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“As we all know, the last team-building trip wasn’t exactly a success.” Wyatt spoke from his locker as he peeled off the last of his gear. Around him, the Centaurs slowly filtered into the locker room after another win. The season was in full swing, and with games coming one after another, there hadn’t been much time for anything outside hockey.
“Understatement of the year,” Troy muttered under his breath as he laced up his sneakers.
“That being said,” Wyatt continued, choosing to ignore him, “I think we deserve a do-over.”
“Vegas?” Ilya’s voice echoed from the showers as he poked his head through the curtain, damp curls dripping water onto the tiles.
Before anyone could answer, Shane reached out, grabbed him by the shoulder, and promptly pulled him back into the shower room.
“Absolutely not,” Shane called instead, sticking only his own head back out to glare at the room.
“Booooring,” Ilya sang dramatically, laughing to himself as the water started running again.
“We could go skiing?” Luca’s suggestion made the room go quiet for a second as players exchanged glances, quietly weighing the idea.
“I mean…” Bood shrugged from his locker. “That actually doesn’t sound half bad.”
“Speak for yourself,” Wyatt protested and closed his locker. “I’ve never skied before.”
Troy snorted. “Well, bud… ski school exists for a reason.”
“So it’s just me and a bunch of six-year-olds sliding down a microscopic hill?” Wyatt looked genuinely horrified by the mental image.
“I’ve never skied either, Hazy.” Ilya added as wandered out of the showers with nothing but a towel around his hips.
“We can embarrass ourselves together.” He grinned.
“And everyone knows you only go skiing for the after ski anyway.”
Shane followed him out, already looking offended.
“People absolutely do not.” He shot Ilya an incredulous look. “I actually enjoy skiing.”
“Ah yes.” Ilya nodded solemnly. “My boring husband. Such a good Canadian.”
The glare Shane gave him could’ve frozen the room. “You are so sleeping on the couch.”
And just like that…
It was decided.
The Centaurs were going skiing.
———————
“Hazy! My fellow ski school student!”
Ilya waved enthusiastically as Wyatt made his way toward the cabins.
Shane and Ilya had arrived a day early to the resort to make sure everything was ready. Conveniently, Shane ha’d also had a photoshoot nearby, so it had worked out perfectly!
Wyatt looked significantly less enthusiastic. “You’re awfully cheerful for someone who’s about to join the kids…”
He pointed toward the beginner area. Specifically toward the group of children happily following an instructor around the bunny hill.
“Only because I’m naturally gifted at everything,” Ilya declared confidently.
“I’ll be on the real slopes in no time.”
“Cocky bastard.” Shane didn’t even bother looking up from the mug of tea warming his hands by the fireplace.
“I give it an hour.” Ilya proclaimed
———————
By evening, everyone had arrived.
The cabin buzzed with conversation as teammates settled in with mugs of hot cider Harris had thoughtfully brought along.
“I never would’ve pegged you as a skier, Barret,” Bood admitted after Troy mentioned how excited he was to finally get back on the mountain.
“My family went every winter when I was growing up.”
“Then maybe you should teach Cap and Hazy.” Bood grinned. “God have mercy on whatever ski instructor gets stuck with those two.”
“That could actually be fun,” Dykstra added, a mischievous smile spreading across his face.
“What do you mean?”
“Well… if you’re coaching him, you’d finally get to boss him around.”
Troy’s grin slowly grew.
“You know… make him pay for all those extra skating drills.” Dykstra muttered and glared in the direction of their captain.
“He kinda deserves it,” Bood agreed.
“You make one joke about your captain carrying his dog around in a pink Chanel bag and suddenly you’re doing backwards skating drills until your legs fall off!” Dykstra grumbled still sending his captain mean glances
Across the room, Ilya remained blissfully unaware.
“I personally think it’ll be punishment enough watching him try to survive ski school with a bunch of six-year-olds.” Troy finalised when Harris sat down next to him handing him a cup of cider.
