“All right Gritty, you ready to head out there?” … Today was the day that Gritty has been dreading. Months of lead up to this moment and he was still unsure how Avery felt. All of this was just so confusing for his big orange heart. “Gritty did you hear me? Are you ready?” asked Gritty's manager, Guillermo, outside of Gritty's dressing room door. Gritty took one last look over his shoulder into his dressing room mirror. He sighs and heads out.

… 4 months earlier…

“All right Gritty, you ready to head out there?” asked Guillermo outside of Gritty’s Dressing room door Gritty grunted and pounded his gloves. Was he ready? Hell yes! He swung open his dressing room door and met Guillermo waiting outside. “You are looking pumped!” stated Guillermo checking out the excitement radiating off of the big orange fella. Gritty was pumped and gave a little nod to acknowledge that Guillermo was correct. They then took off down the hall to the Flyers walkout entrance. During this time Gritty could not help but reflect on all the work he had done to get here. Usually the owners were really receptive to his chaotic pitches, I mean that is how Gritty got the chaos corner to begin with, he thought. But he had to fight for it. The owners were unsure about letting Gritty get involved in a little boxing stunt against an opposing team’s player. They were worried about how they would get that type of thing insured just in case Gritty or the other player got hurt. In the end Gritty did a few visits to a couple of insurance providers and proved that a little pretend boxing was nothing to worry about. Once he had gotten the green light from the owners he started training for this night. He even got a fabulously edited video of him training in the navy yard ready to get people hyped before he even went out on the ice / “boxing ring”. Which don’t get him started about because he wanted a real boxing ring put out on the ice, but everyone said that a projected one on the ice was fine enough because it was not like he would be fighting for real. Jerks. They just didn’t see the full vision, but whatever, thought Gritty.

He now stood in the orange light of the Flyers tunnel. With the players still waiting for their walkout a little later after Gritty kicks some ass! “Hey, big guy, you know the guy we got from the opposing team to agree to “fight you”?” asked Guillermo. Gritty shook his head because honestly he never cared who he was going to fight, he just wanted a little bit of fun. “Yea we got a player named Avery he won’t be playing this game so I guess you can be a little more rough, Haha, But don’t rough him up too much he is still a rookie HAHA!” Guillermo said, punching and laughing into Gritty’s fluffy belly. Gritty always just lets Guiermo get away with painful dad jokes and lets little punches or ruffling his hair fly because Gritty feels sorry for Guillermo. Gritty thinks he may be lonely since Gritty is the only talent he manages and Gritty doesn't even talk. With no one to talk to (especially after his nasty divorce) Gritty always makes an effort for Guillermo to not go completely crazy. He loves the guy after all. Guillermo has been there for him and defending him since the very beginning of his career especially because Gritty technically has no voice to defend himself with.

“All right buddy the video is over time for you to hit the ice. Knock them out!” Guillermo says as he is pushing Gritty out of the tunnel. The pulsing orange of the tunnel gets in Gritty’s head and he can hear his walk out song playing. He takes a deep breath and the uncontrollable feeling of chaos courses through his orange veins. He is ready.

As he pushes out onto the ice he can hear the crowd going crazy and that feeds his momentum. He starts giving the crowd some practice punches with the crowd cheering him on as he skates over to the “boxing ring”. Then his opponent gets his own walk out. Not as cool as Gritty, Gritty thought.

“Ding, Ding” there was the bell. It was time to fight!

Gritty started out strong having one of his gloves connect to his opponent's helmet. The helmet stayed on though. Gritty’s goal was to at the very least knock that helmet off before the one and only round was over. He knew people would go crazy over it! Gritty did end up taking some body shots, but being 7 feet tall and fluffy they were no problem. The pair took turns exchanging blows with one from his opponent actually connecting with his beard and being shockingly not too bad. The timer started to count down and Gritty was still without his goal, he needed to get that helmet off. With a few seconds to spare Gritty thought, wait I am Gritty and with that got up and close to his opponent and simply grabbed the helmet with both his hands and Pop! He just popped off the helmet. As Gritty thought the crowd erupted in shouts and excitement. What he was not expecting was the man under the helmet looking up into his googly eyes. The crowd shouts had disappeared as he gazed back into his opponent's eyes. They sparkled from the giant flames that were being burned above them. Gritty had also fought to add more propane to the budget to get bigger flames for the “boxing” event. He was glad he did because wow were his opponent’s eyes breathtaking. His opponent then quirked his eyebrow at Gritty. Gritty got shy and just popped his opponent’s helmet back on his head. This is when the ref skated over to them, held on to Gritty’s hand and raised it to show the stadium that Gritty had won his fight. The crowd erupted once again. Afterwards Gritty quickly scrambled off the ice because obviously the game was going to begin and for no other reason.

