Chapter Text
Troy Barrett was over his ex. Totally. Completely.
He and Harris had been dating for just over a year, and it’s been fucking spectacular. Troy sometimes woke up, in their new house out far enough that they’ve got plenty of property for Chiron to run around on, and couldn’t believe it. He spent so many years in the closet that he wanted to bask in the sun as long as he could.
So an unsolicited Instagram message from Adrian, one Friday morning before practice, hits Troy like a freight train.
Troy is sitting in Harris’s office with Chiron while Harris meets with the communications team before the game. He’s on Instagram, considering whether posting yet another photo of Chiron being adorable would be a bad idea — he can practically hear Roz say it is never a bad idea for more cute photos of the best boy! — when he gets a new message. He would either ignore it, or respond if it seemed to be a well-meaning fan, but the name catches his eye.
Adrian de la Cruz. With the fucking blue checkmark and everything.
When Harris comes in, Troy’s face must show it all because the first words Harris says are, “uh oh… what happened?”
Troy hands his phone over Harris. “You’re kidding me.” Troy shakes his head. “That’s… out of the blue.”
Troy isn’t saying anything. He’s still pissed at Adrian. Pissed that he thinks it’s his right to just appear out of nowhere after over a year. Pissed that he did it after he fucking got engaged. Pissed that he chose to reach out when Troy’s mental health was finally improving.
“Are you okay?” Harris asks. Troy reaches out and takes Harris’s hand, pulling him onto Troy’s lap so Troy can wrap his arms around him. Troy buries his face in Harris’ neck, takes a deep inhale as his eyes slip closed. Harris’ hand rubs gentle circles into his back.
“Shane, why do you never cuddle me when we’re here?” Troy hears Roz’s voice.. Troy’s head lifts from Harris’ chest to see the two standing there. Shane at least looks embarrassed.
“Sorry, Ilya wanted to see Chiron before we start practice,” Shane explains. “What’s going on?”
“Troy’s ex reached out to him,” Harris says.
“The asshole actor?” Roz asks. Troy nods. Ilya murmurs something under his breath Troy thinks is a curse in Russian. The way Shane snorts tells him that he’s probably right.
“He called him?” Shane asks.
“Insta,” Troy says. He nods at Harris who hands the phone over. The other two men look at it. Their brows both furrow.
“That doesn’t seem so bad,” Shane says. Harris and Ilya give him twin ‘Are you fucking kidding me?’ looks. “What? I talk with my ex all the time. She’s one of my best friends.”
Troy sees Roz’s jaw tense and can’t help his grin.“He’s obviously trying to get Troy back,” Roz says. “Not all exes are Rose Landry.”
Shane shoots him a glare for a moment before turning back to Troy and Harris. “Isn’t he engaged?” Shane asks. Troy scoffs and Harris rubs his back.
“Like that stops people,” Harris mutters.
Shane hands the phone back. “Just block him,” he says. Because of course Shane Hollander would have the most pragmatic, reasonable response.
“Or,” Roz says, a smirk gracing his lips. “We do something better.” Troy’s eyes go wide with fear and Harris just grins at him. Shane shakes his head.
“Ilya…“
“Shane.” The two look at each other for a minute, talking without saying anything.
Shane finally speaks up again. “Who gives a fuck about this guy?”
Troy snorts, appreciating the bluntness. “You heard what he did to Troy, right?” Harris says. Shane winces, giving Troy a sympathetic look.
“Yeah, but success is the best revenge, right?” he says. “You made the playoffs this year, we’re going to win the Cup next year… who cares what he thinks?”
Roz is giving him such an affectionate expression that Troy kind of feels like he shouldn’t be allowed to see it. “That is very sweet, solnyshko,” Roz says, “but I am pretty sure revenge is best revenge.” The dopey look that Shane got whenever Roz was sweet with him disappears and he sighs heavily in the way that he does whenever he’s decided he’s giving up on fighting his husband’s nonsense.
“What do you have in mind?” he asks instead.
“I think we should take it to a vote with the team,” Roz says. “We all hate your ex and love Harris. Is simple, take it to the…” he looks to his husband. “What is word, when lots of heads work together?”
“Brain trust,” Shane replies, like he’s not exactly thrilled to provide an answer.
