Chapter Text
Luca Haas was not having the best summer of his life by any means. It had started off so promising back in June when he returned to Switzerland - his team had just won the Stanley Cup, and he was going to get two uninterrupted months with his…man. They weren’t exclusive, and they technically weren’t in a relationship, but Luca had spent the last eight months calling and texting Simon every chance he got, figuring out time zones while on the road for FaceTime sex and conversations about their day. Luca had even planned to ask Simon to be his boyfriend, as a matter of fact. Unfortunately that all came crashing down after he had only been home for two days and Simon admitted that the distance was just too hard, that this had been fun but he didn’t see a future together. That he liked seeing other people, that he didn’t want to be tied down. He was heartbroken, but he had no idea what to do about it. Did he even have a right to be when they weren’t anything? Luca had spent the rest of the summer trying not to wallow but not succeeding, and he was sure his sisters could tell. They just didn’t know what to say since he had never told them anything about any of it.
It wasn’t that Luca didn’t want to open up to his family, necessarily. It was just something he had always struggled with so much, as long as he could remember. His parents, very successful bankers from generations of even more successful people, had always pushed all of their children to strive for perfection above all else. They had to live up to the incredibly high standards of their social circle, had to make sure they were taking full advantage of every opportunity they were given. And Luca felt a specific kind of pressure as the youngest and the only boy. All three of his sisters were so successful that he always just felt like he was fighting to keep up.
Mara was your stereotypical oldest child - she had a great career in finance, she had been married to her perfectly nice and successful husband for a few years, and she was pregnant with their first child. Sabrina, the next in line, was the genius of the family - she was currently studying to become a dermatologist. She had met her boyfriend in medical school, and they were planning to get married once they had finished all of their training. And Chloe, who was only two years older than Luca, was a firecracker. She had always been outgoing and brash, Luca’s opposite in nearly every meaningful way. The one thing they had in common was their love for drawing, but Chloe had stopped practicing long ago and was now in law school.
“So Lulu, when are we going to be throwing a party like this for you?” Chloe teased as she refilled her glass of wine. It was Luca’s last week of summer break before returning to Ottawa for training camp, and his entire extended family was celebrating Chloe’s recent engagement. Despite her independent nature, Chloe was very traditional when it came to relationships. She had been with her fiancé since they were fourteen, sickeningly sweet in their love and commitment to one another. It was yet another thing they didn’t have in common. All three of his sisters had always come by great relationships so easily in fact, which just made it feel even more impossible to admit to any of them that he was such a mess. That he had no idea how to be a boyfriend, that he wasn’t sure he could ever live up to the pressure to be enough for someone.
“You’ll definitely be throwing me a retirement party long before that happens,” Luca joked, earning a small frown from his sister.
“Please tell me you’ve at least been going on dates in Ottawa,” she replied, sending him a harsh stare. His heart clenched as his mind immediately flashed to Simon, of what he maybe almost could have had.
“Here and there,” he agreed noncommittally. Chloe rolled her eyes, not believing him for a second.
“Why not? You’re sweet, attractive, kind, rich, and on the gayest team in the NHL. It sounds like you’ve really settled in there. Men must be falling at your feet,” Chloe pointed out, crossing her arms, daring to be challenged.
“I also play at least 41 games on the road every season. That much travel isn’t exactly good for a long term relationship,” Luca retorted, “I see people. Just nothing serious right now.” And in the last month he had decided there wouldn’t be anything serious for a long time. Not when he was so busy with his career, not when he couldn’t ever be enough for a partner. Not when it felt like his heart was shattered in a million pieces.
“Okay. I just worry about you getting lonely,” she admitted softly.
“My team wouldn’t let me get lonely if I tried. I even have a few friends outside of them now too,” Luca answered.
“Fine, I’ll leave it alone. But if you ever do get a boyfriend, you better tell me immediately. I’ll be on the first flight out to meet him,” she joked.
“Stop worrying about me so much. Don’t you have a nightmare wedding to plan?” He retorted, earning a shove as they made their way over to a group of cousins.
