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“Okay, here's one.” Harris lifted his cider as he posed the question to the tipsy group. “Who would you pick, besides your partner, if you had to be with someone else at this table?”
The final day of the Game Changers Camp in Ottawa had wrapped for the week, and most of the coaches and their partners were sat around a couple tables pushed together at Monks, laughing and teasing and asking stupid questions.
“Romatically or sexually?” Scott asked.
Harris shrugged. “Either.”
“No, that's an important distinction." Kip said. Shane wondered if Kip would have a different answer for each or if he was just supporting his husband.
“Alright. Sexually.” Harris decided.
“Wait.” Kyle held up a hand, a slow smile spreading on his face. “Everyone points at the same time.”
“I like the way you think.” Harris said with a chuckle. “Okay, three… two… one.”
Scott and Eric pointed at each other. They exchanged shy smiles and subtle nods of understanding.
Their partners noticed and shared a delighted look. “We’re coming back to this.” Kyle said.
“No. We’re not.” Scott said firmly as his ears turned red and he struggled to suppress a smile.
Kyle was pointing at Kip and Kip was pointing at Ilya. Scott looked betrayed.
“What? He's funny.” Kip grinned. “And hot.”
Ilya sat up eagerly at the chance to annoy Scott through his burgeoning friendship with Kip, until Scott noticed Ilya's finger was pointing at him. Scott's eyes went wide with shock, a big grin split his face. Ilya dropped his hand immediately.
“Do not be too cocky, old man.” Ilya bristled. “Or I will steal your husband.”
Ryan Price pointed at Wyatt Hayes.
“Aw, man.” Wyatt elbowed his friend playfully. “I'm flattered.”
Ryan turned bright red and didn't say anything. He wasn't much for words, but Shane was still glad he'd finally agreed to come out with them. Fabian had a show in Toronto tonight, and Wyatt had convinced Ryan this would be more fun than sitting in his hotel room alone.
Wyatt, Bood, Harris, and Troy were all pointing at Shane.
“If Lisa was here she'd pick Shane too.” Wyatt said confidently. “We've talked about it.”
“Cassie would too.” Bood added.
“It’s all the Calvin Klein ads.” Harris explained.
“And the 1.09 game point average.” Troy signed dreamily.
It wasn’t like Shane didn’t know he was good-looking, and he knew he was a great fucking hockey player, but the Centaurs team was so… flattering. It was so different from the Metros that Shane had wondered for months after joining if Ilya had threatened them all into being nice to him.
Shane pointed his finger confidently over his shoulder, even as he saw Ilya roll his eyes.
“What's going on now?” Hayden asked as he returned from the bar and set the next round of drinks in the middle of the tables.
Harris caught him up. “We're saying who we would sleep with, if you had to pick someone here other than your partner.”
Hayden's hand landed immediately on Shane's shoulder and gave a protective squeeze. “I pick Shane. Did anyone else pick Shane yet?”
Bood laughed. “Get in line.”
Hayden's grip tightened slightly. Shane covered his hand with his own. “Don't worry, Hayd. I picked you too.”
Hayden relaxed completely and dropped into the chair next to Shane. “Oh, nice.” He gave Shane a fist bump. “I should get dips anyway. I knew you first.”
“Technically, I met Ilya first.” Shane said, much to everyone’s apparent shock.
“What? When?”
“World Juniors.”
“Oh,” Hayden settled back in his chair, a slightly disappointed frown on his face. “Yeah, that makes sense, I guess.”
Harris leaned in with a playful grin. “Yeah, but did you guys, you know… talk back then?”
“No.” Shane said firmly at the same time Ilya said “Yes.” They shared a look and Shane saw that menacing glint in Ilya’s eyes that he both loved and hated (but mostly loved).
“We just talked.” Shane clarified.
“Shane stalked me until he got brave enough to say hello.” Ilya looked so smug. Shane wanted to defend himself, but Ilya was technically right. Shane had been watching him all day, and studying tapes of his games even before that. “He shook my hand twice and told me I was great player.”
“Oh wow, that’s so cute.” Kip smiled at them. “Are all hockey players this bad at flirting?”
