Rating:

Explicit

Archive Warning:

No Archive Warnings Apply

Category:

Multi

Fandom:

Heated Rivalry (TV)

Relationships:

Hayden Pike/Cliff Marlow, Cliff Marlow/Hayden Pike/Jackie Pike, Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov

Characters:

Hayden Pike, Cliff Marlow, Jackie Pike, Shane Hollander, Ilya Rozanov, Montreal Voyageurs | Montreal Metros Team Ensemble (Game Changers)

Additional Tags:

Getting Together, Getting Back Together, Threesome - F/M/M, Threesome, Anal Sex, Oral Sex, Vaginal Sex, Throuples | Triad Relationships, Coming Out, Bisexual Hayden Pike, Bisexual Cliff Marlow, Sexuality Crisis, Polyamory, Height Differences, Falling In Love, time jumps, Homophobia, Dirty Talk, Found Family, Happy Ending

Language:

English

Series:

Part 1 of The Hayden/Jackie/Cliff Cinematic Universe

Stats:

Published: 2026-02-06 Completed: 2026-03-20 Words: 116,220 Chapters: 10/10

The Impossible Scenario

Summary

In 2008, Hayden Pike is a rookie Metro trying his best to navigate a new team, a new city, and his new place in the spotlight when he takes home a member of the enemy team, Cliff Marlow.

Eight months later, Hayden meets the woman who would become his wife. A year after that meeting, they would be married and expecting twins. Hayden did not have time to dwell on his chance encounter with Marlow, no matter how life-changing the experience had been.

...until a decade passes, his best friend breaks some major barriers, and someone gets traded to the Montreal Metros.

Notes

So obviously I took some liberties with dates and times and such. I decided that Hayden's rookie year was right before Shane's. So, Hayden is 19 in 2008, Cliff is 22. I'm playing fast and loose with the timeline here but I'm allowed. I'm playing with my dolls right now and none of you can tell me how to play toys.

Chapter 1

Montreal, 2008.

Hayden is, for all intents and purposes, a pretty chill, normal guy. 

When he was in school, he was popular. He was captain of his hockey team, he had a beautiful girlfriend and a boatload of friends. Anxiety wasn't something he frequently experienced. The last time Hayden Pike could remember getting anxious (prior to getting drafted into the NHL) was when he had to meet his girlfriend's father when he was sixteen. It had not gone well, but, like, whatever. He lasted about six months with that girl anyway.

He was anxious all the time now. He was lonely. He was the only rookie on the Montreal Metros team that year. And everyone was nice. Everyone was really nice. JJ Boiziau, a rookie from the previous year, had taken Hayden under his wing somewhat, and Hayden appreciated it. But, all these other guys were so much better than him. They were seasoned athletes, real, honest-to-god grown men with the wives, beards, and children to back it up. Hayden felt about four years old and three feet beside them all. 

Hayden wanted what they had. Wives and children. Hell, even a beard if it would help. He wanted to feel that security. Their confidence was nearly infectious, but he could not manage to catch it. He was a tiny fish in a massive pond.

So, Hayden had experienced a lot more anxiety this year than he had previously in his entire life. And, for that reason, he was trying especially hard to get drunk at the club they were at. 

JJ and Johnson brought over a tray packed with shots of clear liquid. Hayden was wary of anything pretending to be water, but, he was trying to get drunk, so.

They had played the Boston Bears that night and lost. Hayden got the first goal of the night. He got the only goal, actually. But in the last second, he had the puck and a clear attempt to tie up the game and send it into overtime, and he fucking tripped. He watched, pathetically from the ice, the puck slide away and the win slide away with it. His team didn't give him too much shit for it, because he was a rookie and did earn them their only other goal for the evening, but he could tell their captain was upset.

Their captain, Grady, was currently on the dance floor looking like he was ten seconds from cheating on his wife. Hayden felt judgement rise inside him. He looked away, feeling shame rise with it. He took two shots with JJ and and Johnson. Johnson left to find a dance partner and JJ got sucked into a conversation with two beautiful women who were most certainly not looking Hayden's way. Hayden was three shots in and feeling tingly, but it wasn't enough, so he pushed his way to the bar in an attempt to burn off some of his ludicrous wages.

The bartenders were tied up. Hayden waited, staring pointedly at one of their backs. People were coming and going from the bar the entire time he stood there, jostling him in a way that made his head buzz, so he didn't immediately notice the brick wall that landed at his right side until he drove his elbow up into the man's chest.

"Ouch, fuck," the deep voice groaned, Hayden somehow heard it over the music. Hayden turned to apologize to the man.

"Oh god, I'm sorry-" The man realized who Hayden was as soon as Hayden realized who he was. Cliff Marlow, #7 for the Boston Bears, slammed Hayden (AND the Metros captain, a brick wall in his own right) into the boards on several occasions just a few hours prior. 

"Sorry," Hayden said, because he still was, even if Marlow was the enemy. 

"Trying to take me out now? Game's over, Pike," Marlow shouted down at him, over the music. Hayden could hardly believe he could hear him, the man's voice was deep, naturally low, and it seemed to slip silkily around the bass of the sound system rather than be overtaken by it.

Hayden was going to say something clever when the bartender approached them. Marlow had a folded twenty in his hand as an offering. 

"Two shots of whiskey, jack, please, and whatever my friend here wants." Hayden startled as Marlow's hand landed on his shoulder. The man was nearly completely pressed against him. The smell of him was surrounding Hayden over the stench of sweaty bodies and spilled liquor. He smelled spicy cologne and yes, his sweaty body, but it wasn't as offensive as the rest of the crowd. 

Hayden, realizing he was taking too long, ordered the exact same as Marlow. Marlow smiled and paid the bartender. 

The shots came swiftly. To Hayden's surprise, Marlow did not immediately walk away with his. Instead, he offered his up to cheers. Hayden, slightly bewildered but extremely lonely in this over-filled nightclub, tapped his glass against Marlow's and said: "Cheers."

"Salud," Cliff said, and they drank together.

They did the same with the second shot. By the time the liquor burned down his throat, his legs were feeling slightly more gelatinous and Marlow's face was cracked open in a never-fading, wide grin, that Hayden could not help but think suited the man. 

As quickly as Marlow appeared at his side, he was pulled away. JJ materialized a second later as Hayden was trying to flag the bartender down again. He had his arms around the waists of both the women he was talking to earlier. Show-off.

"Show-off," Hayden said, scrunching his nose at his friend. The girls just laughed. One had her arm around JJ's back, he could see her petting the other's girls back, and wasn't that interesting. 

JJ laughed. "We're heading out. You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, yeah!" Hayden said, drunk. The bartender appeared them, "Oh, jack and coke, please." 

He already decided that would be his last drink. When he turned around to tease JJ about his apparent upcoming threesome, JJ and the women were gone. Figures.

Hayden took his drink. As alone and miserably single as he felt, he wasn't ready to call it a night. He found some of his teammates in a booth and discussed the game with them, the shots he took loosening his tongue to provide some actual insightful commentary, and also, trash talk the Boston Bears. It was only fair, after they fucking demolished them.

"Yeah, and maybe if fucking Marlow hadn't been up cap's ass all game, we would've fucking won. That guy is such a fucking dickhead."

Pike frowned and didn't join in as the guys vehemently agreed. Marlow was a dickhead on the ice, that was well known. He wasn't an enforcer, officially, but he fucking acted like one. Hayden had a bruise on his shoulder blooming that would show just how hard Marlow liked to hit. But, he bought Hayden two drinks and cheers'd with him. He couldn't be too much of a dick, right? 

The conversation turned to Wilson talking animatedly about the last girl he picked up at their away game in New York, who apparently had the pussy of a fucking goddess and fucked like she invented the art of fucking. 

Hayden tuned him out and scanned the room. He wasn't intentionally looking for him, it's just that Marlow was simply the biggest man in every room. 6'5 and built like a lumberjack. He had on a black tank top in the club despite it being ten below outside, and Hayden could see tattoos dancing up his arms, but he couldn't quite make out the details.

He was dancing with a girl. A pretty girl, with large breasts spilling over a corset top and long black hair. She moved her hips against Marlow's crotch in perfect rhythm. Hayden couldn't help but stare.

That is, until he lifted his eyes and saw Marlow staring straight back at him, smiling slightly. Hayden could make out the cockiness over the club's colorful lighting, flashing between red and purple. The song changed to one that was topping the charts, 'Don't Stop the Music' by Rhianna, and the way they were dancing changed to fit the tempo. 

Hayden looked away. The guys had been going in a circle discussing the last women they fucked. Hayden realized he was next up, and he would be forced to admit the last time he had sex was six months ago and it was subpar at best.

"Hey," He heard from above him. He glanced up.

The girl there, leaning over the booth, was not at all his type. She had jaggedly cut short black hair straightened to absolute death and enough black eyeliner for five to six women, not one. There was body glitter on her nose and cheeks. Around her neck were about ten random silver chains and necklaces. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest, her wrists adorned with leather cuffs that had metallic accents. He remembered girls like her from school, goths or emos, or whatever. Not his type, usually. But she was staring right at him, and he was grateful for the distraction.

The guys around them went quiet, grinning and nudging each other. He could guess what they thought of her, what they would say. But she wasn't looking at them. She wasn't smiling, her dark eyes were trained on Hayden, and Hayden felt a familiar stirring in his belly. She was hot, and she could save him from this interaction, and from spending another second staring at Marlow.

"Hey," he said back, smiling slightly, out of his depth. It felt like all the liquid courage he had downed evaporated out of him in an instant. He was so bad with women it was painful.

She didn't seem to mind. 

"Want to dance?"

The song changed again. He knew this one, 'Scotty Doesn't Know' by Lustra. A strange choice for the club, but he could manage to dance to it without looking like an idiot. Probably.

"Yeah," he said. She stepped back from where she was leaning over him. He slid out of the booth, serenaded by the irritating mating calls of his idiotic teammates. The girl was wearing a white cut-off tank top (seriously, did no one know it was February outside?) and extremely tight black jeans held up by a studded belt and weighed down by several chains. 

"You're too cool for me," He said as they arrived at the dance floor, because he didn't know what to say. She smiled, but it was more of a grimace.

"Probably," He laughed, grateful for her honesty. She turned them around, a little forcefully, her hands on his shoulders. Unfortunately, from this direction, he could once again see Marlow dancing up on a different girl. This one blonde and tall. Did he even have a type? Did every woman just throw themselves at him?

He realized his partner was saying something. Her skin was cold where his hands rest on her hips.

"What's that?" He asked. "Sorry."

She sighed.

"I lost a bet and I had to approach a jock type and dance with him. Sorry, you're not my type. I just want to say that right away."

"Oh," Hayden said, slightly disappointed. "That's okay. I mostly said yes to get away from my table."

She smiled at him. This smile seemed honest, revealing slightly crooked teeth and a lopsided smirk. Also, a ring pierced inside her mouth. How did that even work?

"I picked you because you seemed safe, anyway." 

Hayden looked at her.

"Safe?"

She nodded, then glanced over her shoulder. Hayden followed her gaze. Marlow, still dancing with the tall blonde. To his horror, Marlow looked up and caught Hayden looking. Hayden quickly turned his eyes away.

"I saw you staring at that guy. What is he, like, your ex?"

"My...Marlow? My ex? No, of course not." She saw him staring? Oh god, did everyone see him staring? He would never live it down.

"No worries, man. No worries. I'm gay, I don't care." Hayden stared down at this woman. Gay? How did they get on this topic? Hayden had never met a gay person before.

"Oh, that's, I mean good for-"

"Relax. You just seemed preoccupied." She glanced over at Marlow again, so Hayden chanced a glance, flicking his eyes towards him. Marlow wasn't looking, thank god. 

The song changed, and Marlow exited the dance floor. Without the woman.

"You should talk to him."

"Talk? What would we even-I mean, like, there's nothing to talk to him about."

She shrugged. "Whatever you say. You're cute. I hope it gets easier for you."

The new song did not agree with his dance partner. She scrunched her nose, patted his cheek, and left him alone to "get low."

Gets easier? What the hell did that mean?

Visions of Marlow in odd (okay, compromising) positions danced in Hayden's head, and he decided it was probably time to get the hell out of there. 

He checked his pockets. He had his wallet and his keys. His cell phone was in his coat pocket, he was pretty sure, which was at coat check. 

The only issue was he had to pee. Badly. All the drinks were catching up to him and he was certain he would not make it home.

The men's room was a sink, two urinals, and a single stall. There was a guy at the sink splashing water on his face. The urinals were miraculously empty for the fullness of that nightclub. Hayden, slightly embarrassed at his desperation, stood in front of one and ripped his fly down.

Just as he started peeing, the door slammed opened. Hayden jumped, annoyed at the sound as he relieved himself. He focused on the wall in front of him as someone took up at the urinal beside his.

A goddamn brick wall large enough to nearly blink out the low, flickering light in the grimy, disgusting men's room. Fuck. Do not look over, Pike. Do not.

Much to Hayden's embarrassment, Marlow finished first and went to the sink. Hayden zipped up a second later, feeling relieved and anxious at the same time, and definitely ready to run out of there, jack off to extremely straight internet porn, and go to bed.

Hayden waited beside the sink, his shoulder pressed against the red painted toilet stall. As always, he felt a little drunker in the bathroom than out in the club. The room wasn't spinning, but he was buzzing with it, energetic, or maybe just, keyed up after dancing with that lesbian. All he knew for sure was, Marlow was taking a ridiculously long time washing his hands. He pumped the mostly empty soap container over and over and over again until he had a little pool of white liquid (no, pike. no) in his right hand, then scrubbed them together for the no doubt, medical professional recommended amount of time.

"Jesus, Marlow. You only had your own dick in your hand. How much scrubbing do you have to do?" 

Marlow looked over at Hayden. He was hunched over to wash his hands, the sink was too low for his towering height. He stood then, flicking water into the basin.

"Lot of germs in a place like this, Pike. My mom is a doctor, she would kill me if I didn't thoroughly wash my hands."

Hayden's eyebrows scrunched, slightly confused at why Marlow was offering up this information. Marlow smiled at him. He left the water running and took a small step back.

Hayden punched the soap dispenser. It was empty, he was pretty sure. But, Marlow was hovering for some godforsaken reason. That woman's voice was in his head again. He felt hot all over. He slammed the heel of his palm on the button again. Then again. Nothing.

"Here." Marlow said "Put your hand under."

When Hayden didn't comply fast enough, Marlow took him by the wrist and held Hayden's right hand under the soap dispenser. To achieve this, the entire front of Marlow had to be pressed against the entire back of Hayden, and Hayden felt it all over his body. Sparks erupted in his lower back and spread across his middle, up his torso and down his arms until they bubbled and fizzled at his fingertips. Marlow slammed the soap with much more force than Hayden had. He was stronger. Hayden could see the thickness of his arms in his peripheral. He tried to breathe.

Soap drizzled onto Hayden's hand.

"There," Marlow muttered, low, gentle. 

He put his hands on Hayden's upper arms and stepped back, removing his body from Hayden's. Hayden had immediate goosebumps and barely repressed a shiver. Hayden expected him to leave then, because that was what was normal, but he didn't. He leaned against the wall, his back to the door. Hayden couldn't believe the bathroom was still empty. 

"You're just going to watch?" Hayden asked, meeting Marlow's eyes in the mirror. He couldn't help but chastise himself for his useless wandering eyes, noting the way the tank top Marlow was wearing pulled across his chest, a little too small. 

"Thirty seconds of scrubbing, Pike. My mom would be remiss if I didn't spread that information."

"Uh, okay." The water was hot, pinking his hands as he lathered and scrubbed under the faucet. Marlow was right behind him, leaning against the wall, all the while. Hayden glanced up once and caught Marlow's eyes again. Hayden was visibly blushing, he could see it in the mirror. 

He wasn't sure what was happening, but his dick was certainly interested. He wasn't sure when he started getting hard, but he was, in fact, a little hard.

You haven't had sex in months, that's all. Just go home. 

Hayden straightened up and turned off the water. The paper towel dispenser was empty, so his hands were dripping on the floor. 

He found himself, for some unknown reason, leaning against the red wall of the bathroom stall. Marlow was across from him, on the opposite wall of the sink's alcove. They stared at each other.

"Good goal tonight," Marlow said, breaking the tension. Hayden immediately, automatically, thanked him. 

"Same to you."

"Which one?" Marlow smiled. 

"Shut up." Hayden shook his head, chuckling. 

Silence, then Hayden said:

"The second one."

"What?"

"The second goal. That was the one that was good. The first one wasn't clean, but that second one..." Hayden shook his head, he had been in awe of it. They all missed it, no one saw it coming. Pure artistry; it reminded Hayden why he loved the game. "Fucking perfection. They'll be discussing that in hockey school forever."

Marlow stared at him for a minute, a small smile on his face.

"Hockey school?"

"Shut up."

"What do they teach in hockey school?"

"Shut up, Marlow."

"Square root of a blade? Puck geometry?"

He wasn't making any sense. Hayden was laughing. His feet were set more forward than his body was, in fact, the tips of his sneakers were almost touching the tips of Marlow's.

"Is there a reason your dick is hard?" Marlow asked when his and Hayden's laughed died down. Hayden froze.

Stupidly, he looked down. He didn't think he had been that obvious, but well, he was. His pants were tight, and the bulge was unfortunately noticeable, and it was becoming more of a tent than a bulge, and he was petrified. Terror cut through him like a knife. 

"God, look, I'm sorry man, I was just like, dancing with this girl, and..."

Marlow's hand was on his dick.

Marlow's hand was on his own dick, over his pants. 

Marlow's hand was on his own dick, over his pants, stroking a very large, very visible outline. 

Every denial Hayden had cooked up died in his throat. He had to get the hell out of there. Run out of there. As fast as he could. He had to...

The bathroom stall, behind him. they had to get into the stall, and he had to...fuck. He had to taste it, or touch it. Or just see it, fuck. He should've just looked over at the urinals. That would have alleviated his curiosity, right? Wait, did he think taste it? What the fuck was going on?

Hayden had not yet managed to lift his eyes off the very interesting things Marlow's hand was doing as Marlow approached him. He thought, for one, terrifying second, that Marlow was going to kiss him right there in the men's room. 

The door crashed open. Marlow stepped all the way back. He turned his back on the two new men in the room. Hayden did the same as they raced each other to the urinals, talking loudly, paying them no attention. 

Hayden glanced over at them. Strangers, both of them. Not a Metro or a Bear.

Marlow took Hayden by the wrist and nodded his head towards the door.

Hayden, stupidly, let himself be led.

He knew his teammates were in here, and Marlow's too, but he didn't resist Marlow's grip on his wrist as he pulled them through the club. The lights were purple and blue and strobing in a disorienting way. It kind of felt like following Marlow was all he could really do.

Marlow released him when they made it to the coat check at the front. Hayden's was brought first, a professional, elegant yet modest blue-grey peacoat. He bought it while trying to feel more grown up than he was.

Marlow's was leather. Of course it was, because didn't he just exude leather coat energy? Hayden watched, hungrily, as Marlow slid it over his biceps. It fit him perfectly. Hayden wondered how warm it actually was.

Outside, on the sidewalk, Hayden paused. Now what? They just left the club together and were extremely visible. There was a line to get inside still. 

Hayden and Marlow looked at each other. Hayden looked away, nervous. To his horror, he caught the eye of the girl he had been dancing with earlier. She was wearing a brown faux fur coat, and her arm was locked with another woman. 

She nodded at him, mouthed something, and smirked.

Hayden felt wildly out of his depth, but he touched Marlow's arm and nodded down the block. They would wait for a cab there.

"So," Marlow said as they stood on the street corner, waiting.

"Yes?"

"Are we...sharing this cab?" Marlow asked. Hayden glared up at him. Marlow was smirking, but he seemed hesitant. Hayden knew he was only a few years older than Hayden was. Maybe this was as new for him as it was Hayden.

And, maybe, this could be an opportunity for them to go their separate ways and pretend this never happened. Hayden, stupidly, felt disappointed by the very thought. 

"We can," Hayden said, also stupidly. 

"And go where?"

Hayden risked a glance back up at him. Fuck, he really was a giant, and it was doing stupid things to Hayden's insides. 

"My apartment?" 

Marlow smiled, it was real, and unfortunately, beautiful. 

Marlow reached out and slid his fingers along the inside of Hayden's elbow. Hayden's hands were in his pockets and he intended to keep them there, but he swore he could feel the contact through his coat.

Marlow rubbed the spot, and the idiotic, childish tingling his body was doing was only getting worse. Hayden could not help a small gasp falling out of his mouth. All he was doing was touching Hayden's arm, and Hayden wanted to swoon. 

"Need something?" Marlow asked. Hayden frowned.

"No," he said, taking a small step closer. It was freezing in Montreal that night. Marlow could not be warm in a leather jacket over a tank top. "Cold?"

"Not really," Marlow said. "I run hot."

Hayden was relieved when a taxi was in sight. He gave his address to the driver, and the two men sat quietly and respectfully in the back of the cab.

Except, Hayden's eyes kept getting stuck on that fucking bulge in his pants. Fuck. Every time they drove under a light, he could see it. 

Was it...would it go inside him? He knew that's how men fucked each other. How could it possibly...

Or he would be inside Marlow. His cock twitched in his pants. He wasn't sure how they would decide something like that. He didn't feel at all like himself. How was Hayden Pike, the Hayden Pike he's always known, on his way home to have a secret gay hookup?

The cab spit them out on the street in front of Hayden's building. He had, probably, the crummiest apartment out of all his teammates. It's a nice place, way nicer than Hayden's home growing up, but it wasn't a mansion or a penthouse, and he realized then that that was probably what Marlow had been expecting.

"Do you have condoms?" He asked. "Lube?"

"Uh. Condoms." Hayden asked, blushing at the forwardness. 

"Okay." Marlow nodded at the 24 hour convenience store on the corner of the next block, diagonal from his apartment. He started walking towards it, and Hayden fantasized, for a second, not going with Marlow and instead locking himself in his apartment for the rest of his life.

He followed Marlow. It was a quiet night in a mostly quiet neighborhood. Someone was having a party up the street, Hayden could hear the music. The store was empty, thankfully.

Hayden smiled and nodded at the guy behind the counter. He was the owner, Hayden was a regular here. And, as Marlow walked towards the back of the store, Hayden realized this man he saw regularly was about to see him purchase fucking lube with another man, and now Hayden could never come back to this store.

They only had one brand, and it was, weirdly enough, strawberry flavored.

"I didn't even know they came in flavors," Hayden said, possibly showing his inexperience, but Marlow nodded and said 'same,' so he felt better.

Marlow paid for the little bottle. Hayden stood behind him, averting his eyes as the cashier looked at the product, at Marlow, then at Hayden. 

Marlow shoved the bottle in his pocket to avoid a bag and they walked in silence back to Hayden's apartment. 

They passed someone on the street that yelled, 

"Cliff Marlow! Woooo!" But the guy kept going, and he didn't seem to recognize Hayden, thank god. Any other day of the week that would bother him. This was Montreal, for fucks sake. But tonight, he was grateful. 

Marlow leaned into his space as Hayden shoved his key in the black metal gate. From the gate they crossed a little courtyard and up a few steps.

The elevator was out of order. Fucking of course it was. Hayden had to move, Jesus Christ.

"Nice place," Marlow said as they started up the stairs.

"Shut up, I moved in here before my first check hit, okay?"

He just got used to it, and he was so busy with games and practice and training, he couldn't be bothered to find a new place. 

He would have to now that his spot for late night hot cheetos and mikes hard lemonades was compromised, though. 

His apartment was the only one on the sixth floor. There were two, but the other was uninhabitable. He did not tell Marlow that, he simply unlocked the door for 6A and pushed inside.

He flicked on the hall light. The lamp next to his couch was on, just as he had left it. The rest of the apartment was dark.

"Nice place." Marlow said, staring down at Hayden.

"You haven't seen it."

He smiled.

"I will."

Instead of snooping around, he crowded Hayden against the wall. 

"You're nervous," Marlow stated.

"You're not?"

Marlow shrugged. "A little. I've never fucked another NHL player."

"But you've...fucked...other men?"

Marlow nodded. "Yeah, once or twice. You haven't?"

Marlow's hands were on his waist. Once again, Hayden was overwhelmed by the smell of him. Whatever that cologne was, it was fucking intoxicating and he found himself leaning into Marlow to get another hit of it.

"No."

"You want to?"

Hayden didn't hesitate.

"Yes."

Marlow smiled at Hayden, biting his plush bottom lip.

"You want to fuck me, Hayden?"

Fuck, hearing his name like that made his knees weak. He buckled, slightly, against the wall. 

"Yes."

Marlow took a step back and pulled Hayden with him. Hayden watched him slide open the center button on his coat. He pushed it off Hayden's shoulders, and it hit the ground around his ankles.

Marlow's massive hands rubbed down his shoulders, over the tops of his arms, His fingers slid under the cuffs of his t-shirt ever so slightly, his touch feather-light. 

"Couldn't find a tighter shirt?"

"Oh, you can talk." Hayden said, his hands under Marlow's coat (when did that happen?), rubbing over the ribbed material.

"It's hot." Marlow said. 

"You're hot," Hayden said. God, they hadn't even kissed yet, Marlow was barely touching him, and Hayden already felt stupid with it.

"You're pretty," Marlow replied. 

"Marlow-"

"Cliff, please."

"Cliff, kiss me." Hayden breathed. Marlow didn't waste any time. 

His hand was on Hayden's lower back, pulling him in until their chests were pressed together. Hayden was, embarrassingly, needing to be up on his toes to reach Cliff's mouth. 

His lips were a little chapped, and he tasted a bit like the lingering flavor of mint gum. He wondered when Cliff had time to chew a piece. His question died when Cliff shifted his body and their erections lined up to drag deliciously against one another.

Hayden moaned into the kiss. Marlow was sucking on his tongue as his hand traveled lower to feel Hayden up. 

A strong grip on the back of Hayden's thigh. Suddenly, Hayden was standing on one leg, the other held by Cliff, keeping their bodies from slipping away from each other.

"Ah, fuck, Cliff." Hayden moaned, his head spinning with arousal. 

Marlow released him, smiling. 

"God, you are fun," he said, stripping his coat off and stepping out of his shoes. Hayden did the same, feeling his socks hit the cold wooden floors. 

They came back together instantly. Hayden pushed him, and, surprisingly, Cliff let him be pushed, into the wall opposite. Hayden miscalculated, and Marlow's massive shoulder immediately bumped into a piece of art Hayden had on the wall. It went crashing to the floor. They both spared the canvas a tenth of a second before Hayden's hand fully pressed over the length of Marlow's erection. Marlow groaned, caught off guard, clearly. His hands tangled in Hayden's hair, and Hayden was sure it was sticking up like crazy. 

"Will you...can you..." Marlow didn't finish his thoughts, so Hayden improvised and fell to his knees.

"Christ, Hayden. Okay, wow." Hayden had never sucked a dick before. He had never wanted to suck a dick before. Not in a way he was totally aware of, anyway. With past girlfriends (and one hookup), he enjoyed giving head. Eating a woman out was one of the most erotic experiences of his life. He knew this would be different, but the idea was vaguely the same, right? Pleasure, wetness, weird flavors, coming in your pants probably...

No, Hayden had to hold off. He had to show off. He couldn't give control over to Marlow completely. 

One hand was in Hayden's hair as he allowed the heaviness of Marlow's full length to lie on his face. And Jesus Christ, was this man's dick monstrous. Hayden had been in a lot of locker rooms in his life, he has seen a lot dicks, and he had never seen a penis so long and thick. He had no idea of its measurements, but he had no doubt Cliff would proudly tell him if he asked. He kept the question to himself in favor of licking at the skin under the head.

Hayden knew he would never, in a million years, be able to fit the whole thing in his mouth. And, considering he's never had a dick in his mouth, period, he decided to take it easy.

He took Marlow in his mouth, slipping down as much as he possibly could. Which, in the grand scheme of Cliff Marlow's penis, wasn't much. He tried to make up for his lack of talent with his hand. 

Marlow was gasping and moaning above him, breathing labored in a way that had Hayden so hard he thought he might pass out. He wondered if he would come in Hayden's mouth. Hayden wondered if he wanted him to. He took in a little more, until he was sure that if he tried another centimeter, he would choke.

Hayden pulled off and licked the tip, lapping at the pre that leaked there. It tasted odd, foreign, salty. He licked it up anyway. Marlow was twitching under his hand. His other hand was on Cliff's thigh, and he could feel it trembling. 

Hayden was hauled up, suddenly, he stumbled, but Marlow had him. 

Marlow cupped his jaw and kissed him, holding his head firmly in place. Hayden kissed him back, loving the way Marlow kissed. It was wet, messy, with more tongue than Hayden was used to but he fucking loved it. It felt dirty, gross, passionate...

"I need to fuck you. Where's your bedroom?"

"Down-down the hall."

So, it was decided then. Hayden would be the one taking. Okay. Sure. Hayden tried to ignore the excited dance his cock twitched in his pants at the thought. Marlow put his dick away but didn't do up his pants. He scooped his coat off the floor and pulled out the bottle of lube. 

Hayden had a thought for a moment while he just stood there. This was ridiculous. It was happening, so why was Hayden feeling so...reluctant to do this, to do what he wanted to do?

He wanted this, he wanted more. He decided to stop holding himself back. He could, and would, take what he wanted. If he was going to have sex with a man...no. If he was going to have sex with this man, he was going to make it memorable. 

He reached for Cliff and promptly ripped his shirt off. 

"Christ," Hayden said, stepping back to look at him. "You're fucking huge."

Cliff chuckled. 

"What the hell is your workout routine?"

"You wanna get big like me, Pike?" 

Hayden took a step back as Cliff took a step towards him.

The apartment was still dark, save for the lamp and the lights in the hall.

"Don't. I liked when you called me by my name."

Cliff's smile became a lot less playful. It was delicate, if anything about Cliff Marlow could be delicate.

He took another step towards Hayden. Hayden didn't step away. Marlow cupped his jaw and breathed, "Hayden."

Hayden felt it echo through every crevice of his body. His toes curled in his socks. 

Marlow pressed a kiss to his cheek, "Hayden." He whispered.

Another kiss, to his other cheek, another whisper of his name.

Feather-light on his jaw, Hayden's eyes slipped closed as his body melted against Cliff.

"Hayden."

His neck, his collarbone, "Hayden, Hayden."

Hayden's breathing was shaky. If he didn't get Marlow's hands on him soon, he was going to explode. 

Hayden realized Marlow was fully holding him up. Hayden's hands were around the man, kind of hugging him, while Cliff held him with one hand on his lower back.

"Fuck. Fuck me, Cliff." 

Marlow moaned, holding him tighter. His lips met Hayden's for a searing kiss.

Hayden jumped him, attempting to climb Cliff like a squirrel in a tree as the kisses turned ravenous. Cliff caught him easily, his legs wrapped around the bigger man as Cliff carried him blindly down the hall to the bedroom.

The door was already slightly ajar, thankfully. He heard the sounds of Cliff slamming into things, causing, undoubtedly, the destruction of his apartment. Hayden couldn't care. Not even as Marlow let him go and he was falling, his back hitting his mattress.

It was too dark, he could barely even see the outline of Cliff, and that wouldn't do. Hayden turned over and crawled up the bed to his table lamp, his hard cock dragging on the mattress, sending sparkles of pleasure across Hayden's brain.

When he got the lamp on, He looked back at Cliff, who was standing at the foot of the bed, aglow in yellow light, almost menacing.

"Get back here," Cliff ordered. Two strong hands on Hayden's ankles. Hayden yelped as he was pulled down the bed.

"Goddamn," he swore, turning over and sitting up. 

His face was perfectly level with Marlow's crotch in this position, so what was he to do but take it out and suck on it some more?

"Holy fuck, Hayden. You like that? You like having my cock in your mouth?"

Hayden moaned around the length, drool dripping onto his lap. His hands were firm on Cliff's meaty thighs. He wanted, absurdly, to throw his earlier plans out the window and fucking choke on it. He held himself back for a second before remembering: he wasn't going to deny himself a single bit of this. 

He promptly took Cliff in until the tip hit the back of his throat, and Hayden gagged.

Cliff pulled him off immediately. 

"Sorry, Hayden. Are you okay?"

Hayden was beyond okay. Visually, he was wrecked. He could, unfortunately, see that in the mirror next to his wardrobe. His mouth and chin were covered in spit and his hair was spiking up like he had been cartoonishly electrocuted. 

"Yeah, can I get back to it?"

"What?" Cliff asked, then laughed. "Jesus, you like sucking me off that much?"

Hayden shrugged.

"It's alright."

Cliff took a step back, holding his cock with one hand, he looked like a king, standing over Hayden. 

"Just alright?"

"Shut up. Come back."

Hayden reached for him, taking Cliff's hand. Cliff smiled. Hayden looked up at him as his lips stretched around him again. The smile was quickly killed by a low moan.

"Never had someone so eager..."

Hayden was going to come in his pants. Quickly, he pulled his mouth off Cliff and tore his pants open. He took his cock out and promptly took his hands off, humping the air embarrassingly as he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to hold off.

He managed it, just barely. When he was sufficiently out of the danger zone, Hayden opened his eyes and saw Cliff, staring down at him in amazement, leisurely stroking himself.

"Holy fuck, I haven't even touched you, baby." Cliff stepped closer, pushing Hayden back until his back hit the mattress. Hayden used his elbows to push himself further up the mattress and wondered if he could get Cliff to call him 'baby' again. 

Cliff removed Hayden's jeans and boxers in one swift motion. Hayden took his shirt off because he felt pretty stupid winnie-the-poohing it. Cliff stripped out of the rest of his clothes, socks included. He took a second to take off Hayden's too. Hayden was slightly ticklish and resisted the urge to kick him. 

God, this was daunting. 

Sure, Hayden has crossed some threshold already, eagerly sucking Cliff's cock, gagging on it like a desperate slut. But this. The lube bottle looking small in Cliff's hand, Hayden opening his legs for him...

"Condoms?"

"Um, yeah." Hayden turned back over towards his nightstand. He pulled one out of the box before realizing they weren't exactly magnums. 

"Shit," Cliff said, obviously not considering this. 

"You didn't...I mean come on, man. You knew what you were packing."

"I didn't think," Cliff said, wilting slightly. Hayden almost told him fuck him without it, when Cliff said, "I might have one in my wallet."

He grabbed his pants off the floor. Hayden watched, for a moment, his cock hard and leaking between his legs, this incredibly naked, mostly strange, man in his bedroom digging through his wallet for a condom. He thought, if Cliff did not produce a condom, and therefore, could not fuck Hayden, Hayden would be extremely disappointed and might even cry. That seemed irrational, right? He lived this long without gay sex, he could go a little longer.

Butterflies erupted in his stomach. There it was. He held up the condom gloriously, obviously proud of himself. Hayden grinned, wanting, ridiculously, to thank god.

"We're saved!" Cliff smiled. Hayden rolled his eyes. 

Cliff pounced on him. Hayden shrieked, surprised at the sudden weight over him. He had never been so thoroughly covered like this. Cliff was blocking everything out. He couldn't look away from him, it was only Cliff. The rest of the world was gone.

Hayden kissed him, rubbing their cocks lazily together. Cliff's hand slid down his body, dancing lightly over Hayden's red, swollen dick. Fuck, he was desperate.

"Don't tease me," Hayden begged. Cliff chuckled, his hand dipped a little lower, and Hayden froze.

"Ever touch yourself?"

"Not like that." Hayden said, shaking a little.

"You okay with this?"

"Yes, please fuck me."

"In a minute. I need to stretch you a little first."

Hayden figured that any amount of prep work would be useless. No one could possibly be ready to take Cliff Marlow's dick. But he wouldn't say no to trying. He liked having that man's hands on him. A lot. 

The lube bottle popped open. (Off camera, because, again, Hayden could only see Cliff.) 

The scent of strawberries made both men giggle as Cliff squeezed some onto his fingers. 

Cliff moved down the bed a bit, revealing the darkness of Hayden's bedroom. Hayden blinked, trying to refocus his eyes. The light reflected off Cliff's golden skin. He looked godly. 

Hayden threw his arm over his eyes and laughed.

"What?" Cliff asked, smiling.

"Nothing." Hayden lifted the arm from his eyes to stare at the man between his legs. This man who was nothing to Hayden, really. He would never be anything. This was just an encounter, they both knew that. But fuck, was he enjoying him. 

"No, really, what?"

"You're good looking." Hayden said. Cliff's smile widened. He shook his head. 

"Whatever. I'm going to finger you now."

"Sure, get to it," Hayden said, wiggling. Cliff laughed and slapped his thigh lightly.

Hayden felt the pad of his finger slide across his hole. It felt weird, not like anything he ever experienced before. Then, Cliff pushed in slightly, and wow, that was definitely not something he had ever experienced before.

"Let me know if you want me to stop," Cliff said, pushing in a little deeper, he leaned down and took Hayden's neglected cock in his mouth.

"Oh fuck!" Hayden yelled, "Don't-do not stop, Cliff."

Two fingers up his ass and Cliff Marlow taking him in his throat. Hayden was on the brink of the orgasm of his life.

"Cliff, stop, I'll come. Really. Cliff!" Hayden cried. Cliff lifted his head off and stared down at Hayden's dick, waiting.

Hayden breathed. He would not come prematurely. He would not. At this point, he needed to feel Cliff inside him or he would die, he was sure of it.

Another finger. Cliff licked the length of his dick.

"I like your dick, Hayden."

"What? Shut up," Hayden said, sure Cliff was making fun of him. 

"No, really. You have a nice body, and a nice, sensitive little dick."

"It's NOT little, you fucker."

"Hmmm," Cliff pushed his fingers in a little deeper, and Hayden...

"Oh my god, what the-what the fuck!" Hayden cried, tears in his eyes. He propped himself up, staring down at Cliff's smiling face. "What the fuck was that?"

"Your prostate," Cliff said, "Right...here," he said as Hayden moaned loudly again. 

"You sound so pretty, baby."

Hayden ground his teeth together. 

"Fuck. Me."

Cliff pat his thigh.

"Turn over."

Hayden flipped himself over so fast it reminded him of flipping a pancake in a pan. Cliff chuckled. 

"It's gonna hurt a little. Tell me stop, okay?"

"I get it, you have a massive penis. Stop stalling."

"Hayden, really," Marlow said, sounding serious. "Tell me to stop if it doesn't feel good, okay?"

"Okay," he agreed easily.

Immediately, the head of Cliff's dick breaching him felt fucking crazy. Hayden couldn't help but gasp. 

"Okay?" Cliff asked.

"Yes." Hayden said.

He pushed in more and more, slowly, always agonizingly slow, until Hayden felt so speared on it he was worried they would be stuck together forever. He was pretty sure Marlow was right up in his guts.

"You feel amazing, baby."

"Ah, fuck," Hayden choked, forehead resting on his arm, eyes squeezed shut. The stretch did hurt, that was unavoidable, but the fucking pleasure...

"Cliff. I don't have long."

Cliff's hands gripped Hayden's hips, digging in harshly. 

"How do you feel, baby?"

"Good," Hayden sobbed. "Feels good, fucking fuck me, please."

Cliff moaned and did as he was told. 

The first thrust felt impossible, the second felt like torture, the third felt like crackles of pleasures through his entire body. And Hayden...Hayden was transported.

"Fuck, Hayden Pike, where the fuck have you been? Fuck." 

It was Hayden's first season in the NHL, he thought about saying that but held off, biting into his arm so hard he knew it would bruise.

Hayden couldn't even say for sure if he was in his body during that experience. He thought, maybe, he was in heaven. Cliff was pounding into him, taking his pleasure, using Hayden's body, and Hayden may or may not have been babbling thanks to him during it. He wasn't sure. He was definitely crying, and moaning, and possibly pushing back to meet Cliff's thrusts.

He wasn't sure how long it lasted, or what time it was, or what his own middle name was. At some point, Cliff's hand slid under his body to grip his cock, and Hayden erupted, coming more than he ever had, all over the bed and up his torso.

Cliff stopped thrusting into him a moment later, crying out Hayden's name so loud he wondered if his downstairs neighbors could hear. He could hardly care, not in that moment, not when pleasure was still zinging through him like he was a damn pinball machine.

Cliff collapsed on top of him, and, feeling his cock still inside him as he came back to himself, he was aware he crossed a line he never even imagined crossing. And he might be gay, or something, because he just got off harder than he had in his entire life, but also, did it really matter? Tomorrow's problem, surely.

Cliff pulled out of him. Hayden whimpered at the loss. 

"You with me, Hayden?" Cliff asked, rolling off him and patting him on the back. Hayden made a noise of some kind to assure him that he was, in fact, with him. 

"Good boy." Cliff shifted, Hayden could feel the bed shift with him. Hayden's senses were heightened. He could hear Cliff take the condom off. There was a trash can by that side of the bed. Hayden hoped there was a bag in it, because Cliff immediately rolled back onto the bed. Hayden hadn't moved.

"Can you turn over for me, baby?" Cliff murmured. 

Baby. Cliff was still calling him that. The butterflies were back.

He turned over, feeling pressure on his body relieve as he did so. His torso was sticky with his come.

Hayden tended to throw his dirty laundry all over the floor. Cliff had one of his t-shirts. He promptly wiped the mess off Hayden's torso. Hayden would complain about the stain, but he couldn't be bothered. He stared up at Cliff as he cleaned him up. His jaw line was cut so sharp, Hayden would think it could kill a man. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the hard line of it. Cliff smiled.

"You're sweet."

Hayden said nothing.

He wondered if Cliff was going to leave. Or if he was going to stay. He wondered which possibility was worse. 

He glanced at the clock on his nightstand. It was after two that morning.

"What time is your plane tomorrow?"

"Noon." Cliff said. Hayden grabbed the digital clock off the nightstand and programmed an early alarm, deciding for Cliff.

Cliff smiled, his hand was resting on the dip of Hayden's waist. 

Cliff peeled back the comforter. Wordlessly, he pulled Hayden against him, away from the side of the bed with the unfortunate stain. 

"You a cuddler?"

Cliff shrugged, unapologetic. Hayden was someone who liked to be held after sex, so he didn't complain. 

He melted against Cliff, listening to his heartbeat as he fell asleep in Cliff's strong arms.

He awoke to the 7:00am alarm and the strong arms. 

I could get used to this, Hayden thought, and then immediately pushed the pesky little thought away. Hayden may be a rookie, but he was experienced enough to know when sex was one and done, there was no way this could continue, or ever happen again.

Still, he nestled a little into Cliff's arms, and Cliff's arm tightened around him, his fingers tucked under Hayden's shoulder that pressed against the mattress. Cliff was hard against Hayden's back, but he figured they wouldn't be doing anything about that. The light of day revealed everything, and he kind of expected Cliff to run screaming from the bed as soon as the alarm penetrated his morning brain fog.

Hayden had been mostly sober by the time Cliff fucked him into the mattress last night, but his mouth still felt dry and cottony and tasted foul. Dehydration, from the alcohol and the exercise. 

"Ugh, turn it off, Hayden. I'm awake." But Cliff's arm was still holding him firmly.

"You have to let me go." Hayden said simply. 

Cliff huffed and instead pulled Hayden in closer, grinding his erection against Hayden's body. And, oh, okay, maybe they would do something about it. Hayden wouldn't say no.

Cliff let him go, though, and he reached across the bed to smash the button on the clock.

He relaxed against the mattress, slipping back to the warmth of the center of the bed, resting his head on Marlow's outstretched arm.

"Shower?" Marlow asked, yawning. 

Hayden pointed towards the hall, the bathroom was the first door on the left.

He watched him go. Hayden had not realized it last night, but his ass was plump and perfect. Marlow glanced back at Hayden, catching him staring. Marlow laughed.

Hayden didn't get out of the bed until he heard the shower kick on. He pulled a pair of clean sweatpants on and held a t-shirt. He thought about putting it in, then shoved it back in his closet. 

The living room was a mess. There were random things on the floor from their...activities, last night. Hayden left most of it in favor of starting the coffee maker. Then, he collected Cliff's clothes off the floor and carefully folded them, setting them on a little end table that Cliff somehow cleared of all it's knickknacks last night. 

Hayden was pouring coffee in two mugs when Cliff emerged from the bathroom, steam following him as he dripped onto the floor, a towel securing his modesty. It came back Hayden in a second that last night, he had seen Cliff's dick. He wasn't just a weird house guest. He had touched Cliff's dick, sucked Cliff's dick, and had Cliff's dick fuck him so good he was aching.

Am I gay?

"Hayden? Pike!" Cliff said, exasperated. Hayden wondered how long he was trying to get his attention. Jesus, he was totally zoned out.

