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Troy had been trying for months to figure out what to get Harris for his birthday.
Of course it was on October 21st, national apple day in Canada. When Troy figured this out he laughed for about 5 minutes because it was so Harris that it almost made his heart burst. But Troy was bouncing around ideas with no avail. Harris wasn’t one to want many large ticket items content with what he has around him and trips were also hard because as Troy soon realized, if he thought Harris was busy during the season he was more busy out of it.
Troy hadn't put much thought before on what happened with media during the off season, he just knew that when he came back each season that he would be greeted by hungry fans missing hockey. He had severely underestimated how much of that hype was created by people like Harris for the NHL teams.
“Troy do you know how much harder it is to keep people engaged during the off season?” Harris had started rambling one day when Troy tried pulling Harris from his computer to go swimming with him. “Players leave to spend time with their families so it's harder to get content and arenas & practice facilities are empty from hockey that whole time. Social media is the only way these people are still connected to our team specifically during the off season”.
Troy was grateful that Harris was able to do most of his work then from home where they both could be comfortable. They had made their way to Montreal a few times to visit his mom when she was coming back to home base in between travels and they spent good time with Harris's family on the orchard but they were yet to go on a big trip together and that was something he wanted Harris's input on. He knows needing input for a birthday gift is horrible so that was out.
Harris did have a tendency to ramble about certain things and send Troy Tik Toks of things they should do together though. Troy kept them in a notes list on his phone, one labeled ‘Things to do with Harris’ and ‘Things to get Harris’. Troy realized just how low the bar was for men though as whenever he acted on those things Harris was shocked every time.
“Oh my god Troy how did you know” Harris always exclaimed giving Troy a small slap in the chest. The first time Harris did that Troy was shocked by the contact but was quickly told about cuteness aggression. It has lingered into the bedroom now where Harris sometimes bit one of Troy's biceps after sex when cuddling ‘cause you're just so hot I can't help it’. It makes Troy laugh now, not something he was used to in the bedroom with Adrian.
“You told me about it Harris, the words we should do this / I want this came out of your mouth” Troy always responded bewildered. It wasn't hard to be a good boyfriend to Harris. Harris was always reasonable, communicative, and so patient with Troy; this was the least he could do for him.
“Yeah but that means you listened and you remembered” Harris always said in awe which always made Troy feel guilty. He knows if he met Harris when he was with Kent in Toronto he probably wouldn't have listened or remembered the things Harris said even if he did like him. He was always ‘too cool for that’ in Toronto.
Harris however, as he always does, presented Troy with exactly what he needed one day before bed when they were winding down. Harris was trying to do something on his phone, way too close to his face and squinting as his fingers made miniscule movements like what he was doing was not made for that screen size.
“Harris do you want me to get you your computer, that doesn't look comfortable” Troy offered, he knew Harris was going to get a headache from squinting and having the phone so close.
“No, the software is easier to use on my phone, the windows version of it sucks, it always lags and makes the film choppy so if I’m doing short form video for instagram or tik tok I tend to use my phone” Harris Explained casually like he would anything else but Troy's wheels started turning.
“If the software is better on IOS why don’t you ask management for a Macbook, you do a lot of shortform videos for the team” Troy prodded. They clearly were paying the players a lot of money to be there, surely they can get Harris a different computer.
“I just got a new laptop last year and a Macbook wasn't an option, plus they replace my phone every year and pay my phone bill so I can make content, I don't exactly want to bother them” Harris rambled but Troy’s brows furrowed because Harris was important to the team. He made the players into people, not just figures on the Ice. Troy didn’t say anything else because he could take care of this himself.
“Pause doing that and show me the Tik Toks you wanted to show me earlier today while I was working out” Troy suggested changing the subject. Harris immediately went on animatedly about how he saw a Tik Tok about how a couple met and needed to show Troy it because it was so cute before pulling the app up on his phone. Troy himself was much more of a scroller than a poster and his social media screen time definitely went up since being with Harris but he didn't mind. Maybe they need an Ipad for their nightly scrolling ritual too.
—-------------------------------------------------------
Troy was not a tech expert by any means but especially being with Harris had increased his knowledge tenfold. He was aware of what an Apple ecosystem was, he knew that his airpods would connect to both his phone and his laptop and that his Apple Watch would sync with the health app. He knew that photos and videos would be saved on the cloud that he could access from every device. He knew it was simple like that and he hoped that an ecosystem would help Harris too.
—--------------------------------------------------------
When Troy was not with Harris, which was pretty rare, he started doing some research because he could at least do that. It first was simply a Macbook and the whole idea spiraled from there.
The Macbook Troy realized was a gateway drug. He knew he was going to get Harris the best model with the best display and most memory. He was obviously going to get all the pro apps installed for him as well. While he added the items to the bundle he realized he needed a docking system for different inputs, he needed a mouse in case the trackpad gave Harris a cramp, and he needed to get him a laptop sleeve big enough to fit the Macbook, maybe even a bag?
What really did Troy in was going onto an Apple enthusiast Reddit page. Now he wasn't sure how old Harris’s Airpods were and that he needed Airpod Maxes cause Harris’s headphones weren't Apple so these would connect easier. The Ipad was also just as confusing. Did he get a Pro even though he was already getting a Macbook or the Air because it was thinner and had a larger screen? Troy ultimately decided that he would get both and whichever one Harris didn't want he would take.
He thinks it might be selfish of him to do so but in reality he could use an Ipad to watch film and have a bigger screen to see his boyfriend on when traveling. If that was selfish, so be it. That also came with caveats; he needed the magic keyboard for both as well as portfolio cases not knowing what Harris would prefer, also there was a pencil for it ?!? that soon was added to the cart as well. From there the spiral only got worse.
—--------------------------------------------------
At end of September Troy had the most extensive list he could manage of his complete ecosystem for Harris in his notes apps:
- IMac
- Mac studio M3 Ultra chip, 32-core CPU, 80‑core GPU, 512 gb, 16tb storage, Pro Display XDR, nano texture glass, Pro tilt stand
- Keyboard
- Trackpad
- Mouse
- Macbook
- Macbook Pro 16 inch, silver, nano texture display, M4 Max chip, 128gb, 8tb ssd storage
- Another Mouse for travel
- Ipad
- Ipad pro, 13 inch, Silver, 2TB storage, Nano texture glass, Wifi + Cellular, Magic keyboard, portfolio
- Ipad air, 13 inch, silver, 1 TB storage, Wifi + Cellular, Magic Key board , portfolio
- Apple pencil
- Watch
- Apple watch ultra 3, Natural, Titanium Milanese loop, medium size
- Audio
- Airpods pro 3, Harris Engraving,
- Airpod max blue
Troy figured he’d also throw in a $1,000 best buy gift card for any ports, cords, and other accessories Harris may want because apparently to the Redditors that might be a personal preference.
It was the end of September but Troy found himself in the only Apple store in Ottawa after practice telling Harris that he needed a nap because Ilya had been extra rough on them in practice. He had even asked Ilya to cover for him if Harris asked which was met with
“I could actually work you hard, make your dream come true” which earned him a scoff but Troy knew of Ilya’s fondness for Harris so it would hold up.
He thought about ordering it online but didn't want to deal with the fraud charge call that he assumed was going to happen. So he huffs to himself and gets out of the car.
He was greeted nicely by a sales person in a blue shirt who was luckily very cool with him being an NHL player, a casual fan that still knew who he was. However, when he pulled out his list and gave it to the sales person she was trying to hide her shock and quickly squeaked out that she needed a manager before scurrying off. She quickly came back with a manager who didn't look as surprised as the women in front of him.
“Hello Mr. Barrett I hear you're looking to make a substantial purchase . Is this for the Centaurs or personal? ” The manager said neutrally.
“Personal, I needed to upgrade some stuff and decided to do everything at once” Troy responded, which wasn't a lie he just didn't need anyone in his business.
