Work Text:
There were very few things that had been consistent in Troy's relationship with Adrian, but Valentine's Day was one of them. They both made sure to keep the day clear– or the day after if Troy had a game. But they always made sure to spend it together. It didn't matter the distance, they would travel to see each other and spend Valentine’s Day together, pretending they were like any other couple and ignoring the secrecy of it all.
Then Adrian cheated on him. Then Troy blew up his life in Toronto. Then he came to Ottawa, bitter and angry and uncertain.
Then he met Harris.
Three years of occasionally waking up next to Adrian couldn’t hold a candle to getting to wake up next to Harris every day. He had been worried when he first asked Harris to move in with him– when he had picked out a house with Harris in mind and asked Harris to stay. After so long grasping for the smallest bits of a relationship whenever he could, Troy was worried he was moving too fast by asking Harris to live with him. But Harris had smile that beautiful smile of his and had stayed. For the first time in Troy’s life he had someone who stayed.
“What did you want to do next Monday?” Troy asked Harris over coffee before heading to practice. He had a few ideas in mind of what to do with Harris– for Harris– but wanted to see if he could subtly get Harris to narrow that choice down for him. Still a surprise, just one that Harris was unknowingly leading himself into.
“Why, what’s Monday?” Harris wasn’t looking at Troy, distracted by something on his phone; if Troy had to guess, Ilya had probably posted something he probably shouldn’t have. Again. Whatever it was was enough for Harris to finally drop his phone with a dramatic sigh before looking at Troy. “I didn’t forget anything important, did I?”
Troy could feel his heart breaking in his chest. Of course Harris wouldn’t want to do anything for Valentine’s Day– it was silly that Troy wanted to do something for Valentine’s Day. It wasn’t like he needed a specific holiday to show Harris how much he loved him. Yes, it had been a constant of his relationship with Adrian and yes, he had always enjoyed spending Valentine’s Day with his mom growing up, but it wasn’t something Troy needed to do.
He tried to convince himself of that, at least.
“You didn’t forget anything important,” Troy said, trying his best to keep the hurt out of his voice. Harris squinted at him, so it clearly leaked in even if just slightly. “We’re just off Monday, that’s all. I thought maybe we could do something together.” This– while not the full truth– was still true. The Centaurs were off Monday and Troy wanted to spend that time with Harris. Sure, he had thought they would be spending it as a Valentine’s celebration, but Troy would take any form of time with Harris.
“I’m supposed to go help my parents with something,” Harris said apologetically. Troy didn’t think it was possible, but his heart sank even lower. “But maybe we can do dinner?”
Despite the physical ache in his chest, Troy managed a smile. “Of course. I’ve been itching to try this new recipe if you’re open to staying in for the night.” A homemade, candle lit dinner was one of the things Troy had been thinking of to begin with, so in a way, Harris had still guided Troy to the proper Valentine’s Day plans.
“That sounds perfect,” Harris was smiling that beautiful smile of his, the one that made Troy’s insides melt. If just a regular dinner was enough to make Harris smile like that, then what did Troy need Valentine’s Day for?
***
“What are you doing for Harris for Valentine’s Day?” Ilya Rozanov– fresh off a win against the Raiders– asked Troy. He couldn’t stop himself from looking around the bar they were in, making sure Harris hadn’t heard Ilya mention Valentine’s Day. Troy honestly couldn’t understand how his boyfriend– who was online for a living– didn’t know Valentine’s Day was coming up, but he wasn’t going to make Harris feel guilty over it. Never mind that it didn’t make any sense, it made more sense than the alternative– something that Troy was very decidedly avoiding putting words to, even in the safety of his own mind. “Ah, is big surprise then?” Ilya teased once Troy finally looked back at him. “I would not ask with Harris around, Barrett, so you can speak freely.”
