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Scott laced up his skates, balancing one foot on the rubber part of the bench he sat on. His hands trembled on the laces, the cold air of the rink biting at his fingers. He placed his foot back on the ground, pulling on his helmet and standing up. He put on his gloves as set out to the rink.
As Scott unlocked the door in the boards and stepped out onto the ice, he noticed the only other kid skating alone. The boy was skating on the opposite side of the rink, or attempting to at least.
When Scott skated closer, he noticed how the boy was gripping the boards so tight that it made his knuckles turn white. The younger boy was moving his legs with weak force, his knees wobbly with each push.
“Hey, there.”
Scott came to a stop beside the other boy. He looked up at Scott, his big dark eyes looking up at him. There was a noticeable height difference between the two, Scott assumed that the boy was a couple years younger than him.
“Uh, hello.” The boy spoke, it was practically a whisper. His hands shook slightly as he gripped the boards harder.
“Would you like some help?” Scott skated backwards, holding out his gloved hand towards the boy. “My name’s Scott by the way. Scott Hunter.” He tried his best to put a small smile on his face, he didn’t want to seem mean or intimidating.
The boy looked at him with a shine in his eyes, reaching out slowly as he grabbed ahold of Scotts hand, his fingers wrapping around the thick foam of the glove.
“I’m Kip.” His other hand grabbed onto Scott’s. He could practically feel Kip’s small body shaking as Scott switched his hands around so that he was tightly gripping the boy’s hand.
“That’s a cool name.” The boy looked at his feet, his eyes tracing the lines creating by the skate blades on the ice. “It’s a nickname.” The boy mumbled, gripping Scott’s hand even tighter.
“Nice. Have you ever skated before?”
Kip shook his head, then looked up at Scott with those bright eyes. “You’re so good at skating. You even have a cool helmet.” Kip pointed at Scott’s head, the helmet that was red and black with tiny white stripes, matching his team colours.
“Thanks. I play hockey.”
Kip’s mouth hung slightly open, he continued looking up at Scott as a smile forced on his face. “Really? That’s so cool!” Scott skated forwards, watching Kip try to push his feet forward.
“Yeah, I’ve been playing since I was five.” Scott turned the corner on the ice, helping Kip go in the same direction as him. “Five? That’s a long time. How old are you?” Kip held his right arm in front of him to regain his balance.
“I’m twelve.” He replied, skating closer towards the boards so that Kip could grab onto them. “Wow! I’m only nine right now. I turn ten soon though. On March ninth!”
Scott smiled at the boy’s oversharing. Then again, who wouldn’t smile at the smaller boy with the red flushed cheeks and messy dark hair.
“That’s very soon. Are you excited?” Scott had asked, skating forward once again and letting them dissolve into a slow glide along the outer edge of the ice. “I’m very excited, I really want to get new art supplies for my birthday because I–“
Kip had been cut off by a man standing near the bench. He had his forearms leaning on the boards as he looked out at Kip and Scott. “Hey, bud. You look like you’re having fun but we really have to go now because your mom should be starting dinner soon.”
The younger boy had made a pouting face at who Scott assumed to be his dad. “I know, we can come back another day, okay?” Kip’s dad said with a smile, opening the door that led into the bench. “Alright, dad.” He replied with a smile, looking back at Scott.
“Thanks so much for showing me how to skate!”
He squeezed Scott’s hand tightly, he could feel it through the padding of his glove. “Of course. It was nice meeting you.” He replied, a small smile on his face that faded as the younger boy let go of his hand. “I’ll come back in a few days!” Kip leaned forward over the boards once he had stepped off, looking directly at Scott. “I hope you’ll be here!”
“Of course I’ll be here.”
Kip started to follow his dad towards the lobby, looking back at Scott one last time. “Bye! See you soon Scott!” He waved his hand happily, waiting until the older boy had waved back to finally turn the corner.
——
Scott sat on the couch in the lobby, the duffel bag with his skates and gloves was near his feet. He kicked the bag every time he swung his right foot, making it shift slightly.
The neon electric clock on the wall displayed a time that was way after when his parents were supposed to pick him up. He could see the lady that was working at the front desk giving him pitied looks.
The minutes seemed to slowly tick by as he twirled his thumbs in his lap, waiting patiently as everyone else around him seemed to leave and continue on with their days.
It wasn’t until the time of 3:47pm that someone had approached Scott and knelt down in front of him. “Hello.” Scott looked up at the police officer, he had black hair and his eyes were shaded by the dark sunglasses he wore to cover them.
The officer behind him, a younger woman with a blonde ponytail had a slightly saddened look on her face, as though she was going to deliver some bad news. “Hi.” Scott said quietly, looking down at his shoes.