“Okay, let’s get started then”
—-------------------------------------------
After an excruciating 2 hours of the manager explaining things he already read about and about 20 reassurances that yes he wanted to purchase this all at once, he finally tapped his card. While he wasn’t strapped for cash or worried about finances this felt more like what Harris called a ‘swipe purchase’ and not a ‘tap purchase’. He also wasn’t really concerned because his standard of living drastically changed moving to Ottawa.
He didn't blow tons of money while in Toronto, especially with his mom setting him up with a money guy after his dad left, but partying wasn't cheap as well as the lifestyle he felt he needed while being friends with Kent. $1,000 vip club bottles turned into a $250 bar tab with the rest of the team, $500 restaurant bills at white plate restaurants turned into $100 date night dinners at cute restaurants Harris found on social media and places that took the family cider on tap. Also his groceries were somehow cheaper despite being on a delivery service, maybe $5 for a gallon of milk wasn't actually cheap like he thought in Toronto. While his bills were cheaper Troy for once didn't think he was living less, he was living more with more depth. So he wanted to do this for Harris and it couldn't even pay him back a sliver of what he gave Troy.
Troy opted to have everything delivered to the store in Ottawa as well, not knowing how to hide all these incoming packages from Harris. He figured it would be easier to hide them all at once than to hide a bunch of things separately. He was told it would take a few weeks to have everything come in with all the custom options and Troy hoped that it would all come in on time but the manager was very persistent that they would ensure that it did.
Leaving the store Troy felt a weight off of his shoulder even though the tech talk was really exhausting to his brain. Maybe he did need a nap after all.
—------------------------------------------
It was a Sunday mid October when he got a call that everything had arrived. Luckily they just had morning skate and film for a home game tomorrow and the promo for the game would make Harris busy enough to leave Troy some time to hide all of it.
Troy underestimates how much stuff he actually bought Harris for his birthday. It took 4 store employees to carry everything to his SUV and it was full to the brim of white bags. He knew he took on a big task when he realized that nothing was in the neat categories he had organized on his phone. They must've just put it in bags as they got stuff in.
Troy now realizing he was going to have to sort this and wrap it was very overwhelmed, he still wanted to do this but he didn’t want to fuck up the suprise for Harris by being disorganized.
He thinks back to Christmas and how hard it was to keep track of giving gifts to each of the Centaur’s. His wrapping was messily thrown into gift bags with wrinkled tissue paper, the notes list he made in his phone was a mess of delivery dates and noting if it was already wrapped, but his mind drifted to something else about Christmas. Ilya bragged to everyone how organized Shane was with his excel sheet and how good Shane was at wrapping.
Troy remembers being impressed with Shane's wrapping as well, perfectly lined up graphic paper with no crinkles despite the object's circular shape, minimal tape that defied physics, and a ‘handmade’ bow Ilya also bragged about. Shane was definitely one of the more reserved ones on the Centaurs and didn't like going out as much as the other team but Troy knew he liked Harris despite his complicated feelings about the media.
Shane was a nervous wreck learning how active most Centaurs were expected to be on social media, always distrusting the way it might be morphed or perceived, but Harris handled it like a pro. He explained to Shane exactly why a post was deemed necessary, let Shane only do the media bits he was 100% comfortable with, and even sent all media about Shane or media they were expected to repost to a group chat with Shane, Yuna, & Ilya before posting it. It definitely helped Shane’s anxiety and Ilya had personally thanked Harris for dealing with this ‘quirk’ as he called it only to have Harris dismiss it like it wasn't any extra effort.
So Troy pulled out his phone and pulled up Shane's number, He was about to hang up before it went to voicemail regretting his decision when Shane finally picked up. It was obvious that Shane was out of breath and Troy wanted to kick himself for interrupting something.
“Hey Troy, is everything okay?” Hollander asked a little raspy.
“Yeah, actually I needed your help with something if you and Ilya aren't busy with something today” Troy asked wearily.
“Uhh Ilya and I are just at the house whats up” Shane asked kinda nervous.
“I got Harris's birthday gifts and I remember at Christmas how good you were with organizing everything and wrapping. If you could help I'd definitely owe you one” Troy asked, he felt stupid for needing help wrapping a gift but he wanted this to be the perfect surprise for Harris.
“You want me to help wrap” Shane replied with a bit of excitement in his voice, it made Troy relax.
“And organize; I might've outdid myself here” Troy replied
“It can't be that bad” Shane comments
“Wait until you see it” Troy huffs
—--------------------------------------------------------
“Troy this is bad” Shane said with a shocked look on his face when Troy opened his trunk.
“I told you, I had a list on my phone organizing everything but they just threw it into bags, I have no idea what I am doing” If Shane thought this was bad Troy was definitely panicking.
“Ilya come help us, there's a lot" Shane commands, Ilya just follows like a little puppy.
“So I am just pack mule” Ilya half heartedly chirps.
“No you are my husband, who is a Russian pack mule” Shane responds, still frazzled by the mess of it all.
“Lets get to work” Shane says authoritatively.
——————————————————-
Troy knew Shane was going to be intense but this was a whole different level from even hockey. He had a full setup on their kitchen table, a cutproof rubber grid, a kit that had special paper cutting shears, something that Shane told him was for creasing the edges, and a tape dispenser that sent out tape in perfect one inch rectangles. Troy still felt stupid.
“I totally forgot to ask about wrapping paper, fuck. Did I need to go out and buy some? Where would I even get that?” Troy asked dumfounded, it hasn’t even started yet and he’s already fucking it up. Shane looked a little awkward like he wanted to say something and not have it be taken the wrong way, Troy was used to that feeling since everything that happened in Toronto.
“No” Ilya easily said “Shane likes a specific paper, we have it here” Shane just nodded a little embarrassed but Troy could care less, he has learned however that Shane tends to get shy when any of his quirks were brought up but Ilya tends to reassure him quickly and then all is well.
“I get green you like, we should have enough of it” Ilya asks pressing a kiss to Shane’s cheek
“Does Harris like sage green? I tend to keep a bit of it around cause it's a nice neutral. Can't wrap something in white, it'll get dirty, and grey is too impersonal” Troy can’t think of a time he thought that much about wrapping paper for himself or others. What the hell is sage green?
“Sage green?” he asks. In his head it's light green and dark green, not these paint card sounding colors.
“Harris will like it, he has sweater that same color you will recognize” Ilya chimes in, Shane still looks nervous like when one of the guys makes a joke about him being so intense. Troy is just happy about the effort and that they care enough about Harris to do this.
“Ilya, what about ribbon? I have twine which is very Harris but I don't know if it fits the gift theme” Shane asks.
“Hmmm twine is very nice but I think the white ribbon would look nice with the white boxes” Ilya redirects gently. Ilya is soft with Shane, everyone knows this, but it's different seeing it in the sunlight of their floor to ceiling windows than seeing it around a fire on Bood’s patio. It's just as warm as it was then though.
“Okay, and will you grab the matching tags and grey pen, not the black it’s too harsh” Shane says with more confidence, Ilya just nods and heads off to grab the items. Now it's just Troy and Shane.
“Just let me know how much I owe you for all the wrapping stuff I didn’t know how much goes into it” Troy shuffles not knowing what else to say.
“Don’t worry about it, I actually like doing this. I’m happy you called about it” Shane says
“Yeah you're the first one I thought of, the stuff you did at Christmas was really good, thought it was professional until Ilya said something” Troy says honestly
“You remember that” Shane asks softly and fondly like he’s never heard that before.
“Yeah, it made me want to step up my game. I think Harris even has a picture of his cause it looked so nice, but if you like doing it I might have you do it again” Troy says nonchalantly but he means it, he just doesn't want Shane still so nervous.
They can hear Ilya coming back with two rolls of paper in tow, with some expensive looking ribbon and shears, as well as a box of tags and 2 grey pens. Troy thinks this might be a routine for them somehow, they move around like they've definitely done this before.
“Ilya, Troy says that he and Harris remember my wrapping from Christmas” It still sounds small and also childlike, like telling your parents you got a 100 on your spelling quiz.
