Work Text:
When Fabian Salah was 17, his family boarded the teen hockey prospect Ryan Price. At that time, Mr. Salah thought Ryan Price would be like "all the other obnoxious jocks." He was surprised when Mr. Price was quiet and introverted.
Mr. Salah already was musically inclined, and had a recital. To his surprise, Mr. Price attended. Mr. Salah was touched. But they were both teens, and life took them on different paths. Mr. Salah became a free-spirit with a budding music career, and Mr. Price became known as the enforcer on various hockey teams. He wasn't a star, and was traded often. He says he became lonely and withdrawn, and had a crippling fear of flying. He would read books on flights, especially his favorite, Anne of Green Gables. He says one teammate offered to watch a movie with him to ease his anxiety.
In 2018, Mr. Salah was living in Toronto with his roommates and Mr. Price was now traded to the Toronto Guardians. One night, Mr. Salah had a gig, and was shocked when his teenage friend Mr. Price showed up. Mr. Salah didn't even realize that Mr. Price was behind him when he made a snarky comment about dating a hockey player.
Deeply mortified, Mr. Salah and Mr. Price walked home to Mr. Price's apartment and reconnected. He did not go in, but he and Mr. Price did exchange phone numbers. Mr. Price says he was embarrassed to have anyone see his apartment as it didn't even have IKEA furniture.
One day, Mr. Price ran into Mr. Salah at a coffee shop. The chance encounter turned into a meal at a ramen place. They started dating after that. But it wasn't happily ever after ... yet. Mr. Price was still busy with his hockey career, and Mr. Salah had his burgeoning music career. Mr. Price was getting tired of hockey. He was injured frequently, often depressed, and constantly traded. It resulted in a big argument in which Mr. Salah expressed concerns about Mr. Price continuing in hockey.
That is when Mr. Price made a decision -- to walk away from hockey and to join Mr. Salah on his concert tours. Now his life is being "Fabian's biggest groupie." In the summers, he works in hockey clinics. He says he has no regrets.
Mr. Salah jokes that he's become a "groomzilla." For their wedding, he rented out Lighthouse, the gay bar where he and Mr. Price reconnected. The wedding is colorful and splashy, which reflects Mr. Salah's personality. Mr. Price says, "I just put on a suit and showed up when I was supposed to." Guests were encouraged to dress in bright, colorful clothing.
Mr. Salah's friends, including Canadian musical stars like Sarah McLaughlin and Weeknd, were in attendance. Mr. Price's family and some prominent hockey stars like married husbands Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander were also there.
For their first dance, they danced to "Love Story." "When the lyrics say 'We were both young when I first saw you/I close my eyes and the flashback starts.' That's basically our story," says Mr. Salah.