A few hours later, Luca was in his bedroom at his parents’ house, feeling way too wine drunk. His mind could not let his conversation with Chloe go, replaying it over and over again. The truth was that he was a little lonely in Ottawa. He really did have great teammates and friends, and although things with Simon weren’t serious, it had filled the void of romantic connection enough. Luca was worried that without him, he was going to be a lot lonelier. Most of his teammates were married or in committed relationships, and it was hard not to feel like he was missing out on something.
Unfortunately for Luca, he didn’t think he was ever going to meet someone in Ottawa. He was the victim of having a very particular type that not many guys could live up to. He was desperately attracted to closeted, cocky, athletic fuckboys. Especially star athletes. Simon was an Olympic skier and basically the definition for fuck's sake. He wanted a man that knew what he wanted, could chirp with the best, and could throw him around like a ragdoll. There was probably some pathology there about spending so much time in sports around toxic masculinity while he was going through puberty, but he did not want to analyze that any farther.
Before Simon, Luca had tried dating some perfectly nice, sensitive academics and artists in Ottawa that he had hobbies and interests in common with, but it had never been what he needed sexually. There was so little chemistry, he had even been able to stay friends with quite a few of them at least. He knew he was a massive guy, it was part of the deal being a professional hockey player, so that meant he needed a guy at least equally as strong to handle him how he wanted. And there were very few of those in Ottawa, so the odds that they’d also be compatible lifestyle and personality wise were like astronomical.
But as he so hated to admit, Chloe was right. He deserved to not feel lonely, and with a little bit of effort, he could probably find someone to sleep with regularly. It might not be in Ottawa, but he was in 31 other cities throughout the season. A ton of guys in the league had regular hookups in various NHL markets. With the wine coursing through his system, Luca decided this was the perfect solution. He wasn’t ready to date seriously, but he could have some fun. It was time to build a roster.
Naturally, Luca pulled out his phone and opened up his photos app. He found a few of the sluttiest pictures he had taken this summer (gym, pool, and beach shots that showed off his ass) as well as a couple of very aesthetic summer travel photos, threw them all together in a photo dump, and posted it onto his Instagram grid. With the bait set, he knew it was time to start finding guys.
Given that Luca had such a toxic type, he couldn’t just come out and slide into the DM’s of these men. He had to be more strategic in his approach. He decided to start with the two major cities that had multiple hockey teams, New York and Los Angeles, and looked through the rosters of every non-hockey professional team in each city. When he found a guy that was both ridiculously hot and potentially pinged his gaydar, he did a deep dive on their profile. If they appeared to be single, he started following them. He figured this would give them the opening to make the first real move, and he could navigate from there.
Luca had just followed his third target (a tight end on the New York Giants) when one of his group chats started blowing up.
Gen Z + Hollanov
Rozanov:
Hello children! Is Luca’s newest Instagram post what we would call Thirst Posting?
Boyle:
💯
LaPointe:
Not even subtle
That back arch in the fourth pic is crazy work
Respectfully
Hollander:
Don’t pretend you didn’t know that Ilya. You’ve been doing it since like 2012
Rozanov:
Lies. Lies and slander
Luca please be careful. No sex injuries this close to training camp
Haas:
I hate all of you
Young:
Fr tho Haasy
What have you been lifting this summer?
You are looking builtttttt
Haas:
Just the program Hollzy recommended
Nothing crazy
Holmberg:
Nah bro that program IS crazy
I didn’t think anyone but Hollzy could do it
Rozanov:
Excuse you! I do it every summer too
Not even counting all the extra cardio on top of him
Boyle:
Don’t you mean on top of it?