“Yes they would be stupid not to. You do a good job” Ilya replies like it's obvious kissing the crown of Shane’s head which relaxes him.
That must've put some confidence back into Shane and he gets back to business.
“Troy start sorting the stuff from the bags so that I can start wrapping, Ilya we’re going to need tags for each gift. Keep it simple just ‘To Harris love Troy’ and do it loopy but not in cursive” Troy feels like he’s not doing enough for his own gift now.
“I can write the tags if you want” Troy offers but Shane gets a little stiff again.
“No I have pretty Russian hand writing , you have bad Canadian handwriting” Ilya says in a no BS tone holding up the first tag, Troy had to admit that it was very neat, uncharacteristically neat for a hockey player.
“Why the hell do you have such nice handwriting” Troy says surprised
“While you Canadians were sucking your thumbs, Russian schoolteacher hit hands with ruler if writing was bad” Ilya says, like he didn't reveal something about himself.
“Teachers hit you?” Troy knew Russia was tough, all the players that came out of there showed it but he couldn't imagine a teacher hitting him.
“Yes very common, everyone is always so surprised” Ilya shrugs, Shane shifts like he’s heard this before but it still wasn't easy to hear so Troy moves on.
—------------------------------------------------------------
Ilya and Troy were done with their tasks and were idly watching Shane wrap methodically. It was quite mesmerizing and relaxing like those asmr videos Harris tried to tell Troy were relaxing, the whispering just got under his skin though. It was impressive to see Shane like this, all his energy focused into something other than hockey, he wasn't even sure if Shane had hobbies outside of hockey.
“I need to take Anya out, you like beer, yes, you will come with me” Ilya commands more than asking. In all honesty Troy was more than content watching Shane wrap with precision but Troy knew how to take a hint so he went with Ilya.
Beers were grabbed and Anya was called grabbing a ball he knew Harris got for her. Now they were sitting on the back porch as Ilya and Troy took turns throwing the ball for her from their seats.
“Thanks for doing this Ilya, it means alot” Troy says breaking the silence
“Don’t thank me, thank Shane; he is doing all the work I am just , assistant, you know” Ilya says, taking a sip of his beer.
“Will do” Troy agrees
“Doing something like this makes him feel more like part of the team, he doesn't like partying like we do and he’s still getting used to being open at Bood’s parties” Ilya confides, Troy doesn't take Ilya’s openness for granted.
“Of course he’s part of the team, the team gatherings were hard for me at first too for different reasons, it'll get better” Troy offers now taking a second to throw the ball for Anya.
They now are sitting in a comfortable silence drinking their beers and Troy is thinking of a way to thank Shane personally because he deserves the energy of the Centaurs embracing him.
—----------------------------------------------------
Going back inside it seems that Shane is done wrapping and has moved onto the ribbon. It was an elegant wrap horizontally and vertically with a fluffy bow. How the hell is Shane doing this?
Troy is still watching in awe when he and Shane speak a few words in Russian together leading Ilya to laugh.
“It is funny no, you bought Mr.Apple man a bunch of expensive Apples” Ilya chirps and Troy’s mind is blown. Of course it all comes back to apples.
“It is an expensive orchard, no? “ Ilya prods.
“It's actually called an ecosystem Ilya” Shane replies.
“eco-what , nevermind, don’t want to know stupid english words” He waves while walking away to rinse out the beer bottles.
“Troy you're going to need gift bags: two 60 cm ones for the Ipads, 2 120cm for the Macs, 20cm for the Airpods and headphones and a 15 cm one for the watch” Troy is trying to pay attention but it's all lost on him.
“Do they need gift bags? I thought that's why we wrapped them” Troy asked, Shane gives him a look like he swore to the Pope and Ilya is already walking back laughing.
“I’ll order them, I know the good ones and it’s important to keep them separated while he’s unwrapping them. You want him to unwrap them in groups like we separated them” Shane goes on.
“That’s smart” is all Troy has
“Yes no one is smart like my Shane” Ilya smiles while rubbing Shane’s shoulder, it's sweet but Shane just grumbles not to touch him while he’s working. It just makes Ilya smile bigger.
“Do you have a card?” Shane asks and Troy is once again an idiot because no he does not. How could he even write to Harris how much he means to Troy? How could he even find the words?
“Uhhh no didn’t get that far” Troy stammers.
“Ilya, can you get a notecard 10 by 8 with the silver outline, envelopes next to the box?” Shane instructs.
Ilya just nods and heads off, How often do they wrap gifts?
“Uhh Shane I just wanted to thank you again for this, I’ve never had teammates I could do this stuff with, it means alot” Troys never been a man of many words, or good words, but Shane looks like he’s going to cry. Fuck, did he fuck this up?
“Thanks Troy I’m happy I could do this” It sounds sincere but also wet like he was going to cry, Ilya is going to kick his ass.
“I got the card ” Ilya says in a sing-song voice but is immediately taken in by a shocked, awkward Troy and Shane looking like he was about to cry.
Ilya’s demeanor shifts in a second looking like an attack dog ready to bite “What are we talking about?” It sounds calm, probably for Shane who is looking down, but it's the calm of an enraged man. Troy has seen it on the ice first hand.
“I was just thanking Shane for being such a good teammate. I would've never been able to ask someone in Toronto to help with this. It's nice” Troy stammers, hoping it can save him, Ilya seems to take Shane's silence as an agreement and relaxes his shoulders.
“I agree, Shane is the best,” Ilya says with conviction.
“What are you going to write on the card?” Shane asks now back to business. It always bewildered Troy how on game Shane could be.
“I’m not sure yet, I don't know what I could say to Harris that would be enough” Troy admits.
“Just be simple. Harris talks enough for the both of you” Ilya offers
Troy sits down and takes it to heart, Grabbing the grey pen he just writes what's on his mind.
‘Harris it's not the apple orchard you're used to but it’s the one you deserve. All your hard work doesn't go unnoticed’
Troy takes a breath before finishing
‘I love you and can’t describe how happy I am with you in my life, I hope I can bring you happiness for every birthday now’
He takes a deep breath and hands it over to Shane and Ilya to read.
“Is this good enough, I can rewrite it but it was the first thing I thought of” their silence was a little overbearing so he adds “It’s probably stupid I should try again”
“No it's perfect, Harris is really lucky to have you” Shane says softley and genuinely.
“No I’m lucky to have him, he’s changed my life” Troy admits. He still wonders sometimes when they're laughing in bed or on a date and they're both smiling how Troy ever deserved this redemption after being such a dick all these years.
“I’ll agree with Troy, Harris is way out of your league” Ilya states
“Fuck off Ilya” Troy says but the 3 of them are all smiling knowing its how its meant to be. Shane & Ilya and Troy & Harris.
Troy leaves after many thank yous after Shane said that Troy could hide Harris’s gifts in their office especially since Shane was getting gift bags. Troy was really grateful for them and that they cared enough about him and Harris to help surprise him.
—--------------------------------------------------------
A few days later Troy finds Shane in the locker room after practice
“Hey I got Harris some gift cards as well, do you mind sticking them with the card?” He whispers in case Harris comes into the locker room, however Shane looks offended again.
“You’re not putting those gift cards in that nice card like we’re twelve, I'll wrap them in gift card tins and put them in a small bag with the card.” Shane says like it’s obvious.
“Thanks a lot man, I definitely owe you for this” Troy throws
“Oh Ilya is already planning on using that card to get some playdates with Anya and Chiron, I'm just happy to help” Shane replies.
“We already do that” Troy says dumbly
“Let Ilya have his fun and I’ll continue wrapping” Shane laughs, Troy forgets he is funny sometimes.
—-------------------------------------------------------
It was finally Harris’s birthday but unfortunately it was also a game day. Troy felt really bad about it but Harris reassured him it was fine as long as they won. They were going to go to Harris’s parents house for an early dinner on Saturday and then a bar with the Centaurs so Harris was excited for a birthday weekend but Troy still wanted the actual day to be special.