The game ended with the Flyers winning 3-2.

That was a good game, thought Gritty. After a few drum solos and shenanigans in his chaos corner during the game and now he was pooped. He was ready to head home and relax until one of the Flyers players stopped him in the hall. “Hey Gritty my man! Me and some of the boys were going to the bar to celebrate. You should totally join! That boxing match you did with Avery was sweet! You really kicked his ass and when you popped off his helmet was gold!” The Flyer player said while bent over with a chuckle thinking about what Gritty had done. All Gritty could think about was, right, his name was Avery… With that he gave a little nod. “Oh, awesome man! I am going to tell the rest of the guys that you are joining!” and with that he left to tell the other Flyers players the news. Damn. Welp I guess Gritty is not sleeping just yet, thought Gritty.

Gritty met the group of Flyers players outside of the stadium. At the same time the opposing team they had just defeated were exiting the stadium. “Hey I know we beat y’all and everything today, but y’all are invited to grab a drink with us. It's on me!” shouted the player that had invited Gritty. Many of the players gave him a nod, but decided to hop on the bus to head to their hotel because they do have a game they need to travel to in the morning. “I’ll join if you are buying” one of the players said walking up to the group and standing next to Gritty. Gritty looked down to see it was Avery! Avery was now out of his uniform and dressed in regular street clothes. Gritty could not help but blush and look away when Avery turned to look up at him. God his eyes are even more sultry! Thought Gritty.

With that everyone piled into a van to take them to the bar. Gritty was no small guy and somehow ended up in the back with Avery pushed into his side. Gritty always thought there were many benefits for him being so big, but right now all he wanted was to shrink down so no one could see him. The blush never left his fur the entire car ride to the bar.

At the bar Gritty could finally breath, letting go of that breath he was holding in that whole time. The bar they were at was a Philadelphia sport team players bar. This bar only lets current or previous Philadelphia sport players relax and not get harassed by the passionate Philadelphia fans. This place actually made a drink for Gritty and always treated him so well. Sitting at the bar the bartender got to work getting Gritty’s drink ready. When his drink was pushed toward him a person plopped on the seat next to him. Before he looked to see who it was. They said, “Big and orange, interesting” the person then lightly chuckled. Gritty was a little startled, but looked down to see who it was. Of course it was this Avery guy, he could not leave Gritty alone! “Excuse me bartender, can I get what this gentleman has?” Avery asked the bartender. The bartender nodded and started making the drink. “So what exactly does this drink taste like? From what I can see it is massive and orange. Kinda like you?” Avery says facing Gritty. Gritty can not say much, most of his vocabulary is limited to grunts and nods. Man, he wished Guillermo was here. So Gritty settled with a simple nod yes. “Not much of a talker, hum?” Avery asks. Gritty again nods a little yes. The drink that Avery ordered was pushed toward him and equaled the giant orange drink next to his. “Well, let's see if you are a man of taste.” Avery struggles a little to reach the straw. The size of the glass was intended for Gritty to not have to bend down to take a drink. Avery then was finally able to capture the straw between his lips. Gritty gulps just looking at the players lips. Avery then looked up at Gritty and gave him a big smile. Gritty’s heart stops and then picks up at lightning speed. That simile is way too dangerous, it could have taken me out during our “boxing match”, thought Gritty. “Wow this one is good! I know a lot of people don’t like sweet drinks, but I hate the alcohol taste and you can barely tell there is any in here” Avery states, still looking up at Gritty with stars in his eyes. Gritty then gave Avery an enthusiastic nod because he has always felt the same way. Sometimes he gives the drink back as a way to tell the bartender not to add alcohol. Today he kept it though because he felt like he needed it.

Avery was a great conversationalist. He talks a lot which Gritty likes since he can’t speak much, but Avery always gives Gritty time to add a nod or grunt. Many people have made the habit of making Gritty their therapist simply because he can not talk. That just means there are a lot of people talking at him, but not joining him into conservations. In general Gritty would make a terrible therapist, thought Gritty. “Hey Gritty did I lose you, hiccup!” Avery says with now half lidded eyes and flopping his body on to Gritty’s side. It is only now that Gritty notices Avery’s drink is more than halfway gone and although there is not a lot of alcohol in the drink, there is a HUGE amount in the Gritty sized glass. Avery then began to trace circles into the fur on Gritty’s arm. The blush now returns to Gritty’s fur and he is unsure what to do. Will he get sick?? Thought Gritty. “Awe man Avery, Hey guys Avery is totally wasted” one player from the opposing team shouts at the others. “Shit, does Avery even drink?” One asked. “No fucking way… Gritty did Avery drink all of that?” Another player asked. Gritty gave them a shy nod because he felt so bad for not noticing earlier. They were just having so much fun. “Well we need to get him to his hotel room and watch over him because I am not sure exactly how he will react to this much alcohol” The first player from the opposing team to notice stated. The group of players tried pulling Avery off of Gritty, but Avery did not budge. After a few failed tugs one of the players asks, “I am so sorry Girtty, can we bother you to bring him for us?” Gritty, being shy nodded and easily swooped Avery up in his arms. “Hey don’t worry about it boys my van can take you to your hotel, You okay Gritty?” asked the player that had invited him out to the bar. Gritty nodded and followed everybody back to the van.