“Yes, brain trust!” Roz says. He grabs the leash that Harris keeps hanging on the hook by his office door and attaches it to Chiron’s collar. “Come on, Harris and Chiron, let’s take this to the brain trust for revenge ideas.”
Harris and Roz head off, Chrion walking happily between them, scheming as they walk toward the locker room, but Shane hangs back with Troy. They follow behind, walking slower. Troy looks over and can see Shane looking contemplative.
“You alright?” Shane says finally.
Troy shrugs. “Yeah, yeah, I think I’m…” he pauses. “I don’t know. It felt like opening up an old wound.” Shane nods. “I’m pissed, I think.”
“I get it,” he says. Troy glances at him and Shane shrugs. “I mean, not an ex, but if anyone from the Metros tried to reach out to me, outside of JJ or Hayden, I’d probably just delete before even reading it.” Troy nods, glad he’s not alone in the ‘Lingering Resentment for Past Wrongs’ club.
“I just don’t know why,” Troy says. Shane frowns. “Why is he reaching out, after all this time.”
“Because you’re happy,” Shane offers. “And he’s probably not.” That makes Troy smile a little.
“Maybe.”
“Definitely,” Shane says. “You don’t need him. You’re clearly happy, and he’s just bitter.”
“Thanks, Hollzy,” Troy says. Shane grins and claps him on the shoulder.
“Come on, let’s see what they’re planning.”
When they walk into the locker room, it looks like the team is engaged in a serious discussion, circled around the whiteboard where they’d often sketch plays. That is, until they get closer. Roz is at the board, jotting down ideas under the heading, etched in big block letters, ‘Revenge Ideas.’ Harris is standing on the other side of the board, while Chiron dozes at his feet.
“You know that’s meant for game plans,” Shane says. Roz scoffs and gestures to the collection of men before him.
“Is team building,” Roz replies. Shane shakes his head, leaning against the wall by the entrance to the locker room. Troy posts up close by. “Okay, so top pick so far is Boodram’s,” Roz continues, circling something on the board.
“We are not starting a rumor about him on socials,” Troy says. “You want things to get worse for me?”
“How would it be worse for you?” Roz asks. “Boodram would start the rumor.”
“You don’t think he’d make the connection?” Shane asks sarcastically.
Roz waves a hand. “Bah! You’re no fun!”
“What if we talk about the worst exes we ever had,” Dykstra says. “Like… anti-Valentine’s Day. It can be the question of the day.” Ilya taps his temple and points to Evan.
“I knew you were more than bad taste in music,” Roz says, scribbling it on the board.
“I don’t know if that’s any better,” Shane says. Hayes raises his hand high.
“What if I do a video about his character on the show and how he’s like… the worst comic character ever?” he says. Everyone’s head turns, giving him pitying looks. Hayes sags. “Yeah, yeah, you’re right… I can’t even lie about that. The Crimson Dagger is fucking awesome.”
The team brainstorms for close to 15 minutes before Coach Wiebe comes in and announces practice is beginning, if they would be so magnanimous as to join him. Roz promises to continue the discussion the next day and asks the team to come in a half-hour early. Not a single man on the team complains about it, and Troy’s heart does a little skip the way it always does when he realizes how really fucking lucky he was to get traded to Ottawa.
Practice is fine, but Troy still feels slightly off the entire time. He just wants to know why Adrian is reaching out now. It’s fucking with his head.
Later that evening, despite what Shane and Harris advised, he doesn’t leave it alone.
He gets home before Harris - who needed to stay late to work on some posts for the week – and flops down on the couch. He stares at the message for about five minutes before responding.
“What do you want?” he sends. It shows as sent, then delivered, and then seen, all in the span of a minute. The reply comes less than a minute later.
“Nothing. I just wanted to reach out and say I’m proud of you.” Three years ago, Troy would’ve killed for a message like this. He would’ve done anything for a little recognition from Adrian.
Now, it feels like a knife to the gut.
“I don’t believe you. Why are you reaching out now?” he sends back. He watches the statuses change to read quickly, but a response doesn’t come. It makes him feel even worse.
Troy sighs, curling up on the couch and staring off into space. He’s not sure how long he stays like that, but eventually he hears a key turn in the door and the familiar sound of Harris slipping inside.
“Hey, I picked up dinner and…” Harris pauses. “Troy?” Troy lifts a hand into the air, indicating where he is.