“We’re not doing anything,” Troy said softly, ignoring the dull ache in his chest as he said it. It had been a few days since his conversation with Harris, and Troy was mostly over their lack of Valentine’s Day plans. Mostly. If he thought about it for too long, he started to get sad over not being able to make new memories to replace the Valentine’s Days he had spent with Adrian– which is why Troy was firmly not thinking about it. It was fine, he didn’t need Valentine’s Day to prove Harris loved him the way he needed that with Adrian. He knew Harris loved him– it was the last thing Harris said to him every night, after all– and he loved Harris enough to set his silly feelings about this holiday to the side.
This, however, was clearly the wrong thing to say to Ilya. “What do you mean you are not doing anything, Barrett?” Ilya hadn’t sounded this angry with Troy since he first arrived in Ottawa. “Did you forget about holiday? Or are you just being mean to our beloved social media man, because I swear, Troy–”
“It’s not like that!” Troy hissed out, once again looking around the bar; Harris was nowhere in sight and the other guys on the team were too busy celebrating their win to notice Ilya and Troy over in the corner talking. Only Shane seemed to pay them any mind, looking at Troy with slight concern but not intruding. “We’re having dinner, but not for Valentine’s Day.”
“In what way is it not for Valentine’s Day?” Ilya’s anger had lessened some, the gap it left being filled by confusion instead. “You have dinner together on Valentine’s Day, but not for Valentine’s Day? How does that make any sense, Troy?”
Troy sighed; it was much harder to keep his emotions in check when Ilya was speaking his thoughts out loud. “Harris didn’t know it was Valentine’s Day on Monday and I didn’t want him to feel bad so I didn’t say anything.”
Ilya gave him a blank look. “You think Harris– who looks at calendar at least four times an hour– does not know it’s Valentine’s Day?” Again, Ilya speaking Troy’s internal thoughts aloud made Troy squirm in his seat. He knew, logically, that there was no way Harris didn’t know that it was Valentine’s Day. But if he let himself believe that– believe that it was a lack of knowledge on Harris’s part– then he didn’t have to put words to the truth of the situation:
Harris didn’t want to spend Valentine’s Day with Troy.
It was the only reasonable explanation– the one he had been trying to avoid all along. He could feel his cheeks starting to heat up, eyes stinging with unshed tears. All of the anger and confusion left Ilya’s face– but it didn’t leave pity in its place. No, it left a sense of understanding that ran deep enough to make the tears start their freefall down Troy’s face.
“You okay over here?” Shane asked, standing directly in front of Troy– blocking him from their teammates’ sight; he gave Shane what he hoped was an appreciative smile. “What’s wrong, Troy?”
“It’s nothing,” Troy muttered. “I’m just being stupid, that’s all.”
He could tell Shane didn’t believe him, his gaze turning to Ilya instead, looking for answers from his husband. “I will tell you in the car, solnyshko.”
Shane still looked worried, but nodded, going back to join the others. Ilya put a hand on Troy’s shoulder, looking Troy directly in the eyes. “Talk to him, Barrett. Do not let your mind play whatever tricks they are playing on you. I have seen where that can go, and I don’t want that to happen to you, so talk to him.”
With that, Ilya got up to join his husband, leaving Troy alone in the corner of the bar. He had finally spotted Harris, smiling despite himself at the sight of his boyfriend. Ilya’s advice– command, really– was echoing in his brain, but Troy forced it away again, wanting nothing more than to celebrate a hard earned win with his team and his boyfriend.
***
Troy woke up on Valentine’s Day alone. He knew this was going to be the case– Harris told him he had to head out early to help his parents out– but it didn’t make the ache in his chest any less noticeable. Even Chiron was gone, likely running around the Drover farm right now, leaving Troy with nothing to distract himself. He thought about just staying in bed, but knew that that would only make him feel worse, so Troy forced himself to his feet, going about his morning routine like usual– just with a notable absence of Harris.
When Troy got into the kitchen, he was greeted by the sight of a large, rainbow colored bouquet of flowers and a note with his name on it. He picked it up with shaky hands– nervousness he wasn’t expecting settling into his bones like it had always been there.