At the hotel the opposing team player led Gritty to Avery’s hotel room. “Gritty, thank you so much for helping out with our severely drunk teammate. Since it's so late I am going to share a room with another player tonight because there is no way you are getting home at a reasonable hour at this point. Here’s our card” Avery’s roommate says while handing Gritty the hotel room card. Gritty is thankful truly because although tonight was so much fun with Avery he was so exhausted. So he scanned the card at the door and walked inside with Avery peacefully sleeping in his arms. After the door was closed behind them and locked, Gritty wanted to quickly get to bed. So he went to lay Avery in a bed and then tried to go to sleep in the one next to it, but just like back at the bar Avery did not let go. Gritty again tried to separate himself, but nothing. “wait, gritty please don’t go. lay here with me” Avery quietly pleaded. Gritty is strong, but he was weak for Avery’s plea. So he uncomfortably folded himself in half to fit on the small full-sized bed with Avery. Remarkably in only a few minutes of listening to Avery’s soft breaths he too fell asleep. Gritty felt a crook in his neck. I must have slept in a terrible position. Let me fix that Gritty thought. Without thinking or realizing where he was he flipped over to adjust himself. At the same time he launched Avery from his size to the other unused mattress next to them. “AH.” Avery quickly shouted from being launched into the air and the terrible head ache. Gritty at the same time snapped open his eyes seeing Avery falling from space onto the other mattress. Now they were both awake. Gritty sat up in bed pulling the covers to his chest with a sorry and bashful look. Avery first looking at the ceiling realizing he was fine quickly turned to look at Gritty with wide eyes. He then began to laugh, while laughing he said, “Gritty good god, ouch, my head. Gritty I am sorry I am not sure about all that happened last night but I never drink so I hope I was never too out of line.” Gritty shook his head immediately because he did not want Avery to feel bad at all about their fun night. “Oh, good I like you too much. I would have been really embarrassed” Avery said, holding his head. Gritty then stared at Avery with large googly eyes. He likes me? He likes me “too much”? Gritty thought to himself.

The door was knocked on and Gritty, who was shocked, used his muscle memory to open the door. It was one of Avery's teammates. “Gritty looking good this early! I am surprised you were even able to wake up with the day you had yesterday” the teammate said. “Yea and guess who else is awake!” Avery shouted from the bed. “What the hell. Me and the other guys were sure we would have to beg Gritty to bring you to the bus. Well since you are capable,” the team mate was then interrupted by Avery stating, “I never said that,” and then continued “since you are capable, get your ass ready we are leaving” Avery’s teammate said and then closed the door soon after. Avery signed and slowly got up. He was not a messy guy so all he really had to do was put away his toiletries. It was a quiet morning for the two as Gritty tried his best to be helpful and out of the way. Avery’s roommate entered and grabbed his things and the three of them would then head down to the lobby.

All the players loaded on to the bus to the next city for their next game. Avery, stepping on the second step, turned around to look at Gritty. Gritty moved closer in case he had something to say. Avery then gently brought Gritty in for a gentle embrace. At this level Gritty did not have to bend so low and felt this spine relaxing along with the rest of his body. Avery then whispered, “thank you and I will see you soon. stay well big guy” and with that they let go. Avery turned back around and followed his teammates on the bus. Gritty waved to the bus as it pulled away wishing that Avery did not have to leave so soon, but so is the life of an athlete with constant traveling for games.

…3 months earlier…

Today was the day! Avery’s team is back in Philly and Gritty has been planning on inviting him out to go do some Philly shenanigans with him after the game. Before Gritty can get there his team the Flyers will need to bring it home!

…

The Flyers brutally lost 5-1.