“I’m officer Mitchell. Your name is Scott Hunter, is that correct?” Scott nodded instead of replying, his parents always said that it was important to answer people like police officers. The officer sighed, switching his position to kneel down on both knees before looking back up at Scott.
“I’m so sorry, kid. There is no easy way to say this.”
The sound of Scott’s tears and the giant pit he felt grow in his stomach barely allowed him to hear what had happened to his parents.
——
It had taken Scott three years to step foot on a rink again. He had not gone even though he had promised Kip that he would be back. Scott got his whole normal life taken away from him that evening after meeting him and he couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to be on the ice again after all of that.
Still, at fifteen years old, Scott stood on the rink one again. Only this time he was in full gear and warming up next to the rest of his high school hockey team.
He wasn’t allowed to play for a U16 hockey team outside of his school due to being bounced around from foster home to foster home every few months or sometimes even weeks.
The only place he truly belonged was on the ice, proudly wearing his jersey with the big C displayed above his heart and the last name Hunter across his back.
He knew that no one in the arena would be watching him specifically, he had no close family. Though, when he heard the claps and cheers from the audience after one of their many big wins, he seemed to be beaming with pride and love for the game.
Tonight was the championship game, they were playing against the best school in their city. The opposing team was called the Daggers, blazing red jerseys with their matching black taped sticks really made them live up to their name.
Scott shot at the goalie in his net, hitting the crossbar and watching as the puck fell into the goal after being deflected off of the metal.
He only wanted to score three goals in tonight’s game. One goal for his mom. One goal for his dad.
And one goal for everything he had lost.
——
After an uneasy first two periods, the score shown on the screen was 5-5, a tied score. Whichever team got the next goal was almost guaranteed a win. The gold metal. There was about two minutes left in the game, Scott kept a mental timer running in his brain despite the time clearly being displayed in many locations.
Scott had scored two of their goals that night. Two of the three that he needed himself to get. He wanted the final goal to be straight in. Scott needed to see the swish of the net as the puck hit the back, no assists just the force from his stick.
His alternate captain came up on the opposite side of the rink, giving a clean pass to Scott. The puck was on his stick, he could almost feel the presence of the defensemen skating up behind him, a perfect breakaway towards the opposing net.
The noise of the roaring crowd seemed to fade into a blur, the colours of family and friends wearing their bright blue jerseys seemed to completely disappear. The only thing that Scott could see was the net and the goalie that blocked it.
He looked at the net until he found a fault in the goalie, he noticed that almost all goals scored in the top right corner of the net seemed to go in. A soft spot in the goalie’s basically perfect skills.
Scott took a deep breath, firing the puck at the net.
——
Kip stood at the top of the arena, his wired headphones mostly blocked out the loud sounds of screaming and cheering from the fans.
He shoved his hands into the pocket of his hoodie, watching as Shawn got closer to the stairs leading down to the arena seating. “Why are we even here?” Kip asked dramatically, rolling his eyes at his friend who was watching the players with a grin on his face.
Kip had absolutely zero interest in hockey.
“Because hockey players are hot.” Shawn deadpanned, watching as Kip grimaced at him. Elena walked up behind Shawn, looking like she wanted to push him down the stairs. “And because as freshman, we should be supporting our school!” She added. Shawn pointed to the school’s logo on his hoodie with a grin. “We can support them by showing up to class.” Kip grumbled, as him and Elena followed Shawn to their seats.
The seats around them were packed with people sitting way too close for Kip’s liking, the sounds of people stomping their feet and cheering could no longer be blocked out.
Shawn had all his focus on the ice, or well, the bench beside the ice where all the players sat and Elena was mindlessly scrolling her phone. Kip turned his attention to the players on the rink, how the puck was passed around with ease by boys in blue jerseys until it reached the guy at the opposing team’s side of the rink.
The player seemed to speed past everyone once he had the puck, no one blocking him beside the goalie to give him an easier time at scoring. The players on the other team tried to sweep the puck away but they just weren’t quick enough.
The guy in the blue jersey fired the puck into the net, a clear goal that went right past the goalie. The loud buzzers sounded overhead and the large screen on the jumbotron zoomed in onto the celebrating players. The audience erupted it cheers, families and student throwing their popcorn around and hugging one another.
Kip thought it was all a big overreaction to a high school hockey team winning a game.
The jumbotron focused on the player who had scored, he took off his helmet, revealing his light blond hair that was drenched with sweat. The guy turned around, putting his back to the camera and showing off the last name displayed on his jersey.
