Work Text:
Scott wanted to forget the memory of what happend that night.
If it was possible, he would like that picture erased from his mind completely. But that wasn't possible. Not unless he could find some weird hypnotist.
So he lived with it. It made him better,in a way. Knowing he wasn't the only gay guy in the NHL. He moved on. Kept to himself. He played against Boston and avoided Rozanov's piercing look. The rookie was weirdly quiet. Eerily quiet. Scott wanted to know why. He wished he could understand what he was thinking. What he was planning.
It had been quite a lot of time. And seeing them,it gave Scott a bit of courage. Courage to approach Kip. To let himself love. And-God-he loved Kip. He hasn't felt something this strong in quite some time. Ever since his parents died,even. He couldn't remember having someone to come back to. Hell,he couldn't remember what it felt like to wake up and not be alone.
But Kip was unhappy. Scott knew it was because he missed being out of the closet that Scott forced him to get back into. He knew he was asking too much. That he was keeping him locked inside like a house pet. Kip was hiding from his friends,lying to his father and he was miserable. It was his fault. He should have expected less. He should have known it wouldn't last long. And now he was left to pick up the pieces and build himself again. His team saw how quick he fell and now that he was gathering himself,they were waiting for him to fall again.
So,yeah. He was upset. In more then one way. And when he lost to Boston and Montreal,while he half expected it,it still make him angry. So when Shane-golden retriever of the league-Hollander came up to him and trew that chip at him,he snapped. Was it pathetic? Yes. Hell,even the chip itself was barely an insult compared to what players used on the ice. But he was upset. Why could he and Rozanov have something going on with everything at stake and he couldn't even have Kip? Why was that fair?
"You're starting to sound like him." He knew it was too much to say that back. He immediately realised he fucked up. But it was too late to back down and he was too tired to be sorry. The fight was quick. The kid sand him a text to apologize. He felt bad about it. Didn't respond. He felt like an asshole either way.
The next time he played against Boston,he was feeling very,very shitty. Rozanov did not seem to care as tonight he seemed to be out for blood.
He was making everyone uncomfortable,especially Scott,whom he glaring a lot. But he didn't speak with him. Which,to him, way more concering than peaceful. He seemed to keep his eyes on him the whole game. Scott was not in a good mood and was not going to let the Russian ruin his day even more. His own team had already been down due to his attitude and the Boston were taking advantage of that. They lost. With a humiliating 5-1. He felt awful. For his team,for the crowd and for the game. He just wanted to go home,to his empty apartment and just be miserable.
He saw Rozanov tell Carter something. He didn't pay attention to it.
So,in the locker room,after a brief 'We'll get them next time' speech, he quietly changed. Carter had left a minute ago and came back with a haunted look on his face. Quietly,he turned to Scott and mutterd a quiet "Cap,they...uh...they want you."
Hunter way out of his head right now to understand what Vaughn was talking about.
"What?" But before he could add anything,another player-Bennett, he thinks- joined in from somewhere behind him. "Rozanov requested you for the winner's room." What the fuck.
The locker room got quiet. They all knew about the heinous 'tradition' that happend between the walls of hockey. No one ever did anything to stop it. It was a stupid thing hockey players did to rookies to feel more powerful. He knew the the rook was gonna use anything he had to his advantage as,when he didn't win ,he was the one on his knees for other players. So he understood the need to be at the other end of the stick.
But why would Rozanov want him?
Was this a powerplay move? Did Hollander tell him about their fight? He didn't understand why the Russian was so set on him all of a sudden,especially when he was the one that kept their secret for so long. Was that the reason? Because he happen to know? It didn't matter. But he was not gonna play into whatever game the man was setting up. Sure,if he only requested him because,out of the whole team,he was nicer to the rook,he could give him a quick escape while they both thought about other men. But deep down,he knew that wasn't the case. He was sure he was not there to suck him off while he thought about Shane and he thought about Kip.
He just needed to figure out what he was requested for.
He could feel eyes on him. He knew everyone heard what was said. He could feel the tension. Not because it was unheard of but because it was him that was chosen. Scott was never chosen. That was an un written rule. Hunter and Hollander. The league's golden guys. Hell,Hollander still picked since he was a rookie but usually he was too nice and people didn't go for him. That's what they were. Too sweet to be used foe such a perverted tradition. (Even if,somehow,both men loved to suck cock quite often) They were not suppost to get chosen. He wasn't supposed to get his mouth dirty. Not for any player. Especially for one that aready had a boyfriend that could give him that.
No one spoke when he stood up. Not when he grabbed his bag,not when he put his last piece of gear inside.
"Rozanov's an ass." Bennett muttered,giving Scott a pat on the back.
"That's for sure...Didn't think he stood that low though." Someone else added.
And that was why he loved his team. Because,unlike most NHL teams,they were united. Not assholes. Scott knew that because he knew them. Hell,he was gonna come out to them and he was sure they would accept him. Hockey aside,they were family.
There were a few nods and the room shifted from tense silence to an angry one. Eveyone hated Rozanov and his cocky attitude but Scott saw it was all a facade. So he was quite sure the Russian had ulterior motives.
He gave them a nod and said his quick goodbye before leaving.
He hasn't been in the winner's room for some time now. Since he was a rookie,maybe. The walls were white,no windows or paintings, the lights too bright. There was a bed and a few condoms on the nightstand in case things went south. The bed was uncomfortable and in the blinding light,it felt so cold it made Hunter's skin crawl. This couldn't look more like a hospital even if they tried.
The magazines remind him of his rookie season.The stupid porno ones that hockey players flipped through to not make to look in the eyes of the guy between their legs. He hated it. Rozanov was running late. Maybe to make him feel worse,maybe by accident. Scott didn't know which was worse.