“I wasn’t stalking you.” Scott scoffed, before taking a moment to think about it, his brows scrunching together with concern. “Was I stalking you?”
Kip pat a reassuring hand on Scott’s thigh. “Yeah, but I liked it.” He turned to the rest of the group. “He basically just kept showing up until I made the first move.”
“Shane was worse.” Ilya said with a grin. “Was very cute though.”
“I was seventeen!” Shane didn't know Scott and Kip's whole story prior to The Kiss, but he assumed they met post their awkward teen years.
Kip laughed. “Scott was twenty-eight.”
Harris asked “So when did you two get together then?”
“Uh.” Shane had no idea how to handle that can of worms.
“Is complicated.” Ilya tried.
Kyle apparently had no qualms about being blunt. “Okay, so when did you first have sex?” Kip shot Kyle a look, but Kyle just shrugged it off. “What? It’s less complicated. They can give a simple answer.”
Shane could feel himself turning pink. Maybe it was the alcohol buzzing through his system or the table full of queer friends making him feel brave when he answered, “Just before rookie season.”
There were shocked faces all around the table.
Ilya looked surprised for a moment that Shane had answered at all, before his expression turned smug again. “Was at a CCM campaign. After we finished shooting.”
Troy sat up straighter. “I remember that campaign. I had that poster on my wall in high school.”
“Da, Barrett?” Ilya grinned. “You jerk off to it?”
Troy turned bright red as he folded his arms across his chest and mumbled a quiet “No.”
“Ilya definitely did.” Shane said flatly. Ilya barked a laugh.
“Moy lyubov, was a good memory.” Ilya snaked an arm around Shane's waist and pulled him closer. Shane squirmed but didn’t pull away when Ilya pressed a kiss to his neck. “Could not help myself.”
“So, Cap,” Wyatt started, “how did you finally land Shane motherfucking Hollander?”
“He jerked off next to me in the showers after the CCM shoot.” The words were out of Shane's mouth before he even thought to filter them. Ilya was a bad influence. The table erupted in chaos.
“Holy hell, Roz.”
“That worked!?”
“Cap’s got game.”
Ilya had a big grin on his face and his eyes sparkled with delight. “You were staring at me, Hollander. Practically begging for it.”
Shane flushed pink. Again, Ilya wasn't wrong. Not that Shane had any fucking clue what he was doing back then.
“Wait, wait, wait.” Wyatt held up a hand. “So, you’ve been together for… how many fucking years?
“Twelve years.” Eric supplied helpfully, doing the quick math for those of them who had consumed a bit too much alcohol.
Shane fumbled to explain. “We weren't, like, dating for most of that.”
“So when did you actually start dating?” Bood asked, placing his palms flat on the table and giving them a serious stare.
Shane and Ilya had been asked countless questions about their relationship since being outed last year. On advice of their agent and Shane's mother, they had mostly completely ignored them. Shane had just wanted to focus on hockey anyway.
But with the Centaurs, and with the Game Changers coaches, Shane found something he hadn't even realized he was missing with the Metros. A team that truly had his back. A safe space. Shane didn't really mind opening up here.
Plus, he was on his third beer.
“Twenty-seventeen.” Shane smiled at the memory of those fateful two weeks at his cottage.
“It took you seven years?” Wyatt gaped at them.
Eric chuckled. “Here I thought Kyle and I were slow to make things official.”
“What changed?” Harris asked.
“Scott came out.” Shane said plainly. He took Ilya's hand and threaded their fingers together. Shane didn't usually like PDA, but in that moment he couldn't squash the urge to touch his husband. “It changed everything for us.”
Shane saw a swell of awe and pride in Scott's eyes. “Really?” Scott asked.
Ilya shrugged nonchalantly like it wasn't a big deal, but Shane knew how much it meant to both of them. “Was brave. Most interesting thing you have ever done, Hunter.”
Scott elbowed him playfully. “Is that why you want to sleep with me?”
Ilya scoffed. “I am changing my answer. Bood and I would have a beautiful time together.” He threw a wink in Bood’s direction.
“Damn right, Cap.” Bood raised his glass in salute.