Troy was already nervous about the gift after the game but now he wanted to make sure he did a good job to show his appreciation on his birthday. He wasn't nervous they were going to lose however, they were playing against the newly formed Utah who was still trying to find their ground.
Troy knew they were a team and he shouldn't want goals for himself but he really wanted a hat trick for Harris. Ever since he and Harris got together his signature for his post score celebration has changed. When the camera pans to him he taps his finger 3 times across his heart to say I love you. Harris cried the first time he did it and told Troy he did it back hoping the universe would make him feel it. Troy swears he does feel it now.
Hockey twitter is funny though (according to Harris) because after last season someone made a compilation of his heart taps and in the background it's the noise of a car trying to start up like his heart taps were him jump starting himself and once the car was running in the sound it was a compilation of Troy scoring. Harris thought it was the funniest thing ever and got permission from the creator to repost it. Troy felt juvenile seeing it but Harris assured him that the heart taps were something he cared dearly about so Troy kept doing them.
Maybe it was the concept of 3’s but Troy was telling himself that if he got a hat trick it would be an extra I love you to Harris.
—-------------------------------------------------------
Troy swears Ilya read his mind in the locker room because he was mostly using the plays where he was passing to Troy. It was about to be the third period and Troy had 2 goals already, but he was hungry for his third.
As much as Troy knew what it was like to be on a once losing team he had to admit that Utah sucked, it was 5-0 and if Hayes could keep it up they might be able to shut them out. It just fueled Troy’s fire even more.
“Ilya, is there any reason you keep passing me the puck? I'll take it but it's usually not your style. ” Troy asks.
“It is your man's birthday, hat trick would be sexy for him. Just remember to also give a hat trick in the bedroom if I’m giving you this one” He replies with a wink.
“What does that even mean?” Troy says with a face of disgust. He can imagine it means 3 orgasms for Harris but you can never know with Ilya.
“Worry about this hat trick first, then I will tell you about other one” He shouts while skating away. Troy just shakes his head with a blush on his cheeks. Now he knows Shane is a nervous wreck all the time. It is because his husband is a sex freak even in a place as public as a filled hockey arena.
—-------------------------------------------------------
The winning celebrations were in full spring as Harris barged his way into the room practically tackling Troy into a kiss. They weren't big on this level of PDA especially because Harris claimed he was a professional but Troy would allow it, especially on his birthday.
“Holy shit Troy a HAT TRICK in 3 periods with 3 taps for each one that's a trifecta of 3’s and ON MY BIRTHDAY !!!!!!” Harris is practically screaming but his excitement is contagious, Troy is feeling even more giddy as well.
“It should be his birthday everyday, hat tricks for everyone” Ilya says with his eyebrows, Troy just gives a scoff.
“Just for you Harris, Happy birthday” Troy says sweetly.
“BEST BIRTHDAY EVER” Harris beams loudly moving on to get some post game footage but it made Troy’s heart heavy. He knows that there’s many birthdays that Harris spent in the hospital and Troy could only think of how sad that was. He hopes there's not ever another hospital birthday in Harris’s future.
—--------------------------------------------------
Harris claimed that all he wanted tonight was to eat Chinese takeout on the couch in comfy clothes and maybe have hot sex with his boyfriend if he was up for it. Troy did end up getting another Centaurs sweat set from the gift shop a few days earlier and wore it gently this morning so it smelled like him. He did wrap it in his shitty way to distract Harris from the surprise that he had after dinner.
Once he told the team what his surprise was for Harris they insisted that he get a diversion gift to keep Harris off his scent. It would be weird not to get your boyfriend anything at all on his actual birthday. Troy did get flowers sent to Harris’s desk but that was hardly the same thing. Troy did that for every holiday after Harris showed him an instagram of a local florist that did bouquets for every holiday like for Canada day and Thanksgiving. Harris loved celebrating any holiday big or small so it was a consistent thing that Troy could do for him.
Troy never admitted it but his heart was always warm seeing Harris in one of his shirts or hoodies when Troy facetimed him when traveling. Troy didn't understand at first getting Harris his own Centaurs tracksuit. Harris laughed at his attempt to get something nice but explained to him that he liked wearing Troy’s Centaurs stuff cause it smelled like him when he was gone.
It was a running joke that Harris had to train Troy to be his boyfriend like Harris trained one of his dogs. Troy knew it was good fun but it got under his skin that he wasn't a naturally good boyfriend to Harris like he deserved. Troy sat with it for a few weeks before asking Harris if he was actually a good boyfriend and he got a 5 minute monologue of why Harris thought he was. While he appreciated it, he did ask Harris what he could do better.
“This is why you're a good boyfriend, you ask and you listen. I'm not the quiet type, I'll tell you if something is wrong. You never make me feel bad for being so talkative and you remember the little things I say when I ramble” Harris adds like Troy asking that was exactly his point.
Troy just mumbled something on that being the bare minimum and Harris laughed. It was good that even when they were serious they could still laugh. Troy never felt that Harris was laughing at him though.
“You would think, but men are a scary breed. I have a hot NHL Stanley winning cup boyfriend who loves and likes me back and listens. All is right in my world” Harris sighed happily. Troy believed that Harris would tell him if something was wrong and that was good enough for him.
—-------------------------------------------------------
Chinese food was on the coffee table per Harris's request and Chiron was at the orchard like how they usually drop him off for game days. Troy never really found himself eating on the couch, before Harris he usually ate alone at the countertop of his kitchen on a barchair or shoved in a protein bar in his mouth when he had a busy day. Even when he was young the table was the most efficient way to eat before the tenseness of his parents became actual fighting. Now he found himself relaxing in the chair, not rushing to the next activity. It wasn't something he expected when getting with Harris but he treasured it all the same.
Harris said earlier that the only extravagance allowed for the night was ordering one of everything off the menu and Troy almost ruined the surprise by saying he was wrong but Harris had sequentially asked if he could order one of each item off of Troy's menu making him laugh instead. So now with the Chinese spread all over the coffee table, as much of it eaten as humanly possible, Harris was trying to order off of Troy's menu.
“Hmmm I’m not sure what I want, the menu is quite ….. extensive” Harris whispers in Troy's ear leaving a soft kiss on his ear before going back up to look at him.
Troy was used to people looking at him like he was hot but he still wasn't used to the idea of love being behind that emotion. It took him a few months to realize that Adrian never had that look in his eyes even though they said ‘I love you’ to each other. Harris was too understanding of Troy's delayed emotions and helped him grieve his relationship while he was in a happy one.
Troy went through the breakup but it was like when he said it out loud he was re-grieving it all over again because when he said it out loud it was real and not just in his head. He felt so bad because he didn't want to be with Adrian. He wanted to be with Harris but he couldn't control how the emotions came. He always reassured Harris that the feelings were delayed and he’s never been happier but Harris always told him “You can be happy with me but unhappy about something else, we make the rules here and I’m not mad”.
“Have you not eaten at the restaurant before, I’m sure you have a favorite.” Troy offers. While the comment was joking in nature Troy’s mission in bed was always to please Harris because he knew what he wanted and Troy was still learning about himself. What if he made things awkward by asking for something he didn't even end up wanting? Harris was always good at getting him out of his comfort zone and that was good enough exploring for Troy.
“I have ordered from here before. It's not my fault I like everything on the menu; especially the chef” Harris said leaning into a kiss. As their mouths met it was easy for Troy to think that he could postpone until tomorrow but what if Harris went into the computer room and found the gifts before it could be a surprise? He’s resisted men publicly for most of his life, he can delay sex with his boyfriend. Pulling away was hard but he knew it would be worth it when he saw the look on Harris’s face.
“Hey, let's pause for a minute. I have something for you” Troy says a bit breathy still breathing from the kiss.
“You already got me something, a one of one Troy worn Centaurs set” Harris said confused but after a second of thinking he jumped up.