"What?"

"Clothes?"

Hayden pointed at the folded pile and told Cliff there was coffee.

Leave it to drunk Hayden to not think of the implications of bringing home a man and letting him fuck his ass. That was pretty gay. It was like, the gayest thing Hayden could imagine. He had never been attracted to men before last night, but he couldn't deny being drawn to Marlow, that Marlow standing there in a towel wasn't doing things to him.

Hayden averted his eyes, but not quick enough to miss Cliff drop his towel and begin to get dressed right there, in the living room. 

"Jesus, dude."

"What?" Cliff asked. Hayden did not look at him, but he could hear that Cliff was grinning. "Not like you haven't seen it before."

Hayden flushed red. He sipped his coffee and gripped the counter.

Cliff, fully dressed in what he wore to the club, including the sexy leather jacket, sat at one of Hayden's kitchen chairs and poured creamer into his coffee.

"What, no breakfast?" Hayden stared at him. Oh god, he was being rude.

"I can do, like, toast-"

Cliff laughed.

"Just fucking with you, man."

Right. Right.

Hayden stared at him.

Cliff sipped his coffee. The vibe was uncomfortable. He wanted Cliff to leave so he could freak out. He wanted Cliff to take off his sexy leather jacket so Hayden could see his even sexier tank top underneath it.

"So, um-"

"Look, Pike..." Hayden tried not to feel disappointed by hearing his last name. That was how it had to be, they were Pike and Marlow, NHL stars. "You don't have to do the 'we can't see each other' speech, I know, alright?"

Hayden nodded.

"Hey," Cliff said. To Hayden's horror, he reached across the table and took Hayden's hand, and Hayden let him do it. "Last night was fun, right?" His thumb was brushing over Hayden's hand. No one had ever done that before.

"Yeah." 

"Good," Cliff said, releasing his hand. "No regrets." He announced, downing his coffee. 

He stood, Hayden watched him. 

"Sorry about your place. Got a little carried away. You were a hell of a lay, Pike."

Hayden flushed, feeling a little proud but also slightly degraded. 

"You too, Marlow." Cliff smiled, he said nothing else, just left the kitchen. A second later Hayden heard the front door close.

Hayden breathed a sigh of relief. He leaned against the wall, his cheap wooden chair creaking underneath him. His eyes fell on Cliff's cup. His ass was sore.

In the empty apartment, hands warm from where he held his coffee mug, Hayden started laughing uncontrollably.

"Fuck." Hayden said to himself, still grinning. "Fuck."

Chapter 2

Hayden goes on with his life like nothing happened.

For the most part.

After Marlow left his apartment, he cleaned, threw in a load of laundry, showered, and hit the gym.

Then, in the evening, he jerked off to gay porn.

It was surprising, how easy he came while watching two men fuck each other. It shouldn't have been, after being fucked by a man. But, Hayden was learning things about himself. He was exploring. He was...a little scared. A little petrified, actually.

He went back to practice Monday anxious. He hadn't heard from his team in the time between the club where he met Marlow, and their day off (where he thought about fucking Marlow). 

The guys were their normal selves in the locker room, getting dressed and ribbing JJ for his threesome, which he was proudly discussing. At length. Hayden had let his guard down a little, he slipped his shirt over his head and said,

"Bro, way too much information, come on," he laughed. A few of the guys laughed along with him, which felt good. JJ held up his hands, conceding, and then, fucking Wilson turned to Hayden and said:

"It's your turn anyway, Pike. What happened after you left the club Saturday night?"

Hayden froze, his brain blue screened. 

Luckily, the guys didn't provide him enough time to work up to an anxiety attack.

Herrera cut in, snickering. "You went dancing with that goth chick and then you disappeared! We thought she might have eaten you."

"Yeah, or put a spell on you," another guy joined in. 

It took Hayden a moment to catch up, but he realized the guys were talking about the girl who told him to talk to Cliff, the gay woman. 

"Goth chick?" JJ asked, intrigued.

"Oh man, you were gone by then. This freaky chick walked right up to Pike. Looked like she wanted to eat him alive." Wilson reached over and pinched Hayden's cheek. "Couldn't resist the rookie's baby face, probably."

Hayden slapped his hand away and tried not to flush at the snickering surrounding him.

"Oh no, this is new information, Pike," JJ said, his accent thicker as he talked around a teasing grin. "You like weird girls? Hm? Artist types...um...spooky?"

"She was spooky!" Someone laughed. 

"Not..." Hayden sighed, silently thanking the lesbian he danced with for providing adequate cover. "Not exclusively," Hayden mumbled, then ignored the guys as they pressed him for more details. 

So, yeah, Hayden's life went on as normal. The season was rushing towards playoffs, but Hayden didn't have high hopes about making it. Boston would go on to be thrown out before they could even meet Montreal again. They both had extremely shitty seasons. 

In March, he took home a pretty girl from the bar. Normal, not a goth lesbian or fucking...a 6'5 hung like a horse hockey player. Brown hair, low cut top. He was turned on at the thought of fucking her. He took her to his apartment and did just that, happily, and it was great. He ate her out until she came, then fucked her until she did again. It was wonderful, beautiful. It confirmed for Hayden that he was not gay.

Except, he was still enjoying gay porn on occasion, along with his straight porn, and he was still occasionally getting off at the memory of Cliff Marlow's dick in his mouth. So, like, what the hell?

On April fool's day, he googled 'man who has sex with women and men' and scrolled passed all the results for porn until he found a blog advertising what would he would come to understand as his label: bisexuality. 

So, in the spring, after his team failed to make the playoffs, Hayden Pike became comfortable calling himself, quietly, bisexual. 

No one else would ever know this fact, of course. Despite his love of women, he was pretty sure his desire to fuck and be fucked by men would still make him a victim of locker room talk. They would shun him, if not outright kick him out from the league. His manager was working on securing a sponsorship with champion, that would surely be out the window. 

The thought made him sad, but he didn't have much of a desire to 'come out' (he learned the term from the blog, which he had bookmarked). 

Said blog also mentioned that the community, that he was, apparently, apart of, often had a hard time excepting bisexuals for a list of reasons Hayden thought unfair and idiotic. As a result, Hayden really didn't have much of a desire to be seen as anything but straight. It seemed like no one would support him if he did.

Shit, his parents certainly fucking wouldn't, that thought was enough to scare him deeper into the closet (he also learned, from the blog, what being in the closet met). (He was comfortable in his closet. He liked it in there).

So, no one would ever know this fact about Hayden. It was not the end of the world, just another, small secret he would keep. It was between Hayden and God.

And Cliff Marlow.

Remembering that Cliff Marlow knew how Hayden sounded when he blew his load was briefly sobering, but, he decided that Cliff had the same secret, so he could not reveal Hayden's without revealing his own. 

Things went fast in the off season. Hayden had time to find a new apartment. The NHL draft happened. Hayden wouldn't be the rookie anymore. It was announced that Montreal would be bringing in the number two pick over all, some hot-shot from Ottawa called Shane Hollander. Just watching him on the ice made Hayden's head hurt. The kid was a fucking legend in the making. 

In June, while getting wasted daily in Spain with JJ, Hayden went home with a guy who barely spoke any English and rode Hayden's dick like a fucking champion. Because he got away with it that time, he fucked another guy, then got fucked by a guy. Then fucked a woman, then two women together...and yeah. Hayden was being a slut over his summer vacation. JJ was too, they barely had time to see each other between hooking up. 

Hayden could admit, after his sixth fling with a stranger, as he walked back to the little apartment he and JJ had been renting, that Marlow may have unlocked something in him. A newfound confidence to do this, to go after what he wanted, who he wanted. The man Hayden had fucked whistled down at him from the window, and Hayden could only grin back up at him. He was having fun. It felt good. Briefly, he considered sending Marlow a fruit basket, but decided to just send his thanks into the twinkling night sky instead.

At summer training, JJ regaled the guys with stories of the model that Hayden somehow pulled, a tall, beautiful woman with tan skin and huge, curly blonde hair. She was, possibly, the most beautiful woman Hayden had ever slept with. 

The guys developed a real respect for Hayden, hearing his whorish tendencies over the summer. Hayden was a little embarrassed but also invigorated. Who knew, all he had to do to feel accepted in the team was not be the rookie, and have lots of sex with strangers?

As soon as JJ finished telling Hayden's exploits to the entire room, Shane Hollander, the new kid, walked in.

Hayden was twenty now, only a year or so older than Shane, but god...had Hayden looked that young, that out of place? Coach was with him, his hand on his shoulder, telling the guys to welcome him 'the metro way.' 

The guys all enthusiastically welcomed Shane. Hayden watched him take in the kind words, noticeably uncomfortable. He was shy, Hayden realized with a start. He wondered how someone could be shy and play the way he did.

"We expect great things out of this one," coach had said, about Hollander. If he hadn't watched a tape of Shane play with the other guys, he would not have understood why they brought him in at all. The kid seemed out of place. He looked like he had no idea where he was or how he got there. Hayden felt for him and gave him space.

He was quiet as he changed into his gear, quiet on the ice doing drills. Just quiet in general. It was unsettling. 

"You were the same, your first few weeks," JJ told him. And, Hayden realized he was being shitty. JJ had been coming up from his rookie season when Hayden started his own. He happily took Hayden under his wing. Hayden was supposed to do the same. He had failed already. 

JJ happily approached Shane, speaking in quick and incomprehensible French. Shane answered, also in French.

"Oh great, they're going to be insufferable," Comeau groaned. 

"Don't be jealous," JJ said to Comeau, in English.

Comeau waved at him, looking to another guy to back him up. 

"Come on, man. JJ is annoying enough as it is." 

Shane's eyes were wide, he didn't realize the guys were joking. Hayden decided it was as good a time as any to take up the torch.

"Hey, Hollander," Hayden officially offered him his hand to shake. Shane did so firmly, respectfully. He maintained eye contact, even though Hayden was pretty sure he did not want to. Hayden liked him. He decided to make Shane his friend, whether Shane wanted it or not. "You coming out with us tonight?"

"Oh, uh..."

"You're coming," JJ said, and Shane agreed.

At the bar, Shane Hollander was nursing a beer and his eyes kept scanning the crowd. The guys were trying to get to know him, and Shane was offering mostly short, one word answers. They asked him what kind of girls he liked, and he looked away, mumbling something about recently breaking up with his girlfriend. JJ excitedly offered to find Shane a rebound, but Shane looked horrified by the idea.

There wasn't anyone really catching Hayden's eye at the bar that night, except a pretty man around his age who kept glancing their way. There was no chance Hayden could get away with that. Not in Montreal. Never in Montreal. 

He glanced at the man again and realized he was looking at Shane, not Hayden. Shane wasn't looking at him, probably hadn't even noticed the attention. Hayden stared at his new teammate and wondered how he would react, if he noticed the man checking him out. 

By the first game of the season, Shane and Hayden were friends. It was solidified. Hayden had totally forced it, but Shane hadn't really pushed back. 

Their third game of the season was at home, against Boston.

Hayden wasn't freaking out. He really wasn't. They just hadn't played Boston since February, when Cliff Marlow, the alternate captain of the fucking Bears, fucked him so good he revealed parts of Hayden that Hayden hadn't even realized were hidden.

He hadn't spoken to Cliff since then. Months, almost a full year, really. Hayden had fucked several other people since then, and only got off thinking about Marlow a couple times. Three or four times a month, max. 

He had watched the bears home opener. He invited Shane and JJ over. He didn't have a good excuse, but he said he had a new grill he wanted to try out. Which was almost not a lie. Still, Shane and JJ seemed invested in the game. So, like, it was fine when Hayden winced as Marlow slammed a Philadelphia player into the ice so hard Hayden felt his own bones shake.

The Bears had their own new hot-shot player, drafted first overall, a Russian kid called Rozanov. Hayden once again corrected himself from calling him a kid. They were practically the same age, he was Shane's age, drafted right beside him. The media had been playing up a narrative of them, saying they were both the best players of their generation, and everyone was excited to see them meet on the ice.

Hayden, a player of the same generation, was only slightly irritated and jealous at that statement. Because he was a good friend.

Marlow and Rozanov appeared to be friendly, which was almost ironic to Hayden for reasons he couldn't fully grasp. He fed his friends and they watched Boston win 3-1. Rozanov scored all the goals, it was his first hat trick in the NHL. When Hayden looked at Shane as the announcers said that, the kid did look deeply, deeply annoyed. It was almost amusing. 

Hayden and Marlow were both starting in their game. Their respective captains lined up for the face off. Hayden was not looking at Cliff, but not like, on purpose, really. He just...like...very shamelessly jerked off thinking about him the night before. And also, the morning of the game. 

Jesus, he had to erase the memory of their night together, it was getting sad, the way Hayden was constantly thinking about it. He's had some great sex since, with men and with women, but still, nothing compared to-

"Fuck," Hayden swore as Marlow pushed him against the boards. Hayden pushed back, but Marlow was gone, chasing Shane, who was making a break for the goal with the puck. He struggled to catch up, but Shane was fast enough for the entire team. He launched the puck at the goal, and nothing was stopping it. Not even Rozanov, who slammed into Shane a second too late. Shane didn't go down, though. He had pivoted, apparently seeing it coming. Hayden watched the kid glare at his rival. Rozanov was saying something, but whatever it was, it wasn't enough to get to Shane. The rookie had been, so far, completely immune to trash talk. He didn't dish it and he didn't take it.

A second too late, he realized Marlow was beside him. How that hulking wall of man could sneak up on anyone, Hayden had no idea.

"Hey, Hayden," Marlow greeted. Hayden was flushed and panting from exertion, but if he weren't, he would've blushed like a school girl. 

Marlow hadn't even called Hayden by his name the morning after. He called him Pike, because they were professionals. 

Hayden looked over at Marlow. Marlow was staring at Rozanov and Hollander and oh, whatever was happening got heated. Something Rozanov had said managed to break through Shane's cool exterior. They were in each others faces. Not swinging, but refs were pushing them apart. They were resisting them a bit, trying to get back to each other.

"Cliff," Hayden responded, hoping whatever mind game Cliff was playing could be turned around on him. 

It couldn't, but Hayden could still play a clean game without feelings getting in the way. Montreal won 4-1. Hollander got his first hat trick. In the handshake line, Cliff nodded and said: "good game, Hayden."

He said his name so quietly, no one seemed to notice. That was lucky. Hayden hadn't had time to say it back.

That became the way between them at every single game. They played Boston two weeks later and Cliff called him Hayden again. Only when they were alone on the ice, or lined up for handshakes, but still. He never called him Pike. 

Hayden accepted it, and didn't try to start anything between them, because that would be stupid and dangerous and a big waste of time. He buried his desire for Cliff Marlow under the floorboards of the apartment he vacated over the summer. 

In his dreams, sometimes, Hayden was still pressing a kiss to his sharp jaw. Or Cliff was kissing his face, whispering his name. He couldn't help his subconscious. 

And then, on the first Saturday after Halloween, Hayden met Jackie.

Her hair was brown. It had been curled and teased to high heaven. When he asked her the morning after their hook up what her costume was, she said she was Magenta. He didn't know who that was. She said from Rocky Horror Picture Show. He didn't know what that was. So, they rented it and stayed in bed and watched it together.  

She was wearing tights that made her legs look impossibly long and a maid costume. She was dancing with a women in fishnets and a blonde wig. She was doing a silly move, swinging her hands in front of her face, making her friends laugh.

"Go talk to her," Shane said, seeing Hayden stare.

"What?"

Shane nudged him towards the dance floor, smiling slightly. Hayden was wearing a Luigi costume. Shane was Mario. It was stupid and cheesy, he suggested it mostly as a joke, but Shane had agreed so easily he had to go along with it. He couldn't pick up the coolest woman he had ever seen in his life in a huge fake mustache and overalls.

But, he did. He danced onto the floor, up to her. He was an exceptionally bad dancer. The song was Gimme More by Britney Spears. 

"Luigi!" She exclaimed. She was at the exact same level as drunk as he was, and they matched each other instantly. They danced foolishly together. He did not see Shane again that night. He danced with her for two hours.

"Please take me home, Luigi," She asked. Happily, he did just that.

And god, she was fantastic. As soon as they were through the door, she was kissing him like a mad woman. He held her firmly, two hands on her hips as he acquainted his tongue with hers.

"Mmm, you taste like rum."

"It's the rum," he said, helpfully.

"I'd hope so. What's your name, anyway? I can't moan out Luigi during sex. No offense to Luigi's everywhere but I just...I am not strong enough. I will laugh."

Hayden stared at her, totally captivated. 

"Oh god, is your name actually Luigi, is that why you wore the costume?"

"No, no, god. I'm Hayden, Hayden Pike."

He stepped back and offered her his hand to shake. He still had on his stupid white gloves.

She grinned and took his hand, bouncing their arms dramatically.

"Hayden Pike, I am Jaqueline O'Brian. Would you be so kind as to show me your penis?" 

He was hard in his stupid overalls. 

"Right this way...uh...ma'am and I will present it for...like...sex?"

She giggled and called him cute. He shed his gloves and hat and mustache as he entered his bedroom. He promptly dug his fingers into her thick, heavily teased hair. One of her eyelashes fell off, which was momentarily very silly, until she untied the top of her dress, revealing her lacy black bra to him. 

"This is pretty."

"Isn't it? You wanna see if what's under it is pretty?"

Oh, Hayden was pretty sure they were. He reached around her, kissing her face to hide his struggle unclasping the damn thing. She pulled her arms from the straps and dropped the bra to the floor.

"Very pretty," Hayden said, immediately taking one of her pink, hard nipples in his mouth while he scooped her other breast up to squeeze it like it was a stress ball, which she seemed to appreciate. Hayden certainly did.

Without him noticing, she undid his overalls. The top of the jumpsuit fell to his waist.

She slid to the floor, on her knees, she looked up at him and said:

"I just ripped the knees in my tights."

"Oh, uh, sorry-" he couldn't really think, because she was currently pantsing him, she pulled his cock out of his underwear and took it in her mouth.

She popped off for a second.

"Oh, don't worry. It only elevates the look, I think." She continued sucking him off.

After a bit of head, he threw her onto the bed, heart pounding with anticipation to give her...a bit of head.

"Oh," she said, sounding genuinely surprised as he licked into her. Her tights and panties were mostly off, hanging from one ankle, legs up in the air. The smell of her drew him in. She was so wet it was getting all over his face, but he couldn't help but press further into her pussy, lapping greedily at her clit, his fingers inside her. "Oh fuck, Hayden. Wow."

They swapped positions and Hayden enjoyed her riding his face for a while, until she came with a shout, until finally, blissfully, he could fuck her.

He realized, while fully inside her, that there was no other woman in the world for him. She was quoting something, he was pretty sure it was Shakespeare. Whatever it was, it was slightly lewd and for some reason, turning him on immensely. He was sort of thinking he was in love with her, and that he wanted to marry her, but that was a lot to lay on someone the first time you had sex with them, so Hayden kept it to himself and resolved to attempt to blow her mind. 

The next morning, she just, didn't leave. And he didn't want her to. It was Sunday, she told him that she was free. She was a college student, twenty-one years old, studying to become a high school chemistry teacher. She revealed to Hayden that, before last night, the most euphoria she had ever felt was setting the curve for her organic chem class back in grade ten, and that made Hayden's dick hard, so they fucked again. 

"Jesus," she said when it was over. "I know you're not supposed to say things like this after one night stands, but I could really get used to fucking you."

Hayden snorted, this, unfortunately, called back to what he thought during his hookup with Cliff Marlow. He pushed the thought away, annoyed. He didn't miss Cliff, he was fucking entranced with Jackie. He liked her dimples, and her crooked front teeth, and the big freckle on her chin. 

She borrowed some of Hayden's clothes after they showered together. They were too big on her. She tied the t-shirt taught around her middle with a hair tie and pulled the fuck out of the draw strings of the sweatpants.

It was ten in the morning at the video store two blocks from Hayden's apartment. It was dead-empty, they had just opened. The cashier eyed them warily. Jackie had showered and her curled hair was considerably flatter, but she still kind of shone with body glitter. 

They walked back to Hayden's apartment, holding hands, with a rented DVD of Rocky Horror and various treats from the corner store. They laid in Hayden's bed, kept the curtains drawn, and cuddled up. Jackie pressed hot cheetos into his mouth as he attempted to keep up with what the hell was happening in the movie. He wasn't totally sure, but it was pretty gay, and Hayden thought that was fucking great. He had never seen anything like it before, and he was enjoying it immensely. 

After the movie, they fell asleep in a puddle of spilled salty snacks. Hayden ordered them an early dinner around five. He fingered her, pressing her against the fridge, sucking hickeys into her neck as they waited for the delivery guy to bring them two orders of general tsos chicken. 

She left around seven. Hayden wanted to ask her to stay the night again. He wanted to beg her, actually. 

Instead, he gave her a bag for her Halloween costume and let her leave in his clothes. Not before, however, she wrote her number down in a horrible scrawl and stuck it to his fridge with a magnet that said "visit Montreal!" 

"Call me tomorrow, after five, okay?"

"Okay," Hayden agreed, he would be counting down the minutes.

Not a full half hour after Jackie left, he called JJ. JJ did not answer. Figures.

He called Shane, who answered after one ring. Shane immediately started talking.

"Hey, man. Do you think Grady will have us running the same sets as before? Because I don't think a lot of the guys are responding-"

"Shane," Hayden interrupted. He could not talk about hockey right now. Not when he just met the future Mrs. Pike. 

Or, Mrs. O'Brian. She could keep her last name, Hayden wasn't traditional. 

"What? Is something wrong?"

"I'm in love."

Silence.

"Uh, with...with who?" Shane sounded scared.

"The girl from last night. Remember her? She just left."

"She JUST left? Jesus what the hell have you been doing all day?"

Hayden recounted to his new best friend Shane Hollander the love nest he and Jackie built. He monologued lamely that she was brilliant, a scientist, but she had a passion for helping kids, so she was going to be a teacher.

"And she's so cool and artistic and she reads all these books. And she's so hot, Shane. She's so hot."

"Uh, yeah, well that's great, I'm happy for you, man."

Hayden sighed. Sometimes he wished he was a girl with girl friends so they could talk like girls do. He really wanted Shane to be jumping up and down, squealing with excitement for him right now.

"So you're going to be my best man at the wedding, right?"

"Wedding? Did you already propose to her?" He sounded genuinely concerned. Hayden laughed.

"No, but I will. She's the one, man. I'm certain of it. And you know, all hockey guys get married young. You'll be next."

"Uh, I don't think...

"Sorry, man, I didn't even ask. Did you go home with anyone?"

"Nope!" Shane answered a little too quickly, too harshly. "No, I-no. I left not long after you did with...Jackie, right?"

"Yes. Jaqueline, doesn't that just sound fancy?"

Hayden continued to blather on about Jackie for several minutes until Shane (likely, lying) said he had a call on the other line. 

Things moved fast with Jackie, Hayden expected them to., because he could see their future laid out in front of him clear as day. One month turned into two, then three. She came to all his home games, even though she didn't much care for hockey. She brought along all her cool alternative artistic friends, who Hayden met enthusiastically and enjoyed the company of, despite feeling like they were all making fun of him. 

"Hayden, your girl and her gaggle of freaks are waiting for you outside," Grady said after a game in February. Hayden glared at his captain, instantly defensive. 

"Don't call them that."

"Whoa, relax, man. You like 'em weird, who cares?"

Hayden felt anger bubble inside him. He stepped up to Grady, who was much bigger than Hayden, but JJ blocked his path.

"Let's take it easy fellas, I think it's an unspoken rule to be nice about WAGs, right?"

A few of the guys nodded, glaring at Grady. He was recently divorced and it was making him mean and a little incompetent. 

"Whatever," Grady grumbled. 

They played Boston again four months into his relationship with Jackie. It was the new year, Montreal was playing well. So was Boston. The media was chalking it up to their new players, which was definitely a contribution.

Hayden was playing better too, he was getting way more assists than most of the guys and scoring just about every other game. He loved looking up into the stands and seeing Jackie beaming with pride down at him, wearing his jersey over some incredibly chic outfit.

As they skated around, warming up, he paused at the barriers in front of her. She had on the red and blue Metros jersey, which clashed with the black dress, tights, and boots she wore under it. She wasn't alternative like the guys said, but she was fashionable. Jackie was effortlessly cool in a way Hayden never would be. He was fine with that, he just felt lucky that he got to know her. That she was his, and he was hers.

He longed to dig his fingers through her dark curls and kiss her.

JJ skated up to the glass next to him. 

"You're making crazy googly eyes at her," he said. JJ smiled and waved at Jackie. Jackie's grin was wide. Everything about her was so real, earnest, and fucking warm. 

She was the most honest person he ever met. If she didn't like something, she told him, even if most people would be worried about sparing his feelings. She didn't do anything she didn't want to do. If she didn't feel like sex, she told him. If she didn't like what he cooked, they ordered takeout. She would go on rants that lasted hours at times about why a movie was bad, or why her professor didn't deserve tenure. Hayden loved it about her. She was the most real thing in his life, a life raft of reality he could cling to when this hockey bullshit got to be too much.

As the Bears took to the ice, Hayden felt fear poison his gut.

That very honesty was why he knew he had to talk to her. Tonight. He couldn't put it off any longer.

They had said they loved each other over Christmas. Shane said it was fast, and he was right, but Hayden didn't care. She loved him, and he was crazy about her. He wanted to marry her. She already told him about the baby names she had picked out when she was a child. He loved them all. He wanted the babies, he wanted the wife. 

There was just this one stupid thing she didn't know about him, and he was frightened to share it.

Jackie pressed her fingers to her lips, then her hand to the glass in front of Hayden. 

"I love you," he said. She grinned and mouthed the words.

They played. Shane and Rozanov were playing like it was their last game before retirement. It was hard, for both teams, not to totally concede the ice to them. The rink was always packed to the brim during a Boston game; and ratings were always through the roof. They all knew that when Boston and Montreal played, it would be a hell of a show.

Blood was spilled early in the first half. Shultz, a Boston enforcer, hit Grady so hard, Hayden saw a tooth fly out. 

And then they were all in the fight.

Despite what the general population believed, It was hard to fight on the ice, and it is deeply stupid that it's part of the game. They were balancing on blades on a slippery surface and they had too much gear on to move in an efficient manner. Still, Hayden's fist connected with a Boston player's torso, because he had been standing too close to the fight when it broke out not to be sucked in.

The fight ended, the crowd was going wild. Hayden was shoved to the penalty box with several other players. The Boston penalty box was similarly full. 

Grady was benched with an ice pack, so Hollander took the face off against Rozanov. 

They played okay. Montreal came out on top, thankfully. The score was 3-2.

"Good game, Hayden," Cliff said in the line. Hayden repeated it. 

Unfortunately, that time, someone heard it.

Shane was just behind him in the line. Hayden caught his eye after it broke up and he realized Shane heard Hayden call Cliff his first name. 

He wasn't sure how he was going to explain it. He wasn't sure what kind of lie he could cook up. Oh, sorry Shane. I told Cliff that while we were fucking last year that I like it when he called me by my first name, and he's been doing it ever sense for reasons I cannot possibly fathom.

Shane would hit the fucking ceiling. Hayden did a bad, bad thing. It wasn't the gay sex that was so appalling (though, it would be to his team), it was the gay sex with a fucking Boston Bear. Now that this stupid Hollander-Rozanov rivalry was full in swing, the teams (who, previously had been considered rivals) were expected to fully and completely loathe each other, no exceptions.

Shane was looking at him in the locker room.

No, he was staring at him in the locker room.

Hayden did not meet his eyes. His skin prickled, would Shane ask him about it here? In front of everyone? God, then how would he explain it?

He would never be able to, if confronted. He was a terrible liar.

"Where we going?" JJ asked, throwing his arms around Shane and Hayden. Shane tore his searching stare away. Hayden silently thanked JJ for popping the bubble.

"Oh, uh, I can't, tonight. Sorry," Shane mumbled. 

"Aw you can't?" JJ mocked, "What, hot date? Come on Hollander."

"Hey! The rook might have a hot date, you don't know!" Someone called. Shane was staring at the floor, getting dressed quickly, flushed to the shade of a tomato.

Hayden thought that was exceptionally interesting, but he didn't have the power to ask Shane about it, not after the disaster on the ice. He had his own secrets to run away from.

"Whatever, Pike?"

"Plans with Jackie." 

"Ugh!" JJ mumbled something furiously in French. Shane did not react. "You are all so boring now!"

Jackie was waiting by his car. He rushed to her, aware that most of her legs were out, and it was winter in Canada. The dress was thigh length and the boots knee high, she had to be freezing!

"You can warm me up!" She teased, wrapping her arms around him as he pulled her in for a kiss. He prayed to whatever god that was kind enough to invent Jaqueline O'Brian that she would stay with him after the conversation they were about to have.

Because he had been pricing rings, already. He was all in. He was so wrapped up in her he couldn't imagine life without her. He wanted to marry her this summer, not next summer, not in two years when it was more socially acceptable. No, this summer. July, 2009. That was all he wanted.

Hayden cooked dinner. He baked chicken and roasted some asparagus. Jackie insisted on making some mashed potatoes to go along with it, so they stood beside each other at Hayden's kitchen counter, elbows brushing, as they prepared their meal. He imagined doing this with her in five years, small children hanging off their legs. He imagined her smashing a plate and leaving him after he spoke to her.

They sat down on the couch in the living room. Jackie had a movie paused on the TV for them to watch while they ate.

She put down her plate immediately, drew her legs up under her, and stared at him. She had taken off her tights, jewelry, and her bra but was still in her dress and his jersey. The sight of her both hardened his dick and warmed his heart. He really, really did not want to come out to her.

But the secret was eating him alive. He had quietly submitted to the blog he followed for advice, and the blog told him he would probably feel better after doing it, but no one was owed the knowledge of someone's sexuality. 

But he felt like he owed Jackie everything. He had never felt like this before. This in love, so wholly, so completely, and loved the same way. He could never keep a secret from her. He just knew he couldn't.

"You've been quiet."

"Sorry."

"What is it, sweetie?" Her voice was silky, luxurious. He was sitting like a loser, not facing her, both feet on the ground, plate of food growing cold on his lap.

"I have to tell you something."

"Hayden, baby, you're worrying me. Will you look at me?"

There was so much distance between them on the couch.

Hayden put his plate on the coffee table and sat with his legs crossed. He was across from her, Jackie on one end, Hayden on the other, an ocean between them. She looked a little concerned but not fearful. A month ago she had told him that it would be impossible to scare her away. He prayed that was true.

"I feel like I need to tell you this, because...because I want to marry you, Jackie."

Jackie raised her eyebrows.

"Is this a proposal?"

"No! God, no! I'll do that right, someday. Soon."

She smiled at him.

"Go on."

He worried his bottom lip between his teeth. This was so hard.

The blog had congratulated him, prematurely, on coming out to someone for the first time. They said saying the words are sometimes half the battle.

He had been saying them, in his head. The two words bounced around his cavernous, empty brain constantly. Sometimes it was all he could think. He hated secrets.

"And I'm not saying this because I want to like, break up or see other people or anything, okay? I'm not. At all. I want to marry you."

"Okay, Hayden. I wasn't worried about that."

Hayden looked at her sheepishly. 

"You weren't?"

"No, you're clearly obsessed with me."

Hayden laughed self consciously, "It's that obvious?"

"Yeah, but it's okay. I'm obsessed with you too, baby."

Warmth spread through him. She leaned forward, reaching her hand across the back of the couch. He took it, squeezing lightly.

"It's just that...I'm bisexual." 

A pause.

"Which means I-I...um. Have had sex with men. And women! In the past. But now I just have sex with you. Because I love you, and I want to marry you."

She smiled. He hadn't even realized she had been tense, but he saw her shoulders drop.

"Honey, is that all?"

"Oh, um. Well, yeah, pretty much."

She lunged across the couch into his arms. 

Tension melted out of his body. She straddled him, he hugged his arms around her tightly as her hands smoothed up his neck to cup his face. She pressed delicate kisses to his face, jaw, his neck. He was shaking a little.

"Aw, baby, it's okay, don't cry."

Oh god, there were tears in his eyes. There was a tear on his cheek.

"Sorry, I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. It's okay, Hayden. You have nothing to be sorry for."

"Are-are you sure?"

She smiled, wiping a tear off his cheek with the thumb that had a chunky silver band on it.

"Yes I'm sure. Of course it's okay. Being bisexual isn't the end of the world. It's great!"

"It is?"

"Yeah, of course it is. You don't think so?"

"Well. Um. Not really." He hadn't really thought about it as something that could be great, not in his reality, anyway. "I'm...I'm a professional hockey player."

The look in her eyes was tragic.

"Yeah," she said sympathetically. "Am I the first person you told?"

He nodded.

"Because you're serious and want to marry me?" She grinned, she still had his face cradled in her hands. He closed his eyes and smiled, relishing in her teasing.

"Yes."

"You're still in the closet, right? No one can know?"

"Yes, please don't...don't tell anyone. Please. They will kick me out of the league."

She nodded and cooed reassurances at him. He was crying a little again.

"I won't, baby. Thank you for sharing this with me. I'll keep your secret. It's our secret now."

"I love you," He said pitifully. 

"I love you so much, baby."

A few hours later, they were in Hayden's bed with the sheets rumpled. She was still wearing her jersey and dress and she pulled them down after they finished. He was naked, his head in her lap. Her fingers were in his hair.

"Should we elope?" She asked, her voice breezy and high, she always sounded like that after sex. Hayden loved it. 

"Elope?"

"Yeah, like, this weekend?"

"You want to marry me this weekend?"

She shrugged. "Probably most of my friends are free. Or, fuck. You're away, in Vancouver."

"Yeah."

"Later, then. Maybe next month."

Hayden loved this conversation. 

"I'm going to propose to you properly. But...maybe we should start actually wedding planning. For July."

"July?" 

"I have the most free time in July, and it's before your student teaching starts."

"That's true."

"We'll have ample time for a honeymoon if we do it in July."

"Okay, July. I never saw myself as having a summer wedding. But it sounds nice to have one with you," Hayden glowed. 

"We don't even live together." Jackie said.

"You can move in."

"Okay. Maybe this weekend." He was so happy. He loved how easy it was with her. He felt love for her flow so freely out of him. He could call his affection for her out of his body, feel it swell inside him. Loving her was second nature. They were soulmates. 

Her fingers dragged across his scalp, nearly lulling him to sleep.

"Since we're sharing things, and wedding planning, we should probably get into some of the heavy stuff."

He opened his eyes.

"Heavy stuff?"

"Yeah. My ex, Damon. He was really into The Twilight Zone. Remember that show? From like, the 1960s. It was so annoying, Hayden. Don't tell me you like that show."

Hayden chuckled

"I don't."

"Thank god. My high school boyfriend Marco played the flute really really badly, and then he tried to cheat on me with my sister Megan."

"Jesus. What's worse, the flute playing or the cheating?"

"Equally terrible. He also took my virginity, which is a shame, because he tried to get Megan's too."

"But failed?"

"Yeah. Megan tried to run him over with her car."

They were silent for a while. Hayden wondered what stories he could tell. She already knew about his parents and his life growing up. She knew his biggest secret. 

"Freshman year I made out with my roommate three times. Her name was Jessie. She was nice. After the third time, it started to feel like a pattern, like we were something. Which I didn't want, because I was trying to sleep with this guy Eric, so I told Jessie no more. She ended up dropping out. Sometimes I think it was my fault."

"I don't think it was your fault," he said simply.

"I might have broken her heart, I'm not sure. Do you think I'm a slut?"

"No," he answered immediately. He didn't think about women that way. His mother would kill him.

"Okay, I told you about Jessie. Your turn."

"What do you mean?"

She tugged his hair a little. It went straight to his dick.

"Tell me about the first guy you had sex with."

"Oh...um...."

"What?"

"It's just..."

"Oh, you don't want to out him? Is he like, famous?"

"Kind of?" Hayden said.

"It was another hockey player," She deduced. 

"Yeah."

"On your team?"

"No. On the Bears." He immediately regretted admitting that.

"Oh, you played them tonight," she sounded thoughtful. She had never seemed the jealous type before, but he was suddenly afraid she would think he still cared for Marlow. Which, he didn't. He never cared for Marlow. Not like he did Jackie.

"Yeah but we're not...it was only one time. I'm not, like, in love with him or anything."

"I know." She chuckled. "Sorry, I'm just...god sorry, now I'm just so curious. It's not that cutie Russian boy, right?"

"No!" Hayden scoffed, slightly disgusted. "Rozanov is terrible, and he's a rookie this year."

"Okay, okay. He is cute, though."

Hayden grumbled quietly to himself, Rozanov was not cute.

"You don't have to tell me."

"It was Marlow."

"What?"

"Cliff Marlow. On the Bears, okay? You also can't tell anyone this."

"Of course not."

He slid his eyes closed.

He heard her shuffling above him.

She had retrieved her laptop from where it was sitting, discarded, in his bed.

"Oh my god, you are not looking him up."

"I'm looking him up."

"Oh god, Jackie, please." This was mortifying. 

"My wonderful sexy hockey husband fucking a no doubt other sexy hockey player? I need to picture it properly so I can masturbate while you're in Vancouver this weekend."

Fuck.

"You can't just say things like that," he said, his exhausted dick perking up with interest. He couldn't help but imagine it, her in his bed, two fingers deep in her cunt-

"Oh wow," she said. He heard the tell-tale sound of a YouTube video and heard Marlow's cocky fucking voice.

It was from an interview last year where he snagged the game-winning goal against Charleston. 

Hayden moved up the bed and sat beside her, propping himself against the headboard. They watched Marlow and the Bears' captain take questions at the interview. He had this dumb, self-satisfied grin on his face the entire time, deeply proud of himself, and a strand of black hair kept falling forward into his face.

"Fuck, Hayden. This guy?"

"Yeah."

"Not what I pictured for your type."

"I don't have a type."

"I guess not. He's hot as fuck."

"Christ, Jackie, this is so embarrassing."

She smirked menacingly down at him.

"Are you hard?"

"No."

"Is this turning you on?" She asked in a faux-sultry tone that Hayden had to laugh at.

"No, stop it."

The video was still playing, but they were staring into each others eyes. She sucked two of her fingers into her mouth. Hayden watched her with rapt attention as she slid the laptop off to one side to hike up her clothes and reach her pussy.

She gasped as she began to rub herself, slowly, delicately. She held eye contact with him. He was hard.

"Fuck, Jackie." He moved to climb on top of her but she pushed him down, back on his side.

"No, like this."

"What?"

"Watch me."

"I am." He couldn't imagine looking anywhere else.

"Tell me about him."

"What?"

"Tell me about Cliff Marlow. About you and him."

"Oh god, Jackie. I can't just-"

"Please baby, I got so turned on thinking about you guys." She took his hand and dragged it towards her center. He dipped his fingers in her, she was a puddle of moisture.

He couldn't deny her this. He couldn't deny her anything. Hell, he would call Cliff Marlow to come over and fuck her if it would make her happy.

He started slowly, apprehensive and blushing profusely. 

"We were at a club. He...propositioned me." She giggled, still touching herself. He was so hard. "I brought him back to my apartment."

"Here?"

"No, my old apartment. This was last year, during my rookie season."

"So this is all fairly new for you." She said, referring to his bisexuality. He didn't really think so, it had felt like kind of a long year.

"It was about a year ago this happened."

"That's pretty new. You're already ready to get married and only fuck one person for the rest of your life?"

He stared at her.

"Absolutely."

She grinned.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too. Tell me what happened next."

"We went to my apartment. He sort of pushed me against a wall."

"Dom type?"

"Uh, I guess? I don't know."

"I'd bet, just by looking at him." The video had ended and the screen had gone dark, Hayden could just barely make out his reflection in the screen.

"We kissed. Um.." her hand found his dick and she began stroking it lazily. "He-he smelled good."

"What did he smell like?"

"Spicy, masculine."

"Sexy."

"Yeah. You really want to hear this?"

"Yes, please baby."

"You're going to think of me differently."

"Why?" That seemed to surprise her. She stopped rubbing herself but she was still stroking him.

"Because..." he squirmed. "I was the bottom. This time. I top other times." He couldn't help but throw in that last detail, like it would help his case.

"You're verse," She sounded delighted by the prospect. He felt, not for the first time, wildly out of his depth with her. He was fucking obsessed with her.

"Yeah."

"The only thing I'm thinking about is how fucking sexy you are. Keep going, please." She started touching herself again.

"Can I touch you?"

"Tell the story, Hayden. Maybe, if you're good."

"He's...he's really tall. Really tall. Kissing him was kind of hard. He's kind of a massive guy."

"Massive all around?"

If Hayden wasn't still blushing, he was again.

"Yeah."

"Fuck, Hayden, how big?"

He couldn't help but, immediately, feel insecure about his own dick size. It wasn't little by any means, but it wasn't magnum sized either. Hayden was pretty sure no one could compete with Cliff fucking Marlow.

"I don't know. I really don't. Really big."

He squirmed, whimpering a little as she thumbed over the slit.

"Ooh, you like that."

"We sort of made a mess of the apartment. Broke some stuff, I knocked some art off a wall." She audibly moaned, eyes rolling back. 

"Keep talking, don't stop. I'm gonna come."

"I...sucked him off, kind of. Not off. But yeah, In the hallway of my apartment."

"Did you like it?"

"Yes."

"It's fun as fuck," she agreed, licking her lips. He was close too. 

"He...this is embarrassing. He carried me to the bedroom. I sucked him some more. I fucking gagged on it, it's just, it was so big and-" He cut himself off, he was babbling. 

"No fuck, keep going," She was close, her hands were moving faster down his length and on her clit.

This was so weird. 

"I liked it, sucking him."

"You like to give head, it's fucking great. You're exceptional at it, Hayden Pike. I've never told a man that before, so believe it."

Hayden whined, "I want to lick you."

"You can't speak with your mouth full."

"I almost came in my pants while doing it, but I stopped myself. And then we almost couldn't fuck because I didn't have condoms that would fit him, but he did."

"You could have fucked him," she said, eyes heavily lidded, drooling a little. 

"What?"

"You could have fucked him if he didn't have the condoms."

"Oh, fuck," Hayden's hips stuttered forward, more than once he came to the thought of topping Cliff Marlow. It was about to happen again. 

"Aw you loved that idea. You're such a giver, baby."

"The sex was crazy. I mean, it felt crazy. I was on my stomach so I didn't see, but I don't think I could have possibly taken the whole thing. I don't know. But it hurt and it was mind blowing. Until I met you it was the best sex I'd ever had."

"Oh fuck, Hayden-"

"I sort of came out of my body a bit, it was like all I could feel was pleasure everywhere, and it was too much, it was-it was just-Jackie, fuck!"

They came together with loud, romantic shouts of each other's name. Her hand stilled on his dick. He sprayed jizz on his jersey, unfortunate. He could see her thighs glistening with wetness. 

"That was the weirdest sex I've ever had," Hayden said. 

"Me too, maybe. Probably. It was good, though, right?"

"Yeah, but..." He couldn't not ask, it was nagging at him, "you're not...jealous?"

"Why would I be jealous? It's hot, and you're not secretly in love with him, so who cares?"

"Yeah." Her hand was in his hair again. 

"Are you jealous? Mad at me for getting off to thoughts of another guy?"

"No," he said. 

She smiled at him and spread her legs a little.

"Want to show me how not-jealous you are?"

"Yes!"

Chapter 3

Chapter Notes

They were knocked out of the playoffs for 2009.

Shane was devastated. JJ decided it was best to take him out clubbing to make him feel better, but that really only made JJ, Hayden, and Jackie feel better.

Jackie had started coming out with them, sometimes bringing along her friends. He learned, after coming out to her, that she had several queer friends. She didn't tell them about Hayden, of course, but he sort of felt like they all knew anyway, like they had some kind of gay telepathy. 

A good chunk of the team were tickled by Jackie's friends and obviously felt more interesting than they were, hanging out with art-types. In June, JJ even started something with Jackie's friend Angelina, who was a talented poet and playwright, and, up until JJ, dated the scariest women Hayden had ever seen. Hayden gave them three months tops, but was fairly certain they would be each other's dates at Jackie and Hayden's wedding.

It was...slightly affirming, hanging out with queer people, even if they didn't explicitly know about him. It also felt good seeing his teammates see him around gay people. Sure, they didn't suspect him as one of them, but the association was enough for Hayden, who, after coming out to his fiancé, was feeling a lot more positivity regarding his bisexuality. 

Hayden proposed to Jackie after her birthday in May. He researched a month ahead of time and found a production of a play by a local writer he thought she might be into. She was, and ended up knowing a couple actors, so, they went out for drinks with them afterwards. Hayden got drunker than he meant to, about, one and a half drinks away from sloppy. Later, he and Jackie fell into bed together, giggling about something absurd one of the actors said.

