Chapter Text
Luca Haas usually loved morning skates with his team on home game days in Ottawa. Getting to the rink early in the day and warming up with all of the Centaurs was a way for him to shake out some nerves and get into a more focused headspace.
Some of the guys found morning skates unnecessary, but Haas knew if he were just sitting home or working out alone, the anticipation and anxiety about the game would only grow.
He realized early on in the season that this routine was better. He got out of his apartment early in the day and threw himself onto the ice, absorbing the calmness and stability from players who had done this hundreds of times in their arena.
He loved that he had been feeling more in-sync with his teammates over the past few weeks, and there was something freeing about flying across the ice in-step with the rest of the Centaurs without the intense conditioning or scrimmaging they did in a typical practice.
It also helped that he usually got to hang out with Ilya Rozanov in between morning skate and game arrivals, often grabbing lunch with his team captain, and he always looked forward to that.
And on great days, he sometimes even got to play with Troy and Harris’ dog Chiron.
They had a home game that night against the New York Admirals. Luca found the Admirals to be a challenging team to keep up with, but the last time Ottawa faced New York, Luca had gotten a kick out of listening to all the funny chirps between Ilya and Scott Hunter.
Before their last game against each other two months ago, Hunter had skated over to Ilya while he had been talking to Luca during warm-ups. Luca remembered Scott making a joke about how old Roz was now that he had taken a rookie under his wing, but Luca would never forget how Ilya had quickly responded, introducing Hunter to Luca as “Grandpa.”
And he would especially never forget the look that had spread across Scott Hunter’s face.
Yes, it should have been the start of a perfectly average home game day that promised to be full of playful chips and a large dose of intense, high-effort, coordinated hockey.
But as he continued skating laps around the rink, he couldn’t focus on tonight’s game at all, because as much as he tried to pretend otherwise, it wasn’t a normal day.
Luca knew that at exactly 11:00, the MLH board would be publicly announcing the 44-player roster for the season’s All-Star game. And even though Luca thought the internet must be wrong, hockey fans on Twitter seemed convinced that Haas had a strong chance of being chosen to play.
Luca was equally elated and terrified by the idea.
Of course, younger players were rarely chosen for events that were meant to honor seasoned veterans, but this year, the league was adopting a “mentorship on the ice” theme for the event, and it had been made clear in the last press release that 8 of the spots on the roster would be left specifically for rookies.
The thought of playing against – and alongside – an entire team of top-tier MLH players was enough to make Luca nervous (not to mention the press, and the dinners, and the accuracy competition, and the pageantry of it all), but there were tweets he had stumbled across last night that he still couldn’t get out of his head.
@h0ckeygurl21: no but why does this all-star set-up feel like a marketing scheme for the MLH instead of just being about good hockey? #NotRealAllStars
@admirals_goalieeee58: imagine playing in all stars for years and then a rookie takes your spot for some league rebranding. killer. #unluckyRooks
Yes, Luca knew there were lots of encouraging tweets and replies as well, but were the skeptics wrong? Would a veteran player be mad about losing their spot just because the league had decided rookies would be included this year? Would he be able to play well if people didn’t think he deserved to be there? Was he about to embarrass himself in front of every top player and the entire MLH fanbase?
He smacked his stick hard on the ice in an effort to stop the wave of invasive thoughts. Enough spiraling, he told himself. He didn’t even know if he’d be chosen.
“Haas!”
Luca snapped his head toward the bench and saw Coach Wiebe waving him off the ice.
“Yes, Coach?” Luca skated to stop in front of him.
Wiebe kept his voice low. “The guys will find out in a few minutes anyway, but I wanted this to come from me.”
The butterflies came alive in Luca’s stomach and his eyes drifted down to his skates.
“Just got a call from the league. It’s you and Rozanov.”
Luca felt himself nodding. Wiebe must have sensed that this wasn’t a purely congratulatory moment because he placed his hand on Luca’s shoulder and pulled him in.
“You’ll be ok, kid. Not Roz’s first rodeo. They’ll probably fly you out together too.”
Wiebe had a good point. It couldn’t be all terrible. Luca would get to spend the week with Ilya.
The other shoe dropped as the Centaurs settled into the locker room and started checking the details of the All-Stars announcements on their phones.