“Is it a sex gift, please be a sex gift” Harris practically jumped up and down.
Troy was not as creative as Harris; he would leave that to him. What the hell would be a sex gift?
“Not exactly, let me show you” Troy said, taking Harris’s hand leading him to the computer room.
“Troy, if it's a ring I already told you I’m not being a child bride” Harris joked and Troy laughed but it wasn't always this light of a subject.
Since pride night Troy knew that Harris was it. It didn't matter that they just said I love you or Harris just met his mom, he was hit with the realization like a puck in the chest in the locker room. Troy of course kept this to himself for a while not wanting to freak Harris out. It would seem so bipolar if he put Harris through this limbo and then immediately did a 180 to marriage.
However at their 6 month mark he accidentally let it slip in bed. Harris was being so loving and sweet when opening Troy up that he moaned “If you keep doing that I might just get you a ring”. Once Troy said it he knew he dropped a bomb cause Harris slowly took his fingers out not to cause discomfort.
“Baby, you can’t just say things like that in the heat of the moment” Harris rasped. Troy already dropped the bomb so might as well let it implode.
“What if I I meant it” Troy whispered
“What” Harris said in disbelief . Troy felt too far away from Harris for a talk like this so he moved to the edge of the bed where he sat.
“I know I'm not the most obvious person in the world but I meant it. I’d marry you today if you said yes” Troy replied honestly. He felt so exposed but he felt like a weight came off his shoulders, like he was hiding himself again like he was in the closet and just came out.
“Troy I wouldn't say yes, I love you I absolutely do but - ” He replied looking down, but Troy couldn't bring himself to listen for once.
Troy felt like he got hit in the chest with a puck again but not in a good way. He feels like his life was ripped away from him again. How could I think Ottawa would be any different? This is obviously Karma for all the shit I did in the past. How pathetic am I to once again fall in love with a guy that didn't love me back?
“I think I should go,” Troy whispers, sitting up from the bed trying to find his sweatpants and sweatshirt. He’ll pathetically take a shower to wash off the lube when he goes home, alone.
“Troy wait” Harris starts grabbing his boxers but Troy needs to leave. He’s raw and open and can’t handle Harris’s rejection right now. Troy can't seem to find his sweatshirt in the pile of clothing on the floor and it's adding to his embarrassment.
“Troy” Harris tries again a little louder this time but Troy is on autopilot. Finally finding his hoodie, throwing it over his head. He’s about to walk out the bedroom door before Harris finds his strength.
“Troy don't walk out on me like you did in the hotel in Florida" Harris says with an angry tone Troy isn't used to.
Troy knows he hurt Harris that day. He's apologized for it so many times before and Harris said that was in the past. This makes Troy turn around because even if he’s embarrassed he can’t hurt Harris like that again, he made a promise to never again.
When he brings himself to look at Harris he looks just as heartbroken as Troy. They both have tears in their eyes and they look utterly destroyed.
“Harris” Troy starts but he doesn't know what to say. If Harris doesn't want to marry Troy at some point, how could they keep going?
“We’re going to sit here right now and figure this out,” Harris says, sitting on the bed. Troy had always wondered what it was like to walk to your own death like how the death row inmates do in those crime documentaries Harris liked too much. Now he wishes he could still have that curiosity.
Troy's feet feel like lead and it's a relief to sit on the bed to escape that feeling but there's a sense of impending doom.
“Troy can you sit here for a minute as I explain what I meant” Harris asks, all Troy could do is nod.
“When I said I wouldn't say yes I meant I wouldn't say yes today, not never.” It almost feels like relief but Troy needs to know why not.
“Why” Troy says but it sounds broken and cracked.
“I love you and I love being with you. I love being your boyfriend and want it to stay that way for a while” Troy must look as confused as he feels so Harris continues. Troy has always been envious of how open Harris can be with his feelings.
“I’ve never had a real boyfriend before like this and I would also like to be the last boyfriend you ever have” Harris tries to laugh but it doesn't land which doesn't happen often. Troy knows Harris copes with humor, It’s how he dealt with the hospital visits all those years but Troy could hardly see how he could crack a smile during this.
“I want to have time to enjoy being your boyfriend. Marriage, being husbands, changes things, even if it is for the better. I’m going to be here the whole time so I’d like to take my time. I understand if that's a deal breaker for you. I know a lot of the guys get married young, you might want to be in that part of your life already.” Harris says understanding but all Troy can think is that Harris does want to marry him someday even if that day isn't today, he can work with that.
“ No. If I’m giving a ring it's going to be to you; when you’re ready” Troy says with more confidence this time. He can now bring himself to look at Harris who’s smiling, it's contagious enough to make Troy grin.
Harris is now bringing himself in front of Troy on the ground, he starts off on both knees but brings himself up to one, like a marriage proposal.
“Troy Barret, will you be my husband at an undisclosed later time and until then I can be your boyfriend” Harris asks, feigning a serious tone. Troy still doesn't know how Harris can brighten any situation they find themselves in, he’s really lucky.
“Yes I will be your husband at a later undisclosed time” Troy smiles. He can’t stand not holding Harris anymore so he drags him off the floor and on the bed.
Troy never knew he was this physically affectionate until he was with Harris. One of his favorite things was just to cuddle as Harris talked to him and show him media he was working on or things he saw online. It always led into Harris telling an animated story with Troy peppering in questions every few minutes leading to the story getting longer.
“I’m sorry I freaked out and I’m sorry I almost left again. I never want to hurt you like that.” Troy mumbled into Harris’s neck breathing in his scent.
“I’m sorry I mentioned Florida. I was scared I was going to get radio silence again and I wouldn't see you to fix it because it’s the summer and we don't have to be around each other at the rink.” Harris drearlily admits.
“ I would've talked to you before the season,” Troy said, taken aback.
He doesn't know how to be in Ottawa without Harris and he would hate to show the team he lost someone as good as Harris. Troy knows that Harris would be professional about it but Troy knows he would've probably become a dick again because he was uncomfortable.
“How long would that have been though” Harris asks knowingly
“I’m not sure” Troy replies honestly because he knows he would've gone radio silent and underground.
“How did our first fight turn into a marriage proposal?” Troy asks to change the subject.
“I don’t know but I’m just happy I'm not going to be a child bride” Harris jokes
“Harris we’re 26 many people get married at this age” why the hell would he be a child bride ?
“Being the first person in a gay friend group to get married is basically being a child bride. We also need to go to at least 2 weddings so we know what we want to not do at ours” Harris explains, Troy is somewhat following the logic (not) but feels buzzed hearing the words ‘our wedding’.
“Are there things you wouldn't want” Troy prods now happy that they can talk about the idea of ‘their wedding’.
“So far we have no ice sculptures and no chair lifts” Harris nods before it’s clear something popped into his head
“ Oh my gosh, baby, I have to show you this video of these groomsmen accidentally breaking the chair during a chair lift, it's my actual nightmare” Harris says, grabbing his phone off the nightstand.
Once he grabs his phone Troy pulls him in close, wrapping a blanket around them while Harris is explaining what happened in the video while he’s searching for it. Troy is just happy to be back in bed enjoying their routine as Harris’s current boyfriend and future husband.
—--------------------------------
The floor of the office in front of them was filled with the gift bags Shane had carefully wrapped. They looked more elegant now than how he left them, he really needed to find a way to thank Shane.
“So definitely not a sex gift unless you bought the whole shop.” Harris mumbled speechless for once. Maybe Troy did too much but it was too late to turn back now.
“Here, start with this one” Troy offers, making it less overwhelming. It was a small bag with the gift cards and note card. Troy looked overwhelmed when he had picked up the bags so Shane gave him very distinct instructions
- Give the bag with the gift cards and note card first, only have him open the card
- Give him the bag with the apple watch
- Give the bag with the airpods and Headphones
- Give the bag with the Ipad and accessories
- Give the other Ipad with accessories
- Give the Macbook bag
- Give the monitor bag
- Give the Mac Studio bag
- Have him go back to the first bag, Ilya used labels to label the one card for etsy accessories and the best buy one for other equipment
“Only read the card for now, we’ll come back to the other stuff later” Troy tries to confidently say but it comes out as nervous.
