serious.” Young is shaking his head.
“Maybe he didn’t mean it as a come-on,” Luca defends himself half-heartedly.
“The way he was looking at you said otherwise,” Holmberg tells him. From across the table, Smith gives him an apologetic smile. “Sorry man, I was on your side but that one was obvious.”
Luca huffs and says nothing. Because what is there to say?! He doesn’t care if a million guys hit on him, the only one he does care about is thousands of kilometers away.
“I hate to say it but if this is how you go about your day, the next TMZ article is waiting around the corner,” LaPointe tells him, and while Luca is still a little pissed at him, he can’t deny that he might be right.
“But I’m not doing anything!”
“But these guys are, and if you’re this bad at recognizing it, that might not be so great,” Young explains, and Luca finally understands why they are making such a big deal about this.
“Oh,” is all he can say, hanging his head in shame.
“We’ll figure something out,” Holmberg tells him, clearly trying to cheer him up. “Now, drink.”
-
New group chat
- Holmberg has added Ilya Rozanov, Shane Hollander and Troy Barrett to the group chat.
Shane: ???
Rozanov: wtf is this
Holmberg: ok listen we need you to help us out. haasy is having boy trouble and we don’t feel equipped to handle it. we think he needs help from other gay men about this bc he’s useless.
Rozanov: i’m bisexual
Holmberg: men keep hitting on him and he’s oblivious af about it. we’re worried he’ll end up in a not so good situation by accident.
Troy: we’re literally the least equipped group of queer men for this
Holmberg: just try, please. please.
Holmberg has added Luca Haas.
Holmberg has changed the chat name to “Haasy support group 🏳️🌈”
Holmberg has left the group chat.
Troy: ugh
Troy Barrett has added Harris Drover to the group chat.
Luca: hi?
Harris: what’s this?
Troy: [screenshot of Holmberg’s message]
Luca: omg i’m going to kill him. just forget it.
Rozanov: no, tell us now
Shane: Is it something serious?
Luca: No! the guys are making a big deal of nothing.
Harris: is this about the tmz article?
Rozanov: new sex tape leak? you should make an onlyfans. [Shane Hollander reacted with thumbs down to this message.]
Luca: no just pap photos of me and a friend who the guys are convinced is into me.
Harris: do you think he’s into you? 🤔
Shane: The figure skater? [Luca Haas reacted with thumbs up to this message.]
Luca: and after the nashville game, murphy told me awesome game and asked to buy me a drink and young and holmberg said he was hitting on me. and then it happened again with a guy at the bar after the game. and now they are convinced i am too oblivious about men hitting on me. but i literally do not care about other men, i have a bf.
Harris: ok, a lot to unpack here, sweetie.
Troy: we made half the mlh gay i think
Shane: Maverick Murphy?!
Luca: yes.
Shane: Wow.
Luca: i can’t tell if that’s a good wow or a bad wow.
Ilya Rozanov has added Scott Hunter to the group chat.
Ilya Rozanov has shared the chat history with Scott Hunter.
Ilya Rozanov has changed the chat name to “MLH players who like dick”
Scott: Hello.
Luca: that really wasn’t necessary
Rozanov: thought we might need perspective from the man who threw the first brick at hockey stonewall
Harris: ilya you stole that from a tweet. [Ilya Rozanov heart-reacted to this message.]
Shane Hollander changed the group chat to “Queer MLH 🏳️🌈🏒”.
Luca: i am so embarrassed you guys. please let’s just forget this okay? i’ll be fine.
Scott: I think it’s about time we stood together as a community to support younger members. I don’t mind.
Rozanov: take a shot everytime hunter sounds like a glaad spokesperson [Scott Hunter reacted with an eyeroll emoji to this message.]
Ilya Rozanov changed the group chat name to “🍆anal sex appreciation group🍑”
Shane: Ilya.
Harris: no ilya that’s weird.
Rozanov: you don’t see my creative vision :( [Four people reacted with thumbs down to this message.]
Harris Drover has changed the group chat name to “Hockey Stonewall 🏳️🌈🏒”.
Troy: ok but what’s the issue here? guys hitting on you?
