Chapter Text
Selyse was not a fan of hockey. She hated the loud noises as pucks hit the boards, the rowdy fans, the uncomfortable seats and the unholy stench of used hockey equipment. It was often a problem, as her husband did play ice hockey for a living, and Selyse couldn’t very well not support him.
The smell was usually the least of these problems, though. Stannis knew not to bring his equipment into the living space, and it was very rare for Selyse to interact with Stannis while he had his gear on.
Today was different. Stannis and she had created for themselves a shared weakness, and now the weakness was seven years old and wanted to see her father play. Stannis had already left for practice, and Shireen – the weakness – could not let it go. She wanted to make a big sign and go surprise him.
“I’m not sure what materials we have, Shireen.” She was fishing for an excuse and felt embarrassed. She could almost hear the pucks hitting the boards. She felt a headache coming.
“If I find some, will you help me make it?” Shireen pleaded. “And can we go surprise daddy at practice?”
Shireen was a humble, sweet girl. She had been permanently scarred by an infection as an infant, and people in their ignorance would stare at her, even recoil from her. As if that hadn’t been unfair enough, she had inherited Stannis’ strong jaw and Selyse’s protruding ears. At times Selyse would have liked to apologize.
“Alright.” Shireen had been quite well-behaved recently. She deserved a fun day out. With her square face and big, blue eyes and her persistent, silent plea to be loved.
Shireen whooped with joy and ran upstairs. Selyse could hear her rummaging in her room, looking for the materials. It was entirely too easy for Shireen to bend them both to her will. And without even trying too hard.
....
“Is this correct, mommy?”
Selyse looked at Shireen’s sign. She had drawn her father in his black and gold jersey, looking uncharacteristically happy. Next to the drawing was a big yellow number 81, and under everything, with Shireen’s careful handwriting, the word “daddy”. It was a touching little sign.
“It seems to be. Your father will like it.”
Shireen smiled radiantly. She did have a lovely smile, which Selyse was glad for. “Can we go now?”
They would have to, Selyse knew, or else the practice would be over before they got there. She nodded, suppressing a sigh. “Get your hat. I’ll bring the sign.”
....
Shireen sprinted up to the boards and stood on her toes to see on the ice. Daddy and his teammates were still practicing. Some of them had white jerseys on, others had the black ones. One had a red jersey, and Shireen knew it meant he was recovering from an injury. They didn’t have their numbers while they practiced, but Shireen knew her father had the blackest beard and the handsomest face. She was looking for daddy, when mommy caught up with her. She set down a crate for Shireen to stand on and helped her hold the sign up.
“Do you see him?” Shireen asked.
“Yes. He is over there with uncle Andrew.”
Uncle Andrew played goalie. He looked a little like an old-timey knight in his big pads and scary helmet. Shireen thought the goalies were the bravest as well, protecting the net from the pucks. Uncle Andrew seemed to be on a break; he had lifted his helmet and was now talking with daddy, gesturing towards the rest of the team. Daddy was leaning on his stick and nodded from time to time.
“What is he doing?” Shireen asked, and mommy shrugged.
“I think he’s talking about defense. You know daddy’s job is to help the goalie defend the net.”
“I’d like to see him score.”
“Well, you can watch Rolland Storm score, or Justin Massey.” Mommy nodded towards the other end of the rink, where the other goalie was blocking shots. Shireen wasn’t interested in seeing Rolland Storm or Justin Massey score. She was interested in seeing daddy score. She checked her sign. Daddy should notice it, if he just happened to look a little to the right.
Uncle Andrew put his helmet back on, and daddy skated over to center ice. He took a puck, gathered up some speed and slammed his stick into the puck. Shireen gasped excitedly, but uncle Andrew stopped the puck with his blocker.
“Oh no”, Shireen sighed.
Daddy skated to the center ice again, and now he spotted Shireen’s sign. He looked surprised. Then he noticed Shireen and skated over. He tapped on the glass with his glove.
“We came to surprise you, daddy!” Shireen shouted.
“I am surprised!”
“Oh, that’s good!” Shireen said. “Do you like my sign?”
“Yes, it’s nice”, daddy nodded. “We’ll finish up soon, would you like to meet the team?”
Shireen gasped. “Yes!” She looked over at mommy, who smiled like she did when she was tired.
“We would love to”, mommy said.
“Here”, daddy said, picked the puck up and tossed it over the glass. Mommy caught it from mid-air and handed it to Shireen. It was cold and wet and heavy. Daddy tapped the glass with his stick and slid away. Shireen pressed the puck against her cheek, the one with the scars that kinda looked cool. Her friend Devan had said so. Devan played hockey, too. He was even a defenseman like daddy.
“Mommy, could I play hockey?”
Mommy adjusted Shireen’s hat and hair. She didn’t answer, so Shireen repeated the question.
“It’s a tough sport, sweetie. Do you remember when daddy got hurt playing?”
“I would be careful. Please, mommy, I just want to try, and I already know how to skate!”
“We’ll think about it”, mommy said. She would talk with daddy about it, then. Shireen turned to watch him again. He and his teammates gathered in the middle of the rink and started stretching. They would be done soon. Shireen jumped off the crate she’d been standing on.
“Do you think they’ll let me skate? If I ask nicely? Do you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
Shireen grabbed her mother’s hand. “They might have skates for you too! We could all skate together!”
“I can’t skate.”
“Daddy can teach you!”
Mommy laughed a little then. She patted Shireen’s head. “I don’t think he’ll have a thought to spare to me, once you get those blades on.”
“So I can play?”
“You can skate, if daddy skates with you”, mommy promised. She took Shireen near the players’ bench and entrance. Some players were already leaving and giving spectators fist bumps. Shireen stuck her fist out like the others. One player touched it with his glove and smiled at her.