“Oooooo taking control I love that” Harris smiles ignoring the nervousness in Troy’s voice as he finds the card in the bag. He opens it delicately, neatly ripping open the top.
“Harris” Harris starts, he always claims to think better out loud “ ‘Harris, it's not the apple orchard you're used to but it’s the one you deserve. Weird and cryptic of you” he laughs
“ All your hard work doesn't go unnoticed “ Harris reads more seriously, he gets to the next part and starts to choke.
“I love you “ He says with tears in his eyes
“ and can’t describe how happy I am with you in my life” The tears start to fall now and Troy wants to hug him but he needs to get him through the rest of the card.
“I hope I can bring you happiness for every birthday now” he finishes as he starts to cry. Before Troy can even move, Harris is back in his lap where Troy sits on the floor. He lets Harris nuzzle into his shoulder for a minute before he retreats himself and starts to talk.
“ I love you too.” he starts “You mean every birthday?” Harris asks in a small voice. It's intimate but Troy hates it for a minute, because the smallness leaves room for doubt and Troy never wants to doubt where Harris stands in his life.
“I wouldn't have written it if I didn't mean it” He says, wiping a new tear from Harris’s eye with his thumbpad. They sit like that for a moment.
“I don't care what is in those bags, that card was the best gift I've ever gotten” Harris says while looking into his soul. Troy knows that the gifts don't matter the most but that's why he wanted to do this for Harris, because he deserved them, not expected them.
“I lied” Harris huffed “Im really excited to see what you got me” He says with a wet laugh. Harris reluctantly climbs off his lap and grabs the next prescribed bag with the apple watch. Is there a social normalcy for a way to open gifts?
“Holy shit did you wrap all of these yourself” Troy goes to answer but Harris is already running with ideas “Troy if you paid to get these wrapped I’m going to kill you!” He exclaims.
“Remember how good Shane’s wrapping was at Christmas, I had him help me out” Troy blushes with a bit of embarrassment, he should've just done it himself.
“Oh my god it was probably so satisfying to watch, I’m so upset I didn't get to see that” Harris pouts and Troy laughs.
“It was pretty satisfying. I could've watched it for hours.” Troy admits.
Harris goes for the bow and Troy’s breath hitches, here goes nothing. The sound of wrapping paper is loud in Troy’s ears and his heart is beating like there's 10 seconds left of the period.
“TROY WHAT THE FUCK!” Harris is shouting but he’s smiling, its contagious because Troy is smiling too.
“Happy birthday Harris” Troy breathes
“We’re going to be so annoying with these, they have walkie talkie features so I can bother you around the house even more. WE CAN SYNC UP THE EXERCISE THING TO SEE WHO WORKS HARDER DURING SEX!” Harris rambles with animated hand motions. He's not going to let Harris know he saw some of those things in the reddit cause it's more exciting when Harris says it anyway. It's exciting for Troy to have someone want to be so in sync with him.
“Just wait to see what else I got you” Troy says motioning to the next bag. Harris picks up the one with the Airpods and Headphones
“I can’t even imagine you getting anything else, that was already more than enough but I’m going to be polite and open it” Harris says with a fake serious nod that makes Troy chuckle.
“Troy you did not” Harris says holding the airpods “I already have a pair” he wines.
“Yours are the first generation, you need the pros because you're a professional. Plus you need the noise canceling” Troy reasons
Harris jokingly rolls his eyes “Yeah so you can sneak up behind me more than you already do, this way clearly a gift for you” Troy didn't think of that and he made a note to approach Harris more carefully.
He would never tell Harris this but Troy worries about his heart more than Harris does. Maybe time would tell but Troy has Harris’s heart in both ways he supposes and he would never forgive himself if something happened on his watch.
“Clearly there's more for you, go to the next one” Troy says excitedly happy that Harris is having a good reaction to all the gifts so far, Maybe Harris hasn't noticed the theme yet.
Harris goes for the Ipad bag and Troy definitely knows he missed a social cue at least 5 times in his life. This is when things start to get more obvious, Harris was always more perceptive than Troy was and even Troy would've gotten the hint after that.
It looks like he grabbed the one with the pen because he’s holding an apple pen with a confused look on his face. “Troy I don’t have an Ipad? I can see if it works on my phone, thank you.” Troy just chuckles cause it's so obvious that he’s trying to be nice about it.
“Harris there’s more gifts in the bag it’ll make sense when you open it the rest of it” Troy offers motioning him to go on, Harris looks hesitant but goes on grabbing the Ipad box unwrapping it. His face is pure shock like when Troy surprises him with things on his list.
“Troy” Harris sighs. Troy knows an objection is coming by the sound of his voice but he’s prepped in his head for this hopefully it works out like he thinks.
“This is too much, I was so happy to just be together and eat takeout on the couch. I don't need all this. I can't imagine what else you got me; this is all so much. “ It's exactly how Troy thought this was going to go.
“Harris I know you would be good with just that but I want to make it special for you, please let me do this.” Troy pleads he hopes he can use some of the tactics he’s learned over the months to help seal the deal with Harris on this .
“If I accept all of this it would make it look like I’m with you for the fame and the money and that’s not true. I’m just as happy with you on the couch as I am in a spa in Quebec" The thought of their spa trip makes Troy smile, it made Troy feel good to give that to Harris and everyone was so happy for them when Harris got animated about it.
“Harris I’ve never thought for a second thats why we’ve been together and I’d like to think that everyone else would be happy to see you enjoy it, and if they don’t fuck them, we don’t need them. Like you said, we're happy. Let me do something nice” Harris doesn’t look convinced so Troy lays it on thick.
“ You saw me when everyone else thought it was irredeemable” Troy says stroking Harris’s knee with his thumb “I didn’t know if I would be able to be myself on this team. I didn't know if I would be able to even play hockey the same anymore but you changed everything for the better. And I’m pretty sure Ilya would sandbag me till I puked if I didn't do anything for your birthday” Troy says with a laugh trying to be light again “ But I want to. I really want to do this for you if you will let me”
Harris was always big on his autonomy especially with doctors and nurses always poking at him and his parents knowing everything about his heart when they were in the room with him, Troy always wanted Harris to have a voice, to have a choice.
“ My therapist told me I need to be more accepting to the kindness and not do everything myself so I will let you” Haris says taking adeep breath “ But I swear to god if there’s any more electronics I’m going to kill you” He says
Troy can't bring himself to lie to Harris so he says silent but that always leaves room for Harris to get creative.
“Wait” Harris says with a hand up “This is not the orchard you're used to ….” he trails remembering the card.
“Apple” he states looking around at his growing collection of gifts.
“Apples” he says plural looking around counting the sleek white boxes. Harris closes his eyes for a second before staring into Troy’s soul.
“Did you get me a whole Apple ecosystem for my birthday?” He says in disbelief. Troy doesn't know what he could say, maybe this was a bad idea.
“Ilya kept calling it an orchard when I went to Shane to wrap it, I thought it was cute, I guess you can call it an ecosystem though” Troy tries to deflect.
“Troy” Harris starts but Troy cuts him off
“Harris, will this help you with work?” Troy asks assertively
“Of course I know I told you some of the systems work better with IOS” Harris replies knowingly.
“Will you use it all?” Troy continues in the same tone
“Of course you got like everything I could ever need but …” Harris starts to ramble
“Are you happy with it?” Troy asks because that's what matters most.
“I’m just happy you thought this much about it to do all of this. You know I don't care about …” Harris tries to continue
“Are you happy with the selection?” Troy asks again
“It's the best of the best of course” Harris replies and that is good enough for Troy.
“Then it's the perfect gift and if it’s okay I'd enjoy to see you open the rest” Troy says hopefully. Harris gives a nod before speaking.