“Baby, what’s wrong?” Troy picks up his phone from where he rested it on his stomach and lifts it into the air. He loves having a boyfriend who he can trust with his social media… and his life. There aren't any secrets there. It’s refreshing, wonderful really... even now, when Harris’s disappointment is palpable.
“Why’d you message him?” he asks, after reading the messages.
“I don’t know,” Troy groans. “It’s bothering me… why would he suddenly contact me?” Harris sits on the couch next to Troy. Troy scoots until his head is resting on Harris’s lap. “It’s stupid.”
“No, it’s not stupid,” Harris says, even if Troy is sure Harris at least thinks it’s a little stupid. “He was your first serious relationship.”
“It was barely a relationship,” Troy replies.
“But it meant something to you,” Harris says. Troy hums. It had. Troy thought he had been in love with Adrian. “Remind me, how long were you together?”
“Two years,” Troy says. He looks up at Harris. “I mean, we were apart for a lot of it, long distance and everything, so…”
“Still.” Harris says, petting Troy’s hair. Troy nods, turning so he’s facing Harris’s stomach. He wraps one arm around him in a half hug and pulls himself close to his boyfriend’s body. He takes another deep inhale, enjoying the grounding familiar scent of his boyfriend.
“It was stupid, messaging him,” Troy murmurs against Harris’ shirt. “Now he’s just going to leave me on read and I’ll feel even worse.”
Harris’ fingers card through his hair, brushing through the jet black strands that were soft after a post-practice shower. Troy’s eyes flutter shut and they stay like that for a couple minutes before Harris speaks up again.
“You should forgive him.”
Troy’s eyes open and he lifts his head, confused. “Hmm?”
“Forgive him,” Harris says. He’s so fucking sweet that Troy still can’t quite believe that he deserves him.“He hurt you and he was an asshole, but right now he’s taking up free real estate up here.” Harris taps Troy’s head. “Forgive him. Let him go.”
“You want me to be the bigger man?” Troy asks with a wry smile.
Harris chuckles. “Yeah, but… it’s also kind of petty too, right?”
Troy frowns. “Petty?”
Harris nods. “Yeah, like… you’re clearly occupying a lot of space in his head,” Harris says. “He’s engaged and still reaching out to you. Be the bigger person, but also tell him he’s not worth your time.”
Troy leans up and cups Harris’s cheek, kissing him. “I love you,” he says when he pulls back. “You’re so much smarter than me.”
“I don’t know about that,” Harris says, but he’s got a wide grin on his face. “I love you too.”
Ignoring him seems to work, because the next week he gets another message from Adrian. This time, he asks if Troy wants to get dinner while he’s in Ottawa for some interview.
He shows his phone to Harris again. Harris doesn’t look jealous, like Troy might have been if their positions were reversed. Instead, he just chuckles.
“Wow, he really is the worst, isn’t he?” Harris says, handing his phone back.
“I’m just going to ignore it,” Troy says.
Harris hums. “No, you should say yes,” he says. Troy raises an eyebrow. “Your boyfriend just happens to be available that day and has wanted to go to that restaurant for ages. Tell him you’ll make the reservation and don’t tell him it’ll be for three.”
Troy blinks at him. “What about forgiving and ignoring him?” Troy asks. Harris shrugs.
“I also said petty,” Harris says. Troy grins, surging forward and giving him a kiss.
“You’re the fucking best.”
“That’s a nice way to say petty bitch,” Harris says with a chuckle.
Troy sends the message and Adrian replies with a thumbs up emoji. Troy fully expects him to cancel before the night. He really tries not to think about it too much as they have a series of road games and the playoffs coming up.
Harris doesn’t travel with them on this road trip, but Troy knows he’s always available via text. So after a good win against Tampa, but one that left him sore and missing Harris, Troy pulls out his phone.
Is it a bad idea to see him? Troy texts. He stares at his phone for a few minutes as the three little dots bounce. He thinks about Harris, cuddled up with Chiron at their house, and his heart aches. God, he’s fucking gone and he loves it.
Think of it like you’re showing him how happy I make you, Harris texts back. Troy grins. That wouldn’t be hard. Another message comes through. But if you really don’t want to, we can cancel. I don’t want you to do something you’re uncomfortable with.
Troy sighs. He really isn’t sure how comfortable he is with it, but if Harris is there, at least he can lean on him.