Kip squinted as he read the name. Hunter. He had seen that before but he just couldn’t put his finger on it. He was snapped back into reality when Shawn elbowed him in the side. “Scott Hunter is pretty hot, isn’t he?” Shawn said with a smirk, pulling his arm around Kip’s shoulder.
“Oh relax dude.” Elena sighed, shutting off her phone and putting it into her purse. “He’s almost definitely straight.” Shawn stuck his tongue out, flashing her the middle finger before looking back out at the ice.
Scott Hunter, Kip repeated in his mind, where had he heard that name before.
“Come on, they already won. We can leave now and go somewhere that’s actually fun.” Elena tugged on Kip’s sleeve, pulling him up and out of his seat. “Yeah, you can pay for dinner, right Elena?” Shawn asked teasingly as they walked up the concrete steps. “In your dreams.” She muttered, rolling her eyes at him.
When they got to the top of the stairs, Kip looked back towards the jumbotron. There was an older guy talking to the same player that scored the goal. Scott Hunter. The man, Kip assumed he was an interviewer, asked Scott Hunter a question, earning a small smile from the guy.
Kip froze at the sight. He would’ve recognized that smile anywhere. It was the same smile of the boy who skated around the rink with him all those years ago.
The boy who introduced himself as Scott Hunter.
The boy he never saw again.
——
Scott slung his heavy bag full of gear over his shoulder, making his way out of the dressing room and into the crowded hallway. Players from his team stood with their family, showing off their flashy gold metals to parents with proud smiles.
He tried to ignore the aching feeling in his chest as he watched, continuing down the hallway alone. Just like after every game. At the end of the hallway, a man who looked to be in his mid-40s was sitting on a bench. He looked up at Scott as he exited the hallway.
“Mr. Hunter.”
The man got up and stuck out his hand towards Scott, expecting him to shake it. Scott shuttered at the name, people had only referred to his dad as ‘Mr. Hunter’.
“Hello. And Scott is fine, thanks.” He put on a fake smile, offering the man his hand that wasn’t occupied with the bag of gear. “May I ask if you need something from me or one of my teammates?” Scott questioned as the man sat back down, gesturing for Scott to sit next to him.
“Have you ever heard of the New York Admirals?”
Of course Scott had heard of them. They were currently one of the best teams in the MLH that every kid who played hockey in New York dreamed of someday being on. He decided to respond with simple answer. “Yes.”
“I am Will Brettman, a scout for the youth training schools leading into the Admirals drafting picks. These trainings are for people in your age group from across the country.”
Scott’s breath hitched at the mention of the man being a scout, he had never actually talked to one before.
“I’ve been watching how you play, Scott. You’re different from the rest of the kids on that ice. You all have a clear passion for the game but I can see the fire in your eyes when it’s time for your shift on the ice. The drive and determination that’s far higher than your peers.”
He had to swallow the lump in his throat before responding to Mr. Brettman, it had been so long since he was praised like this. Since someone had truly noticed just him. “Do you have any interest in joining these trainings? I feel that you will be a very competitive candidate once you reach the correct age to play.”
“I- Yes, of course.” Scott took a deep breath to steady himself before continuing. “I would be honoured to join. Thank you for the opportunity.” He got a warm smile from Mr. Brettman as the man began to stand.
“That’s all I was here for today. Thank you for your time Scott. You will receive an email with all the details and what things will look like for you soon.”
Scott smiled, a genuine one that almost reached his eyes. “Thank you again for the opportunity, I will be looking forward to hearing from you.” He tried to be as professional as possible but the idea of fame made him shake with excitement.
“Of course.” Mr. Brettman was gone with a wave, leaving Scott alone again in the lobby. He pulled out his phone and ordered the closest ride he could find, watching players leave the rink to drive home and celebrate the win with their families.
——
It had been a slow day at the Straw+Berry, only a few customers had come and gone this morning. Maria had gone to stock more items into the back freezer after she realized that Kip was in no mood to chat.
Kip knew that he had drank way too much last night, the splitting headache he currently had was just one of the effects of the long night.
He had finally decided to go out to the club again after what felt like a decade of opening shifts that made him get up before the sun rose.
Shawn had been ecstatic about Kip being there, ordering the two of them way more drinks than they should have. Kip wasn’t even sure how much he had tipped the hot, blond bartender. Shawn said that his name was Kyle. Kip had told him that he had to introduce the two of them next time.
The counter Kip was leaning his head on was cold. He put his arm over his eyes and leaned back on the countertop. There were no customers here to order and plus, he was still here at the counter.
He closed his eyes, slowly drifting off to the sound of white noise produced by the small fan on the other side of the shop. At least he could gain back some of the hours of sleep he missed out on.