“Okay only because you're seeming to enjoy this, then I’m giving you a night to remember”
“No can do. You’re the birthday boy, I distinctly remember you needing to order from my menu” Troy asserts but less strict this time.
“Well that was before all this” Harris says while gesturing to the growing mess around them
“Nope. It’s your night. You get whatever you want” Troy says, drawing out the last sentence.
“Even if it's a kiss from my boyfriend right now because I’m so in love with him I might die without it” Harris dramatically asks.
“Especially then” Troy makes sure the kiss is worth it before pulling away
“C’mon I want you to open the rest of this, I want to see if I did a good job” Troy says a little cockily knowing he completed and executed his plan, it almost feels better than a hat trick.
“If you insist" Harris feigns effort but his smile gives him away grabbing the next Ipad bag. He goes for the big box this time.
“Did Shane write all these tags, his handwriting is usually not this good” Harris notes
“No, that was Ilya. He has good handwriting, apparently it's a Russian thing.” Troy explains leaving out the part of the russian school teachers.
“Oh I’m so having Ilya do calligraphy for the youtube channel now” Harris exclaims as he unwraps.
“I draw the line at one Ipad troy, ecosystems need balance to work the Ipad will be an invasive species” Harris jokes.
“About that ….” Troy trails off “I was thinking that you could choose which Ipad you want and then I would use the other one for watching film and facetiming you when I’m on the road.” He explains. He honestly hated traveling with his laptop and was honestly pretty excited by the idea of having an Ipad after reading all the things he could do on reddit.
“Stealing from the birthday boy, who knew you were such a bad boy” Harris says suavely but Troy is mortified.
“If you’re going to use both I’ll get my own, that was such a stupid idea it’s obviously your birthdays gift” Troy says as mortified as he feels, he fucked this up.
“Troy relax, I was joking of course that makes sense I don’t need or want two. Now that you have an Ipad, I'm going to have to put on a show when we facetime for the bigger screen.” Harris winks at the end.
Troy blushes but adds “I’ll keep mine by the bedside as well for our nightly scroll.”
“You love that time more than I do,” Harris notes.
“Me and you in bed. It's sometimes my favorite time of the day sometimes” Troy admits wholesomely but Harris has a devious smile on his face
“I agree we should spend more time in bed together,” Harris replies, wiggling his eyebrows.
“Back to the gifts birthday boy” Troy lightly commands which is met with a salute from Harris.
Harris unwraps the rest of the bag with a knowing knowledge of all the accessories that came with the Ipad before moving onto the Macbook bag.
“The bigger bags are scaring me but I have my hot buff boyfriend to protect me” Harris says with a fake bravery which makes Troy laugh.
“Nothing scary, but I'll protect you.” Troy says a little seriously at the end.
Troy was always a little scared for Harris when he went out alone with his friends or to do errands . Harris was always so open and proud that sometimes Troy worried that Harris might run into the wrong group of strangers. Harris made friends everywhere from the bar to even the grocery store line. He even has a favorite cashier that he goes to each time, buying her a candy bar for her to have on break. Harris wasn’t naive or weak in the slightest but his openness left room for people to infiltrate. Troy knew that he could handle anyone that came their way especially if it became physical but Troy doesn't know if Harris had it in him to fight even if it was for his own self defense.
Ottawa and Canada was generally a really safe and accepting place for people like them. Harris even took him on a tour of the ArQuives museum in Toronto when they visited, showing Canada’s longstanding solidarity for them. But with Ottawa being a political capital and home to an NHL team; Troy still was cautious. He knew that there would be some conservative parties and embassy officials from other countries in their city and there were a lot of NHL fans that weren't as supportive as even the government was.
“Wow” Harris said speechless holding the Macbook, he was holding it like it was a solid brick of gold, it probably cost the same amount as a brick of gold.
“Speechless” Troy chuckles, still pleased with himself.
“I’m holding the Stanley cup of computers right now, let me have a minute” Harris defends but its all light hearted
“It’s silver like it too” Troy quips
“Thank you Troy you don't even know how much this means to me” Harris says a little bleary eyed.
“You don’t know how much you mean to me” Troy replies.
“Plus it's going to be a gift for me too, I’m expecting your best work yet” Troy says trying to lift the mood again.
“But I mean it , I know how hard you work and if this helps even 1% it was worth it.” Troy says with conviction.
“I still won't make your edits better than anyone else's even though I love you so much” Harris says firmly.
“I love you too, even if your professionalism gets in the way” Troy jokes and it lands leaving Harris giving a genuine laugh.
Harris goes to grab the Mac Studio bag and Troy immediately intercepts, “This one first” he redirects handing Harris the other bag.
“This is huge, can I even unwrap this by myself?” Harris questions and Troy takes the bait.
“You unwrap me every night and I’m huge” Troy tries to say nonchalantly but he knows he just dropped a banger line.
“Oh my god you’ve been spending too much time with Ilya, but I love it. I love my hunky confident king” Harris says but the last part was genuine.
Harris worried about Troy’s confidence a lot. He heard the rumors about how cocky and dickish he was in Toronto. Seeing him as so shy and unsure, only seeing the real Troy in the cracks of half unguarded moments made Harris sad . Harris loved seeing that side of Troy. It was boyish and unbridled, something that instantly brought a smile to Harris’s face.
As Troy’s confidence grew with the Centaurs Harris now worried if he was a rebound for Troy. Harris was used to building players up to look their best in the public. What if Troy was misplacing that gratitude for feelings?
Harris wasn’t good at holding onto feelings and not talking about them. It made his skin itch and all jumpy. So only 10 hours later Harris was twitching and moving uncomfortably in the bed trying to sleep next to Troy who he knew had to be up early to catch a plane early tomorrow for the out of town game.
“Harris are you okay you’re moving a lot and you're like so far away, get back here” Troy says in a sleepy voice grabbing Harris and pulling him in closer, Harris feels terrible for waking Troy but he feels better being next to him even if his time felt fleeting next to the man. That made him squirmy again, accidentally waking up Troy even more.
“Hey what's going on? Are you feeling okay? Are you getting sick? Is it your heart?” Troy says Starting to sit up more awake and alert.
“No my heart feels fine, it’s nothing, go back to sleep honey.” Reassures him with a quick peck.
“Hey, talk to me. You always tell me what’s going on, I love that.” Troy says stroking Harris's shoulder and Harris has little backbone because he knows it's going to eat at him even more with Troy gone. Plus he doesn’t want to gab about it to Gen because that's not fair to Troy because by all means he and Troy are great. It's just an intrusive thought trying to rot his brain like a bug on an apple.
“I’ve noticed how much happier and confident you’ve been lately” Harris says naturally to see where Troy is at with this whole topic.
“It’s easier to be that when I'm around you. I don't think I've ever tried to be myself around anyone before. I thought I had to be a dick to be good at hockey and my father always seemed to tolerate me when I acted like that. I think I was the most me around my mom before I met you. But I really kept to myself cause I never wanted her to worry about me. She was really going through it with my dad. Dealing with my hockey growing up was like a distraction to her. The weekend tournaments and weekday practices gave her space from him” Troy says more like a fact than a feeling but that’s Troy's normal state.
“You feel most like you when you’re around me?” Harris is amazed by.
“Of course I do, you know that” He replies like it’s nothing but it’s everything to Harris
“I had a thought, a bad one, but that really helped me. Thank you Troy, go back to bed, you need to sleep for the game tomorrow.” Harris says, giving him a swift kiss but deeper than the one Troy gave him earlier.
“No, tell me. If it was bothering you so much you couldn't sleep I want to hear it” Troy says into Harris’s giving him a small kiss on the top of his head for encouragement. It never makes Harris swoon at how naturally romantic Troy is and how perfect that is for Harris.
“It’s stupid but I thought that maybe as your confidence grew it might outgrow me” Harris sighs “But now you said you feel most like yourself around me I feel stupid. I know the thought was bad and not true but it still hurts to think about.”