No, we can see him. The restaurant is good, it’ll be nice to try it, He kind of likes the idea of showing off his boyfriend, with his bright smile and broad shoulders, to the man he’d thought he’d loved.
Maybe we make him so uncomfortable that HE leaves, Harris replies, along with several grinning devil emojis. Troy snorts.
Roz is rubbing off on you, Troy texts. He bites his lip, contemplating, before he sends, I miss you. Can you FaceTime?
Harris calls immediately.
As Harris’ face fills the frame of Troy’s phone, sure enough curled up on the couch with the top of Chiron’s head at the bottom of the screen, Troy feels so lucky. Maybe it’s not fair to compare his past relationship to his current one, but it makes him realize how shitty Adrian was the entire time. It wasn’t just that they were both in the closet or busy with their careers. It was that Adrian only made time for Troy when it was convenient, which honestly wasn’t that often.
Harris is a total upgrade.
They win three and lose one game on their road trip. Having Shane and Roz on different lines, and then combining them on the power play when needed, has been nothing short of a great fucking time. Probably the best time Troy has had playing hockey in a long time. Shane brings a quiet confidence – not just in his own skills, but in the team – that compliments Roz’s more brash approach perfectly. They really might actually be playing for the Cup this year.
Harris greets the team at the tarmac in Ottawa, both Chiron and Anya on leashes. While the dog kennel – hotel, Roz had insisted – was nice, it didn’t make sense all the time, once Troy and Harris had moved to a bigger property with plenty of room. Troy watches in amusement as Roz runs towards Harris, dropping down to his knees and scooping Anya up in his arms, murmuring something in Russian.
He makes eye contact with Shane for a minute, who gives him a little grin before walking over and putting a hand on his husband’s shoulder. Troy doesn’t quite run to Harris, but walks at a quicker pace than he typically would, wrapping his arms around Harris as soon as he can.
“Hey,” Harris says with a chuckle. Troy can feel Chiron worm his way between their legs, and breaks apart just enough to pet him. “He missed you.”
“Just him?” Troy asks. Harris shrugs, but he’s got a grin on his face.
“Maybe not just him,” Harris says. He cups Troy’s cheek and pulls him down for a chaste kiss. “Come on, let’s go home.”
The dinner with Adrian is two days after they get home. Troy’s relieved, because he and Harris barely get out of bed the day after he gets back. Troy emerges from the shower, rubbing a towel through his hair, and his heart nearly fucking stops when he sees Harris. He looks so handsome, in a lavender button down and a paisley patterned vest. Troy takes his hand and gives it a squeeze, like that would convey everything Troy feels about him.
They end up getting to the restaurant a few minutes late – totally intentionally, and definitely not because Harris was giving Troy what he called a “self-confidence boosting blowjob.”
When they arrive, Adrian is already at the bar. His hair is longer than Troy had ever seen it. Troy didn’t pay attention to entertainment news anymore, but Hayes had mentioned that he was in the running for some DC Studios project.
He spots Troy and smiles… but then his eyes fall on Harris. It’s barely there, but Troy catches the briefest flicker of confusion on his face. Troy takes Harris’ hand and leads him through to the bar.
“Troy, hey.” Adrian says as they approach. He doesn’t try to hug Troy, thank god, instead going for a handshake.
“Hi,” Troy says, accepting the handshake. “This is my boyfriend, Harris.”
Adrian gives him a smile and shakes Harris’s hand as well. “Great to meet you.”
“You too,” Harris says. He slips his hand back into Troy’s as they settle at the bar. “I’ve been wanting to try this place for ages.”
“I’ve heard it’s good,” Adrian replies. He motions for the bartender to come over. Troy can tell immediately that he’s switching into what Adrian had called “press mode,” carefully moderating his facial expressions and responses. He’d never done that with Troy before, except at the end, once Troy had found out about the affair.
They make small talk until the hostess calls them over to their table. They bring their drinks to the table and order appetizers as they chat. Well, Harris chats and Troy listens. Harris is great at engaging people and Troy lets him take the lead. He asks about what brings Adrian to Ottawa, if it’s his first time here. It relaxes Troy a bit, not being the one to have to run the conversation.
“Not my first time,” Adrian says. “I’m going to be here for a few days handling some meetings and such before heading to Montreal. The shoot is starting for the movie.”
“What movie?” Troy asks. Adrian blinks, surprised, like he expected Troy to just know.