Rozanov:
I do not
LaPointe:
🤮
Young:
Gross
Hollander:
ILYA. Not in front of the children
Holmberg:
Can we get back to Haasy please? Who are you trying to pull? 👀
Boyle:
👀
Haas:
It is very late in Switzerland. Good night boys
LaPointe:
Booooo
Over the next couple of weeks, Luca’s Instagram strategy started paying off. Of all the guys he followed, about 80% had followed him back, and half of those slid into his DM’s. It had practically become a part-time job finding guys in various cities and carrying so many conversations, but he would like to actually get laid this season, so he persisted. And it really did feel like he was doing the lord’s work at times, trying to get these men to say anything besides a one word answer or the classic ‘what would you do if I was there’. Not that he wanted to have, like, deep conversations about life or anything. But he needed some back and forth, maybe a hint of creativity, some light teasing at the very least.
Through all of these conversations, Luca had found a handful of guys that he was actually looking forward to meeting in person. The potential beginnings of a roster, if you will. And, okay, maybe he was actually learning some things about himself through this process too. He hadn’t set out for self discovery, but he could roll with it. A nice byproduct of moving on from Simon and getting his back blown out. God, he hoped at least one of these guys could do that for him. He was not putting in these kinds of hours to not come so hard he cried, it had been way too long.
In fact, as he sat with the team at lunch, Luca was making plans for his first ever road trip hookup. The Centaurs were in Detroit for their last preseason game tonight. Kane Okalani was in his second season in the NFL as a linebacker for the Lions, and he was so unbelievably hot. He was 6’5”, a wall of muscle, and had gorgeous long, curly hair. He was also surprisingly funny and charming, so Luca had high hopes for this encounter.
Luca -> Kane
Luca:
Are you still free tonight?
Kane:
Yeah hyped for it man! What time were you thinking?
Luca:
Should be back at the hotel around 9:30
Kane:
Perfect. Want to meet for a drink first?
Luca:
Is it okay if we just meet at your place?
Unless you’re uncomfortable with that
I can meet at a bar
Kane:
No worries man! My place sounds great
*ADDRESS*
Just text me when you’re on your way
*Luca liked this message*
Kane:
Can’t wait to see you
[Image]
Luca’s entire face lit on fire when he opened the picture. He tried to keep his expression neutral, but based on the looks his teammates were giving him, he clearly hadn’t succeeded. He had seen his fair share of dick pics (he had spent enough time on Grindr before joining the NHL not to), but he had never seen one quite like this. As dumb as it sounded, the composition of the picture was, like, kind of beautiful. It was like it was taken at golden hour, sunlight streaming in and highlighting the sharp edges of Kane’s body perfectly. Then, the dick itself was gorgeous. Was that weird to think? It was large, thick, and had a nice curve. Luca was actually a little overwhelmed of the size - he hadn’t been with that many men, and most of them were around average. Should he buy a bottle of lube to bring with tonight? No, surely that would be weird.
His spiraling thoughts were broken up by his teammates’ chirping. “Better drink some water before you pass out Haasy,” Young teased.
“Yeah that must be the hottest text in existence, I’m afraid it’s going to kill you,” Pointy added.
“Fuck off,” Luca retorted, locking his phone and crossing his arms.
“Am I about to get sexiled tonight?” Bergy asked.
“No, I’m going to his place,” Luca explained, freezing once he realized what he just admitted. He hadn’t planned on telling his teammates anything about any of this. It’s not that he didn’t trust them, he knew that they would be great about it. He was actually just worried that they would be too supportive, and that kind of attention overwhelmed him.
“Wait for real? Bro I’m so proud!” LaPointe exclaimed.
“That’s great man! How did you meet him?” Boyle asked.
“He slid into my DM’s,” Luca admitted, blushing even harder.
“Ahhh the thirst traps worked,” Young joked.
“LUCA! LUCA! LUCA!” Bergy started cheering, the other guys joining in when they saw how embarrassed Luca looked. He was going to have to murder all of them.
“Children! Why are you being so loud?” Rozanov boomed as he approached their table, cutting off the cheering.
“Haasy is getting laid tonight,” Pointy filled in. Ilya grinned at Luca, which made him want to die. This was too much.
Ilya must have sensed Luca’s discomfort, because he quickly turned the conversation, “Beautiful. Maybe you all could focus on the hockey game we’re about to play now, instead of making Haasy’s success the business of the entire room? Bus is leaving in ten minutes.”