Luca: i’m in a long-distance relationship with my bf and apparently, there’s guys hitting on me left and right 🙄 according to my friends. they say i don’t see when someone is interested in me like that. and i think my friends are worried that i will end up in a situation that’s not good for me or my relationship.
Scott: Wow, that is very thoughtful of your friends.
Troy: haasy i hate to break it to you but guys are hitting on you left and right
Luca: not you too :(
Troy: they’re hitting on you, on me, on all of us who are out.
Shane: Not me.
Ilya: nobody tell him.
Harris: I think you seem younger and more available maybe.
Rozanov: yes, we are all old and married.
Harris: Troy’s not married.
Rozanov: uh oh barrett
Luca: but i am not available either! and i don’t want to be.
Scott: Would it be okay if I add Kip to this? He’s very good at giving advice, specifically on gay issues.
Troy: good because all of us but Harris are useless. [Harris Drover heart-reacted to this message.]
Scott Hunter has added Kip Grady to the group chat.
Scott Hunter has shared the chat history with Kip Grady.
Kip: hi 🙌
Kip: oh wow.
Rozanov: the first lady of hockey is here, everybody bow. [Kip Grady reacted with a crown emoji to this message.]
Kip: Luca honey I am so sorry you were in the gossip news again. How did your boyfriend take it?
Luca: he hasn’t replied to my text yet…
Rozanov: but is time difference yes?
Luca: yes, 7 hours. but i’m starting to feel nervous tbh.
Harris: Do you think he’d be jealous/mind it at all?
Kip: Just to clarify, you are not in an open relationship? Just asking bc I know some LDR couples are.
Luca: no not at all! and I wouldn’t want to be, i’m not interested in anyone but him.
Shane: I don’t recommend doing it, either. [Ilya Rozanov reacted with the 100 emoji to this message.]
Luca: i don’t think he would be jealous but i’m not sure, we’ve never been in a situation like that.
Harris: @Kip, they’re highschool sweethearts. 💕
Kip: aww so cute!!!
Luca: but i have been with other people, just to clarify. we were dating in school, broke up when i moved to canada and then got back together last year.
Scott: Very cute.
Kip: …none of you are giving actual advice.
Harris: What did you expect? 😆
Troy: you two were the only ones having normal gay experiences in your twenties.
Kip: some of those experiences were definitely abnormal but okay.
Harris: lol same.
Rozanov: are you saying fucking your rival in secret for a decade is not normal
Scott: Very little about you is normal, Rozanov.
Rozanov: yeah, my dick especially… abnormally large
Harris: as much as we all want to hear about Ilya’s dick, can we please focus on the crisis at hand.
Luca: it’s not a crisis!
Kip: Am I getting this right: the guy from the article is a friend of yours? And the other guys were kind of random?
Shane: Was Murphy one of the guys who DM’d you?
Luca: No, that kind of caught me off-guard. The only Nashville player who DM’d me was Hill.
Rozanov: trying to cheat on his wife with you yes?
Luca: yes :/
Harris: wtf
Scott: Seriously?! That’s unacceptable.
Troy: I can’t believe we now have shitty dl grindr guys in the league. true diversity.
Luca: but yeah so Murphy was kind of random. and the guy at the bar too.
Kip: and you didn’t entertain it at all?
Luca: no ofc not!!! i didn’t even know they were flirting w me… i talked to them briefly and then moved on
Kip: so it’s not that big of a deal 🤗 whether you recognize it or not doesn’t matter if you’re not flirting back anyway.
Harris: now what about Dario though?
Luca: :/
Shane: Did you ever talk to him like we told you to? When you and Yannick got together?
Luca: :/
Scott: Right, I remember that conversation from when you came to New York.
Rozanov: good job hunter, your dementia hasn’t taken over completely yet [Scott Hunter has reacted with a middle finger emoji to this message.]
Luca: i should have talked to him but i avoided it, and then we didn’t see each other for a while… probably because i felt awkward about it but also bc i try to spend every free second with yannick if we can
Harris: well, then you know what to do now!
Luca: 😩
Kip: just clear the air between you two. best case scenario he respects your boundaries and you can feel better about just being friends with him again while also protecting your relationship.