They had mailed out their wedding invitations already and had a venue booked outside the city. But, Hayden struggled a small black velvet box out of the pocket of his jeans. 

"Hayden!" She gasped, seeing the box, "You didn't!"

"I did."

She started laughing. "We already have the whole thing planned!"

They left most of it up to a very frazzled wedding planner, who Hayden threw a lot of money (thank you, champion deal) at to get the thing planned in just a few short months. Jackie was somewhat involved in the planning process, Hayden was almost not at all. 

"Oh my god," she said, staring at the ring.

It was an unconventional ring. Hayden had called his mom, of all people, and asked her what she thought. She had never met Jackie, but she said all women liked diamonds. Hayden was skeptical, so he asked her sister Megan when he met her family the month prior.

"You know what she wears." Megan said, who appeared the type to want a standard diamond ring, but did not insist on it for her sister. "Don't be boring."

The stone was a big, deep blue sapphire. He knew Jackie mixed metals but mostly preferred silver, so the band was silver. It was a dainty band, which wasn't her typical choice, but it was threaded with lines of black, some other rock he couldn't exactly remember the name of in that moment, while she stared down into the box and he held his breath. He wasn't that worried, if she hated it, they would pick out a new one together. But he really wanted to get this right. He wanted to show her that he saw her.

When she lifted her head up she wasn't smiling anymore, she was crying.

"Oh, sweetheart, what's wrong? You don't like it? We can get a different one, it's no problem-" he started to close the box.

"No!" She shouted. "No, Hayden, my love. It's perfect. I love it."

"You do?"

"Yes," She laughed through tears. "I love you. Holy shit, put it on me. Fuck, what hand does it go on?"

Hayden laughed, he took her hand and slid off the ring she had been casually wearing on the correct finger. 

He had it perfectly sized, having stole one of her rings to give to the jeweler. Slipping it down her finger felt like coming home. He replaced the ring he had taken off, and pulled her in for a kiss.

The wedding was the 18th of July, 2009. Hayden's parents flew in from Saskatchewan and met Jackie for the first time, which his mother was not pleased about, but he could hardly care about their approval.

The venue was an old factory turned event space, with crumbling brick walls and large, elegant windows. Jackie wore a short dress, thigh-length, tall white boots, and a veil that was only as long as her hair. Hayden's suit was dark grey. The bridesmaids and the groomsmen wore a mixture of blue and green. Shane was his best man, handsome in a green suit.

It was the best day of his life. He was twenty-one and a married man. He knew that was a nightmare for some guys, but Hayden felt content, safe, and strong holding his wife. Saying 'I do' was the best decision he ever made.

His own wedding band matched Jackie's. It was a thick silver band with several small blue stones lining the center. He thought it was beautiful. It was way different than any wedding ring he had ever seen on his teammate's fingers, and that only made him love it more.

Summer training started in August, and it was Jackie's last year at university, so she was beginning her student teaching at a local high school. They were both exhausted, coming back from their honeymoon and going straight into work. 

It was announced, while they were away, that Grady was officially finished. He retired over the summer, and the position for captain was filled, by orders of coach, by Shane Hollander. Hayden came back to work as the alternate captain. 

Shane worked them harder than Grady ever did, the kid was after the cup, and they were all suffering for it. The fall of 2009 was mostly Hayden pushing his body to the limit, Jackie suffering physically and emotionally while student teaching, and attempting to have fun in the in between moments.

Trying to shove fun into every free moment was what caused Jackie's pregnancy test to come back with a little plus sign on Christmas day.

They were excited, thrilled, and so, so scared. Hayden felt, for the very first time, that twenty-one and twenty-two were very, very young ages. And yeah, they could afford a baby, and they loved each other (and Hayden already loved it, as soon as the test came back positive), but who was going to take care of Hayden and Jackie??

A doctor's appointment after the holidays, while Hayden was fucking in Tampa Bay, of all goddamn places, revealed that it was not just one baby, but two.

"My dad's a twin. So, like, it's not that surprising, I guess," Jackie said, crying over the phone. "Oh god, I'm scared, Hayden. I wish you were here."

"It's gonna be okay. We got this, Jacks. I'm so sorry I wasn't there, I'll be home tomorrow night."

"Okay, I love you."

Hayden told her he loved her, and immediately went to find Shane. 

This wasn't hard, because he was sitting on his bed in the hotel room they were sharing, channel surfing in his pajamas. Most of the other guys were going out. They lost their game, but being in seventy degree weather in January was enough to celebrate. Not Shane though, never Shane.

Hayden didn't much feel like it either.

Hayden took the remote from Shane and muted the TV.

"You look serious," he said, his voice laced with concern.

Shane had never asked Hayden about what he overheard with Cliff. He had given Hayden those curious glances that evening in the locker room, and that was it. He either forgot, or decided it wasn't important. Hayden figured it was the latter, his best friend didn't miss much, and never forgot a thing. 

"Jackie's pregnant."

Shane's mouth fell open. Hayden fidgeted with his wedding ring nervously, twisting it. He hadn't told anyone yet, and he was going crazy. He had wanted to call Shane immediately, but he ended up sobbing with Jackie instead and then having hot sex all night. It had been a weird Christmas.

"Oh my god, uh, what are you gonna-" Shane cut himself off, brows furrowing. Hayden almost laughed. "Uh, I mean, wow, congratulations."

"Try again."

"That's so great, buddy. I am so happy for you," he deadpanned. 

"You're such a dick."

"No, okay, I'm sorry. Look, you're happy right?"

Hayden was happy. He was also terrified.

"Yes. But I'm scared, it's, uh...it's twins."

Shane's eyes nearly bugged out of his head.

"Twins?" He shouted. "Jesus Christ, what the hell are you gonna do?"

"My fucking best, I guess, man." 

Hayden flopped on his back, uncomfortable across Shane's outstretched legs.

"I love them already. And I love Jackie. This is going to fuck with her plans, though. She was supposed to start teaching next fall."

"Right," Shane said, "That sucks."

They existed, suspended in silence for a while. The baby name's Jackie had once shared with him floated around in his head. 

Shane's phone dinged. Hayden watched him pick it up. His face seemed to close up even more than it already was.

"JJ?" 

"No, uh, yeah." He said after a minute. He locked his phone and tossed it aside. "We are not going out. Tell me all about, like, babies. They do baby parties, right? You guys gonna do one of those?"

Hayden loved his friend.

The years slipped by like water through cupped hands. Jackie graduated college visibly pregnant with their girls. They were born in July, just after their one year anniversary. 2010 wasn't their year for the cup, neither was 2011. The Bears won that year, it was the first time in a long time the Bears won a cup. The guys were over at Hayden's house watching the game. Hayden was holding Jade and Shane was bouncing Ruby. Shane and Hayden sat side by side as the girls cooed at each other. He watched Ilya Rozanov hoist the cup and yell Russian into the camera.  He was pretty sure he said "mama."

Shane was teary eyed. Hayden felt for him. It had been close that year, but their goalie got injured, so they suffered well before the playoffs. The Bears were the team to kick them out of the running, actually. 

"We'll get 'em next year, man." Hayden said.

Shane nodded at him. He was not crying. Hayden turned back to the TV to watch Rozanov pass the cup over to his alternate Captain, Marlow.

Marlow himself got married recently, just a few months before their cup win. Hayden was surprised to read this, given his reputation, but Marlow was a few years older than Hayden. He figured the man must have been ready to settle down. Hayden was happy for him. 

Hayden watched until the broadcast cut away from Marlow. Then, Ruby's diaper exploded, and he and Shane had to rush the girl's to their changing table. 

2012 was the Metro's year. Their insane captain made sure of it. Shane whipped them into shape while Hayden attempted to maintain camaraderie among the guys, who were exhausted and on the verge of mutiny. 

They couldn't deny the extra practices and totalitarian rules worked, though. The Metros were on a hot streak. 

Hayden watched Shane's ears pink at whatever nonsense Rozanov was spewing at him at the faceoff. He pulled his eyes off the line and caught Marlow's. He always had a grim determination about him during games. He was a professional on the ice, and he played a violent game. Hayden eyed the stubble that seemed to be a permanent fixture on Marlow's face these days as Shane lost the faceoff.

"Hayden," Marlow said while two refs were attempting to breakup a fight between Rozanov and Lang. Lang had him by the jersey, Hayden silently rooted for him to knock out a few of Rozanov's teeth out.

"Cliff," Hayden said. 

"How's the game going?"

Hayden glared at Marlow. 

"Better when Rozanov gets thrown out with a game misconduct."

"Can't win against him fair and square?"

"We have plenty of times." Hayden found Shane across the ice. He was watching the fight, buddied up with a Bears defensemen. 

Cliff turned his brilliant smile on Hayden as the fight was finally broken up and the game could continue. 

Fuck, fuck him. Fuck the stupid stirring in his gut.

He prayed Jackie wasn't watching. She would tease the ever-loving fuck out of him if she was. 

The game ended Montreal's winning streak. It had to end eventually, but everyone was pretty upset. 

They would rematch the Bears in three weeks at home. Shane, of course, fucked off after the game. He didn't tell Hayden where he was going, and Hayden figured it wasn't his business, even if he was painfully curious. He relayed this on the phone to Jackie later, after showering and climbing into bed.

The girls were out, Jackie had been telling him about a playdate she had with another twin-mom earlier that day, and he, in turn, told her how fucking weird Boston makes Shane.

"Maybe he has a hockey player in Boston like you did," she joked. His stomach dropped. She had been watching the game. Had the camera even focused on Marlow and Hayden buddying up?

"Ha ha, very funny, Mrs. Pike."

She hummed. She called him Mr. Pike and he called her Mrs. Pike, usually before sex, but sometimes just as terms of endearment. He saved her in his phone as Mrs. Pike with three heart emojis. 

"No, he's got that girl, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember you snooping on our friend's phone." 

"It was unlocked in front of me when the text came through, give me a break!"

Hayden had been a little annoyed. Not that she read Shane's text, but that his best friend was keeping a girlfriend from him. He had called Shane as soon as his first date with Jackie was over. He was the best man at his wedding. He knew about the twins before Hayden's own parents did.

"So anyway, about your hockey player..."

He rolled his eyes. They were not doing this.

"I don't have a hockey player."

"I wish I had a hockey player right now."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, inside me, preferably." She paused, he heard her inhale shakily and it went right to his dick. "Can I have Marlow's number?

"Fuck OFF, oh my god!" Hayden yelled as she cackled. 

They won the cup in 2012, beating Dallas for the title. It was a hard win, the game almost went into overtime, but their captain shot the winning goal to the roars of thousands of fans. 2-1, the Metros finally brought the cup home. 

Hayden was fully sobbing on the ice. Shane scored both of their goals, but he assisted him with the first one. It was a team effort, as Shane would say, and Hayden felt that. He felt like what he did mattered.

He watched Shane lift the cup over his head, and Shane looked confident, like he was exactly where he belonged. 

When Shane passed the cup to him...magic.

Holding the cup made his arms shake. He was exhausted, it was heavy, not just physically. He had been a little boy, eight years old, watching the cup finals from his grandparents home for the very first time when he watched the captain for Buffalo hoist the cup, glowing with absolute triumph. He knew, right then, that was all he wanted for his future. School could go straight to hell. He wanted that fucking trophy.

So, fully sobbing. JJ was laughing at him, also crying. He passed it off to JJ to grab Shane in the tightest hug the other man had ever given him. Hayden kissed his friend's cheek as another teammate grabbed for him. Jackie came down onto the ice wearing a Pike jersey. The girls were too. Jackie's whole family had come to the game. They kept hold of the girls for Jackie.

Jackie ran to him, slipping on the ice, arms flailing. He caught her and scooped her up bridal style. He looked at his baby daughters, his wife, the cup Shane and JJ were posing with for the camera. He had everything, he had it all. He was on top of the world.

Megan took the girl's that night, and the result of the cup celebration was...Arthur. 

Named after the King of Camelot, of course. He was born with a head of blonde hair, like Hayden's, and it made Jackie cry tears of joy. 

"The once and future king," she whispered, stroking her index finger along the thin strands of white-blonde hair on their son's head.

Hayden was fairly certain their family was complete after Arthur. Jackie was on the pill, he had three children, a perfect wife, and a fucking cup win under his belt, all while in his twenties.

They won the cup back-to-back. He and Jackie were coasting along comfortably. They were exhausted, of course, having three babies wasn't simple. Hayden wouldn't trade it for anything, though.

He asked Jackie, a couple times, how she was doing with it all. He was on the road so many days out of the year that he was worried she would feel alone. He knew other WAGs, in the past, complained about feeling like single mothers. And, Jackie had never started her career like she wanted. She was pregnant through her last year of college, and then the girls were small, and Arthur was born...

It made Hayden sick, sometimes, to think of all she had given up. 

"You know I'd tell you, Hayden," She said after he asked for the fourth time in a month if she was alright. There was no indication she wasn't alright. It's just...another of the older guys on his team was getting a divorce, and he was in his head about it. "You are not getting rid of me. If you try, you're gonna need to get a restraining order."

She said this to him while pushing him into the mattress, sliding their smallest strap-on dildo into his hole.

"I would ne-never do that. I would let you kill me first, or whatever." He said, gone.

Things were good. Things were great. Hayden had never been so happy in his life. After the girls were born, he thought surely that was it, he had peaked at life, but things had only gotten better and better. He'd take the mess of a pile of kids, the toys everywhere, the diapers, the late nights...he cherished every moment of it.

In the summer of 2014, Jackie was in the yard with the kids. The girls were climbing on the playground set Hayden had bought for them in the spring. They would be in pre-school in the fall. Arthur was toddling along, pulling up clumps of grass and looking at bugs. The sun was reflecting off his duck-feather hair. Hayden was chasing him around with a bottle of sunscreen.

Jackie was wearing her patchwork skirt, it was long, low on her hips, and a shirt that was cropped because she ripped the hem off after Ruby had thrown her sandwich on it, and neither Hayden nor Jackie could get the mayonnaise stain out. Her outfit wasn't intentional, but it was catching Hayden's attention. He was seeing a lot of her stomach, and also, the bottom of her breasts if she lifted her arms up too high. 

Now was, of course, not the time for such thoughts.

"I'm king of this pirate ship!" Jade yelled from the top of the play structure, twisting the wheel that took Hayden about three hours of bitching and swearing to assemble. Shane had given up after thirty minutes and told him to hire someone, but Hayden was too proud.

"Yeah, well I'm king of...this dragon." Ruby was standing on a swing, pumping back and forth to go higher. They really should stop her. Last time she stood on a swing, she jumped off and landed on her face, scraping the skin off her chin. 

Jackie ran a hand through her brown curls, the same ones the twins had. The sun caught on the blue stone on her ring finger. 

He really loved that skirt. 

He took several pictures of her and set them as his phone backgrounds. He felt like a creep while doing it, but that did not stop him. 

"I want another one," Hayden said. She had been spinning in circles with Arthur. Arthur fell, dizzy, onto his bottom, unbothered. He dug at the grass some more.

She was laughing.

"What?"

"One more baby, what do you think?"

Jackie's smile widened. 

"We might have to get a nanny. Or you quit hockey. But if you quit hockey we can't afford one more. It's a paradox."

"It's not a paradox, we can get a nanny."

"Yes," She said, smiling.

"Yeah?"

Jackie came from a big family. She had two brothers and a sister. Hayden was an only child. Growing up, despite its small size, his house felt so empty. He loved the chaos of this, he loved the noise and the comfort it brought him. 

Jackie loved being from a large family. She was the baby, her oldest brother was out of the house by the time she was ten. She had confessed to feeling a little lonely too, after all her siblings moved out. She told him, in June before they got married, that she wanted ten kids. That had been a joke, of course. They settled on three max. 

Amber was born in 2015. In a wonderful turn of events, Hayden was actually home when Jackie went into labor. She was born at 4:00 in the morning. Hayden had a game the next day.

He felt deeply, deeply shitty about it, but Jackie never gave him any grief. She expressed when she was tired, and he gave her as many breaks as he could, but she never made him feel badly about going to work.

"Jesus, Pike. Another kid? Give your wife a break," one of the guys said after he started showing them pictures of Amber. She was not a cute newborn. The twins hadn't been either, they were all scrunched up and pale. Hayden still thought they were the most precious beings in existence and he was in love with them all. 

Their family felt truly settled after Amber, like things were finally how they were supposed to be. With the girls in kindergarten, Jackie decided she didn't need a nanny, and Hayden relieved her as much as he could. 

They hadn't won another cup, but they got close. They were playing exceptionally. Shane was a great captain, especially with the rookies, he could mold them all into exactly what the team needed.

"I am a little worried about him," he said to Jackie. It was late, after midnight. The kids were all asleep. They had taken full advantage of the situation. Jackie's rose toy was still beside them on the bed, along with the strap on. The Metros flew in from Boston that afternoon. Hayden was exhausted, but he thought...maybe they could go again.

Until he brought up Shane. The mood was sufficiently killed.

"I know, baby. What happened?"

"He met up with Lily again." Lily was Shane's "secret." Jackie and Hayden both knew about her, and had asked Shane a few, slightly prying, questions. Shane clammed up every time. It had led to speculation between Jackie and Hayden. They theorized anything from Lily being a married woman (Hayden) to Shane having a secret affair with the U.S. president (Jackie). 

"He came back from seeing her in a bad mood. It affected his game."

"I watched some, it was a bad one."

"Yeah. But that doesn't matter, obviously. They may have broke up."

"Hmm," Jackie hummed, playing with his hair. "Where was Obama yesterday?"

He snickered.

"You could just ask him."

"You know how well that will go."

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry, I know you're tired of hearing about it."

"No, I'm not. I love Shane. He's family. He's like, our fifth child."

"He's my best friend, and a grown man."

"Yeah, but you baby him a little."

"I do not."

"Sometimes you look at him the same way you look at Arthur when he tries to eat worms."

"Ugh, why does he do that?"

"He's a curious little boy with a scientific mind. Our children are all exceptionally brilliant."

"Of course they are," that wasn't even in question, they were Jackie's children.

"The girls want to play hockey."

Hayden sat up. 

"What?"

She smiled at him.

"Yeah, they said yesterday while watching you. Jade says she wants to be as good as Uncle Shane."

Hayden sighed, "My own children."

She giggled. 

"Well, we can look into it."

"Yeah," she said, her hand stilling in his hair.

"What is it?"

"I just...I don't know."

"Don't know?"

She wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Jacks? What's wrong?"

"I would...I would never tell them no. I want them to do whatever they want, you know? Follow their passions. But hockey makes me nervous, Hayden. So nervous. You've had four concussions."

Hayden wanted to point out that four wasn't even that many, compared to some of his teammates. 

"It would just be a kid's league for now, they might put on their skates and decide they absolutely hate it. But...you're right." He hated the thought of his kids playing such a dangerous sport. "We will discuss it. If they bring it up again. It might be like when Ruby decided she wanted to be in dance classes for a week, then she moved on to soccer."

The girls did end up trying hockey, and, much to both Hayden and Jackie's dismay, they took to it like ducks to water. They were naturals, both of them, and they relished the attention from the coaches. 

They were five years old, it wasn't that serious, not yet. But, Shane had said he started playing when he was three, and that sent Hayden spiraling for about four days.

Then, Cliff Marlow got seriously injured. 

They were well into the next season. One of the guys on the team had a new girlfriend who did tarot readings, and she said the Metros were going to win the cup again. Hayden didn't much believe in magic, but when Hayden told Jackie that the woman said Hayden would be getting a new addition to the family, Jackie went and made an appointment to get an IUD. 

Thompson's weird girlfriend lit a fire under most of the players, who were superstitious to a fault, and they were playing most games like they were already in the playoffs. The Metros were making another run for it. The Bears were too. 

Hayden had been distracted by the whole, my best friend is dating an A-list actress thing. He and Shane were at home watching the Bears v. Admirals game. Jackie was with them, talking to Shane about Rose's latest movie, when Cliff was rammed into the boards by an Admirals rookie.

It would take a lot of power to seriously put Cliff down, Hayden knew that. He had only gotten beefier since their meeting all those years ago. But the Admirals rookie was an up-and-coming enforcer, as tall as Cliff, and full of youthful rage.

When Cliff didn't immediately get up, and failed to get up thirty seconds after that, Hayden was on his feet, staring at the TV. 

"Shit," Shane said quietly beside him. He felt Jackie's hand in his. 

Everyone was standing around, doing fuck all.

"Why isn't anyone doing anything?" Hayden asked, his tone oddly gravelly. 

"Baby," Jackie mumbled, squeezing his hand. 

The medics came onto the ice. Cliff was loaded onto a stretcher and whisked away.

The game continued.

Hayden, physically, could not watch anymore.

He found the girls in their playroom dressing Arthur up in an old princess dress. He sat with them and joined in until his breathing evened out. He was wearing a tiara and holding a magic wand when Shane came to find him. He had been hoping it would be Jackie, but they couldn't properly talk about it until Shane left.

The girls were thrilled by Shane's arrival. Shane got a tiara himself and was instructed to put on a cape they had stolen from Hayden's old Dracula costume. Arthur left them to dig into a box of dinosaurs. 

Shane sat and played with them for about forty minutes. By the time the girls got distracted with something else, Hayden was feeling almost better. He had checked his phone once or twice, refreshing the ESPN app, hungry for any sort of update. There weren't any.

Guys didn't, like, die on the ice. That wasn't any sort of real risk, but it was where Hayden's mind went. He didn't even have Cliff's phone number, Christ.

"I'm sorry," Shane said. His friend's mouth was pressed in a thin line. "You're friends with Marlow, aren't you?"

There it was. 

"Not really," Hayden replied, even though that didn't make sense for his reaction in the slightest. He couldn't lie. Shane was the person on the team who knew him the best, he knew he wasn't friends with Cliff fucking Marlow.

"I met him my rookie year. We're friendly, not friends."

Shane nodded and said okay. 

Much, much later, after the kids had long since gone to bed, Jackie told Hayden he should just send him an Instagram DM.

Hayden had an Instagram. Mostly, he posted photos of his family. He only followed guys from the team and he barely looked at anyone's posts.

"I don't know why I even care," Hayden said. 

"Because you care, deeply, about everyone. You had a relationship with him, once, and you have a working relationship now. It really is that simple."

He was reluctant, until she said:

"Message him. I'm worried too."

So, he did, at 1:37 in the morning, which was vaguely embarrassing. 

Hayden: Rough hit, Cliff. You alright?

Jackie snorted at the message. "Men. The way you all talk to each other is ridiculous."

Hayden couldn't exactly show he was worried in the message, damn.

Cliff didn't respond at all that night, or the next morning. Hayden had accepted he probably would never hear from him the following evening, when it was reported that Marlow had been released from the hospital. Officially, he was benched for the next few games, and likely for the rest of the season. 

It was 8:58pm when Marlow responded. He didn't see it, busy wrangling the kids for bedtime with Jackie.

Cliff: Fine. 

Cliff: Another concussion to add to the long list of concussions, broken nose, and a cracked rib. 

Hayden sighed when he read the messages. He wasn't sure why Cliff gave him an itemized list, but he was grateful for it. He showed Jackie, who was visibly relieved until she read it twice.

"How many concussions?"

"I don't know," he said. 

"Ask," she demanded, clearly annoyed.

He hadn't exactly intended to keep the line of communication open, but, fine.

Hayden: How many concussions is that?

"He's not supposed to be on his phone with a concussion," he said to Jackie, who looked guilty. 

Cliff: Six.

Christ.

Hayden: You're not supposed to look at your phone while concussed. 

Cliff sent him back an eye roll emoji.

Cliff: Interesting things are happening. A Montreal Metro is asking about my health for some reason. 

Hayden winced and handed his phone to Jackie, who raised her eyebrows.

"Tell him the truth," she said simply.

Hayden: Jackie and I were concerned.

Hayden: Jackie is my wife.

Cliff: I know, Hayden.

Hayden didn't know what to respond, so he said nothing. Jackie accepted that, locked his phone, and made him forget it all for a little while. 

It had been weird to play Boston without Marlow on the line. They lost their game, the Bears were fierce competitors that year. Rozanov was after another cup to tie up the race with Shane, according to every sports news outlet in existence, and Shane was after a cup to stay ahead.

Shane and Rose broke up just before All-Stars. He actually stayed at Hayden's house for a couple days. Hayden and Jackie couldn't tell if he was heartbroken or not. His moods were weird. But he kept the girls busy, playing with them and Arthur. Occasionally Amber too, even though small children made him nervous. 

After midnight, when Shane and a few other Metros were called away to the All-Stars, Hayden received a DM.

Hayden saw it as soon as it came through. He and Jackie were both up. The girls had brought back a flu from school. It was only a matter of time before he and Jackie contracted it too. He was dreading it.

Hayden had been changing Jade's sheets after she threw up on them when his phone buzzed. He was exhausted, physically and emotionally, heartsick for his poor twins. 

Ruby had the top bunk. Jackie was standing on the ladder singing sweetly to the older girl while Jade stood by, waiting for her bed to be ready.

"Mommy?" Jade asked as she climbed back in bed. "Will you stay?"

Oh, God. Jackie looked exhausted. Hayden was pretty sure she was already getting sick. 

"Of course, baby. Move over."

The bed was way too small for Jackie. Hayden watched her bunch up her legs and pull Jade against her. Ruby was snoring in the bunk above them.

"Go to bed, it's fine."

"Love you," he whispered. 

In his own big, empty bed, he saw the message. 

He still didn't follow Cliff, and Cliff didn't follow him. He checked out his posts sometimes, though. The last post was uploaded right before his injury, it was a gym selfie with Rozanov. Before that he posted a photo of his wife. That went up a full year ago.

She was beautiful, she had a wide grin and full lips, freckles across her cheeks.

Cliff: Does she know? Your wife?

Hayden sucked in a breath. He looked at his door, as if he expected to be caught reading Cliff's message, as if there was something he could be caught at. He had the urge to pull Jackie from Jade's bed, but he did not want the girls to wake back up.

He did not have the energy for this conversation, but this wasn't the type of message he could leave on read. This was serious.

Hayden: Yeah. But you don't have to worry. Sorry.

Hayden watched the typing bubble pop up and disappear several times.

Cliff: I never told Maddie, not even about me. 

Hayden stared at the message, way out of his depth.

He couldn't imagine not telling Jackie. He couldn't imagine keeping a single thing from her. To his wife, he was an open book. There was no other person in this world that he trusted more completely than her, and there never would be.

Hayden: Does anyone know about you?

Cliff: No.

Hayden felt for him. That was incredibly sad. Sometimes Hayden felt lonely, even though Jackie did know. Being in the closet this long was becoming painful. Carrying around a secret ate at Hayden. 

He didn't know what to say to Cliff. He didn't want to say he was sorry, he didn't think the man would take pity well. 

Hayden: Are you even approved for screen time?

It had been over a month since they spoke last, but Hayden hadn't had a concussion in a few years and forgot the protocols. 

Cliff: Yes. You know I take my health seriously. 

Hayden blushed and locked his phone. He had nothing to say to that.

The screen lit up, another message.

Cliff: Sorry.

Hayden: It's okay. 

They left it at that. The next morning, the girls were sleeping in. Hayden showed the texts to Jackie while Hayden checked Arthur's temperature. He had a fever too. The Pikes were falling like damn dominos. 

Jackie shook her head, "That's so sad." 

That's all she said on the matter. The family got extremely busy surviving the flu. Everyone but Amber got it. Somehow, it jumped Amber and hit Shane, which he was extremely pissy about, declaring he would never have children if sickness was all you got. Hayden knew that was bullshit. Once Shane found the one, he would be a hell of a father.

About three weeks after the text exchange with Marlow, Jackie brought it up again.

"Maybe you should reach out to him." It was a clear spring night. The entire family was in the backyard. Jackie had a telescope and she showed the twins Venus. They were in awe of it for thirty seconds, then went to play on the play structure. Arthur kept looking through the telescope, moving it around wildly. Hayden was holding a sleeping Amber on his lap, staring at the speck of Venus with the naked eye.

"Why?"

"Because he's alone, clearly."

"He has a wife."

She gave him a look.

"Yeah, but not everyone has a marriage like ours. He clearly has never opened up to her about himself."

Hayden's ass was cold on the frozen ground. He turned his gaze back to Venus.

"I'm not sure it's my place."

"Hayden, baby..." She paused. The girls were shrieking with joy, tickled by the after-dark playtime. "You're the only person in the world that actually knows about him."

Guilt was a sticky and complicated emotion. He knew Jackie was right, but he was nervous. 

"What do I even say to him?"

"Just...say that you're willing to talk, if he wants. That you'd like to be his friend."

Hayden had no idea how to be Cliff Marlow's friend.

It took four days of deliberation for Hayden to send the message. 

Hayden: Hey. I'm here, if you ever want to talk about stuff. Or whatever. 

Cliff didn't respond for weeks. He had opened the message only an hour after it was sent, but said nothing. Hayden understood that.

Cliff: Thanks, Hayden. You're a good guy. 

Cliff: Good luck at your game.

Hayden: Thanks. You are too, Cliff.

"That's all you can do," Jackie said, satisfied. 

He saw Cliff again late into the season, hitting his best friend so hard he crumpled onto the ice like a sack of potatoes.

Red engulfed Hayden's vision.

"Marlow, you motherfucker!" He skated at Marlow, stopping just short of him, he pushed him, hard, backwards. Marlow didn't fall, he was staring despairingly down at Shane. Marlow himself had only just been medically cleared to get back on the ice, and, despite Hayden's pulsing rage, he did not want to damage the man more than he already was.

"I'm sorry," he said, sounding genuinely torn up. "Fuck, I'm sorry," he wasn't looking at Hayden, he was looking at Shane, who wasn't moving. Fuck. Shane wasn't moving.

"Shane," Hayden called, his voice blending in with Ilya Rozanov's, who was standing over Shane with an expression of pure terror.

"Rozanov, go back to your bench!"

"Is he okay?" He shouted at the medics. "Is he okay, fucking tell me!"

"Go back to your bench, Rozanov!" The ref roared. Hayden had thought he heard Shane mumble something. Talking! He was talking, thank god.

Hayden had not realized his hand was fisted in Marlow's jersey until his fingers started to cramp. Marlow had allowed himself to be held in place. Hayden released it, flexing his hand, his gloves were on the ice somewhere...

They carried Shane off the ice.

Everyone played like shit after that debacle. Hayden, Marlow, even Rozanov. They had been ahead when Shane went down and the score had not changed after he was removed.

Shane was the topic of every conversation in the locker room. Hayden dressed quickly. Coach informed them of the hospital Shane was at. He texted Jackie letting her know he wouldn't be home for a while, and he took off with JJ. 

Shane was unconscious in his hospital bed. The doctors and nurses were in and out. He resolved to stay until Yuna and David's plane landed. JJ stayed too.

A few times, Shane woke slightly, or just muttered to himself things like "I'm okay, it's okay." 

Hayden held his friend's hand and told him to back to sleep.

In the early morning hours, Yuna and David took up the watch, and he and JJ drove back to the stadium. Hayden resolved to go back later that day.

Hayden got about four hours of sleep. He and Jackie shared stilted conversation on the matter over breakfast. The girls had been watching the game and they were coloring a card for their uncle Shane.

"I've seen him do it before..." Jackie said. "Obviously, I know it's part of the game. The checking. But...Jesus."

"I know." Was all Hayden could say. "I know."

He had seen that Cliff regretted it. Hayden knew it was a legal hit, he hadn't done anything wrong, technically, it was Shane who wasn't ready for it. That's the game. But he couldn't help the horror he felt every time he thought about it, seeing Cliff's massive body knock Shane off his skates. Shane, his gentle best friend, looked so tiny on the ice.

Hayden arrived back at the hospital around noon with a pink, glittery card and a bag of smuggled McDonalds. Yuna and David were talking just outside Shane's room. Yuna hugged him as soon as she saw him.

"Hey, Hayden. How are you?" She asked, "Thanks for staying last night, that meant a lot."

"Oh yeah, of course. How's Shane?"

Yuna and David exchanged glances.

"Out for the season, broken collarbone, definitely concussed."

"He's loopy," David said, smiling. "Ask him any secrets you want to know now."

"David," Yuna scoffed. "We're going to the cafeteria, want anything?"

Hayden did not, and he happily left them to their bickering. 

"Hayden!" Shane grinned. Hayden was immediately floored. Shane had never been so happy to see him in his life.

"Hey, buddy. How's the head?"

"Foggy." Shane's smile did not waver. 

"Yeah? They got you on the good stuff?"

"Yep," Shane said simply. Poor Shane, the guy barely drank, and now he was flying high as a kite.

"Well, your dad told me I should question you now, since you're all drugged up."

"Hayden! You'd take advantage of me?" Shane acted scandalized before cracking up into a fit of giggles. Hayden couldn't help but laugh too. "No, I am an expert at keeping secrets."

"I'm sure. The girls made you this."

Shane gasped, taking the large card. It was made out of hot pink construction paper. The words "Get Well Soon" were spelled out in shaky blue marker on the front. Someone outlined the rectangle in pink and green glitter. There were pipe cleaners sticking off it in zig zags. On the inside was a crude drawing of a stick figure in a bed with the letter X for eyes and his tongue hanging out, which was a bit morbid. Sometimes those girls were scary. There was more glitter and pipe cleaners to liven up the image of Shane on his deathbed.

"Oh, I love it. I love those girls. I love the pink and the glitter..."

Hayden winced, thinking Shane was being sarcastic. A lot of guys on the team would not like the pink and the glitter, even if it was made innocently by small children.

"Yeah but there's also green, they remembered your favorite color."

"Yes, because they are the best." Shane said earnestly, closing his eyes.

Hayden got him to eat a burger. Shane was pretty excited when presented with the greasy paper bag. He was shoving fries in his mouth when he said:

"Ilya was here."

Hayden paused. Previously they were talking about the episode of Maury that was playing on the hospital television. He racked his brain for who the hell Ilya was.

"Rozanov?" He finally settled on, even more confused.

"Yeah, Roz-Rozanov was here."

"Oh," Hayden said. "That's good of him."

"Yes," Shane said, smiling slightly. "Very professional." 

They sat in silence for a minute, Shane reached for another burger. 

"He said, he said that Marlow was very sorry, and he didn't mean to hurt me."

Hayden paused, the words settling in him. He knew Marlow was sorry, of course he knew that. It had been all over the man's face last night.

"Of course, right."

"I think he might be secretly very nice. Cliff Marlow," Shane clarified. "He's Ilya's friend, you know."

Now Hayden was really confused.

"Uh, yeah, but Rozanov isn't exactly nice."

Shane scrunched his nose, he looked like Ruby when she got mad enough to throw things. 

"He's not not nice." Shane said. "He's nice to me, sometimes."

"Yeah, alright," Hayden said, wondering when Shane's parents were coming back. This conversation was getting weird.

"Anyway, I thought you might want to know. About Marlow. 'Cause you're friendly with him."

"Oh, uh, Shane-"

"Sense he calls you Hayden." Shane teased, saying 'Hayyyyyden.'

They looked at each other. Shane's eyes were barely open, he wondered how bad his head was with all the bright lights in the room. He was ready to run from Shane and fetch a nurse to fix it when Shane continued.

"I heard him do it a few other times, after the first time. When I heard you call him Cliff."

"Shane."

"No, it's okay. Be secretly friends with whoever you want." Shane stuck out his bottom lip, fake pouting. "Don't tell your best friend."

"Come on, Shane." Hayden chuckled nervously.

"It's okay, really. We all have secrets." 

They stared at each other, the air heavy with the unsaid. 

The season went down in flames without Shane, and the Bears couldn't manage a playoff win either.

Hayden thought about hosting the cup finals at his house, but Jackie got invited to an art show for one of her friends that same weekend, so Hayden agreed to stay home with the kids. He had the tv idly on in the background while wiping the remains of Amber's dinner off her cheeks at the kitchen sink when Scott Hunter took a dagger and jabbed it deep into the body of hockey culture during a live broadcast to millions of people.

Jackie came home around ten in a slinky black dress that hugged her curves deliciously and smoky black eye makeup.

The kids were in bed. Hayden was on the couch obsessively watching ESPN discuss what happened. Mainstream news outlets were also reporting on it. The Metros group chat was going wild, and Hayden had opened his Instagram DMs with Cliff three or four times without managing to type anything.

"He just changed everything," Jackie said, sitting beside Hayden, watching the news replay the clip of him kissing a handsome young man. "For everyone."

Nearly everyone. Not for Hayden, a happily married man. But for his teammates, for guys on other teams, for Cliff.

Hayden had cried, watching it replay, and he was crying now, Jackie's arms around him. 

"I know it's been hard, baby."

It had been. It had been so, so fucking hard. He never thought it would be. When he was 19 and some internet blog told him about bisexuality, he had both accepted it and repressed it. He didn't think the secret would eat him alive because it was hardly relevant to who he was.

But it was relevant, it was who he was, completely. He felt like no one knew him. Nobody knew him at all.

Except Jackie, of course. But as soon as he was away from her he felt fucking lonely. It was constricting. It might kill him. 

"You could start small," She suggested. "You know Shane wouldn't care."

Jackie was pretty sure Shane was gay. She was usually right about these things, but he hadn't wanted to speculate on his best friend's sexuality, so they didn't discuss it.

"Telling one person would relieve some of the pressure."

She knew how he felt at work. She always called it "his job," which helped make it feel less big and important than it realistically was. It was his life, he was a professional athlete as much as he was a man, a father, a husband. And, this aspect of his life did not, historically, care for men like Hayden. Or Scott Hunter, who, had not yet, been kicked off the New York Admirals. Hayden didn't have high hopes that would last.

But, as the summer wore on, it was clear the Admirals were keeping Hunter on as their Captain. The NHL officially had their first out and proud active player. 

Hayden, feeling guilty ever since his conversation with a drugged-up Shane, did finally send Cliff a message.

Hayden: I'm sorry for how I reacted on the ice. When you knocked out Shane.

Hayden winced at the clarification, as if Hayden had ever come at that man at any other point in their careers. It wasn't even because of their history; throwing a punch at Marlow was suicide. 

Cliff: I'm still sorry for doing it. I didn't want to hurt him. Or you.

Cliff had responded quickly. Unwelcome emotion welled up in Hayden.

Hayden: We good?

Cliff: Yes, Hayden.

Okay. Okay. 

Start small. He could do that.

Chapter End Notes

I thought this fic would be four chapters but now it is looking more like five. Don't touch that remote, freak4freak content will be back after these messages.

Chapter 4

Chapter Notes

Hayden put it off. Summer ended, school started, the season began. Amber started going through a biting phase, which was taking up a lot of their time.

These were extremely lame excuses. Hayden knew that. 

Jackie, very kindly, did not broach the subject with him.

He knew her well enough to know it was on her mind.

He just...he wasn't not going to come out to Shane. And, it's not that he didn't feel ready. He wanted this secret off his chest. If he was certain his team would react like the Admirals, he would probably make a social media post and be done with it.

But, they weren't all superstars like Scott Hunter. Hayden had only been invited to the all-stars three times since his rookie seasons. He was the Montreal Metros alternate captain, but he was disposable. 

The vibes in the locker room at the beginning of the season were good, and Hayden did not want to jeopardize that. JJ was getting serious with his girlfriend, their rookies were good-natured and adorably starstruck to work with Shane, and Shane was playing with a newfound vigor for the game. Hayden didn't think it would be possible for his best friend to be more into hockey than he already was, but he was skating around with a constant grin on his face, loving every second of practice in a way that Hayden thought was positively demented.

Hayden didn't think Shane would react badly if Hayden came out to him. He knew he had a gay friend in the past. And, as much as Hayden did not want to speculate, he was pretty sure Jackie was, at least, half right about Shane's sexuality. He would be fine. Hayden was sure.

He just couldn't justify the risk, not with Shane's eternal good mood.

Shane invited Hayden around for video games in December, right before all-stars. December was a busy time for their family. Often, Hayden's parents would fly in and stay for a few days before Christmas, and the Pikes would be over at the O'Brian's every other night participating in their many holiday traditions. 

Hayden never got to do this, hang out with his best friend, no kids, no team, just them. Jackie practically pushed him out the door when he mentioned it, with a look that Hayden interpreted as 'stop being a fucking idiot.'

Hayden let himself into Shane's place with no intention of not being a fucking idiot. He saw the loading screen for a hockey game on mute on Shane's TV and found his friend in his kitchen unloading the dishwasher.

"Hey, I didn't hear you come in," Shane said, sounding slightly out of breath. "Drink?"

"Sprite?" 

Shane had a six pack in the fridge just for Hayden. Hayden was warmed, but thought it only fair, since he kept Canada Dry in business stocking it at his own house for Shane.

Shane slid the can across the island and continued to unload the dishwasher, his back to Hayden. 

Hayden was, for some reason, anxious by this behavior.

"Do we really need to play hockey when we're not working too?" He asked, it was a joke he and JJ usually made at Shane's expense. "Is JJ coming?"

"Uh, no. He's out with Mona." 

"Right, they're getting pretty serious, huh?"

"Yeah," Shane said, being the least gossipy person in the world.

"I'm happy for him. He deserves to settle down."

Shane, having no more dishes to busy himself with, turned around to face Hayden, he had a small, contemplative smile on his face.

"Yeah, he does. She seems nice."

"Yeah," Hayden took a pull from the old Sprite can. "You'll be next, buddy."

"Ha," Shane breathed, uncomfortable as he always when anyone ever discussed him in a romantic situation. 

Hayden twisted his wedding band. He wondered if he should just do it, right here. The moment was already awkward, how much worse could it really get?

"I-uh-actually..." Shane started, which was good, because Hayden's mouth had actually opened to spontaneously come out to him.

"Shane?"

"I asked you to come over for a reason." Shane said, maintaining eye contact that looked painful for him. His hands were gripping the kitchen island, which stood like a wall separating them. Hayden was really nervous now.

"To play an outdated hockey game?"

"It's two years old!" Shane replied, exasperated. Hayden wasn't sure why he was trying to make light of the situation, Shane clearly had something to say. 

"Okay, what's up, buddy?"

"Look, just...you need to hear me out, okay? Promise me you will hear me out?"

"I promise, dude, damn. Did you fucking kill someone?"

Shane just gave him a look. A familiar yet foreign stirring was happening just beneath Hayden's ribcage. He was feeling a little sick. 

"I'm seeing someone."

And okay. That's what it was. 

Jesus, that's what this whole thing was. Shane was coming out to him.

He knew Shane had begun texting Lily again after breaking up with Rose (who was he seeing now, fucking Dahlia?), so he was fairly certain Jackie was wrong, and Shane was actually bisexual. Jackie maintained that Lily was Barack Obama, and he was gay. Hayden half considered putting money on it, but that was a little too gross for him.

"That's great, Shane. So, like, no more Lily?"

"Not exactly."

"You're seeing Lily?"

"I'm gay."

They stared at each other.

Shit, Hayden was glad he didn't make that bet.

"Okay, that's okay. That's great, buddy." Hayden felt hot all over, and also, impossibly, the potential for tears in the form of a burning in the back of his throat.

Shane deflated. 

"You're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay."

Hayden got up and walked over to hug Shane, who was stiff, but did manage to return the hug.

They moved to the couch. Shane had insisted on actually playing the video game because it was the reason Hayden came over. Hayden just wanted to keep talking, but he allowed it, as opening his mouth was a little painful. He wanted to say the words, he wanted them to tumble out unwillingly, but they just wouldn't. He couldn't make himself say them, even though he knew it was safe.

After Shane kicked his ass, Hayden paused the game. Shane's gaze was immediately nervous.

"So, you're seeing someone. You can't just drop that on me and say 'lets play hockey.' Tell me about him. Is it serious?"

Whoa, saying him felt a little crazy.

"Yeah, well. It just became serious, over the summer. Exclusive."

"Wow, so how long has this been happening?"

"On and off for a few years."

Hayden looked at him. God, this was like pulling teeth. 

It was the most Shane had ever opened up, though.

"And?"

"And, what?"

"Do I get to know his name?" Shane winced.

"Remember how I asked you to hear me out earlier?"

Hayden's stomach dropped.

"Oh god, is it Obama? Do not tell me you're fucking Barack Obama, I will never hear the end of it."

Shane's bewildered glare was enough for Hayden to start breathing again.

"Why the fuck-no. Jesus." 

"I just had to be sure."

The vibe sufficiently ruined, Hayden decided to press forward.

"So who is that I would need to have an open mind about?"

"It's Lily."