“Yes Cap,” they all agreed, effectively chastised.
Luca realized he had left Kane on read and briefly panicked. He didn’t have time to take a picture to send back, so he quickly typed out a string of horny emojis and hit send, trying not to overthink it. He also hearted the picture, because he was only human and it really was objectively lovely. Then Luca took a deep breath and tried to push all thoughts of sex away, doing his best to refocus his energy on hockey. He was actually really grateful for the distraction of a game, finally getting to do something he was actually confident in.
_________
At around 10 that evening, Luca was walking up to Kane’s apartment. He took several deep breaths as he stood in front of the door, taking a few moments to calm down. He was obviously excited, but he was also really fucking nervous. It had been like a year since he had slept with anyone other than Simon, and even then, he had only hooked up with someone he had just met online one other time. He told himself that it would be okay, and that he knew how to be a human. He was, like, naturally reserved, but it was good to get out of his comfort zone. He just needed some practice to stop being such an anxious mess. Pushing his nerves down, he knocked on the door.
“Hey man! Glad you could make it!” Kane greeted Luca, a huge smile on his face. Luca nearly stopped breathing as he took the other man in. Kane was shirtless, only wearing a pair of gray sweatpants hanging low on his hips. He smirked as Luca obviously checked him out, and Luca blushed at being caught.
“Hi. Thanks for inviting me over,” Luca replied, entering the apartment once he had shaken himself out of his daze.
“No problem at all! It’s great to finally meet you in person,” Kane said as he subconsciously ran a hand through his hair. Luca nearly short circuited again, wishing more than anything he could be doing that right now. God, it had been too long since he had gotten laid.
“Yeah, you too. I didn’t realize you had such a nice smile,” Luca said, internally groaning at his earnestness. He was here to have great sex, not to sweetly compliment this man. That was how feelings happened, and Luca could not do that to himself again, especially not with the first guy. He needed to pull it together.
“Thank you. You have gorgeous eyes. They’re so much bluer than I expected,” Kane replied easily, confidently holding eye contact with Luca.
“Oh, thanks,” he said shyly, suddenly feeling awkward at the attention.
“Do you want anything to drink? I have beer, water…that’s it actually. Unless you want coffee?” Kane offered, making his way to the kitchen. Luca followed behind him, happy to have a distraction.
“A beer would be nice, thank you,” Luca said.
“Of course,” Kane said with a shrug as he grabbed two from the refrigerator. He handed one to Luca and they made their way to the living room. Kane casually sprawled out as he sat down on a leather loveseat facing the TV, and Luca took the spot next to him gingerly. He tried to seem absolutely unbothered while internally he worried about whether he was sitting a proper distance away. He was aiming for casually close in a way that said interested but not desperate, but also not too far away like they were just bros? He took a long drink of his beer, hoping it would help quiet his mind if even for a moment.
“I just threw Sports Center on after your game ended, but we can watch something else if you want. I kind of hate Mark Kevins, no idea why they gave him this job,” Kane commented as he threw his arm behind Luca across the back of the couch. Luca leaned back slightly, just enough to slightly brush his shoulders against Kane’s arm. He was silently a little proud of himself, he just nailed a perfectly normal signal of interest. Kane was clearly experienced and so cool, but maybe Luca wasn’t completely embarrassing himself. Either way, he was grateful for a conversation topic that felt so comfortable so he didn’t have to come up with something.
“He’s the worst! It’s like he doesn’t want any of his hot takes to make sense,” Luca agreed passionately, “Wait, you watched my game?”
“Yeah, I needed to know what kind of mood you’d be in,” Kane teased as he bumped their legs together playfully.
“Oh? And what does it mean for our night that I won?” Luca quipped innocently. He couldn’t help but stare straight at Kane’s lips, but then he started worrying that he was being too much, so he looked away in embarrassment.