Rozanov: wow you are so wise
Kip: thanks ilya 🫶🥰
Luca: what do i say to him?
Harris: Just tell him you want to clear the air, and that you really want to be friends but you feel like there might have been feelings involved from his side for a while and you don’t want to hurt him.
Troy: but wouldn’t it kind of be arrogant to assume he’s into you?
Kip: not if it’s true lol
Harris: Be kind about it, tell him you want to stay friends and see how he reacts. Listen to your gut feeling.
Luca: i don’t think my gut feeling is reliable :/
Shane: If the conversation makes you want to ask someone else about what they think about it (in a bad way), that usually means it’s bad. At least that’s what it’s like for me.
Harris: that’s great advice 🙌
Luca: thank you all
Scott: No problem at all. We should keep this group up for more mutual support, this was nice.
Kip: the queers yearn for a community 🌈
Shane: That makes it sound like a slur.
Kip: I’ve reclaimed it, diva
Troy: lmao
Harris: Luca pls report back… we are all rooting for you! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🩷
-
It’s Sunday. Still no text from Yannick, calls going straight to voicemail, and if Luca thinks about it too hard, he will go up the walls of his apartment.
Luca texted Dario asking if they could talk right after the group chat conversation. He can’t do anything about Yannick not texting him back, but he can do this, and hopefully reclaim some semblance of control over the situation.
They meet at a café and pick up two coffees to go, then walk along the Rideau canal while Luca tries to psych himself into starting this conversation properly. In the end, he doesn’t have to.
“So, what did you want to talk about?” Dario asks idly. They’re walking at a leisurely pace; Luca is wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses on, feeling like Captain America trying not to be recognized.
He fidgets with the lid of his cup. “So, um.” He pauses and takes a deep breath, “Sorry, I’m bad at this. I feel like there’s a conversation we didn’t have but should have had?”
Dario furrows his eyebrows. He’s pretty, he really is, even if he isn’t Luca’s type, and Luca feels oddly sorry for not being able to be more for him. “Go on?”
“So… a few months ago, before Yannick and I got together, and you and I were seeing each other more often, I kind of had a feeling you might… like me?” Luca cringes at himself for saying it like this. “You don’t have to say anything about it, but I just… I think subconsciously I was worried that me getting with Yannick hurt you?”
Dario stays silent and keeps walking by Luca’s side, eyes trained on the ground.
“I feel like I should have talked to you about it sooner, and then I didn’t, and then I felt awkward about it.” The plastic lid snaps off of Luca’s cup from his fidgeting, but he catches it before it can hit the ground. “Sorry. I’m just… I want to be friends, yeah? You’re great, and I like you a lot, as a friend. I don’t want things to be awkward between us. When you asked me to come out with you after your competition, that made me really happy and I had a great time, but then the stupid TMZ article brought back my insecurities.”
Dario lets out a little, breathless laugh, looking up towards the sky as if to collect himself. “God, you’re so cute.” He takes a deep breath, eyes still trained ahead. “Okay.” He says it as if to steel himself; Luca is weirdly glad he isn’t the only nervous one in this conversation. “You’re cute, you’re sweet, you’re smart, you’re fit and handsome-,” he counts on his fingers, and Luca feels himself blush more with every adjective, “-so I definitely…” He waves his free hand around vaguely, not saying it. His cheeks are already red from the cool wind, but their color deepens slightly. “...had a little crush on you, I guess? Or a big one? I definitely…” He sighs, furrowing his brows as if he’s having trouble finding the right words, “Okay so, right after we met I was sure we would end up hooking up. But then we didn’t, and you never made a move on me. And you told me at some point, you don’t do hook-ups, so I thought, okay, well, maybe things can develop more slowly.”
Now Luca is the one chewing on his bottom lip, feeling guilty.
“But they didn’t, which is fine because I really liked just being friends with you, too. But then you went to New York, and went pretty much silent? And then a few weeks later you show up at a party with your new, incredibly hot boyfriend and suddenly there’s a video of him fondling you online, and crazy hockey fans are accusing me of posting it. Like, with death threats.” Dario’s voice is becoming slightly more agitated, and Luca winces at his words. He’s been so caught up in the whirlwind of the past few months he forgot that other people were affected by this as well.