Hayden waited, but got nothing for his patience.

"Lily your not-girlfriend from Boston?"

"Yeah."

"So...Lily's a man. From Boston."

Shane nodded.

So, it had been going on a while. Hayden was getting nervous for another reason. Who did they both know from Boston that had a taste for men?

"Do I need to guess? Is it twenty questions? I don't know many people from Boston, dude, unless he's a fucking a hockey player."

Silence.

No. 

No. 

Hayden's world crackled and fizzled. Exclusive. Shane said exclusive. He said serious. 

Serious?

With Marlow? With Cliff fucking Marlow? Hayden's...whatever he was to Hayden? Marlow?

Surely not. Oh god, surely not. 

Hayden stood up, tried not to pace, and started pacing. He knew Shane was staring at him, but he couldn't help it. MARLOW? 

Why the fuck didn't Marlow tell him? He knew Hayden was Shane's best friend. He fucking knew that. It was on Shane's Wikipedia page. 

But, obviously he wouldn't out Shane to Hayden. He hadn't even told his own wife about Hayden, or himself. Oh god, Maddie, Marlow's wife...Shane was fucking a married man. A married hockey player man. A married hockey player man who gave Hayden his own sexuality crisis. Who he still got off thinking about on occasion. Who he bought a dildo roughly the same size as so he could fuck himself, and his wife, with it.

"How long has this been going on, exactly?"

"Since rookie season."

"ROOKIE SEASON?" 

Oh god, rookie season? Shane's rookie season, one year after Hayden's. Had it even been a full year after he fucked Marlow that Marlow jumped on Shane? And now they were what, in love? Hayden tried to picture it, and immediately wanted to gouge his own eyeballs out.

"I told you to keep an open mind."

"Mind is open, Shane. Mind is so open," Hayden kept pacing. 

"I haven't even said who it is," Shane muttered. Hayden was drafting a message to Marlow in his head that was way too emotional. He scrapped it and started a new one. Hey fucker, did it mean nothing to you...Also too emotional. 

"A hockey player from Boston." Hayden said in response to that.

"Will you please sit, Hayden? Please?"

Fuck.

The raw emotion in Shane's voice made him pause. He was being shitty. Fuck. He was being so shitty.

Hayden squeezed his eyes shut and counted his breaths. One, two...

If Shane, his best friend, was in love with his ex-fling, then he was going to have to get over it. He loved Shane. Shane was his brother. He could not lose Shane over this, even if jealousy was burning an acidic, green-tinted hole in his stomach.

Hayden sat.

"What happened?"

Shane's breath was shaky.

"It was our rookie season and there was so much pressure, the press kept pinning us against each other. It felt like...like he was the only person who understood, really."

Hayden was going to get a wrinkle between his eyebrows. This wasn't adding up. Marlow and Shane? The press never mentioned them in the same sentence until Marlow laid him out.

Oh god, the look on Marlow's face after that...

"I don't...I don't understand, Shane, you're going to have to spell it out for me."

"It's Ilya." Shane said, "I'm talking about Ilya Rozanov. I'm...with Ilya Rozanov."

And Hayden...Hayden deflated.

His shoulder hit the back of the couch, slumping slightly forward. Relief was an icy balm across his entire body. He couldn't help the wide smile that invaded his face, nor could he help the "oh thank god."

"Hayden?" Shane looked terrified, Hayden could not stop smiling. "Hayden, god, are you okay? I just told you I'm sleeping with the enemy. Rozanov is my boyfriend."

Hayden was giggling, he was sliding, slowly but surely, off the couch and he couldn't be bothered to stop himself.

Shane followed him onto the floor, pinned between the coffee table and the sofa, Hayden's laughter was slipping into hysterics. 

"Jesus Christ, did I fucking break you?" Shane couldn't help a tiny, baffled chuckle at Hayden's breakdown. 

"No, no, I'm...okay. Rozanov. Wow. Okay."

"Why the fuck are you laughing?" Shane asked, laughing

"I'm relieved!" Hayden exclaimed. "I thought you were gonna say you were in love with fucking Cliff Marlow!"

"What?" Shane's incredulous laughter got Hayden going again, and he didn't come out of his fit until there were tears running down his cheeks and he was red in the face.

"Oh god, Shane. This is bad. I mean, I'm happy for you, but Rozanov? You're insane."

"I know," Shane said, dreamily. "I can't help it."

"Of course not. Love sucks," Hayden said, clapping his hand on Shane's shoulder. "I am happy for you, if he treats you well and everything."

"He does. I want you to meet him properly. Next time we're in Boston, maybe."

Hayden winced. 

"Wow, long distance sucks."

"Yeah, we have plans, though," Shane said vaguely.

"Uh, those plans better not be you fucking leaving me for Boston, Hollander."

Shane laughed.

"Fuck no. I am not moving to America."

Hayden nodded. "Smart."

God. The fucking Bears. What the fuck was it about that team?

They were still on floor, sitting in silence, when Hayden started.

"Since you shared that with me, I feel like I have to tell you this now. Because if I like, hold onto it, it would be weird. Because we're cool and good here, right?"

"Uh, yes?" Was Shane's confused reply.

Hayden's intestinal hummingbirds started up again. There was almost zero risk in coming out to Shane right now, so why the fuck did it feel like facing down a firing squad?

"I am...well. I'm married. Obviously, to Jackie, who I love."

"Yes, I know, Hayden." Shane narrowed his eyes at him.

"Right. And I have no intentions of changing that."

"No, I know. Hayd, I wasn't like, trying to proposition you or something-"

"NO!" Hayden yelled. He was, as usual, going about this the wrong way. "No, that is not what I'm saying. I'm trying to come out to you, man."

"Oh," Shane's eyebrows hit his hairline. 

"I'm bisexual."

"Oh," Shane replied, a faraway look on his face. Hayden waited, hearing an imaginary gun cocking.

"Shane?"

"Yes, sorry, one minute," Shane said, still thinking.

"Take your time, I guess."

"No, just, wait." Shane flapped his hand childishly at Hayden, then pulled the pin and threw the grenade. "Marlow?"

Hayden felt himself blush. Shane, for someone with poor social skills, clocked his reaction immediately. 

"No," Shane said, smiling.

"Look-"

"No fucking way."

They stared.

"You lost your mind when he got injured last year."

"Shane."

"And he calls you Hayden, for some reason I could never really figure out. You called him Cliff."

Shane was smiling, until he wasn't.

"Hayden, tell me you're not cheating on Jackie."

Hayden was appalled his best friend would think he would ever be capable of that.

"Never. I would never, in a million years, cheat on Jackie."

"Then...what the hell? That reaction you just had? The pacing? You were jealous."

"I wasn't jealous," Hayden denied. He wasn't, right? He had been horrified, a little disgusted, but not jealous. That would be irrational. 

"Then what? Explain."

"Cliff and I-" Hayden grit his teeth and ripped his gaze off his friend's widening grin. "Marlow and I had a one-night-stand my rookie year. That's it. That's the story."

"Um. Is it the story, though? Because you obviously care about him."

"I don't-" The denial was fast and simple, and not at all the truth. "Jackie says I care too much in general. And it's normal to care about someone I once had a relationship with."

Shane gaped.

"Jackie knows?"

"Of course. She knows everything about me."

"Wow." Shane said, shaking his head. "Today went so much better than I expected."

Hayden, who felt stripped raw, could not agree.

"Will you tell me about Marlow?" Shane asked after a pause. Hayden's legs were numb from sitting on the floor. 

"If you tell me about Rozanov," Hayden countered, which shut Shane up with a little grimace.

"I'm sorry," Shane said. "I wasn't being fair."

"It's fine. Just...Cliff isn't out to anyone. Not even Rozanov, I don't think. You understand?"

Shane nodded. "It's not my business." 

They played another few rounds of the game together, the air cleared.

As the dust settled, Hayden felt that a barrier he had been unaware of between himself and his best friend was knocked down. They were on the other side of this enormous conversation mostly unscathed. Sure, whenever Hayden remembered that Shane was dating Ilya fucking Rozanov, Hayden's skin started to crawl, but like, he just had to not think about it.

Did Shane say he would meet him next time they were in Boston?

With Shane's permission, Hayden ran home screaming to Jackie, who had to sit for several minutes.

"I was right. Mostly." Jackie said, finally. "I told you, Rozanov is cute."

"That's like calling a lion about to eat you cute, Jackie."

Jackie snorted, "Please, that guy?"

"It wasn't that surprising. About Shane, not Rozanov. I didn't even think he was gay."

Jackie looked at him like he was stupid.

"What?"

"Hayden, come on."

"What?" He asked, how could she see something he couldn't? 

"I clocked that man as soon as I saw him giving that interview after your game way back, that's why I asked if it was him you hooked up with."

"WHAT?!" Hayden's brain was melting. How could his wife have a better gaydar than he did? He was gay! "I just thought he was like...European."

That made Jackie laugh hard enough to fall off her chair. 

Hayden and Jackie did meet Rozanov, not in Boston, but in Montreal a month later. He was...antagonistic, and Hayden was on his best behavior, but a few years of being knocked around by the man had soured Hayden's opinion of him.

Jackie was charmed, the traitor. They got to talking about European films, effectively ejecting Shane and Hayden from the conversation. 

Their secrets revealed, Hayden and Shane became even closer. He and Jackie had started taking turns teasing him about Marlow, which was exhausting. At the end of the very revealing season, it was announced that Ilya Rozanov would be moving to Ottawa. Shane's plan was in place. Ilya would no longer be a Bear.

He watched Ilya's last press conference while in Boston. He was wedged between Gabriel Nichols, the Bears replacement captain, and Marlow, who would be stepping down as alternate. 

"Cliff, word is you will no longer be the Bears alternate captain. Anything to say to those rumors?"

Cliff scratched at his stubble. He looked older, a little tired. His thick black hair kept falling in his face. Hayden watched him push it off his forehead with a massive hand. 

"Yeah. No shade to Nichols, he'll be a fantastic captain, but..."

"I'm not your bestie Rozy," Nichols said into the microphone, grinning at Marlow. Marlow waved his hand and nodded. 

"And Nichols should be able to choose his own alternate," he added.

Hayden watched Cliff hold Ilya's gaze with a sad smile. Hayden's chest hurt. He wouldn't know what to do if Shane left him. 

The 2018-2019 season was mostly unremarkable. With Ilya in Ottawa, Hayden was unfortunately seeing more of him. He and Shane were going strong, he and Jackie were too. The kids loved their uncles. The girls were growing like weeds and falling more and more in love with hockey every day. Arthur had shown more of an interest in art than sports, which suited Jackie and Hayden fine. With Amber in pre-school, Jackie was talking about maybe, possibly, starting her career the following year.

Nothing especially interesting happened until Jackie shook him awake one morning.

"What's wrong?" He asked, half-asleep, panicked, "Are you okay?"

"Hayden, get up, this is bad. Get up."

It wasn't bad, it was fucking nuclear.

"Fuck, oh god, oh fuck, I'm gonna be sick."

They were still in bed, it was early, not even seven yet. Jackie's hand was on the back of his neck, pushing his head down, grounding him. 

He zoomed in on the video again, even though he didn't have to. Ilya's hand's on his best friend's face, pulling him in for a kiss that would make anyone (including Shane, ew) swoon. 

It had been reposted on twitter a thousand times. It was trending overnight. Hayden's phone was ringing so much, it was getting hot enough to explode. Jackie turned it off after confirming none of the messages were from Shane.

"You need to go over there," she said. "You need to talk to him. Now. This can't wait."

Jackie's ankle was sprained...the kids-

"I'll call Mark, and then I'll call Paula," his agent, "A statement needs to be prepared."

"Oh god, do people, do people think I did it on purpose? The guy who bought the video posted it! I didn't see- I didn't...oh my god, Jackie."

"Stop," she said, firmly, not unkindly, wiping his tears. "Stop, you're okay. No one with a brain thinks you outed Shane, okay? But you need to go see him. Now."

Her gaze was level, her voice could set him straight at his worst moments.

He dressed mechanically and made it to Shane's in record time. 

JJ had called Hayden eight times. He made the mistake of turning his phone back on while he was sitting outside Shane's house, panicking. 

This was his worst fucking nightmare. 

He had not been careful, back in 2008 and 2009 when he was still fucking with men. He walked outside the hottest club in Montreal and left with the unmistakable form that was Cliff Marlow. On his summer trip with JJ, he made out with men in the streets, outside their apartments, for anyone to see. It was true that Hayden was not, and never would be, as high profile as Shane and Ilya, but he still could have been outed.

He answered JJ's call. 

"Finally. I cannot get ahold of Shane. What the fuck is this, Hayden, is this a prank?"

Oh god, Hayden has known JJ for a decade. He was family. The three of them were. He wasn't ready to hear him bash Shane. He wouldn't be able to handle it.

"I'm outside his house. About to talk to him. Or try to." There was a very real possibility that Shane wouldn't let him in. Hayden would understand, even if it would kill him.

"Why didn't you call me? I should be there, man!"

"It's my fault. I didn't check the video before I sent it."

JJ paused. Hayden was crying lightly again.

"So, it wasn't a prank, then."

Hayden didn't know what to say.

"And you knew. He never...he never told me."

Hayden couldn't take it anymore. He hung up on JJ and left his phone in the glove box.

The conversation with Shane and Ilya was one of the most painful of his life, but they weren't angry at him. No, the anger came later; watching the Metros treat Shane, their incredible captain, the way they did.

Hayden fell out of love with the team with a crash hard enough to break bone. They were icy towards Shane at best, violently accusatory at worst. Even JJ started in with the bullshit, which broken Hayden clean in half. 

He was miserable. Shane was miserable. 

One afternoon, after Shane left practice, the guys started. Shane had begun changing quickly, keeping his eyes firmly on his locker, and retreating like someone was chasing him. It sickened Hayden.

"How long can we put up with this for?" That was Martinelli, one of the older guys. Hayden wished it was just the older guys pushing the homophobia, but Hayden, Shane, and JJ were rapidly becoming some of the oldest guys in the locker room, being 31, 30, and 29. 

"What?" Martinelli was talking to Clemens, a kid several years his junior.

"Fucking Hollander, sleeping with the fucking enemy. It's sick."

"Hollander has never cheated," Hayden and JJ both chorused, sick of saying it.

"Whatever, but that doesn't mean he won't. It's a fucking conflict of interest."

Hayden, dressed, really wanting to just fucking leave. Instead, he turned to face Martinelli, a goalie that should really be put to pasture.

"Our Captain is not a fucking traitor, Marty. He's the reason we've won two cups." Hayden and JJ had both been broken records about this.

"You can't act like you're not disgusted by it too, Pike. He did it at your fucking house. Where your kids are."

"What the hell are you saying?"

Martinelli was looking around for backup, but everyone was just watching silently. 

"He shouldn't be doing that around kids, is all. I don't know what the Admirals did after Scott Hunter, but someone should reach out. I mean, he can't be in the locker room with us, right? Back me up here, guys?"

So, the next thing Hayden remembered was JJ's arms locking Hayden's behind his back, Martinelli laid out on ground, Clemens holding Drapeau back from coming at Hayden.

His right hand was throbbing, he was afraid he broke something. He obviously hadn't been thinking clear enough to protect himself when he threw that punch. 

He would do better next time. He knew how to hit someone properly.

He struggled against JJ. JJ was yelling at him, telling him to calm down. Drapeau was released, he did not come at Hayden, instead, he helped his fellow goalie off the concrete floor.

"Don't talk about my fucking kids, don't talk about my fucking family. That includes Shane, you sack of shit!" Hayden yelled, finally pulling free of JJ, he grabbed his bag and left, fuming. 

The team was divided. The team was ruined. He had done that, posting that stupid fan mail video for a little extra cash, like he really needed it. 

Shane had pulled away from all of them. Hayden had too. 

Through it all, he expected something from Cliff. Anything, really. A message of admonishment. That's what he expected, what he deserved. 

He was withering. Every day he came home with a bone-deep exhaustion and considered, seriously, retiring early. He was only thirty. Hockey was all he had ever known, but he wasn't coping. He was irritable, snapping at everything.

Waiting, he realized, for the other shoe to drop.

"You have to stop blaming yourself," Jackie said. They had fought. They almost never fought. Raised voices were not welcome in his, that's not what he wanted for his children. 

It was over something stupid, Arthur's school art show. He had taken second place and was disappointed in himself. He held his crying son for an hour, then went to Jackie and started yelling about his school. He half a mind to call them and ream out the principal. They were little kids, did it really have to be a competition? 

"For what?" She asked, "For Art not getting first place this time? And what's the outcome? You take that ribbon from some other kid and give it to our son? Is that the correct example?"

It escalated from there.

"What is holding onto this self-hatred good for, Hayden?"

"Nothing, but I can't fucking stop. You should see him, everyday. It's like he's not even there!"

He hadn't told her about punching Martinelli. He was embarrassed. She saw his knuckles but didn't ask.

"It's hurting us." She said simply. "Look at us."

"Fuck. I don't know what to do, Jacks."

So, retirement. He was considering it. The idea of a trade briefly crossed his mind, but he had no interest in leaving Montreal. Jackie's entire family was in the city, and it was all the kids knew. He didn't want to risk going somewhere awful, either, which was childish, but he would rather quit hockey than play in, like, Calgary. 

Shane was gone by mid-summer. His move to Ottawa was announced and zipped through the hockey community like lightning. It leaked that Shane was experiencing discrimination in Montreal. Hayden wasn't sure who talked to reporters. He thought it might be JJ, honestly, but he didn't ask.

The media came down hard on Montreal, and suddenly, the entire team was under a microscope. 

"Pike!" A reporter called as they were walking off the ice after losing their home opener. "Pike, any comment on playing tonight without your friend Shane?"

When it happened, Hayden put out a statement prepared by Shane's agent and approved by his own about the video being an accident, that Shane was his best friend and he never intended to share their private moment. People mostly accepted it. It helped that Shane and Ilya both retweeted it.

"Pike!" He heard again when he ignored the first question "What about the rumors that you posted the video on purpose!"

"I would never do that," Hayden said, and regretted it. His agent would kill him for talking to the media about this. Sponsors would not touch him after the leak. He was a walking fucking joke, or a villain. He thought Paula might drop him as a client, truthfully.

"It just seems odd that you would send the fan mail video without watching it over again."

Hayden laughed, a little hysterical. "Yeah, I was careless, and it ruined-" He cut himself off. "It was careless of me, and I can't take it back. But I would never intentionally hurt Shane. He is like my brother."

The locker room was divided in two, those who supported Hayden after he attacked Martinelli, and those who did not. Drapeau was constantly glaring at him from over the invisible line. They did not discuss it, not even their coach got involved. About half the guys thought it was deserved, and the other half thought Hayden was a fucking basket case. 

They were playing like hot garbage. JJ had stepped up as captain. Hayden remained on as alternate, even though he couldn't exactly inspire the same camaraderie he could in seasons past. He had no pull in the locker room anymore. He felt like, at any moment, he would be taken out back and shot like a dog.

That's why, when a trade was announced halfway through the season, Hayden knew it was for him.

In December, he started seeing a therapist. Jackie threatened to make him sleep in the kid's playground if he didn't. She was right to. His mental health was deteriorating rapidly. He didn't want to be this weird, weepy, unstable father he was becoming. 

He was getting better. Maybe. He wasn't totally sure. He started seeing her once a week. At their first meeting, she had confirmed that she looked him up. He had asked her to prior so she could understand what he was so fucked up about. He ended up sobbing on her couch for an hour, nearly inconsolable. 

The answer was, generally, that he was traumatized and possibly dealing with PTSD. He was also struggling with being queer in the homophobic landscape that was professional hockey, and that was hurting him. He hadn't felt that, that much, lately.

"It's always there. Your friend's queer relationship was discovered publicly, and all your worst fears about what could happen to you were confirmed when they happened to him. Now you're dealing with constant homophobic comments, and accused of homophobia by the media, while hiding this part of yourself."

"So what can I do? How can I fix this?" He asked her, a little desperately, just before New Years. She sighed and closed her notebook. 

"You're fixing it now. Or, you're trying to. Therapy is a great step."

Hayden deflated, he wanted a checklist of clear tangible goals. A shopping list for getting back to normal would be ideal. 

Nothing was ever easy. 

So, in January, it was announced they would be getting a new player via a trade. It was a leak, that's how Hayden and the rest of the guys learned about it. Everyone on the team, friend and foe, gathered around Anders' phone and read the headline. The rumor was that someone from Boston, New York, or New Jersey would be traded to the Metros. 

"It could be bullshit," Hayden said, audibly worried.

"Yeah." The guys practiced quietly, all on edge. As much animosity as there was between them, no one wanted to leave their home.

Hayden, the most obvious cause of all animosity, was reading his contract nightly and considering hiring an attorney. 

"I'm not going to fucking New Jersey," he said. 

"I know, baby." Jackie kissed his cheek, his nose, his mouth. 

An email from Theriault was how the team was informed of who they were losing and gaining, but Hayden didn't check his email, so he heard it via press conference.

"The former alternate captain of the Boston Bears, Clifford Marlow, will be in red, white and blue by the end of the week!"

They were losing Grey, a man of the same age and slightly better standing than Marlow. Montreal was getting the worse half of the deal, was what was being reported. Marlow, now around 34, was not the player he was a decade ago. Clearly, Montreal was trying to replace the star factor they lost in Hollander, and only a former all-star would do.

Hayden was accepting the news with quiet delirium. 

Jackie was not home. He laid down on the carpet in front of the tv and pressed his forehead into it. Amber immediately came over to walk on his back.

Sometimes, when he got especially anxious or miserable, he started counting kids. He had enough to get his breathing right. One, on his back. Ruby and Jade were in the yard pummeling pucks at the net their Uncle Ilya stole from the Centaurs. Two, three.

"Where's Art?" He groaned as Amber's tiny bony feet dug into him.

"Coloring," Amber said, then dropped her doll on his head.

Four. Five if you count Amber's baby.

The TV was still discussing the trade.

"Amber, baby, will you please turn the TV off?" 

"Okay, daddy!" She exclaimed, jumping off his back. Ouch.

She ran around the couch, singing a made up song about Hayden laying on the ground, when his phone rang.

She picked it up.

"Hi Uncle Shane!" She yelled into the screen. Hayden couldn't hear Shane's reply, but he knew it would be that stressed tone he got whenever talking to a young child. 

"Amber, give me the phone," He said, holding his arm up, hoping she would comply. He really, really did not want to get off the ground. He was comfortable as his body went tingly and numb. 

She brought it to him and scampered off. 

"Shane?"

Shane was hysterically laughing. 

Hayden hung it up. 

He hated that man.

The phone rang.

Hayden answered.

Shane was still laughing.

This went on for a metric fuck-ton of minutes. Hayden was about to block his number when he picked up the seventh time.

"Wait," Shane said, gasping, trying to calm down, "Wait, don't hang up. I'm done."

"You're a prick, I would never do that to you." 

Shane choked, Hayden knew he was repressing more laughter.

"What the fuck are you gonna do, man?"

"Fuck. Where's Ilya?"

Ilya knew about Hayden (he guessed, somehow), but he didn't know about Cliff. Shane had respected Hayden's wishes to protect Cliff's secret. Roz and Marlow had been friends for as long as Shane and Hayden had been. He would not steal that moment from Cliff.

"He's out with Anya, he just left when I saw the news."

"Good."

"He'll be thrilled he can see Marlow again. He misses him."

"Uh huh," Marlow had come to their wedding that summer, handsome in a white button-up tucked into grey slacks. Neither Ilya nor Shane had best men at their weird, barely planned wedding, but he stood near Shane during the ceremony anyway, and Marlow had stood near Ilya. Hayden didn't really look at him. Not much. They didn't speak all night.

"Are you okay?"

"I am okay," Hayden said, on the floor.

"You're freaking out."

"How the fuck am I supposed to play with him?"

"You slept with him eleven years ago, dude. Does it matter?"

But Shane knew it did. If the roles were reversed, Shane would be right there on the floor like Hayden.

"Fuck," Shane said. "I don't know how you can play with him. I mean, fuck, Hayden."

"You're right that it was one night a million years ago. I'm a professional. It will be weird but we'll get over it."

"Yeah," Shane said, "You'll have to."

Hayden pointedly did not tell him that he had been considering retirement. Thoughts of quitting went out the window, Hayden wasn't being traded.

"Shane!" Hayden heard in the background of his phone call. "You see this? Marly is coming to Montreal!"

"I gotta go," Shane said. "Call you later."

Jackie found him a few hours later, much more normal, managing bath time with Arthur and Amber.

"Hey Mr. Pike," she said, still wearing her shoes and purse. "Good day?"

"Yeah," Hayden lied. "The girls are tuckered out from shooting at their new goal all day." 

The thing was, he couldn't just dwell in his misery. Life went on. Amber splashed him so hard his entire shirt got soaking wet. He did not remember being such a menace when he was a kid.

He stripped it off and left it in a wet lump on the floor. His phone was ringing. It was JJ. They had spoken earlier, very briefly. The guys were furious, they did not want a Bear coming to Montreal. They were still sore about Rozanov stealing their captain, which was the new narrative being perpetuated in the locker room, rather than the reality of Shane fleeing a hostile work environment. 

He didn't answer. He took extra long tucking the kids in, read Amber her bedtime story twice, because she asked so sweetly. He checked in Arthur's closet for monsters. He searched Jade's bunk lazily, ignoring the flashlight and book that were hidden securely under her mattress. He would go back in a half hour to confiscate them. 

Jackie was outside, having an extremely, extremely rare cigarette. She had smoked when they met once in a while, mostly liking the aesthetic of holding one. She liked the rush of the nicotine and the image it gave her; it fit in with her artistic persona. Seeing her on their porch, wrapped in Hayden's winter coat, legs crossed, smoke curling in the air, she was that girl he saw on the dance floor a lifetime ago. The most beautiful woman in the world.

"Mrs. Pike," he greeted, shivering a bit. He threw on a jacket before he joined her, but it was freezing in Montreal that night.

She passed the cigarette to him. The nicotine washed over him, making his head spin. If she had one cigarette a year, he had a hit off one every three years. No one knew this about them. She kept the pack in her locked beside drawer with their sex toys. 

"It's gonna be fun," she said on the exhale, a coy chuckle lighting him up. 

"Fun is not what I would say."

"Oh, I would." She teased. "He'll be around, you know. Being Ilya's friend."

Hayden squirmed. He took another hit off the cigarette. 

"I know."

She nodded. 

He would be more than around. JJ had a ten step plan to bring the team back together, and that included numerous bonding activities. Cliff would be in Montreal by the end of the week. 

"Let's go in. It's freezing." 

She followed him inside, dropped her coat, and pulled him in for a searing kiss. 

Hayden snuck into the twin's bedroom, took Jade's book, told her firmly to go to bed, and met Jackie upstairs.

She was naked on their bed, the pajamas she had been wearing were on the floor. She was laying on her side, the dip of her waist pronounced, looking like a woman in a painting.

"Whoa. What's this?"

"Seduction, obviously," She grinned, teasing one of her nipples.

Fucking his wife never got boring, even when it was like this, slow, passionate. Missionary, which, he knew, some guys would roll their eyes at. Hayden liked to kiss her while he rolled inside her, he liked to capture her little gasps on his lips. He liked to feel her kisses get sloppy when she got close, and he loved to feel the reverberations of her moans in his teeth.

He bit her, hard, she squealed. She loved when they "played vampire," so he sucked a good bruise there. It was cold enough that winter to justify wearing a scarf in public for a few days.

The one she gave him in return, though, could not be hidden. Not in the locker room. She rolled on top of him, moving off his cock. Having his neck kissed always made him a little dizzy, a little out of it. She licked and sucked to her heart's content, giving him hickey over hickey until he was more bruise than man. He came with her hand on his dick and his flesh under her teeth.

It was bad in the morning. The entire left side of his neck was marked up, deep purple. He was in his fucking thirties, married over a decade, with four kids, and Jackie reduced his grown-up appearance (an appearance he worked hard for. He did not have a damn baby face. Not anymore.) to that of a horny teenager.

He wore a red Metros sweatshirt around the house, his hood pulled up, but he couldn't get away with that at work. Coach had them in early for a meeting before practice. Hayden kept his hood up while he discussed Grey's trade. Grey was already gone.

"Marlow will be here Thursday for practice. He'll be a good addition to our team. I expect you all to welcome him, despite his...history."

"A fucking Bear, coach?" 

"Get over it. We're trying to secure a spot in the playoffs. If you all stopped acting like children and played hockey like the professional hockey players you all are, we wouldn't need a fucking miracle to get us out of this hole."

"Marlow is a miracle?" JJ asked, shocked.

"He better be," was all Theriault said, leaving them to change for practice.

His neck was, of course, topic for immediate bullying. JJ started it, because it's your own loved ones that always hurt you the most, and he coaxed the kids into joining in. Then Anders, even Comeau teased him.

"Oh my god, can we just forget about it?" Hayden asked, trying to be an adult and stop blushing like he got caught in a coat closet with his girlfriend. 

"I didn't even know people your age still had sex," said one of the rookies. 

"JJ, punish him. Laps around the rink."

"Seriously, Pike, we expect this out of one of the dumb kids," Anders said, pushing the rookie lightly on the head. "Not some married man. Haven't you been married a thousand years?"

"About that, yes. No need to be jealous."

"What got Jackie so possessive? You look at someone's ass?" JJ asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Hayden frowned, possessive? She wasn't being possessive. She was just a bit...wild, sometimes. They both could be, it's just that Jackie wasn't there to show off what he had done to her.

Of course, that wasn't anything like this. She got one, reasonably placed hickey, he got five. Or, maybe six, sitting too high on his neck to be hidden unless he wanted to go way out of his comfort zone and start wearing fashionable scarves.

"Uh, no, nothing like that. It's not possessive, it's just..." he trailed off, considering. 

"She marked you up for a reason, bro," Anders said, clapping him on the shoulder. 

Practice was weird. The guys were playing almost normally. Almost well, at times. He got chirped a few times about dating Dracula, but no one was being outwardly mean.

Hayden went home still puzzling over what the guys said. 

Marlow would be in Montreal for practice in just a few days. Thursday, coach had said. Would the marks on his neck fade away by then?

Jackie was at the kitchen table helping Ruby with her long division. He couldn't ask her about it, and it was ridiculous, anyway. Jackie didn't have a thing to be territorial about. She was the only person for him. The guys were wrong. 

"Hey Mr. Pike," She greeted, biting her lip, eyeing her marks on him. "Get hell at work today?"

"A little." He joined them at the table. They both watched their daughter work out a math problem all on her own.

"Good job, pumpkin!" Jackie pressed a kiss to her head. "You got it. You can do the rest now, right?"

"Yeah," She said, not even looking up as her pencil scratched on the page.

Hayden started helping Jackie prep dinner. He was rinsing the veggies at the sink when he said:

"So, uh, coach said he would be here by Thursday." He didn't have to say his name. They both knew who 'he' was.

She raised her eyebrows, smirking a little.

"Thursday, huh?"

"Yeah."

She counted audibly. 

"Three days, alright." 

He paused, eyeing her.

"Why did you say it like that?"

"No reason." She was still smirking.

"Do you have something planned?"

"No," Jackie replied. "My plan is complete."

He stared, waiting for it to click into place.

"Oh my god, they were right. You were being possessive."

Jackie giggled and reached for him. Hayden met her kiss, flabbergasted that Jackie would do something like this, would feel the need to so publicly...claim him. 

"What?" She said, "He has to know you have a freak at home."

"Oh my god," they were alone in the kitchen, but Hayden was still blushing.

"Now they all know."

"You didn't...you know you have nothing to worry about, right?" He fidgeted, afraid she was actually upset with him.

"Of course I know that," she paused, leering at him again. "It's just a bit of fun, right?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Plus...let him look."

His mouth fell open. "Jackie!"

"He can see you all...debauched. But you'll come home to me." She cupped his face, grinning. 

"I'll always come home to you, Mrs. Pike." 

They made out until one of the girls walked into the kitchen and loudly declared them disgusting. They laughed and went back to quietly preparing dinner, sharing loving looks over bumped hands and elbows. 

Chapter End Notes

also being in grad school while writing this shit is kicking my ass. thank god none of these indeed.com jobs are calling me back so i can focus on fanfiction

Chapter 5

"Come on, baby. You can take a little more, can't you? There you go. There you go, my darling boy, my angel, so good for me."

Big, fat tears rolled down the sides of Hayden's head as he blinked up at the gentle face of his wife.

It was early afternoon in the Pike household. Friday, the kids were at school, practice was optional ahead of the game that evening, everything was right in the world.

"So good, you're taking it so good." She had paused the movement of her hips in favor of sliding the electric blue dildo into his mouth and down his throat. "Hold this for me now, okay? Be good for me."

She had a transparent fleshlight over his cock that she had been fucking him on while also spearing him on her strap, but she got distracted by mouth-fucking him with her favorite dildo. He took over fleshlight duty so she could gain leverage on his hip, thrusting into him almost painfully while keeping his mouth stuffed.

Hayden whimpered and moaned pathetically, almost completely out of his body. They almost never had time for sex like this, sex where one took the other apart piece by piece, but the stars had aligned that Friday, and Jackie had said she wanted him totally relaxed before his game.

He had been tense since practice the day before.

He arrived to the arena late, traffic had been backed up due to an accident on the freeway. Most of the guys were already changed and on the ice. 

Including the giant, freak of nature that was Cliff Marlow. Hayden changed quickly to make up for lost time but found himself pausing before stepping on the ice. Marlow was skating around leisurely with JJ, locked in conversation. Well, JJ was talking. Cliff was listening, face blank.

"Weird, right?" Clemens asked, stopping to gawk like Hayden was. "I mean, it is kinda cool. Marlow is a great player, but like, there's a Bear on our team now."

"Yeah," Hayden replied, agreeing with both points.

Coach gathered them for a weak, waste of time speech about coming together and overcoming differences and a whole bunch of other bullshit. Hayden was standing as far away from Cliff as possible. Not on purpose, necessarily, but, not not on purpose.

That could not last, though. He couldn't avoid a teammate forever.

Hayden helped JJ set up for drills, and JJ immediately grabbed hold of both of them

"Alternate to former-alternate, y'all need to get along. Maybe Marlow will have some tips for you, huh?" JJ said, nudging Hayden in a way that felt pointed, even though he knew it couldn't possibly be. Marlow appeared to be in physical pain.

"Yeah. Uh, welcome to the team." Hayden bit back a Cliff at the last second.

"Thanks, Pike," Marlow said, which...hurt something small and weak inside Hayden.

He tried to focus on practice and will it to speed by. At the end of practice, unfortunately, was showers.

JJ had not given Marlow a chance to breathe yet. They were stripping off their gear, a few guys were already in the shower, when he asked about his tattoos.

"Oh," Marlow said, looking at his arms. "They're just random stuff, mostly."

Now that Hayden could see them properly up close, he could tell they were just that. There was a snake wrapped around his left forearm, classic man tattoo, a half naked woman on the inside of his other arm, also a classic. There were odd ones too. A small, featureless fairy, a butterfly, a lizard, a cross, the numbers 777.

There were too many to count, and Hayden had been looking at Marlow for too long. There were considerably more tattoos now than there were back when Hayden knew him...the way he knew him. They had spread to his torso now, which was covered in thick black hair. That had not changed.

Hayden showered quickly and left. 

"There you go, you gonna come for me?"

"Mmmmm...mmm," Hayden replied intelligently, trying to get her attention but unwilling to remove the dildo from his throat himself.

She seemed to understand, she took it out but not away, letting the tip sit on his swollen bottom lip to wait.

"What is it?"

"I want to fuck you. Want to come inside you."

"Hmmm, denied. I'm having way too much fun like this."

He whined, squirming. The strap brushed against his prostate and he gasped.

"Jackie, please!"

"Later, after you win." He knew she would be wet. She would be so wet after this, leaking down her legs. She would feel incredible to sink into. 

"I wanna make you feel good."

"I feel great, honey. Now, do you want to come, or not?"

He did.

She stuffed his throat again, he gagged and drooled around it, loving the feeling of the silicon rubbing the inside of his mouth raw. Jackie moved it in time with her thrusts into his ass, and Hayden, in turn, tried to match the pattern with the fleshlight (unsuccessfully, he was way too out of it). 

"You love this so much, Hayden. I don't know why we don't do this more. You fucking love to have your mouth stuffed. Your throat fucked. You're such a slut for my dick."

Hayden's eyes rolled back in his head. He was going to come so fucking hard.

"Is the toy even big enough? We have bigger dildos. We could get an even bigger one, too, if you need it. You probably do, you're such a whore for cock in your mouth."

Hayden cried around the dildo as his orgasm hit. His lips tightened on it, sucking it harshly as Jackie continued pounding away at him. His hand had stilled on his dick, overwhelmed, but it didn't matter, he was coming harder than he had in weeks.

Afterwards, Hayden kept trying to form thoughts. He tried to remember the names of old friends, restaurants they liked, Hayden's favorite movies...but his brain was blissfully, and completely, empty. 

They laid there, recovering, for two minutes before Hayden got his first thought. Which was 'Jackie,' and then 'pussy.'

He crawled to her. She hadn't moved from where she was in the center of the bed. He turned her around, her feet pressed against the headboard. 

She was slick down her inner thighs. 

"Fuck, you're so fucking wet." Hayden dipped, his tongue out, licking a broad stripe up the inside of her left thigh. 

"You do that to me, baby." She said, biting her lip as she stared down at him hovering between her legs.

If his brain was in danger of switching back on, he was safe as soon as his tongue fell out to taste his wife.

She was overwhelmed, he could tell immediately. Worked up in a way that meant it would take her longer to come. He didn't mind, they had all the time in the world. He hooked his arms under her legs to draw her nearer. He pulled back from her pussy to press light kisses to her inner thighs. He knew her stretch marks there were especially sensitive, so he made sure to nip the skin lightly, until she was whimpering as pretty as a song.

"Good?" He asked, catching her pretty dark eyes.

"Perfect, baby. You make me feel so good."

He slid a finger into her. She smiled, exhaling shakily. 

"A little more, baby." Her voice was throaty, she was holding her head up, one arm had scooped her messy, tangled curls off her neck. He stopped just to stare at her, his fingers inside her pausing.

"What? Why'd you stop?" She asked, slightly distressed. She let her hair fall like elegant curtains around her face. 

"Sorry," He said, readjusting his hand. Two fingers inside her pussy, and one in her ass, had her moaning instantly. "It's just...you're the most beautiful woman in the world."

She grinned at him.

"Shut up, lover boy."

"It's true. You're stunning. Every time I see you I can't believe how lucky I am."

"I'm lucky," she said in that sweet, quiet way that meant 'I love you.' "Now, please fuck me."

That, he could do. They would take it slowly. Sometimes, Jackie got overstimulated before even finishing, and it would leave her struggling and frustrated. The only thing to do would be to take it slow and steady.

As much as he enjoyed sucking on her swollen clit, once Jackie started playing with her own tits, he moved up her body to capture a nipple between his teeth. He was a little embarrassed, and felt a little bad thinking it, but he loved the way her body changed after three pregnancies. Not that there was anything wrong with her body before, he never thought that and would never, ever think that.

She was softer now, and it was different. It was wonderful. Her boobs were a handful, and Hayden was pretty sure his hands were made to hold them. Her thighs were plush and covered in the same stretchmarks her stomach was, and something about seeing them made him feel a little insane, a little...animalistic. 

Jackie's hands threaded through his hair as he moved from one breast to the other, licking and sucking her left nipple, which seemed more sensitive than her right. 

Hayden loved hands in his hair, her blunt nails scratched over his scalp, relaxing him. He pulled off her boob to watch his fingers disappear inside her. She moaned quietly, delicately as he did so, the sound of squishing almost louder than her voice.

"I'm ready," She said. "Vibrator, please. The wand."

"Are you sure, baby?"

"Yes," she said, breathing slightly labored.

Their sex toy collection was, frankly, ridiculous. Both of their nightstands were filled with various vibrators, dildos, plugs...the fleshlight he had just ruined was the newest addition. They kept their nightstands locked, and if something ever happened to both of them, Jackie had a pact with one of her friends to come by, take the nightstands out back, and set them on fire.

The wand was teal. She was writhing on the bed, begging quietly to come. Hayden's exhausted cock was waking up from its slumber. Sex was so dangerous. If they weren't careful, they could be at it for hours, taking turns fucking each other's brains out.

That was what they did before family obligations became a thing.

"On the side, the-"

"Right side, I know, baby."

He kept his fingers inside her as he held the want on the right side of her clit, starting at the lowest speed.

"More," she choked, watching him with tragic desperation.

His fingers moved faster inside her. He turned up the speed. The wand had ten settings and three speeds. The second speed usually did it for her. 

Sure enough, Jackie was arching off the bed, crying out as she clenched down on his fingers. It looked and felt like a good one.

She collapsed, panting. He turned the wand off after a good ten seconds extra and tossed it away to land beside one of the several other toys they would have to wash.

Hayden curled up beside her, pulling her warm, twitching body against his. 

When she finally came around, she started laughing.

"Nice," she said, lifting her hand for a high-five, which he enthusiastically gave. 

"Okay, okay. It's...okay it's still early. Go shower, I'm going to clean up."

"I got the bedding." Hayden said.

"I got the toys."

They were a well-oiled machine. Hayden kissed his wife and left for a quick shower as she gathered up all the evidence of their activities. Hayden stripped the bedding and threw in a load of laundry, replacing the blue sheets with delicate white ones adorned with little flowers, Jackie's favorite set.

Jackie had all their toys laid out on the counter, drying on a dish towel when he came to find her. 

"We'll be at the game tonight," she said, kissing him lightly on the cheek. 

"Yeah?" Hayden asked, surprised. Amber's school was supposed to have an open house that Friday. 

"Amber's teacher has the flu, so. The event is moved to next week. Wednesday."

Hayden grinned. He could go on Wednesday! He could actually go to one of the kid's events! He was so excited. He didn't have to fly out until Thursday!

"That's great! I can't wait." He never got the opportunity to meet one of his kid's teacher's before. He was so busy during the school year, he missed countless recitals, science fairs, art shows...it was devastating every time.

Hayden put away their collection while Jackie showered. He got the rare treat of picking the kids up from school, and he made it to the arena by 5:30.

He was in a great mood. He was happier, actually, than he had been in months. Incredible sex, Amber's open house, picking the kids up from school, AND his entire family would be at the game later. Nothing could bring him down.

"Uh oh," JJ said a little while later, bringing him down. "Count Jackie strikes again."

"The fuck is a 'Count Jackie?'" Anders asked, wrinkling his nose at JJ.

"Like Count Chocula. The cereal vampire?" 

"I do not know cereal vampire."

Hayden was red. He hadn't gotten away from their bed without one more hickey. He almost forgot about it, honestly. It had been in a much more modest location, near the bottom of his neck, easily hidden under a hoodie. The others had pretty much completely faded, thank god.

JJ and Anders continued to discuss cereal mascots. Hayden knew better than to look around in the locker room. He really did. Why he twisted his head around, he would never understand.

But there was Marlow, looking at him.

Hayden was half dressed, but naked from the waist up. Marlow was at a row of lockers behind him. Tall, menacing, those impossibly dark eyes on Hayden's face. Then, his neck.

Hayden tore his eyes away, certain his blush would deepen. He threw the rest of his gear on, afraid it would spread down his chest. 

Fucking JJ, his friend, his brother, always ruining his good mood.

"Alright, listen up!" He shouted, getting everyone's attention. JJ stood in the center of the locker room, waiting for stray conversations to die. "After we destroy Detroit tonight, party at my house. Everyone is coming."

"Aw, JJ, man, Jacks and the kids are here tonight-"

"Get a babysitter and bring your wife, you're not flaking tonight. Mandatory team event."

"Can't there be exceptions for people with kids?"

"People with enough kids to fill out their own line?" Clemens joked.

"Fuck no. We're drinking, celebrating, Captain," JJ said very seriously.

Fuck, Hayden kind of hated JJ for taking this team bonding shit seriously.

He knew they had a long way to go to get back to where they were before the shit with Shane went down. Hayden kind of never wanted them to get back to where they were, though. He felt, a bit, like the team didn't fucking deserve to get better. There was a gaping hole in the team where his best friend, the best hockey player in the NHL, used to be, and Hayden wasn't ready to start pretending like that didn't kill him.

He texted Jackie. His mood soured as they took the ice, but once he saw Jackie and the kids in Hayden's allotted seats, his spirits lifted. Amber and Arthur were ignoring the world around them, passing a handheld game back and forth, but the twins were grinning and waving down at him, wearing his jersey. 