“You know,” Troy started, quiet and thoughtful as he looked at his boyfriend beside him. “I don’t think Harris and I would have gotten together either, if Scott hadn’t come out first.” Harris smiled warmly back at him. “It changed things for us too.”
“Thank you.” Scott said sincerely. “It means a lot to hear that.”
Eric clapped a steady hand on Scott’s shoulder. “You already know how much it meant to me too. Obviously, Kyle and I wouldn’t have even met without Kip, but,” He paused a moment to gather his thoughts. “I don’t know if I ever would have come out, if I hadn’t seen how much happier you were.”
There were real tears in Scott’s eyes now. “Ah, Benny.” He pulled his friend into a hug.
Shane saw Wyatt nudge Ryan, seemingly encouraging him to participate in the sweet moment.
“Oh,” Ryan cleared his throat. “I thought it was really cool too.”
There was scattered laughter from the table. Ryan scratched the back of his neck as his cheeks heated with embarrassment. “I mean, I was kind of already out, and Fabian and I were already, I mean, I think we would have found each other again no matter what, but it definitely made me braver.” Ryan looked down at the table. “That was a hard year for me, and seeing that, it kind of felt like we all won the Stanley Cup in a way.”
Scott sniffed and swiped the back of his hand against his eyes. “Wow, guys.” He let out a wet laugh. “Can we talk about something that won’t make me cry?”
Kip jumped to his rescue. “Ryan, did you say you and Fabian were already together? Before Scott came out?”
“Oh, no, not really. I billeted with his family when we were both seventeen.” Ryan explained. “We didn’t do anything back then, but I always liked him, and I guess the feeling was mutual.” Ryan said it like he still couldn’t believe it, as if he wasn’t talking about the man he was engaged to. It was sweet.
“Seventeen?” Ilya smiled softly. “Same as Shane and me. How long did it take you, Price?”
“I was only with Fabian’s family for a year. We didn’t see each other again until twenty-eighteen, so fourteen years, but after that it only took us maybe six months.” Ryan's lips quirked up in a shy smile. “Fabian says it was fate. I tend to agree.”
Everyone absorbed that sweet sentiment for a moment, then Kip asked “Who do we think was the fastest to get together?”
Kyle groaned and rolled his eyes fondly as if Kip were about to tell a story he’d heard a million times. “I know it’s you.” He turned to the rest of the group. “They said I love you after like three weeks. Kip basically moved in after their second date.”
Kip’s smile was surprisingly sad, “We moved fast at first but it took us a while to really get there. We were basically a mess right until the Stanley Cup.”
“You’re looking at a table of messy relationships, I’m sure.” Kyle comforted him. “Eric and I were both pretending for nearly a year that we could hook up with no feelings. Took us way too long to admit we were in love."
Eric's hand landed on Kyle's thigh. “We got there.” He smiled and added “I love you.”
Kyle smiled warmly back, his fondness for the other man written clearly all over his face. “I love you too.”
Shane turned away from the gooey display of affection looking for a distraction. “Troy, what about you and Harris?” Shane knew they had been quick but he wasn't sure on the exact timeline.
“I got traded to Ottawa in November.” Troy said, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “Harris took me on our first real date during All-Star weekend. We've been together ever since.”
Eric blew out a whistle. “Three months. Impressive.”
Harris took Troy's hand. “Almost dying in a plane crash together probably sped things up.”
Everyone who was on the plane that day, as well as Shane and Ryan, tensed. “I proposed to Ilya the minute he got home.” Shane confessed. “It put everything in perspective.”
Ilya looked at Shane with so much love, Shane thought he may just kiss him in front of all their coworkers. Or maybe bend him over the table.
Instead, Ilya lifted their joint hands and brushed his lips against Shane's knuckles. “Ya tebya lyublyu.” He said quietly.
“Ya tebya lyublyu.” Shane repeated back.
Ilya blinked a few times and turned back to Scott. “So, plane crash helped us just as much as Hunter kissing his boyfriend.” Ilya ruffled a hand through Scott's hair and Scott swatted him away. “You tried your best, Hunter, we still appreciate.”