Troy,
Happy Valentine’s Day, my love! I’m sorry to have been so avoidant of the topic, but I promise you’ll see why soon. Meet me at the farm when you get up?
Love,
Harris
Relief and joy flooded Troy’s body in equal measure, his heart feeling lighter than it had all week. He grabbed his keys immediately, not even stopping to eat breakfast before heading down to the Drover family farm. Even in the winter time, the farm was beautiful– snow covered trees that felt more inviting than lifeless, like the farm was merely slumbering, waiting to wake back up in the spring. Troy parked next to Harris’s truck, Marlene waving to him from the door. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Troy!”
“Happy Valentine’s Day,” Troy echoed, suddenly feeling sheepish; he didn’t have anything to give to any of the Drovers, far too focused on getting here to stop and think about being a good guest. “I’m sorry, I don’t have anything–”
“Don’t worry about that, honey, just go around back, okay? Harris is waiting for you!”
Troy did as directed, racing around to the back of the house, almost falling flat on his ass as he skidded to a stop upon seeing Harris.
A heart had been traced into the snow, small tealights around the edges and flower petals scattered throughout the snow. An Ottawa Centaurs blanket had been laid in the center, and on top of that, on one knee, was Harris. He was holding open a ring box and smiling brilliantly at Troy.
“Harris?” Troy approached slowly, worried about shattering the impossible dream in front of him. He knelt down on the blanket in front of Harris, still in a state of disbelief as he saw the ring– silver, simple, and beautiful– up close.
“I’m sorry for pretending not to know it was Valentine’s Day this week. Ilya may have mentioned that you were upset about it,” Harris said sheepishly. “If I knew it meant so much to you, I wouldn’t have gone through with this exact version of the plan, but you didn’t say anything when I pretended not to know so I figured you didn’t care.”
“I thought you didn’t want to spend Valentine’s Day with me,” Troy admitted. “It was the one thing me and Adrian always did, and I was looking forward to making some better memories with you, so I guess I got a bit in my own head when you acted like nothing was going on.”
Harris took Troy’s hand, bringing it to his lips gently. “I’m sorry, Troy.”
“Don’t be,” Troy said with a watery laugh, tears starting to slowly slide down his face. “This is definitely a better memory than any I’ve had for Valentine’s Day.”
“I’m pretty sure you can see where this is going,” Harris joked, raising the ring box up again. “But I’ve got a whole speech planned, so if you’ll indulge me?” Troy nodded, lacing his fingers with Harris’s free hand and squeezing it. “You are nothing like I ever expected, Troy Barrett. I was honestly a bit scared of you when you joined the team– even though I thought you were incredibly handsome. But you quickly proved to be the opposite of everything I ever thought you were. You’re kind and considerate and you care so fucking much– it’s impossible not to love you for it. When we were on that plane, you were the only thing keeping me grounded. And after that, you got me ice cream and I just knew that I’d have to marry you one day. So, now we’re here. Will you marry me, Troy?”
Harris’s face grew blurry as Troy nodded again, letting the love of his life slide the ring onto his finger. As soon as the ring was on, Troy was tackling Harris to the ground, snow cushioning their fall as Troy kissed his fiance. “I love you, Harris,” he said between kisses. “God, I love you so much.”
“I love you too,” Harris replied, kissing Troy again before forcing them both to get back up. Troy stood up first, holding out his hand to help Harris to his feet; he felt utterly giddy in every sense of the word. “Mom’s set up a big engagement brunch for us, you ready to go tell everyone the good news?”
Troy kissed him again, lacing their fingers together. “I’m ready. Happy Valentine’s Day, Harris.”
“Happy Valentine’s Day, sweetheart.” Harris kissed the back of Troy’s hand before starting to pull him towards the house. “Come on, engagement pancakes await!”
The Drover household was just as loud as usual when they made it inside– possibly even louder given the circumstances. Troy took a moment to appreciate the chaos of it all– the warmth of family and the feeling of his fiance’s leg pressed against his at the kitchen table, all thoughts of previous Valentine’s Days finally far from his mind.