It was Shawn’s fault that they hadn’t gotten back until 3:00am, the two of them stumbling into Shawn’s apartment after Kyle had told them that they were too drunk to safely get home. Man, he was nice.
Kip felt himself at the bridge of falling asleep at work until the customer clearing his throat startled him awake. He shot back in his chair, getting a clear view of the man in front of him.
“I’m so sorry!” Kip quickly apologized, fixing his baseball cap and smoothing out the wrinkles in his apron. “How may I help you?” He put on a slightly forced smile.
“No, you’re all good.” The man replied, looking at Kip in the eyes and giving a smile of his own. Kip’s breath caught, trying to avert his gaze away from the extremely attractive stranger in front of him. He hoped that he wasn’t being too obvious.
The man was tall and his abs were very obvious through the workout shirt he was wearing. He had blond hair that was pushed back from sweat and these warm blue eyes. Kip swore that he recognized that slight smile from somewhere, he just couldn’t figure out where.
Kip stood up from the stool he was sitting on, the other man was still taller than him. “What do you recommend…” The blond man trailed off, glancing down at Kip’s name tag. “Kip?” He finally finished, his small smile completely draining off of his face.
He looked closer at the man’s face on the other side of the counter, the way his mouth slightly hung open in shock. The memories from all those years ago, one of the last times he had stepped on the ice came flooding back to him. The boy who tightly held his hand and stopped him from falling.
“Scott?”
——
He hadn’t ment to come into any shops on his run. It was supposed to be something quick in the early morning before he had to rush off to more conferences and whatever else they wanted him to do.
The sight of the Straw+Berry had caught Scott’s eye, he wasn’t really sure why he had bothered going in. Though, the sight of the soundly sleeping worker with the dark hair made him even more intrigued.
Now, the man was standing in front of him. Kip. The young boy from all those years ago. Scott hadn’t seen him since he was twelve years old.
Scott could see the realization dawning on Kip’s face as he looked him up and down. “Scott?” He questioned with a shocked laugh, though he wasn’t smiling.
“Holy shit.”
Scott swallowed the sudden lump in his throat, forcing himself to talk. “It’s been awhile, huh? I still remember that day so clearly.” Scott said awkwardly, still looking at Kip.
“Yeah, you just disappeared.” Kip was looking down at the counter, Scott could tell that he seemed slightly nervous. “It’s a long story, I’m sorry.” He apologized, though he wasn’t quite sure why. Scott wasn’t the type of person to strike up a conversation with someone like this, he should’ve never came here.
Kip was silent for a moment, Scott looked up at him to see a smile forming on the man’s face, showing off his dimples. He glanced around the empty shop before replying to Scott. “Would you like to talk about it?”
Scott nodded, finally letting himself fully smile.
——
Scott’s thumb lightly rubbed the soft skin on the back of Kip’s hand. He had his head resting on the crook of Scott’s neck, his dark hair freshly wet from the shower.
Scott was wearing red flannel pyjama pants, matching with the ones that Kip had on. He had previously been wearing a white t-shirt but Kip complained that he was cold, and who was Scott to refuse his boyfriend.
Kip now wore Scott’s shirt, it was baggy and the material hung too loose on him but he didn’t care. He shifted his head to look up at Scott. “Do you remember your last high school hockey game?” He asked, pulling his arm around the blond man. “Before you started youth training for the NHL?”
He smiled at the memory, holding up the trophy with his teammates and getting that gold medal draped around his neck. The cheering audience even though no one was there for him, besides the scout of course. “Yeah, I wouldn’t forget it.” Scott intertwined his fingers with Kip’s squeezing his hand. “Why do you ask?”
“I was there, you know?” Scott froze, his grip on Kip’s hand slightly loosening. “Huh? Seriously?” He looked down at his boyfriend, shocked at his words. “Yeah, it was my freshman year. Shawn wanted to see all of the hot hockey players.” He laughed, that sounded like something Kip’s friend would have said, even if it was way back then. “I had no idea.”
“We went to the same high school, that seems so crazy.” Kip smiled, pressing his forehead into Scott’s neck. “And I do agree with Shawn about the hot hockey players.”
Scott brought his other hand up to Kip’s head, running his fingers through his dark hair. “You talking about me?” He smirked, kissing the wet strands of hair that fell into Kip’s eyes. “No, the other hot blond guy on the team.” He rolled his eyes at Scott, did he even need to ask that. “Oh, fuck you, Grady.”
Kip pulled himself off of his boyfriend, looking him in the eyes with a cheeky expression. “Don’t mind if you do.” Scott grinned right back.