Hayden waved at his family. He would score tonight. He had very important people to impress. His daughters, who were future Olympians, were watching. 

It wasn't lost on Hayden that this was Marlow's first game with the team. He was sure it would go poorly. They only had one practice together. There was no way Marlow could learn the ins and outs of every player's style. He had yet to find his place on the team.

When Marlow was called on, the tone in the arena was conflicted. He stood there, almost pallid in blue, red, and white. Black and yellow had no doubt suited him better, but he stood as tall as ever, shoulders as wide as a car, intimidating every player on the ice, Montreal and Detroit alike.

And, when he hit, he hit hard, and he hit Detroit, not Montreal. This immediately won him favor with the guys, especially after Marlow started attacking an opponent after he slammed into Drapeau, their goalie. Hayden eyed Cliff while serving his time in the penalty box. The man was scanning the stands, ignoring the game.

Hayden scored in the second half, bringing the score up 1-1. JJ scored only three minutes after that, pulling them ahead. Neither JJ nor Hayden were particularly surpised. Detroit was almost as notoriously bad as Ottawa was. 

Ottawa's been having a good season, though, now that Montreal's star player was over there.

He felt the loss of Shane on the ice acutely, like he did every game. It didn't help that there was a virtual stranger sharing the space with him, blocking his view of things, always somehow in Hayden's line of sight.

Hayden assisted Clemens on Montreal's third goal of the night, and it was a win for the Metros 3-1. 

The Metros, who had been playing like shit, were very excited by this outcome, and superstitiously decided their good luck was due to their new #7, the only obvious difference between this game and all the ones they lost.

Hayden wasn't superstitious. He played hockey. He had a different strategy for putting on his gear, for taking it off, for showering, for kissing his children, with every game.

The rookies were talking animatedly about JJ's house party. JJ was on the phone, calling several people and speaking exclusively in French. 

"Congrats," Hayden found himself, for some unknown reason, speaking to Cliff. Cliff was mostly dressed, tying his tie. His suit was black, his tie was grey. He looked like a funeral director. "On winning tonight. First win in your first game."

"Because this guy is a good luck charm!" Drapeau announced, punching Cliff's arm lightly. 

"Thanks," Cliff's voice was low, uncertain. Hayden nodded and left it at that.

The difference was Cliff.

And that Detroit is a terrible team.

But Cliff was a huge contributing factor. No one had seemed to notice that night, but very few Metros players actually took any hits. Cliff and Matty, one of the Metro's enforcers, were there keeping guys off the players moving the puck. Cliff was in the penalty box more than he was on the ice, and the only players who got injured that night were Detroit guys.

Hayden had certainly noticed when #22 was on his tail, about to rock his shit so hard he would feel it for days, when air whizzed by his face, followed by a deafening crash. He glanced back and only saw Cliff, who had crushed the other man against the boards. Hayden passed the puck to Clemens, who fired on the goal and scored. That point could be awarded to Cliff as much as it could to Clemens. 

Jackie was able to find an extremely last minute babysitter in the form of her teenage cousin Eliza, who Hayden was wary of but agreed to pay handsomely if she kept the kids alive. 

Jackie was excited.

"I haven't been to a hockey party in years," she held onto his arm as they walked up the icy steps to JJ's house, salt crunching under shoes. "I can't wait to talk about like, point averages, and the best stain remover for blood."

"We can leave whenever you want, Mrs. Pike," he said.

"I know. I'm excited, though."

JJ's music was so loud they could hear it from the stoop. 

"Why does he act like we're still twenty-two?" Hayden whispered, making Jackie laugh. 

The first thing he saw upon leading Jackie through JJ's sprawling mansion were the rookies playing beer pong.

"Great, we're partying with frat boys," she said, but she looked delighted by the theatrics unfolding in front of them. One of the kids missed and threw the ball directly at another's head. "Bro, what the hell? That's so mean."

"The kids are already drunk," Hayden said, greeting JJ, who was sitting with Mona and another very glamorous woman. 

Jackie, wearing a vintage chocolate brown Carhartt jacket, jeans, and a colorful hand-knit sweater, looked like she fit right in next to the woman with a full beat of makeup and a top so tight everyone could see her nipples. She greeted Mona and JJ and offered her hand to the woman.

Hayden envied his wife's ability to fit in wherever she went. Hayden, already overwhelmed, offered to hang up his wife's jacket, and promptly left the loud mess that was JJ's game room. 

The party was huge. This wasn't team bonding, this was playing chicken with a noise complaint. JJ knew a lot of people. A few years ago, JJ was well-known on the team as the party planner. He's slowed down in the last few years, and no one could blame him. This lifestyle was a lot to maintain, and they weren't as young and spry as they used to be.

Their entire team was there, and there were pockets of strangers everywhere. No doubt artist types, JJ and Jackie both had a ton of mutual friends. Hayden found Jackie holding court with several people he vaguely recognized. She was going to be busy all night.

He allowed himself to get pulled into a game of poker, only to realize that Drapeau, Clemens, and Winslow were playing Uno.

So, he played Uno.

"I thought I'd get away from games like this for one night," Hayden joked, sipping a tepid beer. Drapeau was furious with him for reversing the game on him twice. Hayden secretly had a draw four waiting for the man when it was time. He wanted to see a 36-year-old goalie flip a table over a children's game more and more as the night went on. 

"He has an advantage on us, he's a dad," Clemens said sadly, about half the deck in his hand as he was pulling cards. Still no yellow. 

"I have two kids," Winslow said, also losing badly.

His only competition was Drapeau, who had two cards. Hayden had barely been able to hold him off with his reverses. He was determined to beat him. 

"Come on, Winnie. Go."

"Fuck off," Winslow said, pulling another card from the pile. A yellow, finally. It was Hayden's turn.

"MARLY!" Drapeau screamed, right into Hayden's ear. Hayden jumped, nearly dropping his cards.

"Jesus! What the fuck?" Hayden's damn ear was ringing. "Trying to fucking sabotage me?"

"Marly! Come here!" Drapeau yelled, ignoring Hayden's curses. 

Wherever Cliff was, it was somewhere behind Hayden. Hayden did not turn around to watch him approach. He half hoped the man was ignoring Drapeau's idiotic call. 

"What's up?" 

No. Of course not. That would be too easy.

Hayden took a second to imagine what this room would look like if he were to set it on fire. 

Marlow was directly behind Hayden. Hayden could feel the heat from his body. 

"What is this, Uno?" Marlow asked, Hayden swore he could feel the man's eyes on his cards. "This is how you do it in Montreal, huh?"

"What cards does Pike have? Help me out."

Hayden slammed his cards down on the table, even though he knew Marlow could have seen them already. This was stupid. This game didn't matter.

"Didn't see, sorry," Marlow said. 

"Fuck. Whatever. Go, Pike." 

Hayden looked over his shoulder at Marlow before picking his cards back up. 

Marlow grinned. The table was set up beside JJ's staircase. Marlow took a few steps back and sat on one of the steps, watching the game.

"Go on, Pike. I'm not looking," Marlow said, smiling still. 

Hayden's heartrate picked up. That was the first time he had been in the presence of Cliff Marlow's smile in a long time. 

Marlow's fingers were wrapped around the neck of a beer bottle. Hayden turned away as he began to raise it to his mouth.

Hayden threw down the draw four on Drapeau, who did not flip the table but swore loudly in French and English, drew four, and called Hayden an ugly, spiteful son of a bitch.

Hayden won after two more rounds.

"What's the prize?" Marlow asked, standing up off the step.

"The prize is I take Pike out back and kick his ass."

"It's rage-baiting Drapeau, that's the prize," Clemens said. "Work every time."

"Fuck you." Drapeau stormed off while the guys laughed.

Marlow inspected the deck after Clemens shoved the cards in it, tossing it on the table and taking off in search of shots. 

"Jesus, this is...really weirdly wholesome."

"I was surprised too," Hayden said, because he was standing around, near Marlow, like an idiot. "What happens at a Boston party?"

Marlow laughed, running a hand through his hair. He looked unfairly attractive. He was wearing a black sweater, sleeves pushed up to his elbows, tattoos on display, and dark jeans. 

"High stakes poker?" Hayden asked when Marlow didn't answer the question.

"Sometimes. Not often. Ilya would cheat, somehow. I never saw him do it, but the alternative is that he is unfairly good at poker, which I could never accept."

Hayden experienced a weird mix of emotions in his gut upon hearing Marlow talk about Rozanov so casually. Ilya was something they shared, now. And Shane too. They had a connection outside of hockey, and Hayden could tell Marlow was thinking the same.

"Guess we have mutual friends," he said, then visibly winced, which made Hayden feel a little better. If Marlow was feeling as awkward as he was, then he didn't have to try so hard.

"Yeah. Ilya is...exactly what I expected, and not at all what I expected," Hayden said, knowing it was a nothing-answer, but it was the best he could manage. 

"Yeah, he is that. And Shane...Shane's great. He's...also not what I expected, I guess."

Hayden felt defensive immediately, but tried to shake it off. He wasn't dissing Shane, Hayden was pretty sure. Not anymore than Hayden was dissing Ilya, anyway. 

Marlow perched lightly on an arm chair. This was room was emptier than others, but there were a few people in the corner talking, none of them hockey players. Hayden leaned on the staircase railing, a safe distance away from Marlow. He would not get any closer than this, even if he was wondering if the man still wore the same cologne.

"I never played with him, obviously, but this team seems so empty without him. It's weird that I was brought on as...not a replacement. I could never replace Hollander but..."

"But, that is kind of your function. An all-star replacing an all-star."

Marlow laughed.

"I haven't exactly been on top of my game these last few years."

When Hayden first met Marlow, he was one of the most talked about players in the league, just after Scott Hunter. His career was promising, he was exceptional, a fan-favorite. Hayden didn't want to say Marlow hadn't been at his best, but he certainly hadn't been at the level he was when he was twenty-three. Hell, none of them were.

"You were good tonight," Hayden said, "Even racking up penalties."

Marlow laughed.

"It's how I'm used to playing."

"You're a Bear." Hayden said. Marlow's laugh was sad.

"Not anymore."

Hayden felt for the man. He had never been traded. He was drafted in Montreal, and Montreal was where he would retire. He could not relate to whatever Marlow was feeling, he could only try to help.

"Have you...spoken to Rozanov about it?" 

"Uh...yeah." Marlow said, rubbing a hand over his face, sleeve slipping down his arm. "I'm having dinner in Ottawa Sunday. That'll be weird."

"Yeah," Hayden said. "Dinners with them usually are."

Hayden, in search of some water, got pulled into a conversation with a teammate and his wife about, if you can even fucking believe it, point averages so far that season. 

It was about...way too long into that deeply boring conversation that he realized he hadn't seen Jackie for over an hour. He had totally abandoned her. 

Hayden excused himself from the conversation and went to look for his wife. It was getting late, and Hayden was tired. The rookies were a little too drunk, singing karaoke in JJ's karaoke room, and it was making him feel like an old man.

There were people fucking everywhere, more just kept arriving. He had to push through the crowds to get back to the game room where he left her. Of course, she was not there.

He sent her a text, waited, and kept looking. He couldn't even find JJ or Mona. He did a lap of the inside of the mansion one more time before he realized JJ had a fire going in his yard.

Idiots. It was cold as fuck out, fucking mid-winter in Canada.

He slipped his coat on. There were people scattered around the patio passing a joint. JJ was at the bonfire with Mona. 

"Hey," Hayden greeted, interrupting their conversation. "You seen Jackie?"

"Uh, yeah...she was..." JJ was stoned, Mona too, if her giggles were anything to go by. Hayden was a little jealous. 

"She's over there, with that...that guy." Mona said, gesturing vaguely at the patio. 

JJ went back to his conversation. Hayden, reluctant to leave the warmth of the bonfire, begrudgingly trudged up to the patio.

She wasn't smoking weed with everyone else. That would be too easy. 

He found her on the edge of the patio. She had grabbed her coat before coming outside, thank god. She was small, bunched inside it, clearly freezing, but speaking quickly to Cliff Marlow.

They were standing together on the edge of the patio, enough space between them for Jesus. Her hands were in her pockets. Cliff was staring down at her with his intense gaze that clearly did not intimidate Jackie in the slightest. He recognized the playful tilt of her mouth, and Christ alive, this was his worst fucking nightmare. His wife and Cliff Marlow were talking to each other.

Hayden both wanted to go over there and confront them, and run inside and hide in a closet.

He already felt stiff from standing outside in freezing temperatures. Jackie was going to get a cold. 

Cliff said something, nodding, waving his hand, smiling slightly. Jackie laughed. He loved her laugh.

"Hey," Hayden said, approaching them, keeping his eyes on his wife. "I was looking for you."

"Sorry, baby. My phone died." He gave her a peck on the lips and felt foolish immediately. "Cliff was just telling me how you swept the Uno table."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah, super hot," she giggled. He smiled at her.

He risked a glance at Cliff, who was looking at him with a small, amused smile. 

This was hell.

Cliff knew that Jackie knew about them, and Jackie knew that Cliff knew that she knew, and Jackie knew...

"Hotter than that goal earlier?" Cliff asked, focus back on Jackie. 

"Um yes, maybe this means he will stop losing to our six-year-old son during family game nights."

"Art cheats!" Hayden exclaimed, making them laugh. "He's a shifty kid, Cliff. Don't listen to her."

Cliff's laughter faded as Hayden realized his mistake. Jackie pulled him closer, sliding her hand into his coat pocket.

"We should probably be getting back to our shifty children, right?" She asked, Hayden agreed. "It was nice meeting you, Cliff."

"Nice to meet you too, Jackie," Cliff, adorably, offered Jackie his hand. Jackie took this as a challenge. She removed herself from Hayden's side to hug him.

And, oh Jesus, was Hayden's mind racing? 

Cliff hugged her back, leaning down, visibly awkward. He caught Hayden's gaze, pulled a face that had Hayden smiling, and released Jackie. 

They left through the back gate, not bothering to say goodbye to their host, who was running around the yard with Mona shrieking on his back. 

The ride home was pleasantly quiet. They relieved the babysitter, Hayden gave her way too much cash, enough to make her leave before Hayden could realize what he had done. 

The house was silent. Hayden checked on the kids while Jackie got cleaned up. All accounted for, all sleeping. Jade fell asleep with her book open on her chest. Hayden took it and marked the page. 

Jackie was in an old Metros shirt of his and sweatpants. She was braiding her hair when he came in and began to undress. Hayden had been looking forward to sex tonight, but he was beyond exhausted after the game and the party.

He stared at her as she sat at her vanity doing her hair, wondering if it was overstepping to ask about what she and Marlow talked about.

Did she seek him out? Did he seek her out? Maybe he just wanted reassurance that she was safe. Maybe they had only just started talking when he found them. 

What was he so afraid of, anyway? What was the worst case scenario here, that she told him all his secrets? Jackie would never do that.

"So..." Jackie said. "You're lasting a lot longer than I thought you would."

Hayden sighed sadly. "That's what she said."

Jackie smiled lovingly at him through the mirror.

"I don't want to intrude."

"It's killing you."

"It's killing me."

"It's simple, really," Jackie said. "I told him I wanted him to be our third. He agreed. He's on his way over right now."

Hayden glared at her.

"That's not funny."

She held his gaze, continuing the bit another moment before breaking, snickering to herself. Hayden breathed.

"I would never do that without consulting you first." She said, and Hayden couldn't figure out if she was joking or not. 

"He's married."

"He's actually not married," Jackie said. "Do none of you ever talk to each other?"

"He's been in Montreal two days," Hayden grumbled.

"He's divorced. Which, I already knew from googling him. But I asked him if he brought anyone with him when he moved anyway."

"To drive the knife in?"

"To get the story! I'm not evil, Hayden."

Hayden chuckled. "Of course not."

"He and Maddie have been split for three years, divorced officially for two. I think he's kind of happy about the trade, he implied he was lonely in Boston, and that's not that surprising, you know?"

Hayden frowned. "It's not?"

"Well, he's not from Boston, and his best friend very famously moved to Ottawa."

"What are you, in charge of the Cliff Marlow Wikipedia page?"

Jackie sighed, giving him a look. Hayden felt itchy. Why were they even having this conversation? 

"Can we go to bed? I'm wiped." 

Her comments were nagging at him. The following Thursday they were on a plane to LAX. Hayden was watching an old Bond flick, one earbud in as the other kicked the bucket. There were guys playing cards in the center aisle. Marlow was in the middle, two more of the older guys around him. Hayden kept hearing Marlow's deep, rumbling chuckle. He must be winning, he seemed to be in a good mood. Hayden tried to focus on the movie, but he couldn't help remembering what Jackie said. Was Marlow lonely in Boston? Was he lonely here? Hayden hadn't even realized he was divorced. God, that must have been hard. The man has had a difficult few years.

Hayden's haven't been great, what with the, accidentally outing his best friend to the world and then losing him to fucking Ottawa thing. But, he had Jackie through it all. Jesus, if he lost Shane AND Jackie, Hayden would not handle it well. Lonely would be an understatement. 

God, should he befriend Cliff Marlow? Could he befriend Cliff Marlow? At JJ's party last week, talking to him had almost been normal. Fuck, talking with him and Jackie almost seemed...nice. 

He glanced at the game. Marlow didn't look too lonely taking all their teammates money. Hayden burrowed down in his seat and watched the movie.

Unfortunately, there may have been something to JJ's attempts at team bonding, because they wiped the floor with L.A. The score, 4-0, was downright disrespectful. 

One of those goals was Hayden's too, which gave him a big head.

The guys went out that night, and Hayden couldn't think of a good enough reason to say no. The clubs in Los Angeles never disappointed. He face timed Jackie before heading out, wanting to share the win with her and the kids.

"You were so good, daddy!" Amber yelled into the phone, which his other children agreed with. 

"Hey!" JJ called from the other side of the room. Hayden flipped the camera around on him "What about your Uncle JJ?"

"Dad was better," Ruby said after the kids paused. 

"Noooooooo!" JJ cried, falling on his bed, pretending an arrow had pierced his heart.

Champagne Coast was playing in the Uber Hayden and JJ shared on their way to their favorite spot. That song always reminded him of Jackie, the early years of their marriage. Hayden rolled the window down and let the lights wash over him. It was a hot night in Southern California, and they had pregamed with several of their teammates in their room. 

 Half the team was already there. Someone, likely JJ, hooked them up with a room and bottle service. 

One thing Hayden loved about playing in America was the fact that the rookies couldn't party with them. It was just Hayden and the rest of the old guys.

Prior to the fight, that would be ideal. Now, a lot of the older guys didn't like Hayden anymore. They tolerated him at best. Hayden was determined to not let it get to him that night.

Shots were in order. JJ expressed a desire to get on the verge of blacking out, for whatever reason. Hayden did not really want to do this, but was willing to make the sacrifice. For his friend.

Hayden did not dance. JJ did with a few of their younger teammates who were just old enough to drink in America. 

Hayden, two shots deep, relaxed in the little purple room and tried not to get deja vu when Cliff walked in. 

Partition by Beyonce. He actually heard, over the booming base, JJ yell "I love this song," and also, possibly call for Hayden. Hayden ignored the call.

"You're just gonna hang out in here?" Marlow asked, sitting down in the chair beside Hayden's. The alcohol was burning through him. Hayden was a lightweight these days. Marlow looked unfairly handsome in a designer black button up. It had some kind of pattern, also in black, that he couldn't quite make out. The collar was open, Hayden could see tattoos and a silver chain. 

Hayden shrugged at him.

"Not much of a dancer?"

"Uh, I'm married," Hayden said. He wasn't going to go dance with some random woman.

"You don't need a partner, Hayden."

Hayden.

"I'll be okay," He replied. "Go on-" JJ burst into the room then, a bottle in hand. 

"You FUCKER!" He shouted, pointing at Hayden accusatorily. "You are not going to sit in here all fucking night. We're getting drunk, Pike."

"Is that tequila?" Hayden winced, knowing the answer.

"Yes, and it was expensive, so we're finishing it. Marly, line up the glasses."

Marlow did as he was told. Hayden watched the purple lights form shadows on Marlow's face. He was so...rugged. So masculine. 

Marlow took a shot effortlessly. Hayden was drowning in fucking deja vu. Hayden took the shot and allowed JJ to line up another.

Then, another.

"Uh, maybe we should slow down, buddy," Hayden suggested. He was four in himself, he didn't know about JJ.

"It'll be easier to drink while it's still cold." JJ took his shot. "And I need you drunk enough to dance."

Marlow laughed.

"That would probably take the whole bottle." 

Hayden frowned at him. What did Cliff know about it? This was only the second time he's been to a club with Hayden in his life, and they hadn't exactly been hanging out the first time. 

"Nah, if Jackie was here he would. Terribly out of rhythm while she tried to guide him. Your wife is a beautiful dancer, Pike. You think it would've rubbed off on you after all this time."

Hayden just shook his head. She had "rubbed off" on him, she made him better every single day, but he would never, in a million years, reach her level. 

He must have said some variation of this aloud, because JJ made a face and moaned:

"Great, we're already at the 'I love my wife' part of the night." 

"Like that could possibly be a bad thing," Hayden replied, annoyed. 

"Nah, we all love your wife, Pike. Right, Marlow?" JJ asked, laughing. Marlow said nothing. His eyebrows rose, he smirked, and sat back in his chair. 

"Fuck you, man."

An amount of alcohol impossible to measure without a breathalyzer later, Hayden was alone in the purple room. JJ had not been successful in getting Hayden to dance. Hayden was feeling good, he made conversation with whoever came within his proximity, he bobbed his head to the music and was hardly upset he recognized fewer and fewer songs as the years went on. 

He was scrolling through his camera roll, stopping on a photo of Shane holding Amber when she was a newborn. He stared at his little baby daughter in his friend's arms. He loved his kids and was grateful he was done with the horribleness of having babies and toddlers, but god, he missed when they were that little.

Their family was complete, they would have no more children. He just hoped Ilya would hurry up in knocking up Shane so Hayden could cuddle a baby again.

Hayden texted Shane something along the lines of "have a baby" when an extremely large and obvious drunk Cliff Marlow stumbled through the door. 

Hayden was slumped on a sofa, he had contemplated what previously could have happened on the sofa for a while before he sat on it, but he was committed now, so when Marlow saw him, grinned, and dropped himself on the sofa beside him, Hayden had no intentions of getting up. 

"Who are you texting?" Marlow asked.

"Shane," Hayden slurred. "Told him he and Rozanov need to have a baby."

"Oh god. Can you imagine a tiny Roz? That's terrifying."

"Uh, it would be a little Shane, thank you. Or, like, a mixture."

Marlow giggled, "That's not how it works."

Hayden rolled his eyes, "Obviously."

"Christ!" JJ was there, standing over them. "You boring motherfuckers. There's a million and a half beautiful potential dance partners out there."

"We're both in relationships," Hayden said to JJ. 

"It's dancing, you prude."

Hayden stuck out his bottom lip, pouting was so easy when he was wasted. He could even cry if he tried hard enough.

"I want Jackie."

"Fuck, whatever. Let's get a car. I want In-n-Out."

Hayden woke up in his bed around 6:00 that morning clutching a greasy fast-food bag, still fully clothed in what he wore out the night before. He took some time to prioritize self-care, and threw up until the world was spinning and the bathroom seemed like a good enough final resting place. Then, he got in the shower, let the water hit him while fully clothed, stripped, and wore a hotel bathrobe back to bed. JJ swiftly followed suit.

Both men spent all day moaning and groaning under scratchy hotel blankets. Hayden was in a cocoon. He had robbed the mini bar of enough water and juice to ensure a stern talking-to from the team's financial department, and the empty bottles were scattered around him like a dragon with his hoard. He was still drunk when he initially woke up and puked that morning, but now he was fully in hangover mode, his head was pounding and he had full body chills. He periodically cursed JJ's name, just to hear JJ groan in response. It's how he made sure the other man was still breathing. 

He had not been on his phone. It was dead at 10:30 when he woke up for the second time, but he couldn't even be bothered to fish his phone charger out of his duffel bag until around 5:00, when moving felt like a possibility. Hayden was suffering, and he was never going to drink again. Or talk to JJ again. Or do anything ever again.

All he knew for sure was that the plane tomorrow morning was going to be hell on (or above) Earth, and if he was still this sick on Monday for their game, the world was going to see someone die on the ice. 

Jackie called him between dinner and bedtime. 

"Yeah, that's what I thought," she chuckled. Hayden was still wrapped like a burrito under blankets. JJ was in the shower. He had been for a long time. Hayden thought he should go check on the man, but he kind of hated JJ, so he didn't. 

"I'm not gonna make it," he told her, moaning. "How is home?"

"Home is fine. You been on your phone much today?"

"No, sorry, did you text me?"

"Yeah, no big deal, though. JJ posted a few interesting Instagram stories last night, is all. And a selfie."

Hayden's head pounded. He had no energy for her teasing.

"Of what?"

"You and the guys, mostly. Lots of him at the club dancing. Then of the three of you with enough fast food to kill an elephant, and he posted a selfie of you, him, and Cliff."

"Fuck. Is it bad? Do I need to tell him to delete it?"

"Maybe, you all look very drunk. It probably doesn't make you look like a good role model, right?"

"Ugh, okay." Hayden could hardly care about his public perception, he yearned for his wife's arm's around him, a case of red Gatorade, and an ice pack.

"I'll see you Tuesday?"

"Yeah, Tuesday. I'll call you tomorrow when we land."

"Thank you. Give Cliff my love." She laughed, hanging up.

He stared at the black screen of his phone for a moment. Sighing, he birthed himself out of the blanket burrito. It was suddenly extremely hot and constricting. He struggled, swearing, throwing all of his bedding to the floor.

JJ was standing in a bathrobe watching him.

"You okay?"

Hayden groaned.

"What did you post, man?"

JJ's face fell.

Hayden's eyes hurt as he finally, properly, looked at his phone. He had hundreds of Instagram comments and messages, but he never kept those notifications on. First, he checked his messages. He opened Shane's thread first.

He scrolled up, seeing that he sent Shane a message after 1:00am.

Hayden: Have a baby

Hayden: Need to hold a baby.

Fuck. Okay, that was fucking weird.

Shane: ???

Nothing more from Hayden. Then, Shane at 8:44am.

Shane: Attachment: 1 image.

A screenshot from JJ's Instagram, which he had yet to check.

It was a selfie of the three of them alright. It had been taken at the club, but Hayden didn't remember when. Hayden was squished against the edge of a sofa, Marlow practically sprawled on top of him, his shoulder in front of Hayden's, their thighs pressed together. What the fuck? Was Hayden's hand on Cliff's knee, or his own? He couldn't tell, the image was too zoomed in. JJ was leaning heavily against Marlow, only further pushing the man into Hayden. JJ was smiling with his eyes closed. Marlow's grin was wide and bright, Hayden's eyelids were heavy, he was looking over at his friends, it wasn't clear if it was Cliff or JJ he was smiling at. 

Hayden stared at the photo and sighed. He could already hear the comments.

Shane: Looks like you had a fun night :)

Shane: Actually, I meant ;)

Hayden started typing a refusal immediately. What he landed on was:

Hayden: Shut the fuck up. 

Hayden: Stop enjoying this.

Hayden: Stop enjoying my suffering.

Shane replied quickly.

Shane: You do look like you're suffering in the photo, with Marlow all on top of you. 

Hayden picked up his pillow and screamed into it as hard as he could. 

They had a midday flight Sunday to Ottawa. They would play a game there Monday night. 

Hayden was still hurting by the time the plane was set to takeoff. Marlow looked pretty rough too, he had his sunglasses on in the airport and on the plane. 

JJ was a little better, he was both apologetic and annoying. His manager had asked him to take the photo down, and JJ staunchly refused.

"I look too good in it," was his excuse. Hayden could hardly care. The comments were casual, fans both laughing at them, and calling all three of them hot. There were a few saying it was inappropriate, but it was whatever, really. So, now he had a photo with Marlow on his Insta. 

Hayden still wasn't sure if they were friends. He was pretty sure they weren't, that they couldn't be. It's just...Jackie's comments about Marlow being lonely fucking weighed on him.

They lost in Ottawa. Hayden got knocked on his ass so hard by Rozanov, he considered cancelling their plans that night. 

He couldn't, though. It was true that Ottawa and Montreal were only two hours apart, but between hockey games and family obligations, Hayden had almost no time at all to see his best friend. 

Shane and Ilya were coming off back-to-back games, winning against Nashville on Sunday, then against the Metros Monday. With their game ending so late, it just made sense to order takeout.

Hayden showed up at their house with a bottle of wine, because that was polite. Shane opened the door. He heard music playing faintly deeper into the house and one quick bark from Anya. 

"Hey, buddy," he greeted, giving Shane a quick hug before handing over the wine.

"Hey, thanks for coming." Shane sounded relieved, which was stupid. Hayden would never cancel plans over losing, especially because Rozanov kept implying he would, while calling him a "fragile baby man." Needless to say, Ilya had successfully baited Hayden into starting a fight, which may have cost Montreal the game.

"Of course," Hayden said, "I've been looking forward to this."

He would rather be getting dinner with just Shane, of course. Or Shane and Jackie, like the old times. But he would take what he could get. 

He left his shoes on the rack and hung up his coat when the doorbell rang.

Shane and Hayden had yet to make it out of his entry hall. Their heads turned towards the door, they just stood there.

Hayden saw Shane swallow. Hard.

"What is this?" Ilya asked, suddenly standing beside them. "You just let him stand out there? You are a bad host."

Ilya went to open the door.

And really, even though he was being ambushed, Hayden knew exactly who it was before he heard his gravely voice greeting Roz. The universe was just too cruel. 

Shane was visibly guilty. 

"I'll open this," he said, taking the wine to the kitchen. The last thing Hayden saw before he followed his friend was Marlow offering Ilya a bottle of whiskey. 

"Oh, hey," Marlow paused as he entered the kitchen area. His hands were shoved into his front pockets.

"Hey," Hayden said. "Guess we could have shared a ride."

"Yeah, I didn't know-"

"Me neither," Hayden said. Ilya was visibly enjoying this. He waved his hand and said:

"Ah, last minute thing."

Dinner was already ordered. The four of them gathered, slightly uncomfortable, in Shane and Ilya's living room. Shane and Ilya took the couch, Hayden and Cliff took armchairs across from each other, a clean, glass coffee table between them. 

They discussed the game. Ilya was annoying. He and Marlow compared playing on Canadian teams to playing in Boston. 

"Hm, yes," Ilya said in response to Marlow discussing a club in Boston they used to frequent. "You are not missing that too much. I see the Instagram from JJ." 

Marlow chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. He hadn't spoken to Marlow since their night out with the team. 

"Yeah, they were upset with that post. Management. They wanted JJ to take it down."

"He won't," Hayden said, finally contributing to the conversation. "He's too vain."

"Looked like a fun night," Ilya said, raising his eyebrows. He didn't linger on Hayden, though, Marlow didn't look too forthcoming. He knew they were best friends, like Shane and Hayden were, but looking at them during that conversation, you wouldn't know it.

"LA is a great city."

"Hm. Yes, but I did not know you became friends with Pike." Ilya said, pointing at Hayden.

"We only just started playing together, Roz," was Marlow's answer, which, fair enough.

Shane looked to be disassociating completely. Ilya was ready to press forward when they were saved by the doorbell.

While Ilya collected the food, Marlow went to the bathroom, Hayden stared at Shane, waiting for an explanation. 

"I didn't...look...Ilya hasn't seen Marlow in a while. I couldn't tell him no."

"Okay, but why didn't you tell me?"

Shane looked guilty.

"I thought you might cancel." 

Hayden thought about hitting Shane with one of his decorative pillows, but the truth was, Hayden might have cancelled. He was exhausted, and Marlow's company was a weird fucking presence in his life. He was ready for this road trip to be over. Fuck, he was ready for the season to be over. He didn't even care about playoffs, he wanted summer vacation. 

"I wouldn't have," Hayden said carefully, "We've been getting along fine. We're professionals."

Dinner was quiet for a while. They had ordered Thai food, which suited Hayden perfectly well. He was happy to stuff his face to avoid saying something nasty to one of Ilya's jabs. It was obvious the man was working up to something, he seemed like he was trying to antagonize Hayden like he had done on the ice.

"This is good, but not like the Thai place by my old apartment in Boston. The first one. You remember, Marly?"

"Yeah, that place with the faded picture menu and bulletproof glass?"

"Yes, nice place. I took you once, after a night out."

"Oh god, Roz..." Ilya smiled, it was a real smile, he reached over to nudge Marlow.

"It was my rookie season. You must remember because you and Tommy helped me get a fake driver's license. We stayed out all night. Marly got very drunk. Was embarrassing."

"Oh, like you weren't cutting it up out there on the verge of blacking out yourself." Ilya's grin widened.

"Marlow came to stay at my apartment, was closer, and he was so drunk. He struck out with a girl. She was very pretty, did not like Marly. Was very sad."

"Fuck off, Rozy." Marlow was still chuckling, enjoying reminiscing. Hayden and Shane listened quietly. 

"We go to the place and eat our food. I teased Marlow about the woman. And he starts going on and on about this girl he fucked earlier that year-"

"Rozy-"

"He would not shut up about this woman. It had been months. I said, Marlow, just call her if you miss her so badly-"

"Roz, come on, man."

"He said 'I can't. She's way out of my league.' Was a real Marlow pity party. But, the noodles were good."

Hayden, confused by the direction the story was going, continued to shovel food in his mouth and pretend he was anywhere else. Shane was flushed, from what, Hayden couldn't guess.

After dinner, they lingered, awkward as ever, for another half hour, before Marlow and Hayden split a cab back to the hotel, where they exchanged no words at all. 

Going home after road games was the sweetest experience of his life. He had two whole days off at home before his next game, and he immersed himself in school pickups/drop-offs, and Jackie.

JJ continued to push mandatory team bonding exercises the rest of the season. They went to an aquarium, and Hayden brought his children, because he wasn't going to a fucking aquarium with a bunch of grown adults when he had a perfectly good family at home. It was...weird. But, Arthur was really into the starfish, and Amber loved the touch tank, so it was worth it. They toured a children's hospital and spent the day with some sweet kids. They had dinner as a team once a month, which drove Hayden a little crazy but he tolerated anyway.

JJ's efforts were important, and they were working. By the end of the season, the team was a little more united. A few of the guys even admitted to Hayden, quietly, in private, that their treatment of Shane had been terrible. Hayden told them that was great, but they should apologize to Shane, not Hayden. 

It helped, though. 

The season ended with a whimper, and with Ottawa making it all the way to the Stanley Cup finals. As they were in Ottawa, Hayden took the family. JJ and Mona came. Marlow too. 

"Cliff, sit with us!" Jackie insisted when they spotted Cliff at the rink. He had seats nearby, Ilya had given him his good tickets. The Hollanders were also there, sitting near the Pikes. Jackie dressed all the kids up in the stupid Centaurs memorabilia Ilya mailed them months ago as a joke. The twins loved it. They wore their helmets from their own hockey uniforms to the game and could not be convinced to leave them at home. Cliff commented.

"You guys play?" He was sitting by Jackie, her purse the only thing between them. Arthur and Amber were wedged between Jackie and Hayden, as the parents were concerned Amber may try to run off. 

The girls turned to look at Marlow in unison. Hayden saw in real time the intimidation of identical twins hit Marlow like a brick to the face. He blinked but did not shy away.

"Yeah," the girls chorused. They didn't do everything in unison, they were individuals, it was just...sometimes it was weird. 

"We're going to the Olympics someday," Jade said confidently. Hayden and Jackie both totally believed them when they said things like that. They were incredibly dedicated children. "Gold medal, like Uncle Shane."

"He let us hold it last time we were at their house," Ruby chimed in. "Was good for now, but we will have our own in a few years."

"I'm sure you will," Cliff said. It was weird, he talked to them like they were adults. His tone did not change, he was attentive, yes, but not patronizing. The girls immediately responded to this with enthusiasm. Cliff was like Ilya, in that regard. They loved Ilya, the only reason Shane was their favorite uncle and not Ilya was because Shane had an Olympic medal.

They chatted a bit during the game, but for the most part he was silently watching. When Shane scored, they were all on their feet, cheering for him, and Hayden, begrudgingly, matched that energy for Ilya's goal.

Ottawa won, and it was a hell of thing. Yuna and David both cried like babies. The stadium was so loud they were in danger of blowing the roof off. Shane and Ilya hoisted the damn cup together and it was...

It was right. Hayden missed Shane with everything in him, but this, seeing Shane and Ilya play together, dominate the rink in a 3-1 Stanley Cup game...Hayden was certain that this was where Shane was supposed to be, with the Centaurs, with his husband.

Cliff was crying, tears were streaming down his face. He wiped them away, but they kept falling. The sight even choked up Hayden and JJ, who were never especially outwardly emotional men.

In July, the team got together for a celebration. 

JJ's engagement party was hosted at his home in Montreal. It was as lavish as a garden party on the outskirts of Montreal could be. The entire team came, but they were swallowed up by the vast numbers of JJ and Mona's friends. 

Jackie was resplendent in a sunset orange dress, especially as it grew late into the evening. She had a pretty gold hairpiece in her curls that made her glow.

"You're outshining the bride," Ilya said, kissing Jackie's hand to greet her. Ilya only ever did that to Jackie, and the knowledge made his blood sizzle.

"Stop. Mona's lovely."

Jackie, again, had mutual friends with JJ, so he was doomed to an evening of socializing with people more interesting than he. 

As the sun was setting and guests were slowly but surely fading out, Hayden and Jackie were relaxing at an abandoned table. Jackie had pulled up a chair to rest her legs on. She and Hayden were making idle small talk. He was watching Shane across the yard talking to JJ, hoping he would come back over, when Marlow pulled up a chair.

"Pretty sure he's asking Shane to be his best man," Marlow said, the chair tilted like it couldn't bear Cliff's weight, but did not collapse. He sat beside Jackie's feet so he could face both of them. 

"What?" Hayden gasped, instantly jealous. "That's insane, I've known him longer!"

Cliff shrugged. "Being best man isn't all it's cracked up to be, anyway."

"I wouldn't know! Shane and Rozanov didn't do any wedding traditions."

"I was best man at one of my brother's weddings, and it's a lot of work."

"Shane will be a good best man, babe," Jackie said, taking Hayden's hand. "He's meticulous."

"And I'm not?"

"He has more free time."

"He spends all his time in the gym or on the rink," Hayden said, "I could've made it work."

Hayden wasn't that offended by the news. Though, he had figured, all night, that if JJ were to have a best man, it would be his brother over any of them. 

The three fell silent. Cliff was sipping something brown from a clear glass. His shirt was mint green, the sleeves were rolled up slightly. His pants were also green, but they were darker. Hayden wasn't sure if they were intentionally cut short, or if his legs were just too long.

Jackie's sunglasses were slipping down her nose. They were huge, round frames with bumble bees adorned around the edges. Arthur was fascinated by them so she could only wear them when they weren't with the kids.

"Oh," Jackie said, raising her hand to wave at someone. "That's my friend Jodie and her partners."

She indicated towards a tall woman with fire engine red hair. She was standing a ways away, waving back at Jackie while talking with two people.

"Her partners?" Hayden asked, confused.

"Jack and Fern, her partners." Hayden continued to look at her, confused. "You met them last New Years, Hayd."

"You forgot about someone with multiple partners, Hayden? Didn't know you were so evolved." Cliff smiled and set his empty glass on the table. 

"Uh, no I really don't remember her."

"She's the gallery owner, from Toronto. The one Amy is always working with."

"I'm sorry, I don't remember her," Hayden said, because he genuinely didn't. "She's dating both of them?"

"Yeah, it's more like a partnership, she's been with Jack for six years and Jack and Fern for four."

"Wow," Hayden said, unsure of what else to say.

"I'm gonna go talk to them." Hayden watched his wife cross the lawn. She took the hands of both Jack and Fern before hugging Jodie.

"Jackie is friends with all types, huh?" Cliff asked, also watching the interaction. 

"Yeah," Hayden said, because it was true.

"She's pretty cool." 

"Yep," He agreed, also true. 

"So...I..." Cliff started, cutting himself off with a cough. He glanced around, then leaned in a little closer. "I told Ilya."

Hayden was not drunk, he wasn't even buzzed, but he wasn't understanding what Cliff was saying.

"You told Ilya?"

"Yeah."

"Told him what?"

"I came out to him," Cliff whispered, eyes darting around after he said it, checking for eavesdroppers.

"Oh!" Hayden said, feeling like he was sucked to Cliff's bubble. "That's-that's great, Cliff. Congratulations."

"Thanks," Cliff picked up his glass, realized it was still empty, then set it down with a sigh. 

"So was he the first person you ever told?" Hayden asked, pryingly. 

Cliff nodded. 

"Yep, said it to another person for the first time in my mid-thirties. Go figure."

"Shit takes time," Hayden the poet said. "Seriously, I'm proud of you. It takes guts. Hell, I only told Shane after he came out to me."

"Jackie knew, though."

"Yeah. Jackie knows everything about me. I always...I always wanted to share everything with her."

"I understand why." Marlow said, eyes tracking the lawn, seeking Jackie. She was laughing with the group, totally in her element. "What you and her have...I never had that with Maddie."

"I'm sorry, Jackie told me you divorced."

"It was for the best," Marlow nodded. "Still fucking hurt, but. It was a whirlwind thing, we eloped, you know? We tried to make it work, had a few alright years but...we're not compatible."

Hayden nodded. He didn't know what to say to that. Plenty of fish in the sea? He didn't really care for that saying, it seemed cheap. 

"Just to be clear, I told Ilya about me. Not...not you."

Hayden's eyes widened, he hadn't even considered that.

Just like that, it was acknowledged between the two of them, that steamy, complicated night so many years ago.

"Oh, okay." Hayden said, heart pounding. "No, that's okay. Ilya knows about me too. It came up, you know? And he's good sniffing out gay people. It's unnerving, actually."

"Yeah," Cliff said. "I always suspected he knew about me. But, you knew what it was like back then. No one was talking about this shit."

"They still aren't, really."

"Yeah," Cliff said sadly. "I'm not out, either. Just Ilya."

"Yeah, no, I got it."

More awkward silence.

"Alright, I'm gonna," he twirled a finger in the air that Hayden thought meant 'circulate.' He was about to go hang out with his wife and her friends when Shane and Ilya plopped down on Cliff and Jackie's abandoned chairs.

"I took photo of you three," Ilya said, offering Hayden his phone. Hayden, curious, took it.

Jackie and Hayden were sitting beside each other. Hayden's hand was on Jackie's shoulder, they were both smiling at Cliff, who was laughing about something. It was a good quality photo, the three of them looked nice beside each other.

"Wow, I think JJ hired photographers for this event, but maybe he'll want that one too," Hayden said, handing the phone back. Ilya sniffed, glanced at the photo, put the phone in Shane's hand, and turned his level, serious blue-eyed stare on Hayden. Hayden hated seeing that stare on the ice, and he hated seeing it now.

"I sent it to Jackie too, but she's busy with her polyamory friends."

"Polyamory friends?" Shane asked, craning his neck to look.

"Don't gawk, Shane. Is more common than you think."

"For the last time," Shane said, ears red, "No threesomes."

"Oh my god," Hayden scoffed, he hated these people. 

"Let's ask Pike, then," Ilya said, "Do you and Jackie have this no threesome rule?"

Hayden sputtered, annoyed, humiliated, and indignant. 

"If Shane doesn't want that, don't go pressuring him into it, you fucking asshole."

"Hayden, it's fine. He's kidding. Right?" Shane asked, the question coming out a little sharply. Ilya nodded.

"Of course, love. I do not share. But really, do you have the rule in your marriage, Pike?"

"We don't have a rule." Hayden said, crossing his arms over his chest. He assumed it was implied, it was never anything he or Jackie ever expressed they wanted. It was only brought up in passing, sometimes, usually in joke form.

"So you have no rule, so you and Jackie-"

"No! We don't." 

Ilya nodded. 

"Never would?"

Hayden glared at him.

"Shane, get your husband."

Shane shrugged one shoulder. "I'm actually curious about this also."

Ilya smiled warmly at Shane betraying Hayden.

"My best friend. He's ruined you."

"Hush," Shane said, "Answer the question."

"I don't know! Probably not!"

"Probably not," Ilya said, amused. "Okay."

Hayden could not stand Ilya Rozanov. He couldn't believe he called the man a friend, that he allowed his children to call him Uncle Ilya.

Ilya smiled, and Hayden knew that he would twist the knife.

"See, Shane? It is common. Maybe you can work it into your best man speech, moya lyubov."

Ilya was laughing maniacally when Hayden walked away. 

Chapter 6

The Noah Kahan album playing in his earbuds wasn't traditional workout music, but it allowed his mind to focus.