“All-Stars are in Anaheim this year?” Wyatt Hayes sounded jealous. “You have to go check out the new Avengers section at Disneyland. I want one of those cups that looks like Thanos’ hand with the Infinity Stones.”
Luca had no idea what he was talking about. “Ok.”
He stayed focused on changing out of his gear. He still had several regular season games to get through before he’d be going to California, and he had to stay focused. It would be embarrassing to show up at All-Stars if he hadn’t been playing his best.
“Oh fuck.” Bood was staring at his phone. “They just released the rosters for both teams.”
Dykstra hung up his shoulder pads in his stall and thought about what the worst case scenario could be. “It’s not rooks vs. vets, is it? That would be a bloodbath… no offense, Haasy.”
Bood shook his head. “No, but it’s bad. Lazy, but bad.”
That got Luca’s attention. He froze, eyes locked on Bood.
“It’s alphabetical. Home team is A to M. Away team is N to Z.”
Chouinard laughed. “I guess they ran out of ideas for how to keep Roz and Hollander on different teams.”
Bood kept his eyes on Haas, waiting for the kid to put the pieces together. And when Luca’s eyes finally grew wide a few moments later, Bood offered him an apologetic expression.
“I’m not with…” Luca started. “I have to play against Roz? They shouldn’t be allowed to do that.”
“The league shouldn’t be allowed to do a lot of things,” Bood said.
Hayes whistled playfully as Luca sank down onto the bench in front of his stall and dropped his head to his knees. “Haasy, most of us have had to play against him at some point.”
“And he won’t check you too hard, kid,” Barrett said. “He needs you alive for the rest of our season.”
Luca appreciated their attempts to make him feel more relaxed about the situation, but he knew they were omitting the part that made this a lot more complicated: he was probably playing for Shane Hollander.
The Shane Hollander that he secretly knew was dating their captain.
He was almost afraid to ask, but he picked his head up to look back at Bood.
“So... who is the captain for the team I’m on? Is it Hollander?”
Bood smirked. “Mmm he’s an alternate captain. But no, he won’t be the one running things.”
“Then who?”
The door to the locker room swung open wide as Ilya Rozanov stormed in.
“Fucking Scott Hunter!” he yelled. “How dare they. This is a joke!”
Bood snickered. “Haas, it might not be too late to file for a name change. Maybe something that starts with Z?”
Ilya paced in front of Luca, his hands only getting more animated as he continued to vent. To an outsider, it might have looked like Ilya was ready to fight someone, but the older Centaurs knew this version of Roz was more dramatic and comedic than vengeful – all bark and no bite.
“Haasy, we do not have to put up with this disrespect,” Ilya said. “You will not play nice for Scott Hunter. We will tell them you only play on my team.”
“Roz, let him be,” Bood said. “Think of Haasy like… a spy.”
Luca shot Bood a look. This did not need to get any more complicated than it already was.
“Haas doesn't care about Hunter," Chouinard said. "He's more concerned you’re gonna board him, Cap."
Ilya gasped at Luca. “Haasy, I would never ever check you.” He winked. “Unless of course you keep puck away from me, or try to score, or block my pass.”
Luca groaned.
“But I can’t hurt you too bad,” Ilya said, standing over him and ruffling his hair. “I need you for rest of Centaurs season.”
“See?!” Barrett said. “That’s what I said!”
“He’ll go for Hollander before he goes for you,” Dykstra added.
Luca didn’t think that would matter. Surely Dykstra didn’t think he’d be playing on the same line as Hollander? And Dykstra didn't know the first thing about why it would be extra weird to befriend his captain's longtime rival for the most media-covered game of the year. A recipe for disaster.
Ilya continued his pacing around the room.
“Mmmm yes, is always fun to check Hollander,” he said. “I hope your chirps are better than his, Haasy.” He looked over to Luca, expecting a smile from the boy. But when Ilya saw how withdrawn his was, he finally clocked that the rookie might be carrying some actual stress about all of this.
Luca bit his lip to try and keep his expression neutral. Fuck. This was going to be complicated. But maybe he could tell Shane he didn’t actually want to play much? Maybe he wouldn’t even get any ice time. Maybe Hunter could just keep him on the bench. It’s probably where Hunter wanted to keep the rookies he’d been forced to deal with anyway.