“I’m sorry,” Luca mumbles.
“It’s not your fault, but like…” Dario sighs, frustrated. “You could have talked to me.”
“I should have, and I’m sorry I didn’t. I, uh, spoke to some people about it when I was in New York, that I felt like I should tell you I just want friendship with you. And they all said I need to tell you, but I was a coward and didn’t do it. And I’m really sorry for that.” Luca feels bad, guilty and contrite. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, and I’m so sorry you were pulled into the whole video thing.”
“Hockey fans suck,” Dario says emphatically.
“Hockey fans on twitter kind of suck,” Luca agrees.
Dario hums. “Thank you for apologizing.” He gives Luca a little smile, and the ball of anxiety in Luca’s chest eases slightly. “And, hey, I just want to say, I’m happy for you and Yannick, and I really don’t intend to, like… do anything. Come onto you, or whatever that stupid article was implying.”
Luca shifts awkwardly. “Okay. Thank you for saying that.”
Dario’s smile broadens, and he sticks out his hand. “Friends again?”
Luca laughs, grabbing his hand. “Friends.” They shake with a laugh, and then Dario wraps his arm around him in a brief side-hug.
Luca comes home, feeling somewhat lighter. He’s glad he listened to the group chat this time.
Right when he wants to text Kip like promised, his phone starts vibrating in his hand.
Yannick ♥, the display says, and Luca almost drops it trying to answer the call.
“Hello?!”
“Baby,” Yannick sighs on the other end of the line, and Luca’s knees give in from relief. He sinks to the floor, leaning against his front door. “I am so sorry, oh my god.”
“No, I’m sorry!” Luca breathes, “I’m so sorry, I swear nothing happened, I fixed it-”
“What?” Yannick sounds confused.
“The- the article I mean, I thought you were mad at me-”
“What article?” Yannick sounds even more confused now, “Why would I be mad at you?”
Luca is so taken aback he doesn't know what to say for a second. “You… didn’t see it?”
“No! I fucking… I dropped my phone in the gutter!” Yannick lets out an embarrassed laugh, “Literally on my way home from set, right after I texted you, and someone fished it out for me but it was completely dead, fully waterlogged, so I couldn’t access anything! I felt so guilty because I couldn’t text you! I tried to message you on Instagram from Pia’s phone, but I know you never look at your DMs anymore!”
Luca slowly blinks at the wall opposite of him, the entire tension of the last two days slowly deflating inside him like a punctured balloon. “Oh.”
“I found someone to restore my SIM card but it took some time, and I felt so horrible the entire time! I hope you weren’t too worried!”
“I…” Luca doesn’t know what to say. Surely, this will be hilarious in a week or two.
“What did you say about an article?!” Yannick asks now, and oh, god.
“Uh, it’s…,” Luca stammers before he pauses. Suddenly, he can’t help the laughter bubbling up in his chest at the sheer absurdity of this. “Oh god, Yannick, this was the best and worst time for you to lose your phone.”
And then, he tells Yannick everything: going out with Dario and his friends, the TMZ article, Maverick Murphy, the guy at the bar, the group chat, the conversation with Dario. And Yannick listens, and hums, and laughs, and keeps saying “Oh no, baby.” and Luca’s heart slowly eases up word by word.
And by the end, Yannick says, “I’m opening the article now.” There’s a moment of silence, and Luca’s anxiety returns for a split-second, because what if Yannick is hurt by the photo in it? Or what if the content of the article makes him doubt Luca’s story?
On the other end of the line, Yannick inhales sharply, and Luca winces. “Every fucking time they get it wrong. I’m not German, I’m Austrian!”
Luca can’t help the relieved laughter. He pulls up his knees, and lets his forehead sink on top of them, his entire form deflating. “I’m glad that’s your biggest problem with this.”
Yannick scoffs. “Of course, I’m offended.” Then, in a softer voice, he adds, “I’m sorry this caused you so much distress. I promise I wasn’t mad at you. And I don’t care about all of this. I don’t care if anyone has a crush on you. Thousands of people probably do, because you’re hot. But I trust you.”
Luca exhales slowly, a weight he barely recognized was there easing up. “Yeah?”