“You’re no fun, Barret.”
———————
“Rozzy!”
“What?”
Wyatt sighed while halfway through clipping his boots into his skis. “Do these look right?”
Ilya barely glanced down before turning back toward the slope where the rest of the team carved effortlessly through the snow.
“Looks fine to me.”
“…You didn’t even look.”
“I absolutely did.”
“You looked for half a second.”
“They’re skis. There’s only so many ways they can go.”
The first lesson went about as well as he’d expected. He’d fallen more times than he cared to count, but to his immense satisfaction…
Ilya wasn’t doing much better. In fact, somehow, their captain was worse.
“No, Tilly,” Ilya argued, pointing dramatically at the tiny girl standing beside him. “I do not need you to show me stupid balance trick again.”
Tilly—who couldn’t have been older than ten—looked at him with a despondent look only a child could manage. She’d mastered the bunny hill in under an hour. Ilya, meanwhile, had somehow managed to fall over while standing still.
“Roz,” Wyatt said, trying very hard not to laugh. “It’s okay, you can’t be good at everything.”
“Shut it, Hazy.” Ilya crossed his arms. “The skis are broken.”
“They’re definitely not.” Wyatt snickered.
“They hate me.” Ilya concluded. With that, he unclipped his skis, dropped them dramatically into the snow, and stomped back toward the cabin.
Wyatt watched him leave. Then quietly collected both his own equipment… And Ilya’s.
“Drama queen.” He mumbled before following him back
———————
The next few days followed much the same pattern.
Wyatt steadily improved until he could comfortably link turns and make it down the beginner runs without falling.
Ilya…Improved…..Technically. Just not nearly as quickly as he’d expected.
Today, though, their instructor had finally decided they were ready to tackle their first proper beginner run.
“Remember everything we’ve worked on,” the instructor reminded them as they stepped off the chairlift. “And most importantly… have fun!”
Wyatt pulled his goggles down. “You ready, Roz?”
Ilya stared down the run. It suddenly looked much steeper than it had from below.
“…Mhm.”
Then they pushed off and the first thirty seconds… Everything actually went surprisingly well!
Wyatt found a rhythm he’d never managed before, the cold air rushed past him, snow sprayed beneath his skis.
For the first time all week…He got it!
…Then he heard shouting behind him.
“Hazy!”
Wyatt glanced over his shoulder only to see Ilya was coming down the hill far too fast for his own liking. His skis were pointing in two completely different directions, his poles flailing wildly as he fought for control.
“Hazy, MOVE!”
“Oh, for Christ’s sa—” Too late.
Roughly two hundred pounds of panicked Russian slammed directly into him.
The collision sent both of them tumbling down the slope in a spectacular tangle of skis, poles, helmets, and limbs.
Snow exploded around them and by the time they finally stopped sliding… It was impossible to tell where Wyatt ended and Ilya began.
At the bottom of the run, the rest of the Centaurs had been waiting to congratulate them on surviving their first proper slope, instead, they all took off running.
Shane reached the pile first. “Oh shit…” he yelled as he immediately dropped to his knees, brushing snow away until he found Ilya’s face covered in powdery snow.
“You guys alright?”
“I… think so.” Ilya blinked several times before slowly sitting up.
“Speak for yourself,” came Wyatt’s pained groan from somewhere underneath Ilya.
“I hope that was a soft landing for you, Roz…” He coughed as he finally wriggled free, clutching his abdomen as he struggled to cya h his breath.
“I think…” He winched
“…I think you broke one of my ribs.”
———————
Several hours spend in an emergency room, it turned out Ilya hadn’t broken one of Wyatt’s ribs.
…He’d broken two, and a concussion on top.
Back at the cabin, a heavy silence settled over the group.
Luca looked around the room.
“So…” He cleared his throat.
“…skiing is off the list of future team-building activities too”