Ilya grabbed his phone and started texting, moving his eyes back and forth between Luca and his screen as he spoke. “Why do so many names have to start with H? Hollander, Hunter, Haas. Is stupid.”
“What do you have against Hunter anyway?” Chouinard asked.
Ilya sighed playfully and rolled his eyes.
Of course he supported the only out player in the league, but he’d been chirping the guy since he was 19 and he wasn’t about to stop now.
“Off the ice, he is a good person,” Ilya said to the room. “But he is like hockey dinosaur now, and he is still their shiny role model captain. He will be so perfect and do little mind-control games and think it is funny to teach Haas new tricks and turn him against me. Is psychological warfare.”
“Don’t be so territorial, Rozy,” Bood said. “Haas will hold his own for All-Stars. It’s one game.”
“How long do you think until Hunter realizes this is a weak spot?” Dykstra asked.
“Russians do not have weak spots.”
“Ok, sure,” Dykstra said, laughing. “Maybe don’t tell Hunter that having Haas on his team drives you fucking nuts then, yeah?”
“Don’t give him anything for tonight’s game, Roz, or he’ll annoy the shit out of you the whole time,” Bood said. “Play it cool. You are proud Haas is going. That’s it.”
Ilya wanted to say something snarky back, but he knew they were right. “He annoys me whole game anyway. Is tradition.”
“He’s going to say something tonight, isn’t he?” Luca asked. “To me, I mean.”
“Mmm probably,” Ilya said. His eyes narrowed. “I will handle it.”
“There’s nothing to handle, Roz!” Bood shook his head, smiling.
Across the room, Chouinard zipped up his gear bag. “And here I was thinking tonight would just be a normal game against the Admirals with a regular amount of insults.”
Luca felt his phone buzzing next to his leg on the bench. There was a text from an unknown number.
UNKNOWN: Hey, this is Shane. Is he being normal about this?
Luca scooped up the phone and saved the number before thinking about how to reply.
LUCA: Maybe? Not really. But normal for him I guess. They’re all being loud about it.
SHANE: Ok.
SHANE: I promise it’s going to be fun. Mostly fun.
SHANE: And I’ve played with Hunter at many All-Stars games. I think you’ll really like him.
Luca reacted with a thumbs up to Shane’s last two texts.
LUCA: He also joked about checking me :(
SHANE: I’ll talk to him.
LUCA: And he wants me to chirp him...
SHANE: Oh. Ok. We’ll work on it.
SHANE: I know how to play against him better than anyone. I’ll teach you a few tricks.
When Luca didn't start drafting a reply, he saw the three dots start flickering again.
SHANE: Are they still being loud? If Troy says Chiron is there, maybe you can go see him?
LUCA: You know about that?
“Rozanov and Haas!”
Luca snapped his head up from his phone screen when he heard Coach Wiebe’s voice.
“You’ve been called in for a press conference before the game to discuss All-Stars. 4pm.”
Ilya groaned. “Ok."
Wiebe made sure he was halfway out the door before he made the rest of his announcement. “And Hunter will be joining you.”
The door shut behind Wiebe before Ilya could turn to object.
He looked to Luca instead. “We are puppets now. They announce this on purpose today because they know Hunter is in Ottawa. Was their plan the whole time. Is a hockey circus.”
Hayes snickered, throwing his bag over his shoulder. “Are they providing popcorn for the press too?”
Ilya didn’t laugh. At the end of his last bout of theatric venting, he realized that Luca's mind was still elsewhere, even more seriously now.
The room got quiet as Ilya fully locked in on the rookie.
“Luca. You ok?” he asked genuinely.
Luca could feel his heart rate picking up, heat creeping across his face. In Haas’ mind this whole event was just a lose-lose situation all around. And instead of starting in a few weeks, it was starting in a few hours.
With his gear already placed back in his stall ahead of tonight’s game, he just scooped up his phone and backpack, and he beelined right out the door.
Luca didn't have a plan in mind, but he needed to move. He walked in the opposite direction from the rink, bypassing team offices and prep rooms as he tried to focus himself and find a place to land. He turned down another hallway, looking for a way to get outside.
It didn't take long for him to hear footsteps hitting hard on the floor down the hall. And he didn't need to turn around to know that it was Ilya who had come after him.