“The new DC film,” Adrian says. “It got announced last month.”
“Cool,” Troy says with a nod. He has Harris’ hand in his, resting under the table, and Harris squeezes it.
“Troy’s been busy winning games,” Harris says with a chuckle. “The Centaurs are headed to the playoffs this year.”
“Oh, that’s good,” Adrian offers with a tight smile. “Sorry, I’ve never really followed hockey.” Troy can see Harris raise an eyebrow. “Yeah, yeah, I know, it’s in my blood as a Canadian but… I don’t know, Vancouver was never as into it as the eastern provinces.” It feels so backhanded. Troy is also from BC and Adrian makes it sound like he wasted his time playing hockey. Troy notices that Harris’ brow furrows slightly.
“To each their own,” Harris says.
Adrian hums in agreement. “So, what do you do, Harris?” Adrian asks.
“Harris is communications director for the Cens,” Troy pipes up. It’s a pretty new promotion and Troy is incredibly proud of all of Harris’ hard work. Adrian’s brows go up.
“So that’s how you two met?” Adrian asks.
Harris just smiles and nods. “To be fair, I won him over with a puppy,” Harris says.
Adrian raises an eyebrow dubiously .“Puppy?”
“Chiron,” Troy says. Harris is pulling out his phone, open to his own Instagram, which is largely just the Centaurs, Troy, the farm, and Chiron. “He won me over before I met him, but Chiron definitely helped.” Harris proudly shows Adrian one of many photos of their dog.
“I didn’t think you liked dogs,” Adrian says, glancing at Troy.
“Who doesn’t like dogs?” Harris laughs.
“I just didn’t have time before,” Troy offers as an excuse. “With all the traveling and stuff.”
“You said they were annoying.” Troy’s face flushes.
“You didn’t like dogs,” Troy corrects. Adrian didn’t like any animals really. Troy squeezes Harris’ hand under the table, like he needs him to know he does, in fact, like dogs.
“Chiron can win almost anyone over,” Harris says. “It definitely had nothing to do with my wit or charm…” Adrian laughs in a way that makes Troy uneasy, but Harris seems unfazed. He takes one of the egg rolls from the shared plate in the center and takes a bite. “You’re engaged, right?” Harris asks, once he’s finished the bite. “How is that going?” God bless Harris and his ability to change a topic on a dime.
“Uh, yeah, it’s great,” Adrian says, not as enthusiastic as Troy would’ve expected. “We’re trying to decide on a venue right now. Kind of can’t decide if we want a big wedding or something small and intimate.” Troy trains his expression to not grimace at the mention of Adrian’s fiance. The overlap in the relationships still stings.
“I love the idea of something big,” Harris says. Troy’s lips turn in a smile, because with Harris’ family and how magnanimous he is, it makes perfect sense – big is the only option. “My family owns a farm, so something out there, in the spring.”
“When did you two start dating?” Adrian asks. The server comes by with their food setting their plates down. Harris looks at Troy and Troy nods.
“A little more than a year ago,” Harris says. “Not long after the plane incident.”
Adrian frowns. “Yeah, I heard about that,” he says. “Scary.”
“Harris was so brave during all of that,” Troy says. Harris’ phone rings abruptly and he fishes it out of his pocket. Troy looks over at the screen, It’s one of the marketing team. Harris looks to Troy, who nods.
“Sorry, I’ll be right back!” he says, getting up from the table. Troy watches him leave, heart skipping a beat with nerves. He’s left there with Adrian, who’s eyes feel like they’re boring holes into him.
“So… that’s who you’re dating then?”
Troy turns his gaze from where he was watching Harris leave to Adrian, who has a smug expression on his face. Troy instantly hates the way Adrian says it, his tone is so sarcastic and pompous. Troy tries to remember Harris’s words about not taking up real estate in his head.
“Yeah, I love him,” Troy says, pretending like he doesn’t pick up on the snideness in his comment. “He’s amazing.”
“You’re a bit out of his league though,” Adrian says.
Troy frowns. The idea is ludicrous.“What do you mean? He wants Adrian to give him one fucking reason to go off on him. Just one.
“Well, like, you’re in great shape and like…” Adrian pauses. He gestures towards Harris’ empty seat. “I mean, c’mon, you could be a model.” Troy tilts his head to the side, feigning confusion.