“Oh, it’s Stannis’ kid! Hi!”
“Hello”, Shireen said politely.
“Come with us, Selyse, he’ll be here soon”, the man said, reaching up to help them step down.
Mommy said thank you with her tired voice.
....
Stannis found his family in the hallway, waiting for him. Shireen let out an excited yelp and ran towards him. Stannis picked her up and saw Selyse cringe as the girl wrapped her tiny arms around his neck. Stannis cringed back in solidarity.
“Careful, I’m all sweaty”, Stannis said and set Shireen down.
“I don’t mind. Did you have fun, daddy?”
“Yes, it was a good practice”, Stannis nodded. “Do you want to come in?”
Shireen slipped her hand into his. “You are so tall with your skates on”, she observed, as Stannis led her to the dressing room. The guys were already getting changed, but stopped as Shireen and Selyse stepped in. Stannis introduced everyone to Shireen, who had seen the guys before, but been too young to remember them anymore. Some new players gave her face curious looks. Luckily, though, nobody made any comments.
Andrew Estermont still had his pads on, as he bent down to smile at Shireen. “Hello, Shireen. I wonder if you remember me?”
“Yes. You are uncle Andrew”, Shireen said shyly, half-hidden behind Stannis’ shins. “I - I like your mask.”
“Thank you, I like it too!” Andrew took his mask from the self and held it up so Shireen could take a closer look. I had a turtle motif, and the turtle’s shell was made of bricks. It was a clever design, Stannis admitted.
“Why does it have a turtle on it?” Shireen asked.
“It’s an important symbol for my family”, Andrew smiled. “And when I came to the team, the boys called me a turtle. I was so skinny that I looked like a turtle coming out of his shell when I had all the equipment on.” Andrew mimicked a turtle withdrawing into his shell, and Shireen giggled. She came forward but kept holding onto the hem of Stannis’ jersey.
“Can I touch it?” she asked.
“May I”, Stannis corrected. He heard some of the younger guys snort behind him. He was in for some merciless chirping later.
“May I touch it?” Shireen asked meekly.
“You may.” Shireen touched the mask gingerly, ran her fingers over the artwork, and peered in through the metal cage. Andrew pointed out some little details that Stannis hadn’t even noticed. While Shireen was busy admiring the mask, Stannis glanced at Selyse. She had her arms folded, and held a handkerchief in front of her nose. It was as close to torture as it got, to take her to a post-practice dressing room. For some reason, Shireen didn’t seem to mind the smell. Stannis felt like he should have approached his wife to offer some sort of comfort, but the sweetest comfort he could currently offer her was to stay well away.
“Are you alright?” Stannis asked.
“We should go”, Selyse said tersely. “You’ll want to change. Shireen?”
“Oh, but I wanted to play!” Shireen said. She looked up at Stannis. “Please, please, please!”
Stannis glanced at Selyse again. Selyse misunderstood, or maybe the smell had overpowered her.
“I’ll go get her skates from the car!” she said eagerly, thrust Shireen’s sign at Stannis and left. Stannis looked at his likeness. It smiled more widely than Stannis had ever smiled in real life. Shireen gave his jersey a shy little tug.
“Daddy, you will you skate with me?”
“Yes, of course. Davos, could you find her a helmet?”
The equipment manager nodded and left. Stannis sat down at his stall, and Shireen sat hurriedly next to him. She looked at Andrew with pure awe on her face. Andrew started taking his pads off, and Shireen tugged on Stannis’ jersey again, with more urgency.
“Daddy, could uncle Andrew play with us?” Shireen whispered.
“I don’t know. I’m sure he’d like to go home.”
“Who would?” Justin, who sat at the next stall, asked. He had just arrived and added a new layer of ripeness to the air.
“Shireen and I will go take some shots at the net”, Stannis explained. “Shireen, do you remember Justin?”
“No.”
“Well, I am pretty new”, Justin smiled. “Can I join you?”
“May I”, Shireen whispered next to Stannis.
“I’ll talk to him about it... later”, Stannis whispered back. “You probably can”, he said to Justin.
“Estermont, we’ll need you between the pipes”, Justin said sort of insolently. Stannis wasn’t sure he liked him yet, and he’d been on the team for two months already. Andrew looked surprised as well.
“If Shireen wants me to”, Andrew said calmly. Shireen squeezed Stannis’ wrist.
“Yes, please”, she whispered.
“She does”, Stannis nodded. “Thank you.”
Andrew smiled and started strapping his pads back on. Shireen got her skates and helmet, and her smile grew wider every minute. Stannis knew the feeling but had not anticipated his daughter feeling it. He loved playing. But the game was fast-paced and rough, and Stannis had learned to appreciate his natural sturdiness very quickly. Shireen, on the other hand, suddenly seemed very small and delicate in all but spirit.
“Do you think you’ll like hockey?”
“I love it”, Shireen nodded. The metal cage on her kid helmet rattled slightly. Stannis couldn’t help smiling as he adjusted it.
“I know you like watching us play. But are you scared of falling?”
“No, because you’ll help me up. Right?”
“Right”, Stannis nodded. He tugged on the laces a little. “Does everything feel ok? Can you move your toes?”
Shireen swung her feet a little. “Yes. Let’s go!”
“Alright. Where’d your mother go?”
Selyse had disappeared after delivering the skates. Davos pointed towards the hallway. “I think she went to the stands.”
“Makes sense. Come on, up you get.”
Shireen hopped down from the bench and swayed a little. Stannis took her hand in his to steady her. Shireen found her balance and looked up at Stannis. “I feel taller”, she said happily.
“You look taller”, Stannis nodded. It was half a lie, but for some reason, he didn’t feel guilty for telling it.