…

Does it suck his team lost? Yes. It also sucks because Gritty's job is to keep the crowd going so a brutal loss like this makes his job even harder. He made it out alive waiting for Avery outside the visiting team’s locker room. As the opposing team was filing out, high on their win, some recognized Gritty and gave him some pats on his back as they left. Then there he was, Avery again out of his uniform that conceals him and was now staring back at Gritty with a big smile. “Gritty!” Avery shouts then gives him a hug on his tip toes. Gritty had first thought of asking Guillermo to ask Avery to come out with him, but he felt Avery understood him so well that he would try on his own. So he tried by pointing at Avery then himself and then throwing a thumb behind him to signal out. Avery stood and stared at Gritty's attempt at signaling what he wanted and then smiled, “You want to take me out?” Avery asked. Gritty then enthusiastically used his whole body to nod. With that Avery slung his bag over his shoulder and grabbed Gritty’s fluffy hand.

Gritty with a blush traveling down to his beard held Avery’s hand and led him to the car that was waiting for them and planned to take them to all of Gritty’s favorite spots. Just like a month ago Gritty and Avery were back to a comfortable conversation flow with Avery doing all the talking and Gritty eagerly listening and responding.

The first stop for Avery and Gritty's adventure was of course FDR park. It is close to the stadium and a great park to walk through on a cold night like this, Gritty thought. Gritty being mostly fur forgot that Avery did not have this advantage and since it was night it was particularly cold. Avery made the rational decision to closely embrace Gritty as they walked around the lake. Since it was right after the game Gritty decided to start slow and then build up to the best parts. After one lap he decided it was time for the cheesesteak crawl! Avery is an athlete so he has to have a similar appetite to Gritty right? Gritty thought. Gritty followed his nose and it led him to Pat’s and Geno’s. There is no place better than being with Avery and having the choice of the two best cheesesteaks in town. Also, Gritty was right Avery did eat almost as much as him. They then went uptown to Jim’s near the magic gardens. This is where Avery had to tap out after eating two and a half full sized cheesesteaks. Gritty could keep going, but not to keep Avery waiting he ordered a fourth to go. Unfortunately the magic gardens was closed because it was late, so Gritty thought of another great place to go that twinkles.

Their last stop was the Philly Art Museum looking over the Schuylkill River. At night with the cars and trains going by across the river and the city lights the Schuylkill River twinkles. Avery was sitting on the stone wall looking out to the beautiful scene while Gritty stood next to him with his arms resting on the stone wall. It was still a crisp night and the warmth of the cheesesteaks they had was wearing off on Avery so he scooted over to rest on Gritty’s arm. His head just barely reached Gritty’s shoulder. Gritty was never cold that is why he was a perfect fit for a hockey stadium, but tonight and the other night he spent with Avery was the first time he felt warm. His orange heart was on fire!

“Gritty although it is so cold out, being next to you I have never felt warmer.” Avery said, sighing satisfied. Gritty could not help to agree and was delighted to hear Avery felt the same way. “Gritty I am a man of words. So I feel like it would be a disservice to you if I was not honest” Avery paused and Gritty started to sweat orange. Oh no? Has Gritty been too forward with the cheesesteak crawl? He thought. “Although you may not speak as much I feel like we really understand each other and I want to say that I like you” Avery confessed. Gritty was shocked as he felt Avery removed himself from his side, turning towards him, holding one of his fluffy hands into his, and looking into Gritty’s eyes…

They twinkled. Avery’s eyes twinkled like the Schuylkill river, but brighter and more beautiful.

“I just wish we as athletes did not travel as much. I wish I could see you more” Avery continued. Gritty again agreeing with Avery with little nods. “Gritty I am still a rookie and I am still getting used to playing in the NHL, but I also really like you. I hate saying this…I don’t want to say this, but I hope you understand” Avery pauses. Gritty feels like he knows where this is going and covers Avery’s hand that is holding on to Gritty’s other hand. He hopes this encourages Avery to continue to speak honestly no matter how painful it could be for the both of them. “I can not be in a relationship right now. I-it would not be fair to either of us. When our teams both play is a special exception. I am able to see you in person and feel all the memories again. You take care of me, you listen to me, you laugh with me. That is something I have never felt and will cherish” Avery says with tears gently falling down his face. Gritty takes the hand covering Avery’s and wipes them away. Gritty wished he could express himself the same way as Avery. Tell him he understands that together they are the right people, but found each other at the wrong time. So Gritty communicates the only way he knows how and that is through action. He gives Avery a big hug, completely enveloping him. When they let go Avery’s cheeks were stained red, but stopped crying.

That night was the night that never ended for Gritty. He replayed all the good and sad memories looking forward to when both of their teams would face off again.

…2 months earlier…

Any regular long distance relationships, friend or romantic, are made easier because the two people can FaceTime or even write if they are old school. Gritty can not do either of those things since he can only write in large letters on poster board which would be impractical to send through the mail and they do not make devices that are compatible for his big fuzzy hands. So Gritty waited. This time they were going to Avery’s city!