"Fucking beauty, Marlow!" Hayden shouted, skating a circle towards the large, celebrating man. He was waving his stick in the air, but took a second to bend and knock helmets with Hayden. 

Marlow got them a goal in the last few minutes, preventing their home opener from going into overtime, securing a win for Montreal 2-1.

Hayden didn't usually come in on optional practice days, preferring to spend time at home with his family. The kids were at school, and Jackie was out to see friends, so a little extra practice couldn't hurt.

Plus, after winning their home opener the night before, Hayden felt like he should train a little harder.

Last night felt different. The team played together in almost perfect synchronization. Even their two new rookies, Mason and Vega, were fucking beautiful out there. 

Marlow had been exquisite, he was the outlier, that's what everyone was saying. The news reported that Cliff played like he finally felt at home with the Metros, which made Hayden happy. He was everywhere last night, playing practically every position, knocking guys down left and right, and scoring the game winner. 

It was too early in the season to even think anything like this, but last night, the Metros played like they did the seasons of their cup wins. After all these years, Hayden almost forgot what that felt like. 

He could visualize another cup win, and he could almost feel okay picturing it without his best friend at his side. 

Hayden ran on the treadmill to warm up, Maine in his ears. The rookies and JJ were also in the Metros gym, and someone was lifting in the adjoining weight room. Hayden would head there next.

JJ kept these optional practices pretty loose, usually opting to have the guys workout rather than run drills. They had mandatory practice nearly every weekday, which was more serious.

Hayden saw the moment Marlow entered the gym. He smiled and nodded at JJ. His mouth was moving, but Hayden wouldn't be distracted. The music kept his mind calm while his heartrate climbed. 

He walked by Hayden to a row of equipment on the other side of the room. Hayden captured a whiff of his cologne. He didn't smell it often; Cliff was usually sweaty when Hayden saw him, but once in a while, he caught a hint and was transported back in time. 

Hayden didn't really wear cologne. Once in a while he spritzed on a bit of a scent called something like vanilla and leather that Jackie bought him for Christmas one year, but that was only for special occasions. Smelling Cliff, though, had him rethinking his habits.

Hayden lifted to Florence and the Machine, which was as ridiculous as running to Noah Kahan, but it worked for him.

He finished his workout after about an hour, with time left over to shower and pick up the kids from school. Cliff passed Hayden on his way out of the weight room.

"Hey," Cliff said, waving at Hayden's earbuds. Hayden took them out. "What's your routine in here?" 

They spoke casually in the doorway of the weight room about Hayden's routines, comparing their preferences and techniques. It was a totally normal and innocent conversation. Cliff's cologne had become overpowered by sweat now, and he kept pushing his hair off his forehead.

Hayden walked away from the interaction with a heart rate more elevated than while he was doing bench presses. 

He was disappointed in himself. Deeply, deeply disappointed in himself.

He had figured that, by now, he would be used to the presence of the other man. He really didn't want to continue pretending that Cliff's very existence didn't have an alarming affect on Hayden. 

He couldn't help it, though. He had not gotten used to Cliff being around. Time should be helping, but it was actually the opposite. He was getting more and more weird inside. 

It didn't help that the other morning he woke up hard after a dream about large hands handling him, palms pressed flat on muscled torsos, slick bodies moving together.

And he went and became his friend, like a fool. 

He was attracted to Cliff, that, he could admit. In his head. He knew, logically, that lingering looks, goosebumps, and a racing heart was a good indicator, but it really took the wet dreams to confirm it.

It made him feel evil.

Not just because he was thinking about someone outside his marriage in that way, but because Cliff was his friend. His extremely vulnerable friend, who has had to endure a lot of big life changes in a short amount of time. He didn't need Hayden staring at him lustfully, just like Hayden didn't need Cliff being beautiful and funny and kind in proximity to Hayden.

And, Jesus Christ, Cliff was all of those things. Since August, JJ's team bonding has evolved into a lot of trips to the cancer ward of the local children's hospital, where he has witnessed Cliff, on at least three separate occasions, being delightfully gruff, but sweet, with multiple sick kids who were obviously charmed by him. He saw Cliff comfort one of their moms, her hands clasped between his while he listened to her talk. 

Cliff was earnest; he was unabashedly himself. It was so admirable, it contributed to Hayden's embarrassing mornings.

He had to talk to Jackie about this. He wasn't sure what they could do to get passed it. Couple's counseling? The thought made him nervous, but he would do anything to fix this problem. He was loyal to his wife, he loved his wife. He loved everything about Jackie, and he would never hurt her. 

Wanting Cliff wasn't going away, it was only getting worse, and it was scaring Hayden. He didn't know how to do this, he couldn't navigate it himself. He was anxious, and that anxiety was only further snowballing his idiotic feelings. 

It took Hayden three days after deciding he had to share his feelings with Jackie before he actually did it. They played Ottawa on Friday, and Hayden resolved to drive home rather than stay in a hotel. Cliff was having dinner with Shane and Ilya again, which Hayden happily passed on. 

Really, what he said (aloud) when Shane texted him was "Fuck no," but he told Shane he had plans with the kids.

She was surprised to see him. He hadn't told her he was coming home. He rented a car to do so, which was a little dramatic, but the inevitably of this conversation was weighing on him. They had to have it out.

"Good game tonight," Jackie said. "Why didn't you tell me you'd be home? I figured you would be at Shane's."

"Yeah, sorry."

"It's okay," She kissed him. "Everything alright?"

Hayden sat at the head of the kitchen table. The spot was usually Jackie's, but it was the closest chair to him. She sat beside him, looking worried. He supposed he mirrored that expression, mixed with a touch of despair. 

"I need to talk to you about something, Jacks."

"Uh oh," she chuckled nervously. "Sounds serious."

"It is, maybe. I don't know." He wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans before clasping his hands on the table between them.

He had trouble meeting her big brown eyes. She wasn't wearing makeup, and her hair was damp. He could smell her coconut shampoo. 

"What is it, baby? You're scaring me."

"I'm worried about something, I'm...I'm worried about...me."

She just looked more confused.

"You're worried about yourself?"

"I'm...I love you so much," oh good, tears. Great job, Hayden. "I love you, you're my soulmate, Jaqueline O'Brian-Pike."

She smiled sadly. He returned it.

"I've been having these...these feelings."

She was hunched inward, her body language closed off. He could see her arms twitch, worrying her hands in her lap.

"About us?"

"About Cliff."

She nodded, damp curls bouncing. He remembered the first time they showered together, watching her work products into her hair and tie it up in one of his t-shirts. He was fascinated by the process, and the definition her spiral curls had when it was all over.

He didn't wash that shirt until the scent of her hair products finally faded from it.

"Have you and him..."

"God no. I would never, ever cheat on you, Jackie. Never. He doesn't even know."

"But...you want to, what? Sleep with him? What do feelings mean, Hayden?"

She didn't sound mad, but he hardly knew what it did sound like when she was angry. They were rarely angry at each other. Hayden could count the amount of fights they had over the course of their marriage on one hand.

"I'm attracted to him."

She nodded.

"Okay, that's okay. But do you...do you want to..."

"I would never do that," he said desperately. "I just want to...work through it. I guess."

"But, Hayden, you want to sleep with him? Is that it?"

Hayden felt like he was drowning. 

"I don't want to. It would be wrong. It would hurt you, and me, and probably Cliff too." 

"And if it didn't do that. If it didn't hurt us, you would want to?"

Hayden shook his head, what good were hypotheticals? They didn't matter. The facts were: Hayden's stupid, weak heart was stepping outside his marriage, and he was desperate for his wife's forgiveness. He needed her to save him. 

"Hayden, look at me." Her hand landed on his, and some of the tension seeped out of his body. He unclenched his jaw and looked at his wife with wet eyes. "It's alright."

"No it isn't. I don't know what to do. I'm so, so sorry, Jackie."

He stared at his wedding ring, wondering what the end of a marriage looked like. 

"Baby, you're okay. You haven't done anything wrong. It's okay for you to feel attracted to someone else."

Sure, that was true, on like, a minute level. Hayden knew Jackie had a massive crush on Gillian Anderson. This was a little different than crushing on an actress from the 90s. This was Cliff Marlow, a former hookup, a friend, a man who Hayden spent half his time with.

"It's not."

"It is. You don't need to feel so guilty, it's understandable."

He waited, her dark eyelashes were wet. Her hand was still over his.

"Cliff is foxy, Hayd." 

Damn her. She always knew how to make him break. 

She laughed with him. They were both crying a little. 

"God, this sucks. I am sorry, Jackie."

"Can I just...can I suggest something?" She asked, uncertain. 

"Please, please suggest something. We need your massive brain to fix this."

She bit her lip. "What if...what if we don't fix it."

The suggestion bounced off Hayden's thick skull.

"What do you mean?"

"Okay, just, let me monologue a bit here, okay?"

He nodded. 

"You're attracted to Cliff. This isn't new, it's just that he's around now. No, wait, let me monologue, Mr. Pike."

She said, pointing at him when he opened his mouth to interject.

"We've been getting off to your hookup with him as long as we've been together. You can't deny that. You once told me that, before you met me, he was the best you ever had."

"Don't have to rub it in-"

"Shh!" She glared. "You're bisexual, I'm bisexual, Cliff is bisexual..." she waved her hands in a circle. "See what I'm getting at?"

"No."

"You don't get it?"

"No." He was more confused than he had been in his entire life. She deflated.

"I'm suggesting we have sex with him, Hayden."

Husband and wife stared at each other.

Hayden leaned back in his chair.

"I don't want to have an open marriage." He said, finally. He heard of open relationships more and more, they were becoming trendy, this decade. He's heard of his own teammates opening their relationships, and it's gone badly every time. 

Hayden was sure it worked for some people; it seemed to work for Jackie's friends, but he knew it crashed and burned for a lot of others.

And...he didn't want to share Jackie. He didn't want to see Jackie going out on dates with strangers, and Hayden didn't want to go on dates with strangers. It hurt him that she would suggest this for him; just so he could try and fulfill his stupid, teenage fantasies with Marlow. 

"I don't either. That's not necessarily what I'm saying."

"I don't want to date other people, Jackie." He was getting emotional again, certain opening would ruin their marriage, which would kill Hayden.

"Me neither. We won't be open. But...maybe...we could...share Cliff."

"In what way? A threesome?"

She shrugged. "Yeah."

They had been monogamous from the start. Hayden had one threesome the summer before he met Jackie, but he was high as a kite and barely remembered it. He just remembered watching the two women make out in front of him, and coming on someone's back. 

"It's not...he's my teammate, it's a terrible idea."

"Yeah, probably." Jackie said. "But...you're attracted to him, and to me. And I'm attracted to him."

He shifted in his chair, "He probably wouldn't even-"

"He would."

He gaped. "How could you possibly know that?"

"I have eyes? It's obvious he's still attracted to you. I can't blame him."

Hayden still got a little embarrassed when she complimented him.

"It's a really bad idea," Hayden reiterated, which she agreed with.

"It doesn't have to be decided right away. Let's think on it for a while."

Hayden wondered where he lost control of the conversation. He had entered it with his tail between his legs, ready to beg on his knees for his wife to forgive and fix him. Now, he was half hard, imagining Cliff in their bed.

He couldn't even work out the logistics of it, but in the weeks that followed, it wasn't that hard to imagine.

First, he imagined Cliff inside Hayden, which, Hayden's body was embarrassingly eager for, while Jackie sat on his face. Then he imagined that exact situation, but with Cliff and Jackie making out over top of him.

Next, he imagined sitting and watching Marlow take her, the rhythm of his thrusts as he destroyed her like he was once destroyed. 

The next fantasy happened, unfortunately, on center ice during a game in November, and it hit him like a prophetic vision. Hayden, on his stomach, head hanging off the bed, held up by Jackie's hand in his hair while she fucked his ass with a strap, pushing his mouth further on Cliff's cock until his vision blacked out.

There was, of course, one of his favorites, Cliff eating Jackie out while Hayden fucked Cliff from behind. 

It was getting dire. The conversation with Jackie was supposed to help alleviate some of his desires, but they had been increased tenfold. It was mid-November when they started falling into their dirty talk. 

They hadn't had much time for sex, with hockey getting busy and the holidays coming up. 

He was deep in his wife, his face cradled in her hands. 

"Did you see the link to that blue chair I sent you today?"

His hips snapped forward, earning a little whimper from her. She stuck her thumb in his mouth, which he happily sucked.

"I want it. I want to put it over by the window," she gestured, vaguely, behind them, towards the large window that overlooked a little creek. "It would be a nice for reading."

Jackie could have whatever she wanted. She could have a thousand blue chairs, they could put them in the yard as lawn decorations. 

"And it would be so comfy for me to sit and watch the first time we bring Cliff into our bed. I want to watch him fold you in half and make you cry before I join in."

Her chocolate brown eyes sparkled, she was smiling. 

She slid another finger into his mouth. 

"I know you've been thinking about it. I always know what you're thinking. So, how's this for a fantasy? That would be the first time. The second time, I'm the center of attention. I want my husband to fill my mouth, and our lover to fill my pussy."

Fuck, he was going to come. He held her hips roughly in place, fucking her fast and hard. 

"I want you to eat me out after he comes in me, clean me up. Then, I want him to face fuck you. Or I want you both over me, jacking off, coming all over me, oh fuck, Hayden-"

Hayden came inside her with a guttural moan. She twitched around him, sucking him deeper as her nails dug into his shoulders.

Afterwards, they fell back on their respective pillows, satisfied and a little bewildered. 

We're fucked. Hayden thought.

All the while, he managed to maintain a level of professionalism at games that should have earned him a trophy larger than the cup. 

He was polite to Cliff, cracking jokes like everything was normal, when in reality, everything was so far from normal Hayden wasn't even sure what planet they still lived on. He watched Cliff pass his sticks to kids in the stands after games, give cheesy responses to reporter's dumb questions, and get into fights on the ice.

He was popular amongst the Metros these days, the guys loved him. The guys got along with each other again, and JJ would never get the credit he deserved for his efforts in bringing everyone together. 

Cliff was reminiscing after an away game at Boston in November, telling the rookies about winning the cup with Ilya.

"Nothing compares to how that feels," JJ said, butting into the conversation. "Winning the cup is better than every drug. It's better than sex."

Cliff laughed and, unfortunately, caught Hayden's eye.

Hayden tried to shake it off. He clapped JJ on the shoulder and said: "If that's true, I feel sorry for Mona."

He got a few laughs. He ignored Cliff, and ducked plans made by the guys about partying in Boston that night. Hayden never much cared for that city. 

He was surprised to see JJ come back to their room that evening. Hayden was still in his suit. He tried to call Jackie, but she didn't answer. 

"You're not going out?" Hayden asked, JJ had his phone in his hand.

"No, I'm gonna call Mona." JJ paused, thumb hovering over the screen. "Think you can make yourself scarce for a bit?"

"Why?"

"Um. To call my fiancé."

"Oh, gross, dude," Hayden stood up, grabbing his wallet and keycard off the nightstand.

"Don't be jealous, I know you probably miss the honeymoon phase, Pike."

Hayden resented the accusation. Their sex life never got stale!

Hayden didn't want to explain the ins and outs of his sexual dynamic with his wife, though, so he fucked off to the hotel bar. He had instructions to kill an hour to an hour and a half. 

He had a book on his phone and he could use a drink. He chose wine, because, in his head, it paired well with a romance novel.

He left his suit jacket in the room. He wished he took a moment to change completely. He felt constricted in his slacks. 

He took his wine to a booth and sipped it as he attempted to lose himself in someone else's relationship problems. 

Two glasses and seven chapters only killed about forty minutes. Hayden was exhausted. Jackie still hadn't called him back. The twins had been putting up fights during bed time, insisting they were getting too old for such strict rules.

"Thought that was you."

Cliff slid into the booth across from him, a glass in his hand. He had managed to change out of his suit into dark jeans and a sweatshirt. He looked rumpled and sleepy.

"What are you doing down here?" Hayden asked.

"I'm in with Mason, and he dragged the other rookie over to play video games. The kids give me a headache. You?"

"Banished so JJ can have phone sex."

Cliff snorted, "Brutal."

The hotel bar was mostly empty, which surprised Hayden. It was pretty late, though. The lights were dim, and the music was a vaguely familiar Kings of Leon song. 

They sat quietly. Hayden pulled his book back up but wasn't really focusing on it. Marlow was sitting with his back against the wall, long legs stretched over the seat, falling over the edge.

"You were reading?"

"Yeah," Hayden said, finishing his glass of wine. He waved to the bartender, who nodded and brought him another. "It's a romance."

"A romance," Cliff repeated. "That's surprising."

"It is?"

Cliff shrugged.

"I don't know many guys that care for romances. Hell, I don't know if anyone in Boston even read books."

Hayden nodded, "I don't really. A few a year, when traveling. Usually romances." They were usually queer, too, but he didn't add that part. Queer romances were comforting; they made him foolishly happy.

"Well, my favorite movie is Pretty Woman, so I can't judge you."

Hayden couldn't help the surprised laugh that ripped out of his mouth. Cliff grinned at him. 

"Wow, well, I get it. Julia Roberts AND Richard Gere."

Cliff nodded, "Exactly."

"Man, Jackie loves that movie. She loves 80s movies. It's hard to get her to watch anything new."

"Well, she has great taste, but also, Pretty Woman came out in the 90s, so get it right."

They laughed together.

"Mine's The Princess Bride."

"That's your favorite movie?"

"Probably, yes. It's my favorite 80s movie anyway."

"Wow," Cliff said, "You're such a romantic, Pike."

Hayden's laugh was nervous, he covered it up with a sip from his glass.

"What do you like about it?"

"About what? The Princess Bride?"

"Sure, or, romances in general?"

Hayden continued to work on developing a wrinkle between his eyebrows. 

"I don't know, really. They're comforting, I guess. They're always about two people who are meant to be together, overcoming everything so they can be together. The romance between them is nice, but it's also like, the romantic notion that...that could ever actually work out. That everything could fall into place so people who are meant to be together get to be together. I mean, half the time these scenarios are not possible. Like in The Princess Bride. Westley leaves and becomes a pirate, and Buttercup becomes engaged to someone else, and he somehow gets back to her."

"Good storytelling," Cliff said. "Shame it doesn't work like that in real life."

Cliff's eye contact was intense. His eye color was probably printed on his license as hazel or brown, but they reminded Hayden more of glowing hunks of coal.

"I don't know," Hayden said, unable to win the staring contest. He analyzed the wood grain on the table instead. "It can work out."

He couldn't help it, he caught Cliff's eyes again, and the moment felt electric. Something was crackling between them, stronger than it had in that club bathroom. 

He was certain if he reached out to touch Cliff, he would get a shock. 

"It kinda was that way for Shane and Rozanov," Hayden said, attempting to diffuse the tension. 

"Yeah," Cliff said. "Maybe they're one in a million."

"Maybe," Hayden said. 

JJ texted that it was safe to return to their room, so he paid his tab, and Cliff's, and went to bed. 

When Hayden came home from Boston, he found Jackie in their bedroom, taking advantage of the midday sunlight, reading a book in their new blue chair. It looked like an antique, the legs were curved, dark wood. The upholstery robin's egg blue with thin white stripes.

She looked over the edge of her book, a queen on her throne.

"It came," he commented, unnecessarily. 

"Looks nice here, right?" She said, running her hand over the armrest. "I have really good taste."

"I know," Hayden said, swallowing. 

Arthur and Amber were attempting to Cain and Abel each other downstairs, so he left to deal with that. 

Hayden was, remarkably, tapped for all-stars weekend. He thought this was slightly ridiculous, but he had gained a bit of a following in the last few years. After Shane and Ilya became public, their fanbase grew like crazy, they were stars beyond the hockey sphere, and some of that had rubbed off on Hayden just by association. 

Plus, his point averages were on the rise, and that felt damn good. 

Marlow was also voted into all-stars, and Hayden had the pleasure of being on a team with Cliff and Shane, and the nightmare of that team being captained by Ilya Rozanov. 

No one took these weekends seriously, least of all Hayden. He signed up for one of the competitions just for shits and giggles, but did not come anywhere near beating the high score, which had been, of course, set by Shane. 

"I think I would do it differently," Jackie said through shallow breaths, the same night Hayden came home from Boston.

"Do what differently?"

"The plan. I wouldn't watch to start, I'd direct." 

She was riding him, their new chair creaking underneath their gyrating bodies. Hayden could only hold on her tits, her hips, while she pushed them towards their goal. 

Her hand on his neck, forcing his gaze to meet hers, the other over his shoulder, up into his hair.

"Jacks-"

"I'd be a very hands-on director," She joked. "I'll test him first for you, let him fuck me, make sure he's good enough for you. I know you need the best, baby."

Hayden groaned, picturing it, Cliff taking his wife from behind before switching to Hayden. 

"Once I was sure he could take you like you need, like I take you, I'd sit right here, in this beautiful chair, and watch."

"Fuck, Jackie."

"I'm thinking I want you facing the foot of the bed, so you can watch me touch myself while Cliff fucks you. How does that sound?"

It sounded good. Hayden came with an embarrassing yelp. She immediately got off the chair and dragged him away, not wanting to stain it.

She was facilitating his undoing, and he couldn't even be bothered to stop it. 

He fucking loved it. Her dirty talk was always incredible, but adding in the impossible, irresponsible element that was Cliff Marlow was driving him insane.

He wanted the other man deeply. It was becoming hard to be around him without imagining his mouth on Hayden's, and that was making him feel guilty. Jackie was so sure Cliff would be willing, but there was no solid evidence of that, and Hayden was really in pain, thinking about his friend the way he was.

He just could not stop. 

All-stars was hard. Shane and Ilya were very physically affectionate. It made Shane turn pink almost every time but he never seemed truly uncomfortable. Because of this, the cameras loved them, and, by extension, Marlow and Hayden, their shadows.

Jackie texted him after their game. She sent an image of a screenshot of the four of them celebrating Shane's goal. Shane and Hayden were hugging, and Ilya and Cliff were standing behind them, their arms over each other's shoulders, staring down at Hayden and Shane.

Jackie: This is hilarious. It writes itself.

Jackie: Still don't think he'd be into it?

But it was more complicated than Jackie was making it out to be. She was suggesting a threesome between two players and his wife. Hayden and Cliff would have to continue working together for years afterwards. They would see each other at countless team events, and they would both be in the hockey world, in some degree, for the rest of their lives.

If it got out, it would be salacious, humiliating. Possibly even career-ending. 

Jackie thought of it as simple, as sexual release, a bit of fun. In a lot of ways, she was right, it was that. But Hayden had never been able to be cool and casual about romance. He met Cliff and got off thinking about him for over a decade afterwards. He met Jackie and married her less than a year later. 

He was afraid. He was deeply afraid of the what-ifs. 

Shane, Ilya, Cliff, and Hayden were at a bar. Not the hotel bar, because they were all sick of the guys on their team, but a dive bar near the edge of the city. The games were in Austin, Texas that year. The bar had dead animal skulls and cowboy hats hanging from the walls.

"This is what I thought moving to America would be like," Ilya said, gesturing to the cow skull. "I was disappointed."

Cliff snorted, "Yeah, man, I don't think there's a bar like this in all of Boston."

Ilya shook his head.

"Shane, we should get cowboy hats."

Shane pulled from his beer. "No."

"You would look so handsome in a cowboy hat. A brown one, and I will get a white one. And boots."

Shane's face was fond. "We're leaving Texas tomorrow, Ilya."

"We bring Texas back to Canada."

"Why the fuck would you want to do that?" Cliff mumbled, earning a bitchy hand wave from Ilya.

They watched a few people do a line dance. The moves went right over Hayden's head, and Cliff looked visibly shellshocked. 

At the announcement of the second dance, Ilya tugged Shane roughly out of the booth.

"Ilya, Ilya, no, I don't know the moves."

"Just follow, moya lyubov. Pretend like you are skating."

Hayden gaped, aghast, as Shane's pleas faded into the sounds of a country song. Cliff and Hayden watched Shane and Ilya attempt to line dance, neither of them quite getting the steps. Shane was flailing miserably, and Ilya was doing better than he should have been. He recorded them to bully Shane later.

"This place is...wow."

"Yeah," Hayden said, "I mean, I grew up in rural Saskatchewan, but it wasn't like this, obviously."

"I'm from Philly," Cliff said. "Which is probably the place furthest removed from cowboy culture in the world."

They continued to watch their friends. When the song was over, Ilya pulled Shane in for a kiss so smoothly, Hayden felt a little jealous. 

He looked to Cliff. Did he remember what it felt like to be handled like that? Barely. To be held by strong hands, moved to the other person's will...a shiver went up his spine.

"Oh Jesus, is this really the best place for that?" Cliff asked.

Hayden momentarily forgot about homophobia. Ilya and Shane were making their way back to the booth, both glowing with their stupid, annoying, love for each other. Hayden scanned the bar for any unfriendly types, but luckily, no one was looking their way.

Hayden nodded at Marlow, who returned the movement.

"We're getting cowboy hats." Ilya announced.

Ilya had managed to find a store open late that sold cowboy hats, boots, spurs, and the like. Granted, they weren't especially high quality items, the store was designed for tourists, but Hayden could hardly complain when a black cowboy hat suited Marlow as well as it did.

Their next location was a gay bar. The bouncer seemed to recognize both Ilya and Shane at the door, which was slightly nerve-racking, but Hayden was a big boy, he could go to a gay bar.

After another round of beers, Ilya persuaded Shane to dance again, and Hayden was getting worried his friend had been replaced by a clone.

"He's probably happy no one touched his records," Cliff said, which, fair. Shane was the most competitive, proud man on the planet.

Hayden took off his brown hat and left it on the table, running a hand through his hair. His scalp felt a little dry. He attempted to smooth his hat hair in place when he caught Marlow staring at him, his lips pressed against the mouth of the bottle.

Hayden didn't look away. He let his arms drop. Cliff lost the staring contest. 

The other man smiled at the table, shook his head a little, and turned back towards the crowd.

Maybe he would try to pick up tonight. The bar was full of handsome men, and Marlow could probably sneak out with one unseen. 

The songs kept changing and their friends did not return to the table.

"They look so happy," Cliff said, and they did. They were pressed against each other in a way that was a little inappropriate, hands exploring bodies. Ilya was grinning at Shane, who's face was obscured by the hat.

"See anyone tonight that catches your eye?" Hayden asked. They had their own rooms at the hotel, he could easily sneak a guy in.

Cliff's goddamn coal-eyes. "I don't know. Maybe."

Hayden flushed, nodding. 

"You should talk to him."

Cliff shrugged and scanned the crowd.

"Hey, you know, I rewatched The Princess Bride. I hadn't seen it for a while when you said it was your favorite movie."

"Oh?" Hayden asked.

"Yeah, so what's the deal with Inigo Montoya? I didn't remember him being that hot."

Hayden yelped a laugh, surprised and delighted.

"Right? I definitely didn't notice until I watched it again in my twenties. He's so hot. It's his determination, I think."

Cliff nodded, "And the mustache."

Hayden chuckled, "And the mustache. And the hair. I love good hair."

"Yeah," Cliff said, pushing the rogue strand from his own head off his face. "Jackie has great hair."

"She does," he vehemently agreed. 

They talked some more about the movie, then about what Jackie used in her hair and how it compared to Cliff's products, which were, apparently, vast.

"Yeah, I mean, this doesn't just happen," Cliff said, pointing to his thick black hair. "Takes a lot of styling. You get it."

"Not really. I don't do anything to my hair but wash it."

Cliff frowned. "That's unfair. Handsome fucker."

Hayden's chest warmed. He smiled at Cliff, a little shy.

"Yeah, you can talk."

Ilya and Shane took that moment to push back into their booth, Shane on Hayden's side, Ilya on Marlow's. Marlow and Hayden were forced to move deeper into the booth, their legs knocking together.

Their ankles were pressed together, bone on bone.

Hayden didn't move his leg, even though it was hot and tingly. Marlow didn't either.

Shane and Ilya were visibly sweating, they looked exhausted. Ilya was talking to Shane in quick Russian as they both downed their beers. Shane, somehow, understood him.

"We're heading out."

"Oh, should we leave together-"

"No," Ilya grumbled, saying something in Russian to Shane that, based on Shane's facial expression, was deeply filthy. "I will translate," Ilya said.

"No!" Shane covered his mouth with his hand. "We'll see you guys in two weeks in Montreal, yeah?"

They left in a hurry.

"Sometimes being their friend is embarrassing." Hayden said.

Cliff shifted over, removing his ankle from Hayden's.

"They're gonna fuck in a car, aren't they?"

"Shane wouldn't," Hayden said with false confidence. 

With their friends gone, Marlow and Hayden didn't see much reason to linger in the gay bar, especially because it was only filling up as time went on, and Hayden already had to curve one come-on from a man who was probably young enough to still be in college.

They shared a ride back to the hotel. Cliff kept talking to Hayden about movies, then how excited he was to play in Philadelphia next week so he could have dinner with his mom. 

Hayden let Cliff's voice relax him. Hayden forgot his hat at the bar, but Cliff was still wearing his, and it was unfair how good it looked on him. It should be deeply silly, but the hat looked like it was supposed to be crowning his head. He must have been a cowboy in his past life.

"I don't really believe in that stuff," Cliff replied when Hayden foolishly said just that.

They were in traffic, the driver swearing periodically at the cars around them. 

"Not at all?"

"No, I'm kind of...scientific about it all. We exist by chance and when we die, we die."

"Yeah," Hayden said, mostly agreeing. "It is just hard to imagine it all being gone. Everything. Everything that's inside me. Like, how I love my children. I love them so completely I'd suffer an eternity for them. It's hard to imagine that when I die, all that energy inside me, my love for them, just...goes."

Cliff tilted his head to the side, considering.

"Well, it doesn't really go. It's inside them, they carry it around with them, and they pass it on to their loved ones."

This conversation was...a lot, and Hayden was at risk of crying in the Lyft. 

"And also, you know, not to be morbid, but when we die we breakdown, and it's a natural process. We become food for the ecosystem. So, the energy goes there too."

"Back in the pulse?" Hayden asked, smiling. That Fiona Apple song had played over the radio in the car earlier before the driver changed the station with an angry grumble.

They sat in silence for a while, bumper to bumper traffic. 

"I sort of try to live in the moment," Cliff said after a bit. "For that reason. I mean, living in the moment hasn't worked out that well for me up to this point, but still."

"I get that." Hayden replied, "I'm too nervous to live in the moment."

Cliff snorted. The driver pulled hard into the passing lane, which was also barely moving. 

They made it back to the hotel an hour later than they should have. They paid the driver and lingered outside the building. They were in downtown Austin, the streets were busy. 

"Can I ask you something?" Cliff asked.

"Sure."

"When you said I was a cowboy in my past life, and then I got all freaky and killed the vibe-"

Hayden laughed, "We killed the vibe. I think we ruined the driver's night."

"No doubt," Cliff responded. "But seriously, when you asked me that? Was it because you think I look good in the hat?"

Cliff smirked, tipping his hat slightly. 

Hayden's mouth fell open, shocked. Where the fuck did Cliff's boldness come from?

Fucking Jackie. She's always right.

The moment built between them the longer Hayden stayed quiet. It was Cliff who finally broke the silence.

"Forget it, man, I'm sorry-"

"Yes," Hayden said, shutting Cliff up.

Cliff's eyebrows disappeared under the hair that was falling in his face.

"Yes?"

Hayden shoved his hands in back pockets. A car honked up the street, making him jump. He nodded.

Cliff's grin was triumphant. 

"I knew it."

"You knew it? Fuck you! I knew it!"

"Knew what?"

"That you've been looking at me."

Cliff laughed, incredulous. "You've been looking at me!"

Their surprised giggling echoed. His heart was beating so stupidly in his chest it was concerning, and his lungs were struggling to manage a deep breath. 

Cliff didn't move any nearer to Hayden, and, for that, Hayden was grateful. Cliff could not touch Hayden. Not, at least, until he spoke to Jackie, and maybe never still.

They walked into the hotel side by side. In the elevator, Cliff hit the button for the fourth floor for him, and the fifth for Hayden.

The numbers ticked by.

"I need to talk to Jackie."

"About?"

Hayden was worried for a second that he misread the conversation, until he saw Cliff's shit-eating grin.

"Fuck you."

"Hmmm," Cliff said, "Maybe."

Hayden blushed, which Cliff pointed out.

"You still turn so pink." 

"Oh my god," the smile on his face could not be beaten back. 

Cliff got off on the fourth floor. Before the doors closed, he turned, tipped his hat to Hayden, and told him goodnight.

It was so cheesy and stupid, when the doors opened on the fifth floor, Hayden had his face in his hands, and almost got closed in the doors trying to escape.

Because the Pikes had a pile of children, this was something that had to be planned in weeks advance.

Hayden got back from all-stars buzzing with an energy that Jackie instantly clocked.

They had weeks until they could actually plan to...meet.

Jackie corned Hayden in the pantry. It was the middle of the day, the kids were in the yard playing in the snow. She demanded to know everything, and jerked him off while he confessed the entire conversation to her.

Over Christmas, Megan agreed to have a sleepover with the kids in mid-January. Cliff and Hayden had nearly a dozen games between then and that date.

"My rule is that you don't start without me. You will not touch each other until our rendezvous. Understand?"

"Yes," Hayden agreed easily. He didn't want to start without her. He was petrified by the entire idea! 

Cliff agreed easily to the meeting time, he and Jackie texted about it. He told her he was excited to see them.

"Be good at the office today," she would say when he would leave.

At work, they were professionals. They did not discuss what had changed between them, nor did they discuss what was coming.

It was going well, then they played Ottawa two weeks after the all-star game.

It was a Montreal home game. Hayden and Jackie agreed to host Shane and Ilya, and Ilya requested Marlow also be there, like how it would be if they were having dinner at their house. Hayden wanted to tell Ilya to take a hike with his rude demands, but Jackie enthusiastically agreed.

"It will be good for him to see the house now." Jackie said. "He'll be more comfortable later."

Whatever.

He made sure the kids were in clean clothes with brushed hair. They were thrilled their uncles were coming to dinner. Jade and Ruby had a prepared list of hockey questions for them.

"You know, you can ask me your hockey questions," he said to them, which only earned two sets of blank stares.

Marlow, horrifyingly, arrived first. 

Hayden answered the door, the kids were all converging on the scene at once, ready to greet their uncles. Art had a toy plane. Cliff barely managed to get through the door before Arthur played plane crash on Cliff's leg.

"You're tall," his son said, instead of hello.

"Yeah, I am," Cliff agreed.

"You make a good mountain. Now everyone in the plane has to survive in the woods."

"They'll probably become cannibals," Jade said, grinning. He stared at his daughter in horror, where the fuck did she learn about cannibalism?

Jesus Christ, Marlow just got here and his kids were already being fucking weird. 

"Kids, go play," he ordered, even though they never really respected his authority. 

"Cliff," Jackie greeted, coming towards him with intent, pulling the big man in for a hug.

Marlow wasn't there for five minutes before Shane and Ilya got there, then the real chaos began.

Ilya was running around the entire first floor, giving Hayden and Jackie ulcers, with Amber on his back, while Ruby ran after him shouting hockey questions at him.

"Sorry," Hayden found himself saying to Marlow. "It's kind of always like this here."

"It's great," Cliff said. "You have cute kids."

Dinner was a roast chicken, mashed potatoes, and various vegetables that the kids would no doubt push around their plates.

"Jackie, this is very good," Ilya said, annoying Hayden.

"Thank you, Ilya. Hayden and I cooked together. He's much better in the kitchen than I am."

Ilya looked surprised. He turned to Jade, who was on his left. 

"Is your papa a good cook?"

Jade wrinkled her nose and shook her head. 

Dinner went fine. The kids were tickled by the concept of a dinner party, and the twins only brought up cannibalism one other time, so that was a win. Amber even ate a carrot. Shane totally tricked her into eating it, but still. 

The adults lingered in the sitting room while the kids enjoyed some extra evening playtime. Hayden kept wine glasses filled and sat on the sofa between Marlow and Jackie while Shane and Ilya took the chairs.

Ottawa beat Montreal that night, which didn't really bother him anymore, they pretty much always beat Montreal. Still, Montreal was on fire that season. There were whispers about a Stanley Cup final between Ottawa and Montreal that year, and wasn't that a terrifying prospect?

"We would win, obviously," Ilya said. "Ottawa has us, the best hockey players who ever lived."

"Still so modest, Rozy."

"We have great chemistry on the ice because we have fantastic chemistry off the ice. Montreal is lacking that."

Shane coughed and glared at Ilya. 

"Are you suggesting players on the Metros should hook up to get better at hockey?" Jackie asked innocently. 

It was Hayden's turn to cough, he choked on his wine so hard Cliff started hitting him on the back. 

"It could not hurt," Ilya replied, grinning wolfishly. 

Shane, Ilya, and Marlow all left around the same time. Marlow was going to share a Lyft with them, but he lingered on their doorstep while the others went ahead to the car. Hayden could hear his kids playing further off in the house. Jackie and Hayden walked Cliff out.

He looked at them both, face raw and open in a way he had not seen all night. Hayden's stomach dropped.

"See you both in a few weeks," he said, even though he would see Hayden sooner. Before Hayden realized what was happening, Marlow swooped down and pressed a light, gentle, tantalizing kiss on his lips.

Hayden, dumbstruck, opened his eyes in time to see him do the same to Jackie, who was beautifully pink and obviously surprised.

"Bye," he said to them both, then closed the door behind him.

Jackie and Hayden paused and met each other's wide-eyed stares. Jackie's fingers were pressed on her bottom lip, and Hayden could understand that, he was feeling the tingles too.

They fell against the door, giggling like teenage girls at prom. Jackie held his hand. His chest was threatening cardiac arrest. 

The kids came out of their playroom, and they were back to reality. Jackie wrangled them all for bed while Hayden cleaned up the kitchen, humming to himself as he sorted out the leftovers and washed the dishes. 

Much later, in bed, Jackie and Hayden laid beside each other on their bed. They had a very large bed, when split down the middle, it felt a bit like having the entire thing to themselves. Hayden liked to cuddle usually, though. But that night, they were on their respective sides, heads denting pillows, contemplating. 

"That was..."

"Yeah," Jackie agreed. 

Hayden had not been able to stop thinking about kissing Marlow, and seeing Marlow kiss his wife, all night. He could not believe that, well after a decade, a quick peck on the mouth could feel familiar, but it did. Hayden's lips recognized the shape of Marlow's.

And seeing him kiss Jackie was...exciting. He had to dip lower to catch her, she had to practically fold her body into his. Hayden was a little bigger now than he was when he was 19, he put on some weight and some muscle, but watching Jackie get totally swallowed up by Cliff...Hayden knew he could be engulfed too. He wanted that.

The kiss woke him up. He wouldn't say the nerves were completely gone, but the anticipation for their meeting was a fire burning through him. He tasted Cliff, he saw Cliff kiss Jackie, and he wanted more. He wanted everything. 

The last game before their "appointment," Hayden walked into the locker room to see Cliff racing remote control cars with Anders, their social media guy recording it. Cliff's car ran right into Hayden's leg, as they had been driving them towards the doors.

Hayden picked up the little car.

"This is how we're preparing for the game?"

"I win!" Anders exclaimed, getting in front of the camera. "Marlow loses by default."

"Shut up, Andy," Cliff responded. "It's a tie."

He walked over to Hayden, blocking out the sun, as usual. He took the car from Hayden.

"Your ankle good? We need to win tonight."

Hayden chuckled nervously, tried not to be intimidated by his proximity, and said "Yeah, I'll live. Payback for the airplane incident."

Cliff's smile was slow and warm. They separated to get ready for the game.

The game was largely uninteresting. They lost, which sucked, and only by a point, which sucked harder.

What was interesting was Marlow. He was in a good mood. On the bench, he was talkative with the guys, cracking jokes, and chirping the opposing team. Hayden sat beside him, mostly taking in the man's positive aura, but occasionally joining the conversation if it interested him.

Towards the end of the game, Marlow and Hayden were in the penalty box together. It seemed like fate. If Jackie was watching, she would be laughing, and Hayden knew about twenty angles of the box could be caught on camera at any moment, but he still sat directly beside Cliff.

"We still on for Saturday?"

It was a miracle that there was a Saturday in the middle of the season where they didn't have a game, didn't have practice, and didn't have to be on a plane first thing Sunday morning. The weekend was the only time Megan could take the kids, which was a requirement if they were going to do this.

"Yeah. You good with it?"

"Yeah, of course. It'll be fun."

Hayden nodded.

"I think so."

"Really?"

Hayden looked at him. Cliff was still wearing his helmet, but Hayden had taken his off when he sat down. 

"Yeah, man."

"I thought you might be nervous."

Hayden shrugged.

"Kinda, but also...we're excited."

Cliff smiled. "Yeah me too. Hey, do you think when we get back out there, we can kill Bernard?"

Hayden saw Danny Bernard fighting one of their rookies, who was doing his best to hold his own but his best really wasn't all that good.

"Absolutely."

They did, indeed, beat the shit out of Bernard at the first opportunity, and then they sat beside each other in the penalty box again.

They got ready together.

"Pink or cream?" Jackie asked, showing Hayden two pretty, lacy bras. The pink one was hot pink, Hayden loved Jackie in bright colors, but the cream one was almost a very light, delicate pink that meshed with her skin tone in a very sexy way.

"The cream one."

"Or leopard print? But these are the new ones, I wanted to wear something new."

"Wear the cream, you look hot in it."

"You haven't seen me wear it."

"Well, you look hot in everything. Just trust me, wear the cream."

He watched her sexy, lacy panties disappear under light-wash blue jeans. They both dressed casual, except Jackie bought new underwear, and Hayden obsessively stared at his hair, willing it to be better.

"This is crazy," Hayden said. The kids were gone, driven to Megan's at 7:00. Cliff was getting in at 9:00. It was 8:45. "Is this crazy? Should we cancel?"

Hayden was sitting at his wife's vanity in their bedroom. She straddled him, testing the weight of the chair as it creaked under their combined weight. 

"You don't want to cancel."

Hayden swallowed, he saw himself in the mirror out of the corner of his eye and winced. Every time he caught his reflection, his blue eyes were the size of dinner plates. He was being ridiculous, but he was anxious as hell. 

"You just need to relax a little." She said, and kissed him.

His hand held steady at her waist while they made out. 

She was clutching his face, letting her tongue do the work while the tension slowly eased from his body. His hands traveled under her sweater, grazing lightly at the lace at the bottom of her bra. He imagined ripping the cups down, pulling her shirt off. Then he imagined doing it in front of Cliff, her breasts bouncing in his face.

The doorbell ringing broke them apart.

Jackie smiled at him, her thumb brushing his lower lip.

"Fuck, I can't believe we're doing this."

Hayden stood up, taking his wife's hand. It was cold outside, Cliff couldn't be kept waiting. 

It would make sense that there would be an air of awkwardness about the entire situation. They brought Cliff inside, it was icy, there had been a touch of precipitation. So, while Jackie asked Cliff about the roads and the drive over, Hayden took a minute to step outside and salt their walk.

He took a moment to cool down. Montreal was hovering below zero again, which was helpful, because there was an inferno burning Hayden up. He was going to walk back into their house in a minute and change his marriage. Things would be irreversibly different between the three of them indefinitely. The thought was both terrifying and thrilling.

He salted, eyeing Cliff's Mercedes in the driveway. It looked good in the snow, he hoped it was, that Marlow was safe on his drive over.

Inside, Cliff and Jackie were on the couch with glasses of wine. Hayden's body temperature rose uncomfortably as he shucked off his coat and shoes. He knew his cheeks were pink from the cold just by the look Jackie was giving him. 

She poured him a glass, and Hayden sat on the chair, realizing he hadn't said anything yet beyond a weak greeting at the door.

Cliff looked good, in dark jeans and a burgundy sweater. He had taken his shoes off already, his socks were black with white polka dots, the whimsy of which surprised Hayden.

Jackie and Cliff had been making small talk about the weather. No one knew how to move forward here, it seemed. Even Jackie, his calm, cool wife looked nervous.

"Are there rules?" It was Cliff who acknowledged the reason he was here, which Hayden was grateful for. He waited until Jackie's glass was empty, and he quickly swallowed the last bit of his own wine. Hayden took a sip and watched.

"No, not really," Jackie said. She and Hayden had barely discussed boundaries, mostly because they could not think of any. "Just...checking in with each other. Good rule of thumb, I think."

Cliff nodded.

Jackie was sitting on the couch with her legs tucked under her. She was in her corner, Cliff was slightly more in the center. His arms were long enough that he could reach where her elbow rested on the back of the couch, his finger tips brushed her lightly, over her sweater. 