“Okay… your point is?”
Adrian opens his mouth to say more, but seems to pick up that he may have crossed a line and decides against it. Troy’s kind of sad, because he would’ve loved to knock the smug look off his face. “You know what? Never mind.”
“So, did Greg come with you on this trip?” Troy asks, changing the subject. He honestly doesn’t remember the name of his fiancé but he loves the way Adrian starts like he’s going to correct him.
“Um, it’s Justin actually, and no, he had to work. He’s filming in Atlanta.” Troy hums. They sit in an awkward silence for a few minutes until Harris returns to the table.
“Sorry, the new socials manager had a question about the Hootsuite software,” Harris says with a chuckle. “Apparently the bookmarks I set up were confusing.”
“No worries,” Troy says. He takes Harris’ hand above the table this time and feels slightly smug when he notices Adrian’s jaw tense.
Dinner is fine. Harris is lovely with people, even those he dislikes, and he even seems to charm Adrian, Troy thinks. He even makes Adrian laugh, which Troy doesn’t know how to feel about after what he’d said about Harris.
When they finally leave, Troy slumps in the passenger seat of Harris’ truck, resting his forehead against the cool glass. He can hear Harris get into the driver’s seat and start the truck, letting it warm up for a minute.
“You did well,” Harris says. Troy sighs, lifting his head to look over to Harris, who’s giving him a soft smile. “Sorry, it was probably a silly idea to expose you to him after all this time.”
“No, no, it’s fine,” Troy says. He reaches over to take Harris’ hand, lacing their fingers together. “He’s just…” he lets out a frustrated noise. “...such an arrogant asshole. I feel stupid for thinking I was ever in love with him.”
Harris leans over the center console to give him a kiss. When he pulls away, Harris brushes a thumb over his cheek. “Home, then cuddles?” he asks. Troy’s lips turn in a smile and he nods.
They’re back at the house when Harris asks the elephant-in-the-room question. “So what happened when I had to step away?”
Troy shrugs. He’s laying on the couch while Harris is feeding Chiron, even though Troy had offered, because “you need to conserve your energy for the playoffs!”
“He was just being an asshole,” Troy replies.
“How so?” Harris asks. He’s taken off the vest and undone a few buttons on the lavender shirt he’s wearing. Troy can see a tuft of dark blond chest hair poking through and it does something to him. He’d nearly dragged Harris straight to their bedroom when Harris had insisted that he couldn’t ignore Chiron’s nightly routine.
“He was saying he thought I was out of your league,” Troy says, shaking his head incredulously. Harris snorts and Troy exclaims. “Exactly!”
“No, I mean…” Harris pauses for a second. “Like, duh?” Troy straightens up at that and Harris raises an eyebrow. “Come on, it’s nothing I haven’t heard before.”
“What do you mean?” Troy asks, genuinely confused. He feels like he wants to kill someone, probably anyone who’s ever told Harris something bad about himself. Harris shrugs, ruffling Troy’s hair as he walks past to put Chiron’s food down.
“Have you read the Instagram comments on your coming out post?” Truthfully, Troy hadn’t. He’d been too nervous, and then forgot. Harris chuckles. “Oh, to not be entirely beholden to the internet.”
“People in my comments are saying things like that?” Troy asks. Harris shrugs.
“Some,” he says. He sets Chiron’s food down and then releases him to eat. “It’s really not a big deal, I’m just saying. Thanks for being offended on my account but I’ve heard a lot worse.”
“From who?” Troy is definitely ready to murder anyone who’s ever said anything bad about his boyfriend, but Harris just smiles and sits next to him on the couch.
“It doesn’t matter,” Harris says. “I know we’re not… like, equal looks wise…”
“Bullshit!” Troy snaps.
“Troy –”
“No, it’s bullshit. You are… so handsome and cute and sexy–”
“Stop.”
“And I’ve always felt that, Harris, I–”
“Please stop,” Harris says seriously, his smile dropping. “I don’t need that.”
“Don’t need what?” Troy asks. He’s fully turned towards Harris and frowning.
“You buttering me up,” Harris says. “Telling me things that objectively aren’t true.”
Troy’s thick brows furrow together. “You think I’m lying?” he asks. Harris shakes his head.
“No, I think…” Harris pauses, biting his bottom lip like he needs to think carefully about what he says next. “I think you see me in a very specific way, a very loving way.” Harris sighs. “And not everyone does.”