"Luca, wait up!"
When Ilya finally caught up to him, he saw tears were threatening to spill from Luca's eyes.
"If you don't want to do press conference, I tell Wiebe no. Done."
Luca shook his head and took a step backward. "It's not just that."
"Ok," Ilya said, afraid the boy would run again. "Take a moment, and then tell me what you can. Please?"
Luca looked down at the floor and tried to make himself take a deep breath. "I sh-shouldn't go at all. I don't deserve the s-spot."
"I don't think that's true," Ilya started. "Yes, is weird they bring group of rookies this year. But everyone knows you didn't ask to be chosen. Someone else says you deserve to go, and so you do."
"And now today it's like I'm representing them. The group of rookies, I mean. What do I even say when someone asks about if we deserve to be there?"
"Ah, ok," Ilya said. "I didn't think of it like this. What if we meet with Harris before? You are comfortable telling him? He can help better than me I think."
Luca felt a ping of relief. That was actually a great idea. "Ok," he agreed.
"What else?" Ilya asked. "I think there are more things swimming in your brain. Is it Hunter?"
Luca didn't know what to start with. All of his fears fought to come to the surface.
"You don't want me to play with Hunter, and I'm scared he'll hate me because you're my captain, but he's so cool and so brave, and I want to play with him. But what if I can't keep up?"
Ilya just nodded, taking it in, trying to keep his face supportive. Luca studied him, and when he didn't see anything worrying in his captain's expression, the floodgates opened.
"And I also want to play with Shane, and I know Shane will look out for me, but I'm not even supposed to know who Shane is! And I have to do well because this is the most people who've watched me play in my whole career, but if we do too well, you might lose, but it doesn't even matter because there's no way I can play with all of these guys and--"
"Ok, ok. Slow down a little." Ilya took a step toward Luca, and when he didn't flinch away, Ilya reached out and ran his hands up and down the boy's arms, squeezing gently each time he got to Luca's shoulders. "I... I think this is my fault. I am sorry, ok? I should not have made so many jokes. I forgot this is very new for you. First night there, we get dinner with Shane at hotel in front of everyone. We talk about our charity. Then all done you are friends now, yes?"
Luca nodded at the floor. "Ok."
"All-Stars is just a game. A game that doesn't count."
"But it c-counts for everything."
"Can you look at me please?" Ilya asked. "When you're ready."
Luca slowly lifted his eyes up from the floor, and Ilya brought his hand up to cradle the side of Luca's face, swiping a thumb along the his waterline and catching a tear before it could fall.
"No one expects you to score against an entire team of best players. It's all... all... what's the word Harris would use?"
"Branding?"
"Yes. Yes, that. Branding and marketing for a good image. That's why they bring you. Is unfair to you. I just want you to try to have fun, yes?"
Luca had trouble getting his body to believe what Ilya was saying.
"Hunter's not gonna want me there." Luca lowered his voice. "And you don't want me to..."
"No, Luca." He gently placed his hand under Luca's chin to keep the eye contact, and then chose his words carefully. "I want you there. I want you to play with him and Shane. He's going to love you. And Shane will be right there for whole thing. I know he was texting you."
"You did?"
"Yes, I send him your number when you were looking like sad puppy at your stall." Ilya smiled and raised his eyebrow. "He was quick."
"He told me he'd teach me how to beat you," Luca said, a smirk sneaking across his face. It was the first time Ilya had seen Luca smile all day.
"You understand now? Is just for fun."
Ilya pulled him in for a hug and held him tightly. When the muscles in Luca's back and shoulders eventually relaxed, Ilya felt like a weight had been pulled off his own shoulders.
"Wait," Luca said. "So is All-Stars really just a vacation for you and Shane?"
"Mmm a little bit. A tricky vacation, but we get more time together than usual during hockey season."
Luca squeezed Ilya back before pulling away to look up at him.
"Are you sure about Hunter?"
Ilya sighed and checked the time on his phone.
"Come on," he said, gently pulling Luca's hand. "I'll show you."
Ilya led Luca back down the hallway in the direction they'd come from.
"Where are we going?"
"There's 30 minutes left for Admirals morning skate," Ilya said. "You want to see the real Hunter, so I will show you. You want to know if he wants you there, so he will tell you himself."