Hayden shivered, nowhere near this "interaction" but remembering the heady sensation of Cliff touching him.

He could only see Jackie's side profile. She dropped her arm, her hand landing on Marlow's. Hayden watched her just rest there, for a second, before slipping her hand under the cuff of his sleeve.

Now Cliff shivered, surprised by the delicate touch, Hayden could guess. Hayden felt frozen in place, all he could do was sit and witness.

"Your hands are cold," Cliff said, voice low.

"Sorry." Jackie replied, not sorry. She did take her hand out of his sleeve, though. She leaned forward, sliding it up his arm, wedding wing gleaming in the overhead light.

He watched her stroke his shoulder, squeezing him. He knew what she felt, the confident, strong muscle that was Cliff Marlow. Hayden had felt his body against Hayden's for years, Hayden was sure he knew every inch. 

"Come here," he said, but it was more like a question. His other arm outstretched, ready to catch her if she decided to fall into his lap.

She did not. She stood from the couch instead, walked over to Hayden, leaned down, and kissed him.

Their kiss was light, chaste even. It was a kiss that he had shared with her a million times, a kiss he would be comfortable having in front of friends and family.

But it lit him up all over. He reached up to grab hold of her hair. She deepened the kiss slightly but pulled away after a few seconds.

Cliff had been, of course, watching them, and now they both watched as Jackie walked to Cliff and straddled him, their bodies connecting in a way that they had never before.

The image of his former lover and his wife entangled in each other, fully clothed, kissing, was hotter than any fantasy Hayden cooked up over the years. It was Jackie that initiated the kiss, and Marlow's eyes had flicked over to Hayden's before sliding closed.

Hayden had never seen his wife kiss someone else before, he had only felt it, so he found himself studying her technique. The way her jaw moved, the way her hand gripped his face, directing him to her will. He knew her lips so well, he could feel what Marlow was feeling.

Cliff's hands stayed on her waist all the while, but his index and middle finger had dipped under the band of her jeans.

Was Hayden going to watch all night? It had not been his intention, but he was enjoying himself immensely. He didn't know it would be like this, he was worried that jealousy would flare up and they would have to call the whole thing off, but all he was feeling was desire and his cock pressing against his jeans.

Cliff broke the kiss. Hayden had missed when he did it, the smooth fucker, but the button of Jackie's jeans was undone.

"Hayden," the word, Hayden's name, said with such lust Hayden felt insane. "Come here."

Hayden went, easily, eagerly. Jackie slid off his lap and took up her spot at the edge of the couch again.

"He's hard." She whispered in his ear as she passed. Hayden didn't need to be told, he could see the bulge in Cliff's pants, and he knew what he wanted.

First, this. He took Jackie's former position in his lap. Jackie sat with her legs drawn up, slightly flushed, she raised her eyebrows at her husband.

"Well? Kiss him," she said.

Cliff's hands in his hair, pulling his face down.

Hayden was 19 again, having this for the first time in a terrible half-condemned apartment across the city. Cliff's tongue tasted like wine and homecoming. Hayden wanted to climb inside his mouth and live there. 

He certainly tried, pressing closer, his desperation turning the kiss sloppy. Cliff didn't seem to mind, he pushed back equally hard. He's been desperate for it, Hayden thought, half-crazed. He missed me too. 

Hayden could not ignore his own desires for long. They broke the kiss, panting. He was aware they were all fully dressed, and Hayden was so hard it was aching slightly, but he needed to do this now.

Hayden took Cliff's hand. Cliff's eyes were wide, he wasn't attempting to dominate the situation, he was just along for the ride. Hayden liked that. He pushed up Cliff's sleeve and pressed a kiss to his wrist.

Cliff's eyebrows rose, his lips parted, a silent admission of pleasure, as Hayden held his gaze. He pressed another gentle kiss to the meat of his palm, teeth out to drag on his flesh a little.

Hayden slid onto his knees. 

Jackie gasped. He looked to her, his hands on Cliff's inner thighs.

"Okay, baby?"

"More than okay," she said.

"Cliff?"

"Yeah, it's good."

Good, checking in was important, especially because Hayden fully intended to lose himself in this. He didn't want the night to be over before they even made it to the bedroom, but Hayden also wanted to suck Cliff off in their living room, his knees digging into the plush rug. He wanted to sit in there the next day and stare at the spot on the floor.

Hayden went for his belt. 

"I forgot how much you like this," he said lowly. "Still eager."

"Been a long time since I've done it."

Once again, he was facing a much more sexually experienced person than he was himself. He wasn't embarrassed, though. He liked it. He would let Cliff use him as he needed.

"Fuck my mouth?" Hayden asked, his hand pausing on Cliff's bulge, over his black boxers.

"Fuck," Jackie gasped, she hadn't moved, but she certainly looked affected.

"I don't want to come too fast."

"We have all night," Jackie said. "Please? He loves it." Cliff and Jackie both appeared mildly fucked out as they had a silent conversation. 

"Okay, fuck, Hayden."

Hayden took Cliff's cock out. Hello, old friend. He had seen it since 2008, obviously, in the locker room, always soft, but still familiar. The lighting was casting a crazy shadow, though, of his dick on the wall, mushroom head and all. 

Hayden waved to the shadow, which made Cliff laugh.

"Fuck," Cliff moaned as Hayden pressed his lips to the tip, opening his mouth a little, but pulling off. "How do you know?"

Cliff asked someone, Hayden assumed it wasn't him, he was busy.

"What?"

"How do you know he likes to suck dick?"

"Oh," Jackie laughed, Hayden slid down passed the tip, just a bit, before pulling back. He had a lot of practice deepthroating, and he would need all his skills to take Cliff how Hayden wanted to take him. "We have a special dildo for it. He likes to take it while we fuck sometimes."

"Oh my god," Cliff moaned, his hands were on the sides of Hayden's face, suddenly, large, massive palms keeping him in place, lifting his head ever so slightly to catch Cliff's eyes. "You like to have your throat fucked so much you have a sex toy for it?"

Hayden pulled back. 

"Yes," Hayden said. "We have two entire drawers of sex toys. You want to meet them?" Hayden's lips were shiny and his voice was already a little hoarse, but he managed to get the words out without stuttering, stroking Cliff all the while. 

"Yeah, but first..."

Hayden was directed back onto Cliff's cock, and he couldn't complain about the pushiness, because he fucking craved it.

He opened his mouth as much as he could and slid a little deeper, imagining those snakes that unhinge their jaw, he tried not to laugh while sucking down Cliff's cock, because then he would gag for sure.

"Cliff, honey, you don't have to go so easy on him. He really does like to have his throat fucked, don't you, baby?"

Hayden moaned on Cliff's cock, her words going straight to his own erection which was painful in his jeans. His hands were busy, though, stroking the part of Cliff's cock he couldn't fit into his mouth and gripping Cliff's thigh hard enough to leave bruises.

Cliff palmed Hayden's skull again and gave a weak, exploratory thrust that made Hayden's head swim.

Hayden closed his eyes, he wanted to go limp, he wanted Cliff to take his pleasure, he wanted to feel his throat get rubbed raw.

After another two teasing flicks of Cliff's hips, he pushed deeper into Hayden's mouth, stuffing his throat. 

Hayden gagged a little. 

"Don't let up," Jackie said. Cliff was holding him in place by his hair and it hurt deliciously. "Keep doing it. He might come his pants."

Hayden whined, embarrassment coursing through him. He fully ignored his hard on to prevent just that.

"Hey, Hayden," Cliff said, continuing to fuck his mouth, his lips stretched wide. "Your wife has her hand down her pants."

Hayden opened his eyes. He could see, from his peripheral, Jackie's hand moving under her opened jeans, rubbing circles on her clit.

Fuck, Hayden thought, mouth stuffed, he couldn't move, he couldn't say anything to her, he couldn't touch her.

"I love to see you like this, baby."

Don't come, he wanted to say, Save it for my face. Save it for after.

Determined to make Cliff come so they could move to the bedroom, he slackened as much as he possibly could, drooling all over Cliff's cock.

"Fuck, you're the most eager fucking cocksucker I've ever met."

"He's a real sweetie," Jackie said, "So eager to please. Such a good boy."

His face was already hot, he was hot all over, he might come, he could only taste Marlow, he could only smell Marlow. He kept his eyes locked on Marlow's, swirling in a cloud of smoke and ash, and finally, he tasted Marlow's release.

Marlow held him down as he finished in Hayden's mouth. Hayden moaned as he took it, swallowing around him, somewhat inelegantly. 

He popped off as soon as Cliff released him. Gripping Marlow firmly by the base, he licked slobber and come off his softening cock until Cliff was whimpering and begging him to stop. 

"Oh fuck," Jackie's hips stuttered, she was close.

Hayden stood up, wiping his face with the back of his hand, he walked to his wife, ready to rip her pants down and smother himself again.

"We should move this upstairs," she suggested, pausing her movements, she took her hand out of her pants. Her fingertips were glistening and he knew she ruined her nice new panties.

Cliff had tucked himself away but had not bothered to close his pants, as they all stood up, Cliff took Jackie's hand and sucked her wet fingers into his mouth. 

"Fuck, I want you both, is that greedy?"

"We're all greedy," Cliff said. Hayden led the way to their bedroom. 

"Ride my face?" Hayden asked as Cliff shut the door, Jackie's lips attacked his, pulling him in for a furiously passionate kiss.

"That was so fucking hot, baby. Anything you want. Whatever you want."

Jackie was between the two men, the lighting in the bedroom was a warm glow. Hayden, because he needed to relieve some pressure, unbuttoned his pants and stuck a hand inside. 

"Take her clothes off, Cliff?"

Cliff nodded, his eyes firmly on Jackie, moving in. 

Hayden took off his own pants but left his underwear on as he watched. Cliff pulled his wife against him, his hand on her lower back, for a deep, romantic kiss. He stripped off her sweater first, then he squatted, ripping down her jeans and helping her step out of them.

Hayden watched Cliff press his face to Jackie's crotch, inhaling. 

"She's so wet."

His large fingers hooked the crotch of Jackie's panties.

"Okay?" He asked, she and Hayden both nodded at him.

He pulled at her panties so he could see more of them, the delicate lace around the top was still pretty, but the cotton crotch was soaked through. Hayden wasn't sure if he had ever seen her so thoroughly destroy a pair of panties. He could tell she was embarrassed.

"Take them off her," Hayden said, getting on the bed. He stacked their pillows up behind his head and waited.

Cliff did as he was told, sliding the scrap of fabric down her gorgeous legs. 

"Fuck, Jackie," Cliff said, moving from the squat to his knees.

"Take off your shirt, Cliff," Cliff leaned forward, Hayden saw his pink tongue dart out and lick into her mound before pulling back. Hayden couldn't take it anymore, upon hearing Jackie's surprised gasp, he palmed at his dick, he felt like crying. He didn't ever want to come, he wanted to feel this good forever.

Cliff stripped his shirt and his jeans. Jackie took a few steps back, just to leer. Hayden ogled him too, he couldn't help it.

"Jesus Christ," Jackie said. She inched forward, rubbing her hands up Cliff's muscled arms, down his back. "Your fucking arms, your legs..."

Hayden really didn't want to be a bother, but if he didn't have his wife's pussy seated fully on his face in ten seconds, he was going to die.

He told her this, and she laughed before jumping on the bed, thighs on either side of him.

"Needy?" She asked. 

"Yes."

"Want to come?"

"Yes."

"He should come soon too. Take the edge off," Jackie said to Cliff, making him squirm.

"Shouldn't be hard," Cliff remarked. Hayden rolled his eyes.

As he envisioned earlier, Hayden got his hands over the cups of Jackie's bra. His fingers creeped into the cups and firmly pulled them down, her boobs popped out, immediately in Hayden's face.

"Shit," Cliff said, kneeling on the bed beside them. "Nice fucking tits," he was groping her, and she was loving it, leaning into him with a contented hum. 

"Jackie," Hayden begged, "Please."

"Okay, okay, you can play with my tits later, let me husband bury his face in my pussy."

Oh thank god, Hayden thought as Jackie blocked out the room, smothering him in her wetness.

"Feel how wet?" She was close, she wasn't going to let this last too long, Hayden could tell. He gripped her thighs. "That's from watching you suck off our friend earlier. You were so pretty on your knees."

Hayden whined. 

"Jackie, can I?" Cliff asked, Hayden couldn't see, his eyes were closed, and Jackie had shifted, she was moving her hips up Hayden's face, her clit dragging on his tongue but also reaching his nose at times. Like before, Hayden held on for the ride.

"Oh fuck, Cliff, that's amazing." 

He had felt the bed shift again, but he still didn't know what was happening. All he could hear were his wife's whines and whimpers. 

Until, suddenly, blissfully, a hand.

A large, strong hand, covering the entirety of Hayden's cock over his underwear. 

"Fuck, Hayden's panties are soaked too," Cliff said, which, annoying. Annoying that that turned him on. 

"Fuck, Cliff, keeping licking, I'm close, don't stop."

That's what Cliff was doing, then. Her legs were on either side of his head, while Hayden had her pussy, Cliff was eating her ass.

And stroking Hayden's cock over his underwear. And fuck, it felt good, it all felt so fucking good, it was almost too fucking good, and then-

"Oh fuck!" Jackie moaned, coming all over Hayden's face. Cliff peeled back his boxers in that moment and took Hayden in his hand, and that was enough to trigger his own orgasm. 

Jackie swung a leg over, removing herself from Hayden's face and releasing the bed frame. Hayden watched her flex her fingers as she settled down on the bed.

Hayden, having come from just a few seconds of touching, pulled down his underwear and wiped off his stomach with a clean portion of the material. Jackie and Hayden watched Cliff lick off the come that had landed on his hand.

The three of them laid together for a bit, just breathing, then talking. They needed a little longer to recover before the next round. And there would be another round, Hayden's body wasn't ready to give up, he was still buzzing with energy. 

"I want to fuck you," Hayden said to Cliff, who was in Hayden's arms, because he still liked to cuddle after sex. Hayden was sandwiched between Jackie and Cliff, and he couldn't imagine a more ideal location. 

"We did already prep Hayden, though." Jackie said. "In case you weren't into that, this is easier."

"Uh, yeah," Cliff said, his olive skin turning a pretty shade of scarlet. "I didn't...prep. I figured that's what we would be doing."

Hayden shrugged, hey, he'd happily fall on that sword. 

"Next time," Jackie said, "I'd like to see that."

The concept of a 'next time' was not something they discussed, but Hayden wasn't against the idea, they were having too much fun, it was going too well. He could not imagine doing this once and then never again.

It was Cliff that got hard first. Cliff was laying with his head on Hayden's chest, arms over him. Hayden was playing with his hair. Jackie was pressing light kisses to Hayden's shoulders while she hugged him. 

Hayden and Jackie watched Cliff get hard again in real time.

"Like to have your hair played with?" Jackie asked as Hayden massaged Cliff's scalp, scratching his nails under the thick dark strands.

"Mhm," Cliff replied, eyes shut. Jackie climbed over Hayden to kiss lightly along Cliff's thighs. She took off his underwear, his cock was half hard.

"This just from Hayden's tugging on your hair?" Jackie asked, "Is it a kink?"

"I don't know, I just like it," Cliff answered. Hayden liked doing it, so he continued. Cliff melted against Hayden as Hayden dug deeper. Jackie, a champion dick sucker in her own right, wrapped her lips around the tip and sucked him to full hardness.

He held eye contact with her as she bobbed up and down on their lover's dick, spit sliding down the base. Hayden moved down Cliff's body to kiss him leisurely, determind to draw this out. 

She looked so pretty, her curls framing her face, long eyelashes damp. Hayden kissed Cliff, they watched Jackie, then went back to kissing. This went on for several minutes until Jackie finally popped up.

"I need this inside me," she said. Cliff and Hayden watched her dive for the nightstand and emerge with a strip of condoms.

"Do we need all those?" Cliff asked.

"How are you feeling, honey?" She asked Cliff, rubbing his thigh. "Good?"

"Good, yeah. Fucking amazing."

"Good, so here's what I'm thinking." Jackie laid out her plan, her desires, for them. Hayden and Cliff flushed at all the filthy words, but listened, Hayden was nearly fully hard again. 

They would start with missionary, Cliff fucking Jackie. Beautiful. No notes.

She peeled open a condom. They had, hilariously, almost forgot to buy the right size. They had planned everything else out. They bought a new bottle of lube, Hayden prepped ahead of time, they both had fucking spa days, and they almost forgot the damn magnum rubbers.

Jackie rolled the condom down Cliff's cock.

"I bet it feels amazing bare," she muttered. This was also something they had not discussed, figuring safe sex was best when bringing a lover into a monogamous relationship. 

She was probably right, though, and Hayden couldn't say he had never beat off to the thought of a man coming inside him. 

Cliff rolled on top of her. Hayden was just watching now, mostly. He laid on his side beside them, watching their tongues rub each other. Hayden liked watching them make out, it made him feel all warm and tingly inside. He guessed he would have to analyze that someday, but that wasn't his problem at the moment.

He pushed Jackie's hair off her neck. Cliff followed the movement, pressing light kisses to the skin there before being a little bolder, sucking gently, not enough to leave any sort of embarrassing mark. 

"Fuck me," she demanded. Hayden had the pleasure of watching Cliff's cock disappear inside his wife. 

Cliff held her sweetly, like a lover would, pressed firmly against his body, face hiding in her neck, kissing her jaw, her cheeks, her eyelids, as he pounded into her.

"Oh my god," Jackie was saying, like she couldn't believe it, and fuck, it was hot. "Oh my god. How the fuck...Hayden...baby..." she met his eyes, disbelief evident, her mouth hanging open. A loud moan ripped its way out of her throat and her eyes rolled back in her head.

"Fuck, Cliff." She dug her nails into his shoulders. Hayden was living in a memory. And fuck, he wanted to do this all night, but he knew they couldn't. This would probably be their last round. They were exhausted, constantly busy adults in their thirties. Hayden probably wouldn't be able to walk after Cliff fucked him anyway, let alone go a third round.

"Oh, oh fuck, I didn't want to...oh fuck!" Jackie dug in as she came on Cliff's cock. Cliff slowed down the movement of his hips, cock hard and straining as he pulled out of her.

"I'm jelly. My legs are jelly. I wasn't supposed to come like that." She whined, she couldn't move, so Cliff made his way to Hayden's side of the bed, sitting between them a moment.

Jackie's plan had been to let Cliff fuck Hayden while Jackie was under him, Hayden's dick thrusting into her in time with Cliff's movements, but she was shaking now, overstimulated, her orgasm had been a big one. He was proud of her, and Cliff.

"Jackie, baby," Hayden said, reaching for a water bottle they kept on the nightstand for this reason. "Sit up some, yeah." He pushed their two pillows behind her, helping her up, offering her the water. She was shaking, so he tipped some into her mouth for her.

He rubbed her thigh, his own desperate need momentarily forgotten. 

"You alright? You with us?"

"Yeah," She said, blinking. "Fuck, I'm more than alright. That wasn't part of the plan." 

Hayden smiled. 

"The plans were loose."

"Was it too much?" Cliff asked, visibly worried, which broke Hayden's heart a little.

"No, no, baby. It was really good. It was great." She took his hand, smiling at him. Hayden relaxed. "I'm just not usually surprised like that."

"Are we continuing or are we done?" Hayden asked, he was hard as a rock and would love to feel Cliff throbbing inside him, but if they were done, they were done, he wouldn't be upset about it.

"I'm done, I think," she said. "Can I stay on the bed while you fuck?" She asked, uncertain.

"Please stay on the bed," Hayden said. "How do you want us? Direct," he smiled.

"Dealer's choice," she said to Cliff. "Get to it."

Cliff smiled and reached out for Hayden. He had not come while fucking Jackie, but his orgasm probably wasn't far off. Hayden and Cliff took it slow, kissing each other lazily. Hayden rolled on top of him and slid his fingers through Cliff's hair again, earning a sweet whimper. 

He had stubble growing in. He shaved sometimes, but Cliff, for the most part, was in a constant state of five o'clock shadow. Hayden rubbed his face on the scratchy hair like he was a cat. Cliff's hands gripped his shoulders. Hayden decided to be an asshole and he kissed Cliff's neck gently before sucking an obvious bruise there.

Cliff hissed, then breathed shakily. "You fucker."

Hayden tongued the mottled skin. 

"Do it again," Jackie ordered. Cliff did not tell him no, so he sucked another hickey. Cliff's body thrust up, against his. He liked this, he really liked this.

"Sensitive neck?" Jackie asked.

"Very," Cliff rasped. 

"Aw," Jackie said, "Another one, then."

By the third, Cliff's moans and whimpers were getting so high pitched, he sounded a bit like Hayden. He was worked up, and Hayden wanted him to take it out on his ass.

Hayden laid on his side of the bed on his stomach, facing Jackie so he could look at her during. Cliff lubed up his fingers (the lube was unscented and flavorless, the way lube should be). 

Hayden was still pretty loose. It took a lot to keep him from coming while he was fingering himself earlier, but he managed it.

Cliff's long fingers inside him were a different story, though. Cliff was three deep, curling inside him when he hit the spot.

Hayden groaned, he writhed on the bed, squeezing his eyes shut, burying his face.

"Aw," Jackie cooed, "I love how you are when your ass is played with."

"You guys do this too?" Cliff asked, Hayden wished he could see his face.

"We do everything, Cliff."

"Fuck," Cliff said. "Can't wait to fuck you again, Hayden."

"Get to it, then, Cliff."

Cliff chuckled. He opened his eyes and rested his head to the side so he could get lost in Jackie's pretty face. 

Jackie held her water bottle just under her mouth and gave Hayden a mischievous smile.

"The top is lubing up his cock," she said in a weird, hushed voice.

"What?"

"He's lining up with the entrance."

"Oh my god, Jackie," Hayden groaned, realizing she was doing her sport commentary bit. 

The tip of Cliff's cock lined up with Hayden's hole. He wasn't that worried, he had done considerably more prep work than they had when they had sex the first time, but he was still a bit nervous at the sensation of Cliff's dick in him, he knew the stretch would be insane.

Sure enough, it was, the tip breached him and Hayden whimpered. His cock was leaking onto the bedding. Cliff braced himself with a hand on Hayden's shoulder and pushed in a little more.

"He shoots, he scores!!!" Jackie called, making both Cliff and Hayden begin to laugh uncontrollably. "Another goal for the Metros!"

"Oh my god, Jackie, shut up," Hayden begged, trying to catch his breath. 

She smirked, she was leaning on her side, naked, glowing, the picture of sensuality. 

"Don't act like sports talk doesn't do it for you boys."

"I'm not that competitive," Cliff said, pushing in a little more.

"Fuck," Hayden gasped. "The fuck you're not. You're always pushing someone into the boards."

Jackie was looking up at Cliff with a teasing grin.

"He's been cutting back since he joined Montreal, right, Cliff?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Cliff responded, tone unreadable.

Fuck, the stretch of Cliff inside him was amazing. Hayden, somehow, was much more face down ass up than when he started. He buried his head in his arms, tears were already pricking at the corners of his eyes.

"Fucking fuck me, already, Cliff. Please."

"You beg so pretty, Hayden."

"Aw, doesn't he?" Jackie replied, her hand suddenly in his hair. "Our good boy."

Ours?

Fuck, that did something for him. 

Hayden's thoughts were wiped out by Cliff hitting his prostate, and then it was on. 

The bed was rocking, Jackie was giggling, and Hayden was seeing god while Cliff fucked him like he hated him. 

"Fuck, Hayden, you feel so fucking good."

"Fuck, Cliff, baby, fuck-"

"Oh my god, I missed this. I missed your body."

"Me too, fuck."

He risked a look at Jackie at the admission. She was grinning ear-to-ear, playing with her nipples, and rubbing her thighs together.

"The rose," Hayden choked out. "Get the rose, Jacks."

"I don't know if I can come again, baby."

"Please try?" He asked, sounding extremely pathetic. 

Cliff was slamming into him, the bed was bouncing, the headboard was banging against the wall. Hayden could only see in flashes, Jackie's ass as she turned over to get in her bedside drawer, the pink toy in her hand, stars behind his eyes when he squeezed them shut.

"Stop. Turn me over. Cliff, please. Turn me over. I want to kiss you."

Cliff pulled out of him and flipped Hayden onto his back. He heard the toy turn on beside him. Cliff went right back to dicking him down, but this time, Hayden's legs were over his shoulders and his back was aching with the effort to meet Cliff's mouth.

The kisses were barely kisses, they were frantic lips meeting and tongues mingling without finesse. Hayden was furthering the damage Jackie did to his back with her nails, and he could hardly care. 

He stared into Cliff's eyes as the other man came, the world falling down on him as Cliff reached over to jerk him off so they could come together.

Jackie continued with the toy while Hayden tried to come back from the dead. He could only breathe and watch Cliff take over holding the rose and kissing Jackie, playing with her boobs, she came with a quiet, shaking gasp. 

When Hayden became Hayden again, he was on the right side of the bed. Jackie was fully naked, retrieving their comforter from the closet.

"The bedding," he mumbled. Cliff's strong hands were on him, one wrapped around his shoulders, the other rubbing his chest. 

Cliff must have caught most of it when he came, Hayden didn't feel sticky. 

"We'll leave it until tomorrow. Sleep now."

They had not spoken with Cliff about this turning into a sleepover. Hayden had just assumed it would be, and it looked like he was right. Jackie threw the comforter over them and jumped into the bed with a giggle. She pressed kisses to Cliff's face, then leaned over him to do the same to Hayden.

"That was wonderful," she said, "thank you both."

Cliff chuckled. "Anytime."

Cliff remained in the center. Hayden snuggled against his big, hairy back, his arms wrapped around him so his fingers could tangle in Cliff's chest hair. Rather than being the littlest spoon, Jackie hugged against Cliff, burrowing into him. Their legs tangled together; the three fell asleep within minutes.

In the morning, the awkwardness never set in. Hayden woke up with Jackie in his arms. He thought Cliff bailed until the man came out of their bathroom, stark naked. Hayden, attempting to blink sleep from his eyes, stared at him.

He offered Cliff a hand, and Cliff came back to the bed.

They slept until 10:30, which was good because they had to get the kids from Megan's by 1:00pm. 

Hayden weighed the pros and cons of morning sex versus breakfast, but he didn't have to make the choice. Jackie woke up last, yawning, she said:

"Cliff you didn't get to blow Hayden last night. Want to fix that? He usually wakes up hard."

"He's insatiable," Cliff murmured, pressing a wet kiss to his mouth, morning breath mixing in a way that was unfortunately, hot.

Cliff did blow Hayden, and it was perfect. He took Hayden into his throat like it was the easiest thing in the world, and he swallowed every drop when Hayden came. 

The sex progressed to the walk-in shower, where Jackie and Hayden, on their knees, took turns sucking Cliff's dick until they both sat back and held hands while Cliff jerked off over them, painting their faces with come. The cherry on top was one of Jackie's secret shower vibrators being pulled from behind a shampoo bottle. Cliff and Hayden took turns teasing her verbally while Cliff fucked the vibrating dildo into her and Hayden played with her clit.

There was no time for breakfast, but that was okay. Hayden and Jackie threw on something random from the hamper and followed a fully clothed Cliff Marlow to the front door.

They did it, they had sex with someone outside their marriage, and the world didn't end. In fact, everything was slightly brighter than the day before. Hayden felt like he was walking on air, and Jackie had never seemed so relaxed.

"Thanks for inviting me over," Cliff said. "It was fun."

"It was fun," Jackie smiled. "We should do it again."

Hayden and Cliff met each others eyes. Hayden thought they probably shouldn't, but he couldn't come up with one real reason not to do it again. Not when it ended up being the best night of their lives. 

Hayden nodded, and Cliff smiled. 

Like after the dinner party, Cliff kissed them both, starting with Jackie, then moving to Hayden for a lingering, romantic kiss.

Hayden and Jackie fell into each other's arms after the door shut, hugging and kissing and laughing. 

"We have to do it again," Jackie said, "as soon as possible."

"Yeah," Hayden agreed. "He seemed into it, right?"

"I think so, yes."

"Oh my god," Hayden said. "I can't believe we actually did it."

"I know."

"We're gonna do it again," he said, thrilled. 

She grinned, all teeth.

"Hell yes we are."

Hayden was undeniably, deliriously happy. He hoped Cliff was too.

Chapter 7

The following Wednesday, Hayden skipped optional practice. Jackie wanted to deep clean the kid's rooms and the playroom, and it would go faster with two pairs of hands.

After ten, Hayden had Amber's bedroom stripped, he was vacuuming dry pieces of cereal off the rug when his phone buzzed in his pocket.

Cliff: You going to practice?

Hayden set down the vacuum and opened the thread.

They had practice Monday and Tuesday, Hayden played alongside Cliff like the grown man he was. They got dressed alongside each other in the locker room, cutting it up with the guys like nothing happened.

Hayden only caught one lingering look from Cliff, and he endured the flutters in his belly by pushing harder on the ice. 

They played scrimmages on the same team, there was a beautiful moment where they ran a play together, passing the puck so cleanly between each other, JJ was shouting encouragement from the opposite team. 

They had spoken, seen each other, been naked with each other, and played together since Hayden sucked Cliff's dick until he could dream of the imprint in his throat, since Cliff made Jackie come so hard she ascended, since Hayden felt his strong hands holding his body up, off the mattress, so he could drive into Hayden ruthlessly. 

They hadn't spoken about that, though, obviously.

He and Jackie had, relentlessly, at every opportunity. They couldn't stop talking about it, relieving the highlights, reminiscing while pleasuring each other late into the night. Jackie wanted Cliff back as soon as possible, and Hayden did too.

He didn't know when that would be possible, though, with their schedules. They were flying out Friday and wouldn't be back in Montreal until Tuesday. It was back-to-back games and practices indefinitely. And, when it wasn't, childcare was the obstacle.

Hayden: Not today. You?

Cliff: No. 

Hayden nodded and locked his phone, clutching it in his hand for a moment.

He unlocked it and checked the time.

It was 10:28 in the morning. 

Hayden still had eye crust on his face, his hair was not combed, and he was wearing sweatpants that had not seen a washing machine in days.

His heart pounded in his chest.

The kids were at school. They would be for hours. 

Hayden: Come over?

He dropped his phone as soon as he sent the text.

He stared at where it bounced off the carpet until it buzzed. Desperately, he scooped it up and unlocked it.

Cliff: Okay.

Hayden stared at it. Okay? That's it?

Hayden gripped his phone and ran to Arthur's room. Jackie was replacing his bedsheets, "Losing You" by Solange played over her phone, which she was lazily singing along to.

"Cliff is coming over." He announced, embarrassed at his spur-of-the-moment decision.

Jackie flinched hard, he surprised her, she nearly fell off the bed. 

She stood up, glaring at him until what he said properly dawned on her. She looked just as panicked as he did.

"Coming over here?"

He nodded. 

"You did say as soon as possible," he reminded her, holding his hands out as if to say: What can you do?

Jackie looked down at her own sweatpants and t-shirt combo. Her hair was back in a claw clip, strands fell out and clung to her face. She ran her hand up over her forehead, pushing them back so they got stuck, standing at odd angles.

"Fuck. How long?"

"I don't know."

"Fuck, this is risky," she said, rushing to Hayden, she kissed him before running to their bedroom.

Cliff was at their door twenty minutes later. Hayden saw his SUV pull up from the living room, he had been watching for it. He changed into cleaner sweatpants, nervous about looking, somehow, too put together. Jackie obsessed through clothing options until she settled on leggings, opting for casual for similar reasons as her husband.

He rang the doorbell. Hayden rushed to it. The couple could only feign nonchalance so much. 

His back met the wall beside his coat rack before the biting cold air of Montreal in January could be contained behind the front door. 

Chills erupted over his bare arms, the door clicked shut without any assistance from them. 

Cliff's mouth was hot and hungry. Hayden kissed him back with equal ferocity. His first thought was: Oh, we're really doing this. 

"Where's Jackie?" Cliff asked when he finally let Hayden breathe.

"Jackie!" Hayden called, not turning his head. Cliff's hands were on his hips and his eyes were boring into Hayden's. 

Jackie found them in their embrace. She grinned, "Hello, stranger."

Cliff stepped away from Hayden to kiss Jackie. Hayden watched him hunch down to catch her mouth. He leaned against the wall, lips swollen, trying to calm down. 

"Fuck this," was Jackie's gasping warning before she pitched herself into his arms. 

Cliff held Jackie against him, Hayden could practically see his muscles straining under his leather jacket. Cliff was one of the strongest guys on the team, and Hayden had to be so normal about it during practice. He deserved an award for his bravery. 

"Hayden," Cliff gasped, breaking from his wife's lips to say his name. Jackie, never one to break focus, moved to nibble on his neck and his ear.

Hayden approached them, unsure of what Cliff wanted, until Cliff shifted Jackie, and he was holding her up with one arm

"Oh my god, you absolute show off."

Cliff's grin was downright dirty, he pulled Hayden against him, his hand groped Hayden's ass, and Hayden moaned into his mouth. 

A high-pitched whine forced its way out of Cliff. Hayden grinned against his mouth, he was getting a Jackie special on his neck. 

Jackie pulled herself out of Cliff's grip. It was a long way for her to fall, but she went all the way to her knees in front of him. 

"Oh fuck," Cliff muttered as Jackie started tearing at his fly. Hayden, a helpful guy, pushed Cliff's leather jacket down off his shoulders. He even hung it up for him. 

Cliff was wearing a remarkably tight black t-shirt. The man knew his colors. It was nowhere near warm enough in Montreal to wear just a leather jacket and a t-shirt, but honestly, it was fine. Jackie and Hayden would keep him warm. He stripped Cliff of that article of clothing as well, not bothering to hang that one up. 

Hayden walked a circle around them as Jackie gave Cliff's cock little kitten licks. Cliff eyes flickered from Hayden to Jackie.

"Jesus, that's good," Cliff moaned, grabbing hold of Jackie's ponytail. 

Hayden's eyes raked over his tattoos. Because he could, he reached out to touch them on his arms, trace design to design, none really flowing together in any special way.  Jackie was rubbing her lips down the length of Cliff's cock, playing with it rather than sucking it in a way that was productive. This was one of her teasing blow jobs, designed for the recipient to go insane with want. She could have Hayden going for hours sometimes. 

Hayden licked one of Cliff's hard nipples, which obviously caught him by surprise.

What surprised Hayden even more were hands on his legs.

Jackie had popped off Cliff and was now running her hands sinisterly up Hayden's legs. Hayden was hard and tenting his pants. Jackie grinning, her mouth shiny and swollen.

Cliff's hand found her head and he directed her forward, towards Hayden's dick.

She slid his pants down to thigh level, smiling as his cock bounced free. 

Cliff gripped him, large hand wrapping around Hayden's cock easily. Jackie's hands were firmly on Hayden's thighs, holding him in place. He was already shaking. Cliff tapped the tip of Hayden's cock against Jackie's lips.

Jackie stared up at them with unbridled lust. She closed her eyes and let Cliff bully the tip into her mouth.

"Mmm," Hayden moaned. Cliff had him, he had his arm around him, Hayden's back was flush with his chest. Cliff held his dick for him while Jackie took it deeper in her mouth.

When there was no more length to hold onto, Cliff took Jackie's head in his hands again and moved her, up and down, on Hayden's length. 

"You like that?" Cliff asked, voice low, gentle, and right in his ear. "She does."

Jackie stared up at them, her mind clearly a million miles away. 

"Yes." Hayden said, kissing Cliff gently. "Feels amazing."

Jackie was always the dirty talker, so the room was mostly filled with Hayden's moans and the unmistakable sounds of a mouth getting fucked.

"Gonna come?" Cliff asked him, his other hand was rubbing Hayden lightly over his stomach, softly and weirdly sexy. 

Hayden whimpered. "I want to-to fuck you-" Hayden gasped, squeezing his eyes shut, trying hard to hold on. 

Jackie's hands dug into his legs, forcing his gaze downward, and fuck, fuck-

"I fucking love you baby," Hayden whined as he came down his wife's throat.

Cliff released her, and she fell backwards, hard on her ass.

She grinned, laughing slightly, face wet with saliva and tears.

"I love you too. That was so fucking hot."

Hayden and Cliff helped her up, everyone in odd states of undress except for her. She fell into their arms, and Cliff carried her upstairs.

Hayden was out for the time being. He pulled up his sweatpants and watched Cliff dump Jackie into their bed.

"What can I do for you, Mrs. Pike?" Cliff asked Jackie, hovering over her on the bed. He saw her hands running over his stubble. 

"Fuck me." She said, "Hayden, where are you?"

"Here." Hayden said from the blue chair, feeling a little stiff but excited about the show. Cliff pulled back so Hayden and Jackie could communicate telepathically. She was visibly delighted at his location.

Hayden stared at the large bird tattoo on the back of Cliff's thigh as he shifted. He man-handled her, rolling her onto her stomach.

He yanked her leggings down. Hayden could see how wet she was from across the room.

"Hayden?" Cliff said. "Not to kill the mood, but can you come here?" 

"Is everything okay?" Jackie asked, propping herself up so she could look over her shoulder at him.

"Yeah, I just...I didn't want to do the cuck thing, or whatever. That's not what I wanted us-or-this, to be." 

Hayden was surprised. That was not their intention, was his first thought. The second was wondering what exactly Cliff wanted them to be.

"Oh, right. That's not really what we want either." Jackie said, "Thank you for telling us, though."

Hayden crossed the room to kiss Cliff. They stood before Jackie's prone form, her pussy glistening in the sunlight streaming through the blinds.

Cliff visibly relaxed at his presence. His fingers swiped through Jackie's wetness, gathering it on his fingers. 

"Ugh, fuck," Jackie said. "Hayden, get hard now. I want you both to fuck me."

"Um," Hayden started, soft, "I could in a little bit?"

"Next time. I can't wait. Cliff..."

Hayden retrieved the condom they left on the nightstand for him. He took the liberty of rolling it down Marlow's cock. Marlow shuddered, pushing Hayden's hair back from where it was falling in his face as he did it. "Pretty," Cliff breathed. 

Cliff pushed inside her. Hayden sat on the bed beside Jackie, brushing the hair from her face as Cliff rolled deeper into her. The squelch of her pussy was so textbook, it sounded like a porn sound effect. Hayden wanted to record it to listen to later while he was working out. 

"You look so pretty, Jackie," Hayden said encouragingly. Cliff groaned, he was taking it slowly with her, keeping up long, deep, passionate strokes that made Jackie tear up.

"You're amazing, Cliff." Jackie fumbled for Hayden, it took him a second to realize she was reaching for his hand. He smiled and took it. 

Cliff was watching them, his mouth open as he fucked Jackie. 

The entire experience was strangely intimate, and it did not feel like their third ever sexual encounter. Hayden was comfortable where he was, half-hard next to his wife while their lover laid her out. It was like they had been there a million times.

The emotion in Cliff's eyes was unreadable, but it was there. Hayden rubbed his hand over the front of his sweatpants, his cock ached, he was too sensitive. He shivered, Cliff's eyes on him all the while.

"Uh uh uh," Jackie's eyes were totally glossed over, her curls had mostly completely fallen out of her ponytail. Hayden hovered over her to kiss her face, her head, her ear.

"You're so beautiful, Jacks. You're taking it so well. You feel good?"

"Uh huh," she managed. "Feels...so good."

"I know, baby." He took her scrunchie out and tossed it across the room, raking his hands through her curls. 

"Fuck, Jackie-" Cliff groaned, keeping his pace but clearly close. 

"You gonna come, Jackie?" Hayden asked. "Come on, baby, we got you. We got you."

Jackie's cry reminded him of a glass shattering on kitchen tile. Her knuckles were white as she gripped the bedding. 

Cliff followed her only a second later, gasping and moaning with his release.

"Oh baby," Hayden said, kissing her as Cliff pulled out of her and turned her over. "You did so good, so good."

Hayden reached for Cliff. He fell into bed on the other side of Jackie, but met Hayden for a kiss just over her head. 

"Nice," Hayden said, "good game," which made Cliff laugh and mime knocking their helmets together.

Cliff disposed of the condom and got back in the bed with them. It was still early, before noon, and Hayden was kind of tenting his sweatpants, but he was pretending it didn't matter.

Until Jackie, laying on her side, sandwiched between the two men, started petting Hayden's dick over his pants. 

"Why the fuck are you fully dressed, Hayden?" Cliff asked, staring at him "Jackie, why do you have your shirt on still?"

"No one took it off me," Jackie said. "My boobs have felt very neglected."

Cliff and Hayden raced each other for the hem of her shirt. She giggled as it was ripped over her head.

"Hey, more than enough to go around, boys."

Hayden took a minute to watch Cliff's strategy. He scooped Jackie's left boob up and teased her nipple, thumb flicking over it, hardening it.

Hayden was more into sucking her nipples. He squeezed her, a little rough, loving his stress balls, and slid his lips over the pink mound.

Jackie let out happy, contented noises as the men played with her tits.

"Cliff?" She asked, Cliff had followed Hayden's example and was playing with her nipple with his tongue. "Honey, are you hard already? Is that what's poking me?"

The three of them inspected the affected area and determined that yes, Cliff was getting hard again already. 

"I was excited to come over," Cliff said. 

"Aw," Jackie said. "We were too, right, Mr. Pike?"

"Yeah," Hayden said, "we couldn't stop thinking about you."

Cliff smiled, "Yeah?"

"Yeah," Jackie grinned back, pulling him in for a peck on the lips, holding his chin gently. "We were antsy."

"Me too," Cliff said, swooping in to lick her nipple again before adding: "I wish we could meet more."

Hayden did too. He saw Cliff practically every day, but not like this, not like he wanted. 

There had been an embarrassing moment between them Monday morning, when Hayden passed Cliff a water bottle and ran his hand along Hayden's. They both shivered, eyes wide, and jumped back from each other. 

That did not feel good, feeling like they had to be careful around each other. And the thing was, they did. They really did, because the contact sent sparks across Hayden's skin, and all he wanted to do was kiss him. 

Jackie reached into his sweatpants and grabbed hold of his cock. 

"I have an idea."

Jackie's ideas were as brilliant as they were daunting. Both men were eager to hear it.

Hayden sat in Cliff's lap, his tongue down Cliff's throat, with their cocks squeezed in Cliff's huge, meaty grip. 

"I watched a video like this the other day." Jackie shared. Hayden broke the kiss to stare at her, Cliff took the opportunity to latch onto his earlobe, earning a filthy moan from Hayden.

Their cocks rubbed together as they rolled their hips, Cliff's hand controlling them all the while. Jackie had drizzled lube over them once Cliff started, everything was slick and hot and wonderful.

"When did you have time to do that?"

"When you were in the shower Monday night."

"What?" Hayden asked, trying to remember. "After we had sex?"

She nodded.

"You watched porn after we had sex? You came three times!"

Jackie giggled. 

"You're a demon, Jackie," Cliff groaned, cheek to cheek with Hayden as they stared at Jackie, who was sprawled so prettily on the bed beside them, hand leisurely squeezing her boob.

"I looked it up because I imagined this. I kept picturing your cocks lined up with each other."

She bit her lip and stared at their laps eagerly. 

"This is exactly what I pictured."

"Fuck," their lips met again, Cliff's breaths were short, Hayden was in a similar state.

"I want you both inside me as much as I want to watch you cover each other in come."

"Jackie," Hayden moaned, "Fuck, Cliff, we should-"

"Yeah, but, fuck-" Cliff's moans were so pretty, Hayden had to attempt to suck them right out of his mouth. God, Cliff's lips were amazing. "I'm close."

"Too close to do what I need. Another day," Jackie said. "Promise me, another."

"I promise," Cliff and Hayden vowed in unison. 

"Whatever you want, Jackie," Hayden said.

"Anything you want, Jacks," Cliff added. Hayden smiled at the use of the nickname. He loved Cliff's familiarity. 

"Good, I also want you guys to come on me."  

That could easily be achieved, because the men had seconds each. They broke away from each other and hovered over Jackie's perfect body, jerking off and making out, until they came, painting her naked torso with their combined release.

Hayden was fairly certain they were finished, but Cliff lingered, and Hayden found he wanted him to. 

"Are you excited to be back in Boston Sunday?" Jackie asked, her hand on Cliff's chest, playing with his hair. Hayden propped himself up to involve himself in the conversation, but his eyes kept sliding up and down Jackie's body, recently wiped of copious amounts of jizz. Her thighs were tightly pressed together, which was very interesting to Hayden. He rested a hand on her shoulder, then slowly stroked his index finger up her neck, earning a shiver.