Troy can’t believe what he’s hearing. “Harris–”
“It’s okay,” Harris says, giving him a reassuring smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. Harris stands off the couch. “Look, uh. I’m tired, and you’ve got the early flight tomorrow for the playoffs.” Troy feels a pit in his stomach, like he’s probably fucked everything up instead of saying that they talked about the fucking weather or something.“I want to shower, do you mind taking Chiron out to go potty?”
Troy shakes his head, but his brow is still furrowed in concern. “I could join you,” he suggests.
“No sex during the playoffs, right?” Harris says, the same smile on his face. “We can’t shower together without at least something happening.”
Harris turns and disappears inside their bedroom. Troy watches the door for a few minutes, trying to process, until Chiron comes up and bumps his knee with his nose.
“Sorry, buddy,” Troy says. He stands and grabs his leash, gaze still darting to the closed bedroom door where he can hear the spray of the shower starting.
Something is really wrong, and Troy doesn’t know how to fix it.
What Harris said continues to bother Troy. Not just because strangers have the gall to comment on his boyfriend but also because Harris seems to actually believe them. No sex during the playoffs is going to be hard, especially since all Troy wants to do right now is hold Harris down and kiss every inch of his body until he realizes how stupidly sexy he is.
He needs insight from someone who he trusts in taste and also in honesty.
“Harris is hot, right?” he asks Roz one day as they’re wrapping up practice. The two of them are practicing shooting pucks at their backup goalie and he realizes the question seems to come out of nowhere. Roz raises an eyebrow but looks amused.
“I don’t know if you know this, Barrett, but I am happily married man.”
“Yeah, but you’re not dead, right?” Troy asks. “My boyfriend is hot, yeah?”
“If you are asking to swap, uh, Shane and I are not into that,” Roz says, grimacing.
“I’m not…” Troy sighs and wacks another puck toward the goal. It bangs off the post with a clang. “Never mind.”
“Why are you asking?” Roz stands up straight and faces him. Troy groans.
“We went to dinner with Adrian last week.”
“Your ex?”
“Yeah, and…” Troy sighs. “He was being an asshole and said I’m out of Harris’ league,” Troy says. “And I told Harris this and that it’s a dumb comment and he just kind of … accepted it? Like he said ‘it’s nothing I haven’t heard before.’ That’s fucking dumb, right?!” Troy has worked himself up enough that the goalie takes notice and asks if everything is alright. Roz waves a hand and gestures for him to go.
Roz smiles. “It’s dumb you went to dinner with that asshole,” he says. “That was not on the Revenge List.”
Troy grumbles. It was a fucking stupid list anyway. “But Harris is hot, right?” he asks. When they met, Troy was immediately attracted to him. He’s surprised bluebirds and cherubs didn't suddenly appear around him. It was like something about him just drew Troy in.
Roz laughs. “You like cubs, so for you, yes, he’s hot.”
“So you don’t think he’s attractive?” Roz removes his glove and scrubs a hand over his face, muttering something in Russian.
“Look, as I said, I am very happily married to sexiest man imaginable. Cosmo even said so.” He grabs Troy by the arm and leads him toward the tunnel so the Zamboni can get to work on the ice. “It doesn’t matter if anyone else thinks your boyfriend is hot. You think he’s hot, yes?”
Troy groans. He’s being, as Harris had lovingly called them, a dumb hockey boy. “Yeah, yeah you’re right.” Troy doesn’t know why he needs someone else to believe Harris is good-looking. Clearly, he’s sexy as fuck and Adrian is a smarmy dick.
“Also, I looked up your ex,” Roz says as they enter the tunnel. “He’s had too much filler. He looks like handsome Squidward.” Troy gapes at him for a moment before he cackles.
“Oh my god, Roz.” Roz grins at him.
“You should ask Shane if he thinks Harris is hot, though,” he adds. Troy frowns, confused. “I like to see him get all flustered when he is embarrassed, but he is catching on to my tricks. Very annoying.”
Troy asks Shane the same question, when they’re in the locker room getting dressed. He turns an impressive shade of pink and seemingly loses the ability to speak. Roz is grinning over his shoulder, giving Troy a thumbs up. When Shane turns, he sees his husband’s smirk and rolls his eyes. “God, I hate you.”
“No you don’t.”