“Yeah, completely.” With the next sentence, something soft and insecure creeps into Yannick’s voice, though. “But if…” He pauses briefly. “...you’d tell me if the long-distance thing was too much for you, yes?”
“Of course!” Luca says quickly. “It’s… I would be lying if I said it’s easy. It’s super hard, I miss you all the time.”
“I miss you too,” Yannick says, and it’s almost a whisper, “So much. I’m so glad that we’ll be done filming soon.”
“Me, too. But, I don’t want this to end. I don’t want, I don’t know, anyone else, okay? I’d rather do long-distance with you than anything with anyone else.” Luca swallows hard.
There’s a sniffle on the other end of the line. “I love you,” Yannick says quietly, and he says it in German, which just feels real and raw, and immediately brings tears to Luca’s eyes.
“I love you, too,” he whispers. In German.
Yanick laughs, and it’s wet and soft and vulnerable. “I wish I could hug you right now.”
“Me, too.”
“I, um… there’s something else I want to tell you. I didn’t plan on telling you just yet, I wanted to wait a little longer but I think maybe you should know now.” Luca can imagine his boyfriend right now, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt the way he does when he’s nervous. He used to do it back in school, too, during tests or presentations.
“What is it?” Luca asks, his mouth dry.
“When we’re done filming here, I’ll fly to New York before I come to Ottawa.” Yannick had told Luca this a few weeks ago already. “And, um… I’ll have some meetings there, because… I’ve been asked to be on Broadway.”
Luca is so stunned he can’t speak for a full three seconds. “On Broadway?”
“Yeah.” Yannick lets out a breathless laugh. “I haven’t signed anything yet, it’s all just been going through my agent, but it’s… it might happen.”
“On Broadway?” Luca repeats, stunned. “That’s… that was your dream.”
“Yes!” Yannick laughs again, like he can’t believe it. “You were dreaming of the MLH, and I was dreaming of Broadway.”
“That’s amazing!” Luca is flooded with so much genuine joy for Yannick that it brings tears to his eyes. A small part of him, selfishly, considers how this would make things so much easier. “Nicky, that’s incredible! I’m so proud of you!”
“Thank you,” Yannick says, and Luca can hear his smile through the phone.
They talk on the phone for two hours, and by the end of it, Luca’s cheeks hurt from all the smiling.
Before he goes to bed, he remembers to text the group chat.
Hockey Stonewall 🏳️🌈🏒
Luca: it all worked out ❤️ i talked to Dario which was scary but good, and my bf still loves me. he just lost his phone lol
Harris: Glad to hear that, bud
Scott: That’s great, Luca.
Shane: 👍
Troy: happy for u bro!
Kip: Oh good, I’m glad it all worked out 🩷 what did Dario say?
Rozanov: we need details
Kip: yes tell us everything
Harris: You nosy queens.
Luca: i’ll tell you tomorrow at practice [Ilya Rozanov heart-reacted to this message.]
Kip: No, that’s unfair!!!!!
Rozanov: 😎
Luca: thank you for the support and advice, everyone.
Rozanov: no problem, anything for my son [Shane Hollander reacted with a laughing emoji to this message.]
Scott: …🤨
Luca: ugh i will never live this down, will i
Kip: You didn’t even give him actual advice!
Luca: @Kip I’ll send you a voice message in a minute if you really want to know
Kip: Yessss perfect… suck it Rozanov
Rozanov: Luca, as your father I am disappointed, I should be first to know all the details.
Luca: i won’t tell you anything if you keep this up.
Scott: Is it okay if I listen as well? It’s okay if not.
Luca: ofc it’s okay
Rozanov: Luca I can’t believe you love your grandfather Scott Hunter more than me, your father
Luca: istg i’ll block you
Scott: If I’m his grandpa, does this make me your father by this weird logic?
Rozanov: yes daddy
Harris: sdfghjkl
Kip: hot
Shane: Ilya :(
Troy: is this the mutual support you were hoping for, hunter?
Scott: I think I’m regretting some of my life choices right now.
Luca: same.
Harris: Ok, whose love life are we dissecting next?
Kip: Are you volunteering?
Harris: Absolutely not.
Troy: No.