“It's not stupid but I feel bad giving you room to doubt you're one of the best things in my life” Troy says, a bit saddened by the confession.
“You didn't, I don't know why it happened. It was like "oh we should have chicken for dinner tonight, I need to post that promo media tomorrow, My boyfriend might outgrow me”.” Harris said like he was making a to do list.
“Your feelings are valid but I hate you even saying it like it’s in the realm of possibility” Troy somehow holds Harris harder at the upset thought and it definitely made Harris think he messed up.
“Let’s forget about it, it's clearly not a problem and you have a game tomorrow, dream about scoring some goals” Harris jokes and Troy hums in agreement.
“I’m not going to sleep for a bit now, I'll catch some sleep on the plane as well. Tell me about the movie you wanna watch with me when I get back” Troy offers.
“Rockey Horror ?!?! If I tell you about it it would ruin the movie” Harris replies appalled.
“You know I don’t care about that, maybe I’ll actually understand it if you explain it first” Troy eggs and it's enough to get Harris going.
“Okay so even though it's called Rocky Horror he’s not even the main character it's actually this guy named Frank Furter. Actually now that I'm thinking about it all the characters are really important besides Rocky so.. “ Harris starts to go on and it makes Troy relax even when holding onto Harris really tight and all is right in the world to them.
“Troy I just got new monitors for the office and I’m not getting rid of those” Harris firmly states
“No it’s for your office at work along with the other thing” Troy states easily
“You did not!” Harris exclaims loudly.
“ I think we both know I already did, “ Troy pointed out as Harris grabbed the last bag with excitement. He hastily rips it open and clutches to it like its his favorite stuffed animal
“I love it, but I love you even more” Harris says somehow snuggling the big box
“I know, I love you too” Troy sighs.
“Gen’s going to be so jealous, actually I’ll let her use it when she needs to, especially because I have the Macbook now. That’s okay right?” Harris asks and it makes Troy's heart warm that the first thing Harris always wants to do is share. Whether it's a story or the clothes off his back Harris is so open and caring to everyone, and he chose Troy to be most open to.
“ It’s yours, you don't need permission for anything. If it makes you happy to do that I'm okay. I promise” Troy promises.
It seems like Harris is taking it all in with the wrapping paper and collection of white boxes around him. Troy is elated that Harris feels so appreciated, he remembers talking to Harris about love languages and he definitely thinks gift giving is one of his now. It seems that Harris has snapped out of the daze he was in and gently sets the Mac Studio box next to the collection of white boxes which are all in a neat pile. He soon crawls into Troy’s lap with a confidence that makes him know what’s coming next.
“Am I allowed to ask for one more thing even though you just gave me the most spectacular gift ever?” Harris asks a little raspy.
“You can ask me for anything at any time anywhere, you know this Harris” Troy says not as sexily. Troy needs Harris to get that he would drop anything to help him anytime, not just as a question in foreplay.
“Good I think I know what I want to order from your menu” Harris says running his hands up and down Troy's biceps. Troy nods at him to continue.
“ I want you to fuck me as hard as you can after enthusiasticlly blowing me until I’m close” Troy was half hard this entire time but just the words coming out of Harris’s mouth was enough to get him there.
“I think that's a very good idea” Troy agrees, starting to kiss Harris’s neck leading to a small moan from Harris. It just eggs Troy to go harder.
“The trainer is going to kill me tomorrow at med checks for having you go so hard after a game” Harris tries to backtrack but Troy isn’t having it. The birthday boy will get exactly what he wants.
“We’ll just have to make it worth it then” Troy says, picking up Harris who squeals in surprise every time that Troy can just pick him up.
They’re in for a long night.
—--------------------------------------------------------
Troy is exhausted getting out of the car and is even more tired at the fact that he’s going to have to carry all of these bags into Harris’s office. Harris unfortunately still has a full day at work and said he’d use today to respond to some fan comments from the win last night and get all of the electronics set up, meaning that all of it needed to be relocated into Harris’s office.
Going to the backseat of Harris’s truck he huffs before starting to collect the white bags.
“You know I can help carry some of that right” Harris says from behind him but Troy isn't having it in his tired state.
“Where can you hold this?” Troy asks giving Harris his energy drink and Harris’s work bag. Nothing else is handed to Harris and he seems to take the hint.
“Bood! Hey, come here!” Harris shouts seeing Bood get out of his car in the parking lot. If Troy isn't going to help himself Harris will make sure he gets helped. Bood walks over casually to them, still probably sore from the game last night as well.
“Bood can you help Troy with some of these bags I offered to help and he’s being stubborn about it” Harris sighs still adamant about helping Troy out.
“Of course he wouldn't let you carry your own gifts, Cassie would kill both me and Troy if she heard that happened, let me give you a hand Troy” Bood offers.
“You get it man, thanks” Troy said, still clearly waking up, the caffeine in his system doing nothing to help.
“Looks like you two lovebirds had a long night” Bood prods with a knowing voice and Troy blushes slightly, he’s always been private about that area of his life even with his teammates.
“Yeah long night cause it took me Two hours to unwrap all of this, Troy really outdid himself” Harris deflects jokingly. Troy just hands the last bag to Bood.
“You deserve all this stuff man, if anything Troy didn't do enough, I’ll give him pointers for next year” Bood chirps and Harris rolls his eyes.
—-----------------------------------------------------
Once they reach Harris’s office Troy just wants to just collapse on the couch that Weible got for Harris with the full promise that it won’t be Christened by Troy and Harris.
Troy remembers stammering not even being able to come up with a response but Harris just replies “Don’t worry about us, worry about Ilya, he might not be able to resist his husband as a newlywed” Harris jokes and Weible agreed.
All Troy had to do was go to the trainer, Maybe take an ice bath and assure the trainer he wasn’t dying and then he could take a nap on the couch as Harris worked. A perfect day in his book.
As he and Harris walk into the training room they are met with most of the team already being there as the two had a late start this morning. The first one to greet them is Ilya.
“Hello Harris, how is the new apple orchard? Troy, did you give another hat trick last night” Ilya adds with a wink, Troy scoffs at his innuendo and hears Shane in the back say “Ilya, no, that’s gross”. Troy just nods to Shane in agreement which leads to Ilya blowing a raspberry and saying something about being boring.
“Wait, you got him an apple orchard? I thought you got him an apple ecosystem thing, doesn't he already own an orchard” Hayes asked in confusion.
“No he did get me an apple ecosystem, Ilya just keeps calling it an orchard” Harris explains
“Don’t know this stupid eco-word, a collection of apples is an orchard no ?” Ilya replies. Harris is already into an explanation into what an ecosystem is, why the collection of electronics is an ecosystem, and how a bunch of apples are a bushel and not an orchard. This might take a while so Troy takes an opportunity to thank Shane again a bit more privately.
“Hey thanks alot again man, Harris loved the color by the way and was impressed by everything. Let me pay for you and Ilya to go out to dinner as a thank you for helping make it so special” Troy says clearly still in a giving mood.
“Thanks but no, Ilya would milk you for all you have with that offer. It’s no problem really I do enjoy doing stuff like that” Shane says but Troy wants to do something for him as well.
“Why don't we go running sometime? You always say Ilya doesn't get up early enough with you, it would be nice to have some company. There's a nice park I go to not far from here that has some nice scenery” Troy says nervously.
“The one on the north side, I loved running that trail in high school, it would be good to go back. I’d really actually like that” Shane says equally as nervous.
“Great, what about tomorrow? I'm still beat from yesterday but I could use a nice recovery run tomorrow.” Troy offers.
“Sounds great, does 7 work” Shane says more enthusiastically now that its a plan and not just an abstract Idea
“Yeah sounds good I’ll meet you there” Troy says before heading off to the trainer.
Even though Troy was bone tired he was absolutely elated, he got his boyfriend a very thoughtful gift and he somehow managed to tighten his relationship with the two best players in the NHL which he is lucky to call his teammates.
Maybe Ilya was right, Everyday should be Harris’s birthday.