Gritty had spent the morning on a 4 hour bus ride and unpacking at his hotel when the room phone began to ring. His roommate, like always, was Guillermo and helped pick up the phone. Guillermo gave Gritty a suggestive look and then covered the phone's receiver to whisper shout, “It's the front desk saying you have a visitor. They say it is your friend you have been talking so much about” Guillermo also had a teasing tone Gritty was not a fan of but whatever. “Yes he will be down” Guillermo then hung up. “Alright my friend-client, my frilent, I want you back an hour before the game at 7, but you have all the fun you can!” Guillermo said this as he was pushing Gritty out the door.

Downstairs in the lobby Gritty heart skips a beat. He had been thinking about Avery every day for the past month and started to feel a little shy now he can actually look at him without dreaming.

“Gritty!” Avery said and walked up to give Gritty a big hug. “I missed you and your wonderful hugs” Avery then said after letting go. Gritty was over the moon and gave a very exaggerated nod to show Avery he missed him too. Avery then took his hand and led him out of the hotel. This action made Gritty so happy he could throw a pie in someone's face.

“It is my time to show you around my city and I thought right before the game I could give a tour of my home arena” Avery explained looking up at Gritty. Gritty would be happy going anywhere with Avery so he gave a happy nod and continued to savor Avery leading him wherever. “I was thinking since you took me on a cheesesteak crawl we would do a bit of a fries crawl. We are pretty lucky since every time I play your team I don’t have ice time, so let's go all out!” Avery said enthusiastically.

The boys went off and as their appetizer they had a salad with fries on top of it. Avery then took Gritty to an amusement park for a special type of fries called potato patch fries. Gritty was loving the fries crawl. Avery is so smart because fries are so tiny Gritty can eat much more! Gritty thought. They tried to see if they could fit Gritty on a roller coaster and with a “hey look over there!” they snuck on one. Gritty made sure to crouch the whole time so he would not lose his head. Avery took home the photo they got while on the coaster. It was Avery’s idea for them to pose, making a heart with their arms over their head. Gritty looked awkwardly big in the photo even though he tried his best to be small, but Avery said he looked perfect so Gritty didn’t sweat it in the end. Lastly, Avery led Gritty to a restaurant to have a “Primanti Sandwich" which is a sandwich with fries in it. Gritty loves the concept and after trying it, it was not half bad. It was no cheesesteak, but because of the size Gritty could eat 3 and feel satisfied.

“Alright Gritty it is time to head to the arena for a special tour. I was also thinking, since we have some time, let’s grab our skates and have a little fun on the ice too” Avery suggested. Gritty was absolutely down. What a dream come true to skate with Avery! Gritty hopes they will hold hands while skating, Gritty thought.

Avery gave a little tour of the stadium, but to give them more skating time before the game they separated to go grab their skates. In the opposing team locker room Guillermo had Gritty's skates ready like he had a 6th sense or something. Gritty then quickly headed over to Avery's team's locker room and decided to wait outside.

“Hey Avery!” Someone in the locker room shouted. Gritty perked up just at the mention of Avery’s name. “Listen man I saw you giving that thing a tour of our arena, what's the deal with that?” They asked pretty loudly. Thing? What thing? Avery was only giving Gritty the tour, Gritty thought. “I don’t appreciate that tone and I have no idea what you are talking about because I was giving my good friend Gritty a tour” Avery said annoyed. “Right…It's called Gritty. What are you doing being all chummy with an opposing team's monster? What tired of bench warming?” Avery’s teammate sneered. Monster? Who Gritty? No Gritty is a gentleman he is no monster, Gritty thought and immediately became insecure. Since Gritty was a kid he always played into his being big and “silly” looking for a couple of laughs. He did this because he knew due to his size he can be imposing and has had people run away from him and called him a monster before. He hated it because he was born to entertain and make people laugh instead. Nowadays Gritty likes to play a chaotic character at work and has had comments like monster roll off his back because he knows he makes people laugh in the end. Outside of work though, Gritty is more timid and sometimes when he is not playing his character comments like “it”, “thing”, or even worse “monster” do still get to him. Also, Gritty did not particularly appreciate the person calling Avery a bench warmer. Rude. Gritty was ready to walk in there and tell, or try to tell, this guy off for insulting Avery until he heard Avery’s reply. “Monster? You can fuck off you jag. You don’t know shit about him so it's best you keep your mouth shut” Avery said, pissed off. “What are you with that thing? Yuck man that is gross. You know that he is not a person right? What are you into those furry things or something??” The stranger so crudely suggested. That is when Gritty heard some skates get tossed to the floor and fast movement. Gritty knew Avery was probably just as mad as him at that comment and decided to settle things violently. So, Gritty ran into the locker room and found Avery on his team mate only starting to beat the living shit out of him. Gritty is big so he easily scooped up an angry Avery to break up the fight. “Ha, I knew it. You are with the monster. Yuck. What's your name again? Shitty?” Avery’s teammate asked with a black eye and a bleeding nose. “JAG OFF. YOU FUCKER!” Avery made it clear he was going to kill this guy trying to get out of Gritty’s hold. Avery then looked up at Gritty to tell him to let him kill his own teammate. He stopped. Looking into the orange fella’s eyes Avery could see Gritty was deeply sad.