“We have a lot of celebrating to do. Especially for that goal in the second period. The way you blew by that defender was sexy as hell,” he answered easily, and Luca was full on blushing by this point.
“Thank you. I feel so guilty right now that I’ve never watched you play,” Luca admitted, and he once again cursed himself for being so sincere. He was just so thrown off by the casual kindness - Simon rarely if ever watched his games, so he had no idea what to make of Kane doing it before they had even really met.
“What? Mr. Switzerland isn’t a massive football fan?” Kane joked, pretending to be shocked.
“Don’t make fun of me, but I had never even seen a game until my teammates dragged me to a Super Bowl party my first season,” Luca told him, and Kane laughed loudly. God, he was so gorgeous like that.
“No worries, this is a safe space. Now I also feel comfortable admitting that your hockey game tonight was the first one I’ve ever seen. It’s not exactly popular in Hawaii,” Kane admitted.
“I’m so sorry, that was such a bad one to start with. Preseason games are always kind of painful, but I promise it’s usually a lot more fun to watch,” Luca replied quickly, making a mental note to send him examples of much better games during the season. And then he remembered that this was supposed to be casual, and he should absolutely not be thinking about a future like that right now.
“I had a pretty great time. I couldn’t take my eyes off of number 16. Haas, I think? Maybe you’ve heard of him,” Kane said, looking at him heatedly.
Before Luca fully registered what he was doing, he leaned over and crashed his lips against Kane’s. The other man kissed him back fiercely, and Luca’s brain finally went quiet as he was practically dragged into the bedroom, a tangle of limbs and mouths and discarded clothes.
_________
It didn't make much sense to Luca, but he was actually naturally confident during sex, like there wasn’t an anxious bone in his body. He had spent his entire life learning how to trust his body, learning how to push himself to his limits to achieve his goals. He had made a career out of athletic performance because that was something he loved so much, and sex had fallen into a similar category for him. It was one of the only times he could get his brain to be still and just exist in the moment, acting on instinct and physical sensation.
Everything else around sex left Luca feeling wrong footed - he just didn’t know how to act in the moments before and after. He was constantly second guessing himself as he tried to figure out the next move or communicate his feelings, he was so afraid of disappointing the other person, of not being what they wanted. And so after the orgasm glow wore off, every time he found that confidence creeping away as his brain came back online and he slowly drifted back to a state of worry.
Only, for some reason, as Kane cleaned him up with a warm washcloth, the anxiety didn’t seem to be coming back at the usual rate this time. He laid on top of the towel over the sheets feeling blissed out, unable to even worry if this moment was weirdly intimate. A guy had never taken care of him before like this, and he would have no idea what to make of it if he was in his usual headspace.
“Do you want to take a shower?” Kane offered, a bright smile as he looked down at Luca fondly.
“Yeah I probably should,” Luca agreed, but he made no actual effort to move. He was so warm and comfortable, and he didn’t think he could make his body stand up right now if he tried.
“It’s okay, it can wait,” Kane replied with a shrug, throwing the towel and washcloth into his hamper before lying down next to Luca on the bed.
“Sorry, I feel like jelly,” Luca admitted, and Kane laughed as he turned on his side to face him.
“I should have warned you that my extraordinary dick can do that to people. My bad,” Kane joked.
“If anything it was your tongue. Jesus Christ,” Luca responded. Kane pulled Luca against him, a mischievous look in his eyes.
“I have many talents. You haven’t seen anything yet,” he teased, wiggling his eyebrows.
“Ugh, I’m going to actually have to start watching your games, aren’t I?” Luca asked, pretending to be annoyed.
“Absolutely. It will be great jerk off material,” Kane agreed.
“Why, is your quarterback hot?” Luca fired back, earning a playful shove.
“Sure, if you’re into married men with eight kids. I think you’d make a great step-dad,” he retorted.
“Ew, absolutely not. What a nightmare,” Luca said in disgust, “Oh sorry, that was bitchy. I’m sure it’s not that bad?”