He wanted Kip. In here,in the coldness of the room,alone,he wanted the only person he ever had.
The door opend.
So,instead of Kip,he got Rozanov.
"Ah,aready waiting for me?" He said, tone cold and mocking. When Scott stood up,to greet the man,he was cut off. "Why are you on bed,Hunter?" His russian was aready not making this easier for Scott but he could tell the tone was mocking,trying to humiliate. He could see the forced smile. He was angry at him.
"Rozanov." He began,unsure on how to approch this. His words didn't matter as the rook stepped closer.
"Get on your knees,old man." He spat at him,smirking as if to tell Scott "I make the rules now." Scott was not that stupid. He still towerd over him with a few centimetres and this was not gonna go how Ilya wanted it to go.
"Why did you call me here?" He asked,calm,unsure of what could trigger the man.
"Are you deaf? On.Your.Knees." Scott examined his face for a long second. "Tell me what im here for,Rozanov."
"Is this about Hollander?" Scott added when he saw he wasn't getting a response.
That seemed to be the wrong thing.
"Don't bring him up,Hunter. Get on your old knees."
Scott saw that the words didn’t land like certainty. More like panic dressed up as control.
Scott stayed still.
He could see it now—really see it. The way Ilya was holding himself too tight. The way his anger wasn’t clean, wasn’t confident. It was shaking at the edges.
The realisation made him want to trow up.
This wasn't control. It was fear. Fear of a stronger man who knew a sensitive secret about the other and who could very well use him and force him into his own trap.
Observing the tension on the younger man as he waited(hoped) for Scott to give in and without a better plan,the older man lowerd himself on his knees.
Rozanov's face lit up a bit. He fel safer,maybe. More in control. Or maybe he was doing this to try and silence Scott.
He sees the guy slowly approaching him. Trying to scare Hunter as if the man can't see through him like glass.
"You don't want this,kid." Hunter's says gently because he is aware of how unstable Ilya is.
“I’m the one in control here. I say what I want,da?” Ilya said, but it sounded like something he was trying to convince himself of.
Scott looked at him for a long second.
"Kid,you don't need to hide-" He gets cut off by a sharp laugh from the Russian. "I am not stupid,Hunter." He bits back.
"I didn't share your little secret,if thats what this is about." Scott bits back,harder then intended because he is getting tired of Rozanov's avoidance.
"Really? I think you like to share." He says with pure venom.
Scott is surprized because he can't understand what he could have done to get him so reeled up and-
"You,re starting to sound like him."
-it all clicks,because of course he messed up-that backhanded comment from his and Shane's fight suddenly makes its way back into his mind. The shock expression from the rook.
Of couse. Of course! Rozanov isn't mad because he saw them at the all-star-game. Hell, he isn't even man at him for fighting Shane. He is angry and scared because Scott,in a moment of stupidity,used something fragile that could end their careers, against Shane,in the open.
He was such an idiot.
"This is about what I said to Shane,isn't it?"
That gets a reaction.He opens his mouth to add to that,to clear the air but before he can get another word out,Rozanov moves to him, pulling his hair back to stop his words. The possibility of cruelty,maybe.
But,on his knees,with Ilya not having a lot of control and the memory of his own rookie season where he spend him time on his knees,on hard floors,it made him scared too.
Because,suddenly, he was not doing this.
Not to a rookie who clearly was willing to do anything to shut Hunter up.
And that was dangerous.
So Scott tries to de-escalate.
He slowly grabs the man's wrist, closing his hand around Ilya’s wrist—not forceful, just enough to interrupt the movement.
Ilya reacted immediately, tugging harder. He muttered something under his breath in Russian, voice tight, uneven. Not steady. Not controlled.
That was the problem. If Ilya kept leading this, it would spiral fast. Too fast.
So Scott made a decision.
He stood. Height should help.
Scott thinks that for about half a second. Then he regrets it.
"Let's just ca-FUCK!" The punch comes from nowhere. It's fast,aimed and makes Scott step back. It gives Ilya time to get to the door. It's locked. Scott can clearly tell Ilya forgot that the key was in his own pocket.
By this point,Scott has a good picture of what is happening. Ilya hadn’t come here thinking it through. He’d come here reacting,trying to shut something down before it could get out of control.
And now it was out of control. And it wasn't even Scott's fault. Not fully.
Knowing any reassuring words were out,he settled on the only thing that had a chance to calm him down.
"I'm gay." He mutterd.
The air stopped. Everything stopped. Ilya turned and stared,wide eyed. "What?"
"I only bit back at Shane because I had a fight with my...(his what? what was Kip at this point?)" ...my boyfriend." Ilya still didn't move. Not for a long moment. But,at some point,understanding shined in his eyes. He relaxed.
Oh.
Oh
"Gay...?" Ilya asked,so so quiet. Scott just nodded.
"Then...why?"
"I was upset and took it out on him. Didn't even mean to say it like that." He mutterd,shaking his head.
Rozanov didn't say anything else. He didn't ask about Kip,didn't ask how Scott got a lover or about why they had a fight. "Don't say it again,please." He heard quietly.
Scott smiled and nodded a bit. "Of course,kid."
He watched Rozanov find the key with unsteady hands.
For a second, it looked like he might say something else.
He didn’t.
The door opened.
Cold air from the hallway slipped in, cutting through the heat of the room. Ilya stepped out without another word. Scott stayed,for just another second. Not because that was the rule in the winner's room.
Because he was sure one day,the kid would come back to him.
And when the video leaked,Scott’s phone was the one that rang.