A silence stretched over the room. The offending teammate made his way out of the locker room to obviously avoid having to fight a big orange monster. This left Avery and Gritty alone. With the sad look in his googly eyes Gritty put Avery down and walked out.

“Wait Gritty. Hold up!” Avery shouted after him. Gritty had long strides and went down the hallway pretty quickly. Gritty needed to leave and see Guillermo right now, Gritty thought. Gritty ignored Avery’s attempt to stop him. He then decided to dead stop and let Avery catch up to him. “Geeze wait. Ignore that guy. He obviously is a dumbass and I am not done with him. Next time it's on sight” Avery tried explaining. Gritty does not want Avery to fight people off the ice, especially with his own teammates. Maybe that mean man was right Avery should not be with a “monster”, Gritty thought.

Gritty was staring at the floor. Avery got around Gritty to look and see how he was doing. Gritty looked away to avoid Avery’s gaze. “come on gritty, it's okay. you know I know you for you. you are the guy who loves cheesesteaks, cold walks in the park, star gazing at night. you are chaotic and sweet that is all packaged in an admirable multifaceted personality that I love being around” Avery quietly explained. Gritty knew Avery was right; it was ridiculous to be held up by a guy that didn’t even know Gritty. It's irrational. But Gritty needs space for a moment. So he walked off not looking back at Avery. How was Gritty supposed to explain what he was feeling right now? He thought. Avery watched him walk away with his head down. Avery was desperate to get Gritty back, but maybe Gritty did not have to say anything to communicate that he needed space. So Avery didn’t stop him. Avery said what he felt and left it out there hoping Gritty would see what Avery saw in Gritty.

The Flyers lost that night 3-6. It was a tough night for everyone. Gritty spent that night quietly with Guillermo.

The next morning the team bus pulled off from the hotel going back to Philly and as Gritty stared out the window of the bus his eyes caught on to someone else's eyes standing outside of the bus looking at him through the window. It was Avery. After just walking away Gritty was unsure if Avery would even want to see Gritty this soon. The other night Gritty acted like a pathetic coward and he hurt Avery, thought Gritty. Avery waved at Gritty with a sad smile. The bus pulled away quickly before Gritty had a chance to wave back. Gritty quickly got up from his usual aisle seat and tumbled his way to the back of the bus. Looking out the window in back he waved to Avery. He saw Avery was running after the bus and then stopped once the bus got far enough.

…1 month earlier...

It had been a month since Gritty saw Avery. They did not leave on the best of terms either. Tonight was the Flyers valentines day home game. This would usually be a fun night for Gritty where he would crash engagements and “steal away” the future bride of some fan. It is obvious why Guillermo was nervous for Gritty because for the past month Gritty had not been all there. Yea sure at work he would twerk for the crowd or play the drums, but his heart was not in it. Guillermo had set up the valentines day game concept months before. Tonight Gritty was to pose for a local artist during a game and get a romantic portrait painted of himself. How hard could it be to sit for a portrait? Gritty can do this, thought Gritty. In the stands they had Gritty in a chair and posed with a heart shaped box with a charcuterie spread. Gritty hoped they would let him eat them after the portrait was done. It was actually a lot harder to sit still and also not think about Avery. What was he doing tonight? Avery would have liked to share this box of cold cuts with Gritty. Or maybe not since Gritty is a wuss and can’t express his emotions even to the people he is closest with, thought Gritty.

The portrait was beautiful. The artist really got the googlyness in his eyes correct. Looking at it though Gritty looks lonely by himself on that velvet couch that the artist imagined.

…Present Game Night…

“All right Gritty, you ready to head out there?” … Today was the day that Gritty has been dreading. Months of lead up to this moment and he was still unsure how Avery felt. All of this was just so confusing for his big orange heart.

“Gritty did you hear me? Are you ready?” asked Guillermo, outside of Gritty's dressing room door. Gritty took one last look over his shoulder into his dressing room mirror. He sighs and heads out.