“No you’re right, it definitely is. The guys feel so bad for him we’ve stopped giving him shit for it. It feels even more wrong than making fun of an injured puppy,” Kane explained.
“What’s your team like?” Luca asked curiously. Kane launched into a long winded story about his friends on the team, and Luca tried his best to listen, enjoying the deep rumble of Kane’s voice as his head rested on his chest. But Luca’s adrenaline was quickly crashing after the game and the sex, and before he even realized what was happening, he was fast asleep in Kane’s arms.
_________
Luca woke up to his phone alarm going off way too early, and he groaned as he immediately shut it off. He startled when he realized that he wasn’t in his hotel room, and even more unsettling, there was a large body pressed against him, lightly snoring. Luca began fully panicking as the night’s events replayed in his head, including the part where he accidentally spent the night. Fuck, this was a disaster.
Luca somehow managed to shift himself out from under Kane’s weight and stand up without waking him. He gently placed the blanket back over Kane’s sleeping form and then began furiously searching for his clothes. He found everything besides his socks and decided that would be good enough. He ordered a car back to the hotel and made his way out of the apartment, deciding it would be best to just send Kane a text instead of waking him to say goodbye. He also had to contend with the group chat, foolishly hoping it would be too early for them all to chirp him too badly.
Luca -> Kane
Luca:
Hey. Sorry I had to get back and didn’t want to wake you up
Thanks for last night, had a great time
GEN Z CENS
Holmberg:
@Haas are you okay???? Bus leaves in thirty minutes
Please don’t tell me you’re like dead somewhere
Roz will skin me alive
Young:
HAASY STAYED OUT ALL NIGHT???
AS IN LUCA????
LUCA HAAS???????
BROKE CURFEW?????
LaPointe:
They grow up so fast 🥹
Haas:
Yes sorry! I’m on my way back now
Could you bring my bag down to the lobby with you?
I’m going to be cutting it really close
Holmberg:
Thank christ
Sure I’ve got you bro
Boyle:
So how was it?
Haas:
Good.
Holmberg:
That’s it?
Haas:
I’m not going into detail in the chat!!
Young:
😔
LaPointe:
No worries. We have a 2 hour flight anyways
*Haas disliked this message*
Luca made it back to the hotel with about ten minutes to spare, and thankfully the lobby was still pretty empty. Perks of a 6:30 AM departure time. He was hoping this meant he was in the clear and could sneak back up to his room after all, but he was out of luck. “Luca! Hey!” He heard a voice yell. He turned to a block of chairs and saw Shane Hollander staring back at him, a travel cup of coffee in hand. Luca took a deep breath before walking over, sinking in the chair across from him.
“Good morning Hollzy,” Luca said shyly.
“Good morning. Are you just now getting in?” Shane replied with a no nonsense stare. Luca could lie, but he could tell based on Shane’s facial expression that he clearly knew the answer already, so that would just make things worse with the alternate captain.
“Yeah,” Luca agreed quietly, staring at the floor to avoid any eye contact. He had idolized Shane Hollander growing up, and it had been a dream getting to play on the same team, even the same line, as him for over a year now. He really didn’t want to disappoint the man he looked up to so much.
“Thanks for the honesty. I’m not going to lecture you about curfew, since you still made it in time for the bus. Just don’t make this a habit, okay? Give yourself more time. And if you ever are late for anything while traveling, you’ll be in bag skate hell,” Shane advised.
“Of course, I’ll never do this again. Sorry Hollzy,” Luca agreed emphatically.
“We’re all good,” Shane said with a shrug. He hesitated before asking, “Did you have fun?”
“Yeah, I think I did actually,” Luca agreed softly, once again blushing.
“That’s good, it’s important to have…that. I didn’t mean to, like, discourage it or anything. You’ve just got to be aware of the clock,” Shane said awkwardly, and Luca nodded. Then Shane added, “Also you might want to put your hood up before the guys get down here. Otherwise you’ll be getting chirped about the state of your neck.”
Luca’s eyes widened in embarrassment, immediately pulling the hood up and tugging the drawstrings tight. He squeaked out, “Thanks Hollzy.”
_________
Twenty minutes later they were on the bus, and Luca was sitting by himself in his row, taking some space as he was trying to process. His first post-Simon hookup could not have gone better. It was quite possibly the best sex Luca had ever had in his life. His brain still felt a little cloudy and all of his limbs incredibly loose in the best way. He couldn’t even really bring himself to regret spending the night that much because the cuddling had been, like, strangely grounding. He didn’t even feel that bothered that he hadn’t gotten to shower this morning in the chaos, and normally this feeling of dried sweat would have driven him crazy. If he had realized hookups could have been this amazing, he would have started doing this years ago.
“Haasy. Not to be creepy, but whatever you did last night, I think you need to do it more often. You look happy as hell dude,” Bergy said, clapping him on the shoulder. He was across the aisle with Pointy, and Young and Boyle were sitting directly behind Luca.
“For real bro. You’re relaxed and unbothered before the sun is even up. Must have been a god tier night,” Young chimed in.
“Shut up, I’m being normal,” Luca retorted, crossing his arms as his cheeks flushed in embarrassment.
“Nah man. You’re like glowing or something. I’m jealous as hell, the club we went to was a disaster,” Boyle replied.
“You’re the one that kept making out with the women from a Bible college,” Young pointed out.
“It’s not his fault he has youth pastor energy. Christian girls live for that shit,” Bergy said.
“That’s totally what it is! I always thought you looked like the perfect guy to try to recruit for a cult,” Pointy added.
“What the fuck Pointy? I’m not an idiot!” Boyle exclaimed.
“You all are definitely idiots. Maybe the clubs in Buffalo will be better?” Luca suggested.
“Fuck. That’s our next roadie?” Boyle groaned.
“It’s like they want us to suffer,” Bergy complained.
“I’m gonna die of blue balls,” Pointy added.
“Will you be ditching us then too, Haasy?” Bergy asked.
“No. Buffalo doesn’t exactly have a lot of…options,” Luca answered with a shrug.
“Really though. If it weren’t for the wings it would be the most tragic city in the country,” Young said, and they all nodded in agreement.
“At least we’re in Boston and Philly after that. And then Detroit again, right?” Boyle pointed out.
“I think so,” Young agreed.
“Are you gonna see that guy again when we’re back?” Pointy asked.
“I don’t know, maybe? I think I would like to,” Luca answered honestly. He would do just about anything to have Kane crack him open so skillfully again to be frank. He couldn't imagine he'd feel any differently in six weeks.
“Ahhh,” Boyle cooed.
“So it was fun? I mean clearly, look at that smile,” Bergy said.
“Yeah, it was great. I, like, actually liked him a lot? I really didn’t mean to spend the night, but it just kinda happened,” Luca admitted with a soft smile.
“That’s awesome bro!” Young exclaimed.
“Not to sound ignorant. But do gay guys not sleep over? I would feel like a douchebag if I kicked a girl out after.” Pointy asked.
“Oh! Um, not usually? At least, not in my experience. When it’s clearly just a hookup, the other person usually leaves basically right after,” Luca answered.
“You don’t even cuddle for a while?” Boyle asked.
“Not really? Maybe some guys do. I’m not, like, an expert, I guess?” Luca said, getting flustered.
“Damn, that’s ice cold,” Young said.
“No wonder Haasy looks like he saw God. He finally got some aftercare,” Pointy joked.
“Shut up,” Luca muttered, rolling his eyes. It definitely wasn’t just that, not that his teammates needed to know that. But that aspect of the hookup had been really great, something he had never had with anyone, even Simon. Shit, maybe that was why he was floating.
“Barrett! Is this true?” Bergy exclaimed, tapping the winger sitting in front of him on the shoulder. Barrett startled at the contact before reluctantly removing his headphones and turning around.
“This better be a fucking emergency. I was literally asleep,” Barrett said grumpily, eyeing the group wearily.
“Sorry bro but this is important!” Bergy replied.