Avery’s team is back in Philly and are playing the Flyers tonight. Gritty thought about looking for Avery before the game, but even after 2 months he was still a little embarrassed. So Gritty in his Ariel Little Mermaid costume shuffled his way up the ladder and on to the walk that was far above the crowd. This was one of Guillermo’s many ideas and this one included Gritty in a mermaid costume being suspended from the rafters. Gritty spent the 2 months trying to keep his head straight and focus on work. This also meant dedicating himself to this aerial number. His heart was beating so hard when the crew was attaching his safety harness to the cable. Gritty up until now was not worried about the height or the fact that the only thing that would catch him if he went down would be cold ice. This is a little embarrassing, Gritty has to do this in front of Avery, but I need to bring the house down with this number to show him Gritty is no coward, thought Gritty.

"All right you are all all locked in and are ready to go” the crew member connecting Gritty to the cable said. “Perfect! Remember this cable will begin to lower at the start of the music. I know we have been practicing this, but I don’t want your nerves to make you forget if you see “you know who”” Guillermo said while standing on a foot ladder to massage the stress out of Gritty’s shoulders. Gritty nodded. Right Guillermo. I got this. Time to give everyone a show, Gritty thought. That is when the lights began to dim to cue Gritty it was show time.

The Little Mermaid song ‘Part of Your World’ began to play and Gritty was slowly being lowered. He waved his arms along to the music. He gestured dramatically to the rhythm of the music. Gritty could not help, but relate to the Little Mermaid’s song. All he ever wanted to be was to be seen as a person and to live a normal life. However, since practicing dancing to this song he began to realize something. People like Guillermo, the other Flyers players, the fans, and Avery all loved Gritty regardless of his bright orange fur. He Gritty, so different from everyone else, was still able to love and be loved. So as the song closed Gritty gently laid back in his harness and let his arms gracefully dangle, slowly spinning. The stadium then turned off all the lights. The crowd erupted in applause.

Gritty was being pulled back up to the walk. Standing up there waiting for him was Guillermo with tears in his eyes. “Oh Gritty, my boy. You looked darling out there! You are absolute perfection. Come on, let's get you changed and I have something I want to say to you later” Guillermo said, wiping his tears from his eyes.

After he was changed and ready to head out to make some noise at his chaos corner, but Guillermo stopped him. “Hey buddy, before you head out there. You know I love you and I hated seeing you struggle these past 2 months without a way to help. So I hope you really listened to the message of the song you performed tonight and not let yourself get in the way of your own happiness. I love you bud” Guillermo said and then stepped forward to give Gritty a hug.

After the hug Gritty puffed out his chest. Guillermo was right. Gritty had been ridiculous these past 2 months. It is time to put an end to this and tell Avery how he really feels.

In the chaos corner Gritty made sure to get extra loud. He also tried his best to see if he could catch a glimpse of Avery from the visiting team’s bench. No matter how loud he was he could not get Avery to look his way. Gritty must have really messed this one up, thought Gritty. The whole time Gritty knew Avery he had never actually seen him play in person. Gritty did develop a bad problem with watching Avery’s clips playing other teams over and over again in his spare time. Gritty has also been kind of noticing Avery over time becoming a little more aggressive on the ice and tonight it looks like Avery was too locked in to notice Gritty. Gritty follows Avery’s form shifting out on the ice. Gritty decided to hold up his mallets for a long pause and then slowly build up to a dramatic drum tune. There was only one way to describe Avery’s playing style on the ice right now and that would be a monster, Gritty was surprised that was the word that popped up in his mind. Gritty watched as Avery got shifted 12 times and only got 7 minutes of actual play time. The game itself was really close with the Flyers tying up the score every time. Avery was frustrated, of course his dickhead of a teammate had to shout out, “Hey you better score something! Your boyfriend is watching”. From Gritty’s point of view he could tell something was off because no matter how hard or aggressive Avery played every time he was on the ice he would lose the puck and the Flyers would find an opening to score. This did not look good. Avery was clearly in his own head not focused on the game. Gritty of course wanted his team to win, but he could not help but feel worried watching Avery play.

In the end the Flyers won a shootout closing the game out 4-3.

Gritty booked it to the opposing team’s locker room running past Guillermo in the process. Guillermo of course had a big smile as he watched Gritty run by. He does not need me for this one, thought Guillermo.