“It absolutely isn’t,” Luca muttered, and Troy shot him a concerned look. It was like he already knew that this was about to be very annoying.
“Haasy says that gay guys don’t ever cuddle or spend the night after hookups. Is this true?” Young asked seriously. Barrett shook his head and looked up at the ceiling, perhaps asking to be smited so he didn’t have to have this conversation.
“What? It’s way too early for this shit,” Barrett said, rubbing his hand sleepily over his face.
“I didn’t mean, like, never! Just not usually,” Luca defended himself.
“I miss when hockey players were homophobic,” Barrett muttered, turning around and putting his headphones back on, deciding not to engage.
“Shane, do you want to take the children’s very important question?” Ilya asked in the excited tone in his voice he only got when shit stirring. Luca hadn’t even realized they were listening, but the pair was sitting right in front of Barrett.
“That’s a lot of confidence for a man that didn’t even kiss me in Vegas in 2014,” Shane retorted, rolling his eyes.
“That is a cheap shot and you know it! I kiss you extra every day to make up for it,” Ilya whined before planting a kiss on Shane’s forehead dramatically.
“How do you even have sex with someone without kissing them?” Boyle asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
“Please don’t ask them,” Luca said quickly. The last thing anyone on this bus needed was those kinds of details, much less before 7 am.
“Wait did Hollander say 2014?” Hayes asked curiously. Most of the team was paying attention to the conversation at this point apparently.
“You guys were already together then?” Dykstra asked incredulously.
“Holy fucking shit!” Bergy yelled.
“We were casual for many years,” Ilya answered with a shrug, unable to hide his wide smile. Shane and Ilya had never revealed their relationship timeline to anyone, but that didn’t stop the team from trying to figure it out. They reveled in driving the team crazy about it, always giving the most confusing and infuriating answers possible.
“How many?!” Bood asked.
“What is happening?” Chou exclaimed.
“Should we tell them, moy lyubimyy?” Ilya asked Shane as they shared the look of two absolute menaces deciding how to cause further chaos. Shane would never admit it, but he clearly loved that as much as Ilya did.
“Sure, whatever,” Shane agreed with a shrug, as if this was not a monumental decision to everyone else on this bus, “We first got together the summer before our rookie season. We weren’t exclusive until 2017 though.”
“WHAT THE FUCK?” Young yelled.
“OH MY GOD!” Hayes exclaimed.
“NO FUCKING WAY!” Dillon said in disbelief.
“The whole time? Your whole careers?” Barrett asked.
“Yes. We had so much sexual tension the whole league built a narrative around it,” Roz answered cheekily.
“Jesus Christ,” Dykstra muttered.
“That’s not why the rivalry happened, asshole,” Shane disagreed.
“Eh, close enough,” Ilya said with a shrug.
“My mind is so blown,” Pointy said, shaking his head.
“Weren’t you guys rookies in like 2010 or something? How the fuck did you survive so many years in a situationship?” Bergy asked.
“We were young and stupid. We had to get many mistakes out of our system,” Ilya answered.
“Plus we only saw each other four or five times a year max. Being so repressed didn’t help either,” Shane pointed out.
“This is true. And Hunter hadn’t invented public gay hockey kissing yet,” Ilya added.
“Yeah. We didn’t even think we could be anything before that,” Shane said.
“Oh shit.”
As several separate conversations broke out and then eventually moved on from the reveal, Luca sat in disbelief. It wasn’t a secret that he was a huge Ilya Rozanov fan growing up, but if his closeted teenage self had any idea that he had been seeing Hollander for literally their entire careers, he would have simply passed away. For perhaps the millionth time, Luca was so incredibly thankful he had been drafted to the Centaurs. Hollzy and Roz were amazing mentors on the ice, but they were somehow just as great off of it. They weren’t afraid to show the team who they really were, they reveled in finally getting to be open and honest about everything after so many years of hiding. Their relationship was so strong even though the path to get there was so messy. It gave Luca hope that even though he was a disaster, maybe he could get to that point with someone someday too.