Standing at the entrance of the locker room Gritty became unsure of what to do. It would be inappropriate to barge in there, especially since their team just lost, thought Gritty. That is when the teammate that sent Gritty down this two month spiral walked out of the locker room. The guy had the nerve to roll his eyes and then he said this, “God not you again…Listen imsorryokay”. Gritty did not catch the last part so he simply turned his head to the side confused. “Fine.” Avery’s team mate said again a little more seriously and paused one more time before saying “I said..I said I was sorry okay”. Gritty was stunned. Was he hearing this guy right? He had been so terrible to him and Avery so what was with this sudden change. “I watched your performance before the game. I was ready to make fun of you in that ridiculous outfit you had on, but honestly you made me tear up. The emotion you brought to that performance of ‘Part of Your World’ was unreal. It made me realize how terrible I had been without even getting to know you. I immediately shut you out as an unserious character and that was wrong of me. So I am sorry to you…and Avery I guess. He lost us the game tonight though, so this apology is really only for you” and with that he walked away.

“Wowwww. This guy still has a way to land a stray shot at me even during an apology”. Gritty looked around to see Avery out of his uniform standing leaning on the door frame of the locker room. Gritty was so happy he sparked up and immediately went to hold both of Avery’s hands in his. He then remembered that Avery had a difficult game and switched to a more concerned look. “Haha, alright, alright. I’m fine and FYI he is wrong, but I recognize I did not get a chance to play my best tonight. I am sorry you had to see that Gritty” Avery said looking up at Gritty’s worried face. Gritty then gave a short nod and relaxed his shoulders. “Are you busy tonight? Because I know the perfect place we can head to” Avery asked Gritty. Gritty of course excitedly shook his head no and let Avery lead him out of the stadium.

Gritty got in the car that was waiting outside for them. Once he got in he saw a familiar face. It was Guillermo! “Hey buddy where we headed to? Just kidding, it’s a surprise, so buckle up and let’s go!!” said Guillermo excitedly. Anyways, Gritty was confused as to why Avery was taking him over the bridge into New Jersey. With all do respect Gritty never goes to New Jersey unless he has to. The car stops at the Flyers practice facility. Okay this is making some more sense, but why did Avery bring him here, thought Gritty as he was getting out of the car. “Haha, okay I can see you are totally confused” Avery said completely right again on what Gritty was thinking. “Well I was thinking last time we didn’t get to skate together and that really sucked. So I asked Guillermo if there was a way after the game to get us into the training facility so we can skate together” Avery explained. They then both looked at Guillermo who was now out of the car and walking ahead of them. Without facing them Guillermo explained, “I convinced the owners and they easily agreed because let's face it they love you Gritty. They gave me a little tutorial on how to open the building and use the zamboni after y’all are done. Which by the way is a dream come true for me. We will be the only ones in the building so you two can enjoy privately” Guillermo finished explaining. It looks like everyone's dreams are coming true, thought Gritty shaking from excitement.

Avery handed Gritty his ridiculously large skates and they all walked into the building. Guillermo turned on the lights and faded somewhere else into the background. Gritty’s heart was pounding as he was the first to step on to the ice. Avery followed him closely behind until he then quickly took off. Gritty was stunned and then was determined to chase after him. Avery was quick! Thought Gritty. All that could be heard was the sound that skates make on ice and a pair of laughs. This was a good time, thought Gritty. After almost catching up to Avery, Avery did a quick turn that Gritty was not expecting. Gritty hit the wall and fell over into the bench. “Haha, Oh my god Gritty are you okay?” Avery asked as he jumped into the bench to help Gritty up. Gritty saw a hand in front of his face and followed that hand up to Avery’s smiling face. Gritty chuckled and grabbed Avery’s hand. He then pulled on it so Avery would fall into him. They were both laughing. Avery then stopped and got a little serious and said, “listen Gritty. I’m sorry for these past 2 months after you left. I was thinking about you and I knew our relationship would be okay. I just have been struggling a lot with my career, but I changed my mind. I think it was totally unfair to use that as a reason why we could not be together”. Gritty picked Avery up off the ground and looked down into Avery’s eyes. He then gave Avery a soft nod. “I won’t say it will be easy, but if you want I think we can make it work?” Avery asked hopefully. Gritty gave a big nod and picked Avery up. “Woaw Gritty!” Avery shouted and then Gritty gently placed Avery back on to the ice. Gritty also got back on the ice and took Avery’s hand into his. “Haha, Okay I will take that as a yes then” Avery said happily skating hand in hand with Gritty.

“Hey by the way I have been watching the Flyers games these past two months hoping I would see you” Avery began. Gritty was not sure where he was going with this, turning his head to the side. “Anyways I saw you getting your portrait on valentines day” Avery explained. Gritty then blushed out of embarrassment. “Do you think you could send the portrait to me because I would love to have it hanging on my wall…You know to have you with me when I am home” now Avery became shy. Gritty gave Avery a big smile and picked him up into a warm hug. Avery, now in the air as Gritty skated, asked, “by the way don’t tell me you ate that whole charcuterie box by yourself?”

Gritty then gave one more big excited nod.