"Sure," Cliff said. "It was weird playing Boston for the first time after the trade. But it's nice to see some of the guys. And I might stop by my favorite sandwich shop before the game."

"You must know all the best spots there," Jackie said, "I've only been there a couple times, but it's a beautiful city." 

Cliff nodded. "Yeah, it is. Very historical. It reminded me of home, a bit," Cliff admitted.

"Philly, right?"

"Yeah, born and raised."

"You miss home? Or, Boston?" Jackie asked, delicately. 

Cliff shrugged one shoulder.

"Complicated, I guess. Boston not so much. I mean, the city was nice, the team was good way back when but...my last few years in Boston weren't fun. Philly is different, I guess. I feel nostalgic for it, but I haven't lived there for, god, seventeen years? Something like that." 

"Long time." Jackie said, "I'm from Montreal, but Hayden's from Saskatchewan."

"I don't get homesick, though." Hayden had not considered his parent's hometown "home" since he escaped it. In the years since he left, he only saw them maybe five or six times. They came to town to visit about a month after the twins were born, but not their other two children. They sent cards, which was nice. Hayden wasn't bitter, he wasn't exactly running back there to visit them, anyway. He had no interest, Hayden wasn't nostalgic for his childhood. 

"I don't really, either," Cliff said, "Montreal is home now." 

Cliff squirmed under the combined gaze of husband and wife. Hayden leaned forward to press a kiss to Jackie's bare shoulder, but he kept his blue eyes on Cliff. Cliff was a little pink in the face.

"You should take Hayden to your spot, in Boston," Jackie suggested. "I'd say bring me back one, but I doubt they'll travel well."

"Uh, yeah, definitely," Cliff said noncommittedly. 

"Be a tour guide," She said, stroking Cliff's cheek. "That'd be fun, wouldn't it, baby?"

"Yeah," Hayden said. "If Cliff wants the job."

Cliff smiled at them and nodded, confident after Hayden's agreement. 

"I'd be honored."

Jackie chuckled, and Hayden decided it was time to burst the bubble.

"Can we acknowledge how horny Jackie is right now?" Hayden joked, poking Jackie in the shoulder. She turned over to glare at him, playing at outrage.

"How dare you accuse me of something so unseemly, Mr. Pike?" Hayden laughed, "I'm not that type of girl."

"You're the type of girl to ask your lovers to cover you in come," Hayden said. He flushed as he realized his word choice, Cliff wasn't their anything, not really, or, not officially. He couldn't look at Cliff to check his reaction. He would just pretend it didn't happen.

"Slander," She said, wiggling a little.

Cliff's large hand fitted against her thigh, his fingers pushing between her legs, which were still firmly closed. 

Hayden and Cliff moved down her body in scary synchronicity. Jackie leaned some pillows against the headboard while they each grabbed a leg to spread her open. 

"Oh, Jackie," Hayden cooed, "Was it watching us together?"

"No," Cliff said, "It was definitely taking our loads, wasn't it?"

"Mmm," She said, her hand on each of their faces. "Both."

Cliff and Hayden were both a little too enthusiastic to share the meal that was Jackie's sopping wet pussy. Jackie didn't seem to mind if the dual tongues on her clit were clumsy, or if their heads kept knocking together, she just panted and took it.

Hayden thought about getting to her hole to tongue-fuck her, but it didn't really work from their current position. Her clit was so swollen and throbbing, Hayden wanted to suck on it like it was a dick, but Cliff beat him too it. He pulled off just to smirk at Hayden before getting back to it.

"Fine," Hayden mumbled, a light bulb appearing over his head.

He flopped onto his back and grabbed Jackie's hips.

Jackie yelped as Hayden pulled her down the bed, dislodging Cliff until her ass was firmly seated on his face. He spread her cheeks and didn't hesitate to lick a flat stripe up her asshole.

 Cliff dove back into her pussy solo like Hayden knew he would. Their positions of their first encounter flipped, Hayden wasn't sure what he preferred more as he fucked his tongue into her, and he didn't bother to turn his brain on until Jackie came on their faces twice.

They flew out to Toronto early Friday morning. Hayden hugged and kissed the kids. The girls had a game that evening that he would miss because of his own game, and they were all pretty disappointed about that. 

"You better win tonight, dad," Ruby said, "Or else, what's the point?"

"The point is fun, Ruby," Jackie said, always patient.

"Hockey is fun," Ruby replied, oddly solemn, "but the point is to win."

"Glory," Jade said. "Olympic medals."

"Three gold medals, ideally," Ruby said. 

"Okay, Olympians, put your shoes on."

It was objectively, funny, but Hayden was slightly bothered by it. It ate at him all the way to the plane. He sat with JJ, who had the window. He was in the aisle, and Cliff was in the aisle seat across from him. The flight was quiet, morning flights usually were.

"I think they're already feeling the pressure," Hayden said, "I don't know, I'm worried about them."

He started talking to JJ only, but Cliff had leaned into the conversation, so he recounted the events to both of them.

"They are very good," JJ replied, "I only went to their one game, but they are way better than the other girls their age."

"I know," Hayden replied. "They've always said that the Olympics were the goal, and they were always serious, but...I don't know. It's like they don't find it fun anymore. They're too young to feel this kind of pressure."

"They're at that age now," Cliff said. "They're still kids, obviously, but...they're probably thinking more seriously about their goals. Their future."

The thought made Hayden uneasy. He knew his daughters were nearly teenagers, but it was a fact he was willfully ignoring. He knew this made him a bad parent, but the thought of his kids growing up made him feel both like he had one foot in the grave, and like he missed their entire childhoods.

"It still has to be fun," Cliff said. "They're kids, if they don't have fun, they won't do it."

"They remind me of Shane," Hayden said. 

"Hockey robots?" JJ asked, "Maybe he should talk to them."

It wasn't a bad idea, maybe he could set up a family dinner sometime in the next few weeks.

Toronto was a team of brutes. Hayden had a bloody nose at the break and didn't end up going back on the ice. The team nurse said it was "nearly broken" which meant not broken, he could still play in Boston on Sunday.

He sat on the bench, texting Jackie about the girls' game while watching Marlow skate. He wasn't elegant or messy, he commanded the ice, he willed it to do his bidding. He moved with force and strength, and he pushed it into number 18 as he threw the man off his skates.

Hayden laughed from the bench. That was the prick that bloodied Hayden's nose. 

Shane was at his own game tonight, Hayden knew. Somewhere on the west coast, he couldn't remember exactly, but time zones meant he probably wasn't busy yet. 

Hayden: Family dinner soon?

Shane: I'll check our calendar. Why are you riding the bench?

Hayden: bloody nose. They haven't put me back in yet. Not broken.

Shane: Schrader?

Hayden glanced at one of the cameras nearby. Shane hadn't seen him get injured, so how the hell did he know which guy did it?

Hayden: Yeah, how'd you know?

Shane: Lucky guess. He's a nasty player.

Shane: And Ilya and I just watched Cliff knock him on his ass, so.

Hayden didn't justify that with a response.

Cliff put plenty of guys on their asses. At least five a game, and that was if Cliff was in a good mood. He didn't target #18 just because he punched Hayden.

Shane: I'll text Jackie about family dinner.

Hayden's heart sank.

Somehow, in their excitement of bringing Cliff into their bedroom, Hayden had managed to keep it from Shane.

Some part of him wanted to text Shane right after it happened, the same childish part that called Shane as soon as Jackie left his apartment after their first night together. He wanted to share this exciting development with his best friend, he wanted to bask in his joy with him. 

But...this obviously complicated things. Hooking up with Cliff. They weren't...anything. They were just having sex, the three of them. Cliff and Jackie enjoyed his company, and the sex was unbelievable. Hayden never thought what he had in their sex lives could get any better, but Cliff took them to another universe. 

The sex was hot, tender, freaky, and loving all at the same time. How the hell was he going to explain that to his best friend? 

He didn't have to know those details. And Hayden wouldn't share them. But fuck, Cliff wasn't just their sex partner, he was Hayden's teammate and Ilya Rozanov's best friend. How the hell could this not be a disaster waiting to happen?

The obvious answer was to not share it with Shane. The obvious answer was to keep it a secret. He just...wasn't sure if he could. He wasn't sure if he could sit at a dinner with Shane with a secret of this magnitude between them. 

This was lifechanging news. And holy fuck, Shane was going to be irritating. Christ, he would be insufferable. And Ilya? If Ilya found out (which, he would), Hayden would never be able to be in the same room with him again. He would go to jail.

His spiraling was interrupted by Cliff throwing himself on the bench beside Hayden.

Cliff was sweaty and panting. He squirted water into his mouth before taking off his helmet, combing his hair back with his fingers, and replacing it.

Cliff caught him gawking.

"How's the nose feel? Looks bruised."

"Hurts," Hayden said, "but it's fine, not broken."

"Purple, though. Schrader is a dickhead."

"Yeah, well, looks like he got what he deserved."

Cliff's grin was one of violent satisfaction. It was unbearably sexy. He had to tear his eyes away.

"And the girls' game?" Cliff asked, "How's that going?" 

Hayden, touched that Cliff remembered, attempted to answer with an even tone.

"They're winning," he said, according to Jackie's last update. "Jade got a goal."

"What do they play now?"

"Ruby is center, Jade's a winger. They've jumped around a few times but they seem comfortable with these positions now."  

"Not defense, then." Cliff the defenseman observed.

"No," Hayden smiled. "Ruby did it for a while. She was good at it, honestly, I wish she would go back to it. I know she had fun." 

He just wanted this girls to have fun. He's seen countless athletes burn bright and burn out only a few years into their careers. He didn't want that for the twins.

Being a professional athlete was like being a rock star, it was exciting, it was a dream. Yes, there was pressure, but above everything else, they were supposed to enjoy the job. He didn't know how to make them understand that.

"Maybe I can convince her," Cliff shrugged, squirting more water into his mouth.

The smile tugging at Hayden's mouth was involuntary as he imagined Cliff encouraging Ruby to try defense again, talking to her about hockey...

"Maybe. They listen to everyone about hockey but me."

"Do Arthur and Amber play at all?"

"No," Hayden said, thank fucking god for it. "Arthur's into watercolors, Amber is into...I'm not sure right now. Last I heard she wanted to try kickboxing. She's about as feral as Ruby is."

Cliff laughed. 

"What does Arthur paint, then?"

"Bugs, mostly. He's really into beetles right now. And caterpillars. He's...he's the kid on the playground in the grass hunting for bugs."

The thought worried Hayden, honestly. He remembered how ruthlessly kids like that got bullied when he was a kid. He hasn't heard of any teasing happening at Arthur's school yet, but he was sure it was only a matter of time. His son was gentle and odd and absolutely delightful. He had both a scientific mind and an artistic one. Hayden couldn't wait to see what he did with his life, he just prayed the world was kind to him.

"Ha, I was that kid when I was in school."

Hayden was fully turned away from the game now. He honestly couldn't care less, not even as Toronto scored another goal, tying them up. 

"You?"

"Oh, yeah. Absolutely. I mean, I didn't really fit in anywhere, you know?"

"That's...unexpected."

He tried to picture it, a little Marlow alone on the playground, but the image wouldn't form.

"Is it? I mostly dug around in the dirt. My school playground was blacktop. There was one patch of grass off to the side, by the fence. Not many bugs to find in a city school playground, but I tried."

Hayden didn't have time to respond to that before coach motioned for Cliff to get back in the game.

They lost to Toronto by one. Midday Saturday they flew into Boston. They had a game the following afternoon.

In Boston, the senior members of the Metros had their own hotel rooms. Hayden felt deeply blessed as he fell onto his king bed, alone, Saturday afternoon.

A phone call woke him up an hour later. 

"Cliff?" Hayden asked, mumbling against the screen.

"Were you sleeping? I was about to head out for a late lunch."

Hayden's stomach growled as he rubbed sleep from his eyes. 

"I'll meet you in the lobby."

Cliff's favorite sandwich shop was on a street that looked even more historical than the rest of the city. The roads were brick, the shops were in tightly packed red-brick buildings, there were old lamp posts dotting the street. It was cold and gloomy in Boston, the lights were already on despite the early hour, flickering like they were actually gas powered. Hayden was ready for a horse and carriage to run them over as they hopped out of their Uber.

It was a family-owned deli. The guy behind the counter recognized Cliff right away.

"Marlow, you bastard. The Bears have not been the same without you." 

Marlow dapped the guy up. 

"Antonio, tell me you're still selling the Marlow."

"Fuck you, we purged that shit off the menu once you left us for Montreal."

"Aw come on, that wasn't my fault," Hayden was a little worried this Antonio was actually mad at Cliff, but Cliff was smiling widely at the man, his charming confidence working its magic.

"Traitor, and you bring one of the into my shop." He gestured roughly at Hayden, who smiled in that awkward way you contort your face when passing strangers on the street.

"Come on, man. I'm sorry, please forgive me."

"Never," Antonio said. "But I'll make your sandwich. If you promise to throw the game tomorrow."

Cliff laughed. "I can't promise that."

"You'll lose anyway." Antonio predicted, grabbing a loaf of bread off the display, cutting it open with a large knife. "Still cocky."

"Two of those, please, thank you," Cliff was still grinning as he leaned against the deli counter. It was an odd hour, so there were only two other people in the shop. "Hayden, have any allergies?"

"No, I'm easy," Hayden replied. Cliff nodded and they waited.

Before Hayden could reach into his pocket, Cliff was exchanging several bills for the two wrapped sandwiches.

"Too much," Antonio said, trying to give Cliff some of the cash back. Cliff did not take it. 

"Consolation, for tomorrow. We're gonna win."

"I should have spit in your sandwich," Antonio replied with a chuckle.

Hayden was a little put off by the interaction, but Cliff looked happy enough, so he took his sandwich as Cliff led them to a booth. 

"Should I be worried?" Hayden asked in a hushed tone.

Cliff laughed. "No, he's a sweetheart." 

Hayden raised his eyebrows but unwrapped his lunch. The sandwich was on a sub roll. It was extremely saucy, he could see onions hanging off it.

"Best hoagie of your life, I promise," Cliff said. 

Hayden watched him take a bite first, just in case they were poisoned. It was a mistake. Something about watching Cliff's large mouth stretch around the sandwich and the embarrassing noise of pleasure he released had Hayden blushing. 

He took a bite, hoping it was poisoned. It was a chicken cutlet smothered in vodka sauce with actual vodka pasta on it, covered in mozzarella, and topped with caramelized onions.

The combination of carbs was slightly appalling. It would have Shane crying in the fetal position, but it was wonderful to Hayden's taste buds. 

"You came here enough to have your own sandwich?"

"It's a damn good sandwich, isn't it?"

Hayden nodded while he chewed, Cliff beamed at the validation. 

His phone buzzed.

Jackie: How's Boston?

Hayden wiped his hands on his jeans to pick up his phone. Before he could think about it, he pointed his camera at Cliff.

"Say cheese."

Cliff put down his sandwich with wide eyes. Hayden waited for him to stop fidgeting and snapped the photo as Cliff's bright smile settled on his face.

He sent it to Jackie, her response was immediate and ridiculous. 

Jackie: You're on a date! He looks handsome. Tell him hello.

Hayden rolled his eyes and slid the phone across the table so he could read it. 

Cliff raised his eyebrows but picked it up, simply texting back a hello. 

They finished their lunch. Cliff ate quicker than him, so he left Hayden to chat with Antonio and the other guys behind the counter. 

Jackie: I miss you.

Jackie: And Cliff too. 

Jackie: Having Lucy and Jordan over tonight. FT tomorrow?

Hayden: Yeah, I'll call you after the game.

Jackie: Win for me ;)

Cliff took Hayden to a bookstore around the corner from the deli when he was finished. This development was surprising to Hayden, until Cliff began making small talk with the old man behind the counter.

"Clifford, son, it's so good to see you!" The man was, immediately, a lot kinder than Antonio was, until he said, "You sick of Canada yet? The Bears need you back, but they can't take back traitors."

"Oh Jesus," Hayden mumbled, and immediately began roaming the bookstore. Jackie loved a locally owned bookstore, she only bought their books at one back home. He snapped a photo of the spot for her, knowing she would find it charming.

He heard Cliff exchange further "pleasantries" with the shopkeeper. Hayden picked up a book of short stories by an author he knew Jackie liked. He checked the copyright page and found it was a recent release, so she probably didn't have it yet. He tucked the book under his arm and wandered to the kids section. 

Jade was still a voracious reader, and Amber was deeply into Magic Treehouse at the moment, so he and Jackie were both hoping she would branch out and follow in her sister's footsteps. Arthur and Ruby weren't as interested, which was disappointing. 

He picked up a few books and read the backs, trying to find something akin to Jade's tastes, when Cliff joined him.

"I thought your reading level was a little higher," he greeted.

"Ha ha, dickhead."

The book was slipping out from under Hayden's arm as he pawed through the shelves. Cliff took it from him, read the cover, and tucked it under his own arm.

"Who reads?"

"Jade," Hayden responded. "She got the Percy Jackson series for Christmas and she's already finished it."

"Mythology, right?"

"Yeah. She loved it. She won't shut up about it, actually."

"Alright."

They dug through the shelves until they found an age-appropriate mythology book. Cliff pulled it.

"Greek Myths for Young Minds." Hayden took it from him and flipped through it. It seemed perfect. He knew she typically preferred fiction, but this was only nonfiction in technicality, Hayden figured.

Cliff took that one for him too while he continued to browse, finding a bug book for Arthur, a drawing guide for Ruby, and a new Magic Treehouse for Amber.

Cliff took all them from Hayden. It was getting amusing.

"Are you going to hold all my books for me?" 

Cliff shrugged. "I'm not the one browsing." 

"Why did we come in, then?"

"Because you like to read." Cliff said honestly. "And to say hi to Albert, of course."

"Albert sounded like he felt betrayed."

"They all do," Cliff said, sounding unbothered. "Aren't you getting anything for yourself? A romance?"

Hayden's face grew hot. He forgot Cliff knew that particular secret. 

"I usually read them on my phone."

"Yeah, but a physical book is better." Cliff nodded, because his arms were full. "Romance section is over there."

They separated, Hayden did as he was told. Cliff went back to the front and struck up a loud conversation with Albert, who was cursing wildly and frequently.

Hayden pulled a few cutesy romances off the shelve before settling on a KJ Charles novel. He's read a couple of her books before. The cover, unfortunately, had two men on it. They weren't doing anything but standing near each other, but the implication was clear. He couldn't read it on the plane, but it would at least keep him company in the hotel later.

"Hey," Hayden said, greeting Albert. "This and those," he said, putting the book down on the counter, gesturing to the stack in Cliff's arms.

"Sorry," Albert said. "Those are spoken for. The traitor already bought them."

Hayden paused and stared at Cliff.

"You bought my books?" 

"Yeah," he shrugged. "You were taking too long. I got bored."

Albert laughed at him. Hayden bought his book. They were not offered a bag, so Cliff carried the stack for his family out of the store.

"I'll get you back," Hayden said as they stepped into the street.

"Don't worry about it," was the response. 

Hayden's chest was warm. Cliff bought his sandwich, held his books, and paid for them. This felt like he was being...courted, which was ridiculous. They already had sex. 

Hayden called an Uber and took half the books from Cliff's arms to lighten the load. He sighed, his carry-on bag had room, but it was going to be heavy.

"What did you get?" He asked as they waited for the car. It was freezing, but Hayden was warm standing beside Marlow, books for his family clutched to his chest.

"A romance." Cliff raised an eyebrow. 

"What kind of romance?"

"Um, I'm not sure?" He lowered the stack so he could study the cover, "I've read the author before."

"It's between two men?" He asked, staring down at the book. Hayden pulled them against his chest again, as if he had something to hide from Cliff.

"Yeah."

"Huh," Cliff replied. "Never read a book like that before. Can I...could I borrow it? After you?"

Hayden smiled, he would love to have someone to talk about books with, so he agreed eagerly.

They didn't see each other again until it was time to head to the stadium Sunday. Hayden spent the night with his book, finishing it around one in the morning. He deeply enjoyed it and blushed at the thought of Cliff reading it.

The game against Boston was sold out. Fans yelled menacing things at their bus as they pulled in. Someone had a sign creatively threatening JJ and Hayden, but a lot of the vitriol was saved for the former Bear. 

"I think I'm staying in tonight," Hayden said in response.

"Boston clubs aren't very fun anyway," JJ said. 

Cliff snorted. "You weren't going to the right ones, then."

"Yeah?" Clemens asked, looking at Cliff hopefully. "Got recommendations?"

"Sure," he said, "If you want to get your ass kicked by Bears fans."

"Who's side are you on, Marly?"

"Not about sides, it's about reality. Bears fans are rabid. Pike knows," he said, nodding at Hayden.

"Yeah," he agreed, not sure if he wanted to disclose their outing the day before. "Everyone is very...enthusiastic."

"Roz and I used to tear the clubs up," he told the group of guys that were gathered around. A few noticeably flinched and backed away at the mention of the former Bears' captain. "We went out every week. I know the bars miss us."

"They miss your wallets," JJ joked. 

Good-natured Cliff Marlow smiled at JJ and agreed with him.

They won against Boston. 

Hayden and Cliff played together most of the game. Hayden scored early and easily, the Bears seemed distracted, Hayden got through their defenses without much trouble. It helped that his team loved to play roughly against Boston. 

Winslow limped off the ice and Monty earned a broken nose. Fights were vicious and frequent. Hayden took a punch to the helmet that made his eyes go dark for a moment. The entire game was a battle, but they came up on top. 4-3. 

"Great game, baby," Jackie said as the call connected. She was in bed, the lights dim around her, only her head in frame. Her curls looked fresh, he could smell her leave-in-conditioner through the phone. "That goal was hot."

He smiled at her. "How hot? Is it that kind of call?"

She only grinned in response. 

"I miss you." He said, "and the kids."

"We miss you too. How's Boston?"

"It's Boston," he responded. "It's not home."

"No. If it was home, I'd be bouncing on your dick until the headboard put holes in the wall."

"Jesus," okay, so it was that kind of call. 

"You have the room to yourself tonight, right?"

"Yeah."

"Wanna see my outfit?"

"Of course."

She grinned and got off the bed, propping the phone up, she stepped back, revealing one of her tiny satin nightgowns. It was light pink with black lace around the bust. Her nipples were hard. She turned around, the lingerie barely covered her ass.

She picked the phone back up and giggled as he showed her the tent in his pants. 

"You're so easy."

"You're sexy as fuck, Jacks."

"Hmmm, where's Cliff tonight?"

"His room, probably. I think the city is out for his head after we kicked their ass tonight."

She brushed a spaghetti strap off her shoulder. Her lips were full and glossy, probably from chapstick. 

"You should invite him over."

Hayden paused, surprised.

"For..."

"For sex."

"But...you're not here."

"I'm here," She said, "Virtually. You guys won, you should be celebrating. Text him. For me."

"I don't...it's weird, isn't it, to fuck him without you here?"

"I'm here, baby. And...I want you to. If you want to. Do you want to?"

He did want to. 

He texted Cliff. 

There was a knock at his door only a few minutes later. Jackie had gotten started without him, fingering herself, her phone between her legs so he could watch.

She moved the camera so just her face was in frame. Hayden carried Jackie to answer the door.

Cliff was standing in the hall in his socks. He was wearing purple pajama pants that had little silver stars on them and a grey t-shirt. His hair wasn't styled, it was half stuck to his forehead.

He's never seen Cliff like this, so relaxed, in his jammies-

"Hey, Cliff. Good hit on 20 tonight. Did you break his ribs?"

"Maybe," Cliff replied, taking the phone from Hayden as Hayden shut the door behind him. "Jimmy is mostly a good guy, I texted someone on the team, but I haven't heard back yet."

Hayden took the phone back from him. 

"Friend of yours?"

"Don't really know him, he was a rookie the year before I was traded." 

They stared at each other a moment, the phone in Hayden's hand held loosely at his side.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I invited you both here tonight."

"Sorry, love," Hayden said, holding the phone up again so she could see both of them. 

"Cliff, I know you said you didn't want to do the cuck thing. That's not what I'm suggesting. That's not our dynamic. But if you're not comfortable with this, that's okay. Seriously." Jackie paused to let that settle, "Basically, I want to be on call while Hayden fucks you."

Hayden flushed, and when he looked over, Cliff appeared similarly affected. He had been hard when he answered the door, tucked under the waistband of his boxers. His cock twitched in his pants.

"Oh...oh..."

"We don't have to do it like that," Jackie said, "We can do it a different way, or not at all. I'm not just watching, I have my friends here with me," Jackie flipped the camera around, showing an array of toys beside her on the bedspread, and a bit of bare leg. 

"Um, yeah, okay," Cliff said. "Let's do it."

"Are you sure?" Jackie and Hayden asked at the same time.

"Yes, I'm sure."

"You seem nervous," Hayden reached out and rubbed Cliff's arm, his hair rose as goosebumps did.

"I haven't...bottomed in a while. I like to, but usually guys prefer me to be on top."

The words hung between them a minute before Jackie cut in.

"Hayden is verse." She was grinning, "And he's very interested in topping you. If you want it."

Cliff turned a darker shade of red, he nodded. "I want it."

Hayden was foaming at the mouth for the opportunity, but he resolved to play it cool. Cliff was clearly nervous.

He took a minute to find the best position for the phone. He ended up propping Jackie against the TV, as it was stationed on a dresser at the foot of the bed.

They stood in front of it, Hayden took Cliff's hands. 

"Good, Jackie?" Cliff stared down at him with hooded eyes. He wondered what Cliff was like laid out under someone, what he sounded like while someone pushed him through the mattress. Sure, Cliff was bigger than Hayden, in body mass and in dick, but Hayden could handle him. 

"Great."

"Are you comfortable with this?" Hayden asked him quietly. 

Cliff nodded. "Yeah, I've...thought about it. A few times."

"Me too." Hayden replied, "More than a few."

Hayden's hands stroked up the back of Cliff's arms. He was going to be gentle with him. The man was trembling lightly. 

"When's the last time you did this?"

"Years." Cliff responded, "And...only twice. Ever."

Hayden nodded. Extra care was needed. He could do that.

"Kiss him, Hayd," Jackie directed.

They met in the middle. The kiss was slow, gentle. Hayden threaded his fingers through Cliff's hair and stepped closer. Cliff's hands slid under the waistband of his sweatpants, resting over his ass.

"Yeah...this is good." 

They broke away and stepped closer to the camera. Jackie had her phone propped up on something on the bed, between her spread legs. She had lacy panties on under the slip. She was rubbing herself over them.

"Why'd you stop? I love watching you make out."

"Take your panties off," Cliff replied.

"Demanding," Jackie chuckled. She lifted her ass off the bed to pull them down. She held them up in front of the camera before tossing them. 

"Come on, Jackie." Hayden said. She was covering herself from the camera, being cute. "Show us. You know you want to."

"Kiss some more. For my entertainment." She commanded in a British accent. Hayden chuckled and pulled Cliff in for a bruising kiss. They both had a goal now, please the queen, earn a reward.

Cliff sucked on Hayden's tongue. Hayden moaned. He broke away to kiss Cliff's stubbly jaw and down his neck.

"Fuck," Jackie said. 

They turned back to her. She spread her legs for the camera, revealing her soaking wet pussy. 

Hayden watched as his wife sucked two fingers in her mouth before bringing them down to her clit. Hayden palmed Cliff over his pants as they stared. Cliff hissed, surprised at the contact. 

He stripped Cliff of his shirt and went right for his nipples, twisting and playing with them. 

Jackie slid her fingers inside herself.

"Get to it, sweeties."

Hayden walked a half circle around Cliff, herding him until the back of his knees hit the bed. He fell backwards onto it. He looked...small. Nervous. Hayden couldn't believe he would finally, finally, get to have this. 

"Tell me if we need to stop, okay?"

"Okay," he replied shakily.

"Cliff, you're really nervous."

"I'm...inexperienced," he admitted. "But I want this. I promise."

He sounded desperate, it was as heartbreaking as it was arousing. Cliff elicited complicated emotions in Hayden. 

"We're gonna go really slow, okay?"

Jackie moaned through the phone speakers behind him. He was embarrassed that, for a second, he forgot she was there.

He glanced back, how could he forget, when she was playing with herself so beautifully for them? 

"He can be real gentle, Cliff. He's a lover before anything else."

Cliff nodded, eyes still impossibly wide.

Hayden knelt on the bed over him. He captured his mouth again, nibbling on his bottom lip. Cliff's exhale was shaky. 

Hayden left him on the bed for a minute to grab a lube packet and a condom from his bag. He wasn't anticipating this per se...maybe just Jackie's dirty mind and insatiable sex drive.

He wanted to be cool during this, he wanted to fuck Cliff with finesse, but his hands were shaking as he pulled Cliff's pajama pants down.

He spread his palms over bare thighs.

"You need to tell me about your tattoos sometime," Hayden said. "Do you have another one planned?"

"Maybe," Cliff replied, sighing as Hayden palmed him over his boxers.

"Tell me about it."

"Uh, It's...holy fuck, Hayden."

Hayden had Cliff's waistband by his teeth. He yanked it down roughly, shaking his head like a dog. Cliff's cock sprang forward.

"Go on," he said as he removed his boxers much more efficiently, eager to get Cliff's dick in his mouth.

"It's...the sign for Aries. Not sure if I want to go through with it, though." Cliff was doing his best to answer his question, but he was stuttering in a very precious way that threatened a smile for Hayden. This would complicate his attempts at deepthroating. 

Hayden popped of his cock. 

"The Zodiac sign Aries?"

"Yeah." Cliff took off his shirt and dropped it on the bed beside him. "I already have the scales here, for Libra, see?" He pointed out a small tattoo beside his pec. 

"Who are Aries and Libra?"

"My parents," he replied. "Seemed less cliche than getting "mom" in a heart."

Hayden didn't feel like he could have an opinion on the matter, having no ink himself.

Hayden went back to filling his mouth with his cock. Behind them, a loud vibrator turned on. 

"I also...fuck...wanted to get a small outline of a-church. The one my grandparents took us to. I'm not religious...guess I'm getting se-sentimental in my old-fuck Hayden. My old fucking age, fuck. Your mouth is incredible."

Hayden pulled off, smiling. He gave Hayden a few lazy strokes.

"That sounds sweet. Did you hear that, Jackie?"

"Yeah," she responded. "Cliff you're such an angel, you know that?"

Cliff scoffed, "Sure."

"No. Really. Back me up, Hayden."

Hayden spit on Cliff's cock and continued his handjob. 

"Yeah," he smirked, "A real saint."

He ripped open the lube packet with his teeth. 

"You play with yourself ever, Cliff?"

Cliff nodded, but Jackie couldn't see him answer her, so he said: "Yes."

"Often?"

Cliff squirmed. Hayden was warming the lube up, licking a stripe of pre off Cliff's weeping cock. 

"Kinda. I like it, but it's a lot of work."

"Aw, you can be a pillow princess tonight, if you want," Jackie promised.

"I'm not a pillow princess," Cliff mumbled, laying on his back with his legs spread for Hayden. Hayden pressed a kiss to Cliff's hairy thigh. 

"Pick your legs up for me, baby," Hayden said, "Feet on the bed, that's it."

Cliff easily followed his directions. Hayden smirked. He wanted to get Cliff on his stomach so he could properly play with his hole, but he wanted to see Cliff's face when he first entered him more.

"Tell me to stop, okay?"

"Yes."

Hayden didn't waste anymore time. He slid a finger into Cliff. Cliff was gasping immediately. He was tight, still so nervous.

"Cliff, I got you. Relax, baby." 

Cliff nodded and breathed. Hayden rubbed circles on his thigh and up his hip. 

"Fuck, let me see, move a little, baby."

Hayden moved as much as he possibly could, presenting Cliff's ass for the camera. Jackie moaned, she had a toy buried in her pussy.

Hayden focused on Cliff, who was taking deep breaths under him.

"Alright?"

"Yes," Cliff said, "More."

Hayden nodded and added another finger. He was a little nervous himself, he hadn't topped a man in a long time. There was an art to it he prayed he remembered. Cliff and Hayden were equally inexperienced in this area. 

Hayden pulled his fingers back to thrust them back in. He did that once, twice, before curling them.

"Oh fuuuuck," Cliff moaned dragging out the word. By the way his legs stuttered on the bed, Hayden could guess what he had done. 

Jackie was coming behind them, she was biting back her moans to keep quiet, but he would know the sound anywhere. She would probably finish again before the call was over.

"Good, Jacks?"

"Fantastic," she said. 

"Was it from me fingering Cliff?"

"Yeah, he sounds so pretty with his ass played with. He could probably take another finger, right?"

"God," Cliff gasped as Hayden brushed his prostate again, "You're both insane when you get going, you know that?" Hayden smiled at Jackie's cackling.

"You like us," Hayden teased. 

"Yeah, you fuckers. Fuck, fucking fuck me already. I'm ready."

"You sure?" He was a lot more relaxed than he was before, Hayden had felt the tension leave his lover's body, as familiar as his own exhale. 

"Yes, Hayden. I need you. I need you to fuck me."

Hayden didn't need to be told twice. Reluctantly, he pulled his fingers out of Cliff. He missed the contact immediately. He stripped the rest of his clothes off while Cliff turned over.

"Wait!" Jackie called as Hayden was about to spread the rest of the lube over his wrapped-up cock. "Move me."

He retrieved his wife from the dresser and placed her on the mattress, propped on a pillow, beside Cliff's head. She could see Cliff's face, and some of Hayden, on the screen.

"Perfect." They watched her slide the straps of her nightgown off her shoulders, pulling her tits out. She was teasing them with her bullet vibrator. 

"Fuck, Jackie," Cliff said. "You're so hot."

Hayden lubed himself generously, jumping between watching Jackie and Cliff's hole.

Cliff was a little too tall to be taken in his current position. Hayden moved him as he needed him moved, to the edge of the bed, his legs spread, hanging off the side. He repositioned Jackie, spread Cliff's cheeks, and spit on Cliff's hole.

"Oh my god," Jackie moaned. Hayden fingered the saliva into Cliff.

"If you don't get inside me right now, Pike, I'm going to die."

Hayden lined himself up with Cliff, pushing in gently.

Cliff gasped, he was so tight. Hayden was terrified he didn't prep him enough. 

"More," Cliff said. "Now. I'm not going to break, Hayden."

On the screen, Jackie was teasing her hole again, this time just with fingers, she was so wet it was spreading to the bed.

Hayden pushed into Cliff until he had nothing left to give. He was both worried it wasn't enough and terrified it was too much. His cock wasn't small, but comparing to Cliff always made him feel slightly inadequate. 

"Jesus fucking Christ," Cliff groaned, Hayden feared for their neighbors. If Cliff got any louder, he would be heard, and it would be damning. 

"How do you feel?" Hayden asked, hands rubbing circles over Cliff's flesh. 

"Feel like you should fucking move," Cliff complained.

"Cliff," Jackie said, tone full of warning. 

"It feels good, okay? Please fuck me."

Hayden thrust into Cliff. Cliff gasped, "Again."

Hayden gripped Cliff's hips. It only took one change of angle for Cliff to sob and gasp and collapse forward, hips held up by Hayden. He smirked, fucking loving this.

Hayden fucked him with gentle rolling thrusts that had Cliff biting the bed sheets. 

"Fuck, look at you, Cliff." Hayden could see on the screen Jackie fucking herself with a dildo, and Cliff's red face pressed into the bed, moaning where his teeth were clenched on white sheets. 

"Fucking perfect like this, baby." Cliff felt so fucking good, Hayden thought he died and went to heaven. "You like it? Can I go harder?"

"Please," Cliff said, "Please fuck me harder."

"He's already crying, Hayden," Jackie cooed. "Baby, you're being so good for us. You look so gorgeous like this."

Cliff whimpered into the sheets, and Hayden felt slightly in love with him, with Jackie, with Boston. 

He never thought it would be like this, not in a million years. He thought about fucking Cliff a dozen different ways, and in none of his fantasies did Cliff fall apart like this. Like a babbling, slutty mess. Hayden felt immensely protective of him, turned on by him, and desperate for him. 

"You're beautiful, love," Hayden whispered, the bed shaking against the wall. He hoped whoever was in the next room didn't know this was Hayden's room. Rumors would fly. "You're taking me so well. You feel good?"

"Y-yes. Yes. Feels amazing, Hayd."

Hayden wasn't going to last much longer, not with Jackie coming again on his phone, hand clamped over her mouth, and definitely not with Cliff crying into the bedding.

"I love it, fuck," Cliff said. "Love your cock."

"Fuck," Hayden moaned. He was holding Cliff's hips up. Cliff was clutching a pillow against his face, drooling on it, chewing on it. Hayden reached under him to pull on Cliff's considerable length.

Cliff cried out, his cock twitched in Hayden's hand. 

"Gonna come. I'm gonna-come, fuck-"

"Come on," Hayden said, urging him on, fucking into him furiously. "Come for me, sweetheart. Show me. Give it to us."

Cliff came all over his hand with a muffled groan that Hayden wished he could hear properly. If they had done this at home, he would have.

Hayden pounded into him through it, coming hard in the condom. 

"Hayden," Jackie said. "Hayden, come back to us."

He was half collapsed over Cliff. 

"Our baby needs you, Hayden."

Hayden pulled out of Cliff slowly. Cliff let out a noise that sounded similar to a sob. Jackie was whispering sweet praise to Cliff while he massaged his ass.

He tied off the condom and tossed it in the nearby trash quickly to help Cliff turn over.

Cliff was shaking, there were tear tracks on his face.

"Oh baby, was it too much? I'm sorry, did I hurt you?"

"No, I'm sorry." Cliff said. "I don't know why...it was great. It was perfect."

Cliff's arms clung to Hayden. There was a mess rapidly crusting on the other man's skin, though, that had to be dealt with. 

Cliff's arms tightened around Hayden as he tried to get up. 

"Don't leave yet." 

Hayden glanced around. 

"Can I get the tissues on the nightstand?" 

Cliff grabbed them. Hayden, lacking finesse still, spit into a tissue and used it to clean Cliff up. It was fast and dirty, but it was better than nothing.

"Can we stay on the phone together while we sleep?" Jackie asked. Cliff bullied Hayden into being the little spoon, pulling his back against his hairy chest, which felt a bit like a blanket to Hayden. 

"Yes please," Cliff mumbled, falling asleep swiftly. Hayden wasn't far off, it had been a long day. 

"Goodnight," he said, pressing a kiss to Cliff's hand that was locked over his chest. "Goodnight, Jacks."

"Goodnight, sweeties," she said. "Love you."

Cliff was already asleep, breathing evenly against Hayden's hair. It took him only another minute to join him.

The call was long ended when he woke up alone that morning. He saw the clock on the nightstand. It was after nine, Jackie would be busy with the kids now. 

His phone was only on 3%. He plugged it in as he registered the emptiness of his room. 

He hadn't expected to wake up alone, Cliff wasn't the type to run off after sex. Hayden liked that about him, that he lingered. 

That's when he heard the shower. The bathroom door was firmly shut. 

Hayden relaxed and checked his texts.

Jackie: Last night was so fun. 

Jackie: Be gentle with him this morning. He was really overwhelmed last night.

Jackie: Give him kisses from me. 

Hayden raised his eyebrows at his phone. Kiss him? Without the implication of sex? Without Jackie present?

Cliff came out of his bathroom not long after, steam following in his wake. He was wearing his pajamas from last night, but he had clearly stolen a pair of Cliff's socks. He sat on the edge of the bed to roll them on. 

Hayden crawled to the edge of the bed, wincing as he unfortunately discovered a stain on the sheets.

"Hey," he pressed a kiss to Cliff's shoulder casually. "How are you feeling?"

Cliff smiled slightly. "Sore."

"Sorry."

"Don't be," Cliff said. "It's nice."

Hayden couldn't help but touch him, hand trailing down his arm to hold his hand. Cliff stilled but did not pull away. When he turned his head towards Hayden, Hayden captured his lips in a delicate kiss.

"You were amazing last night," Hayden said. 

"Sure," Cliff laughed, pulling away.

"Cliff."

"I was a mess. I'm sorry about that. Not sure what came over me." He was embarrassed, Hayden could tell, ducking his head to avoid Hayden's eyes on him. 

"Don't apologize, you were..." he searched for the words, but he couldn't find them. Cliff nodded and took a step away.

No no no, Hayden was not going to fuck this up. He could not fuck this up. 

"You were beautiful like that. Like a dream."

Cliff paused where he stood, his face so open. Cliff was a man who clearly wore his heart on his sleeve. He was feeling insecure about getting emotional last night, but he had no reason to be. Hayden could understand it, Cliff was laid out and vulnerable, he wasn't used to sex like that. Hayden just hoped he made it good for him. 

"You're not...you're not upset?" He glanced at Hayden's phone. "You and Jackie?"

"Upset? Of course not. Are you...are you upset? Do you regret it?"

"No," Cliff said. "It was great. It felt amazing."

Hayden smiled at the praise.

"Good, I was worried I was bad."

Cliff chuckled, "No you weren't."

"In an obviously irrational way, you did come your brains out."

"Oh Christ," Cliff shook his head. "You're so cocky."

Hayden smiled and walked to him. He took Cliff's hand, he felt...odd. He cared about Cliff, a fucking lot. His heart felt so full he thought it might burst. He leaned in for a kiss, which Cliff happily returned. 

"We have to get to the bus in an hour." Cliff said, pulling away. "I need to go change, and you need a shower. You smell like sex."

Hayden snickered, "Whose fault is that?"

Cliff started heading for the door.

"Wait, hold on."

The romance novel was on his nightstand. 

"I already finished it," he said, handing it over.

"Already?"

"I read these kinds of books fast." Hayden said, "they're addicting." 

Cliff nodded. 

"I might not read it as fast."

"That's okay." Hayden said. "Just, let me know if you like it. I really loved it."

Cliff nodded and left with the book. 

He read it on the plane.

Hayden was sweating in the seat behind him. They were spread out, he had the aisle to himself, just as Cliff had the aisle to himself in front of Hayden. He could see the blue edge of the book hanging over in the walk.

Hayden had his window shade closed and he was trying to sleep, but there Cliff was, reading quietly in front of him. He wondered where he was in the book. Did the main characters touch each other yet? Was he analyzing the mystery?  Was he judging Hayden's taste in books?

Were the other guys noticing the title, or the illustration of the two men on the cover? 

Straight people were pretty dense. Hayden didn't consider himself a scholar by any means, but they probably wouldn't clock two men standing near each other on a book cover as suspicious. 

If someone were to lean over Cliff's shoulder and read it, though...

Fuck, he was jittery. He hadn't had an appointment with his therapist in two months. He had been doing better, things were settled with the team. Martinelli was gone, Drapeau was gone. The team was young and friendly. The Metros had turned the page, they were in a new era. 

But this bundle of nerves in his chest had him stuck in the past. How could Hayden not move on with the team, when he was so desperate to put the bad times behind him?

Family dinner was planned for the second week in March. Shane and Ilya were coming to Montreal especially for it.

"You will be inviting Marly, yes?" Ilya asked, intruding on Hayden's phone call with Shane. 

"Uh, well it was...we weren't planning on it."

"I will invite him for you," Ilya said simply.

"No!" Hayden insisted, the line went quiet. "I'll text him. I got it."

Jackie was, predictably, a little surprised, but willing to have him over. Cliff agreed easily. 

He had been at the house three more times since Boston. Each time was exciting, adventurous, and impossibly hot.

And, in the locker room, it was obvious to everyone that they had grown closer. Marlow was always including Hayden in conversations. If Hayden was not immediately involved, he was bringing the group to him, or asking his input later, even if the topic was as asinine as the soap three of the guys ritually used before games.

Hayden's version of this change was sitting beside him on the bench, standing next to him during team meetings, seeking him out in a crowded room, relaxing when he finally spotted him.

Jackie and Cliff texted a lot, too. She was always sending Hayden a funny meme Cliff found. The three of them had a group chat, but it was mostly just filled with dates and times and idle flirting. 

Hayden, nervous about being around Cliff in front of Shane, who was still clueless to the evolution of their relationship, invited JJ and Mona to the dinner party too. He figured they would keep the heat off the three guilty people at the table. However, with JJ, Mona, and Cliff coming, it was no longer family dinner, it was an event.

They cooked for hours, the kitchen was blissfully empty because Shane and Ilya came over early to occupy the children. Ilya had the girls in the yard, he was teaching them the "Rozanov" move. 

Ilya had annoyed Hayden pretty much as soon as he walked through the door. All the kids descended on them, as they usually did, gawking at Shane and Ilya and talking a million words a minute at them. 

"Hold on, which of you is Amber, remind me?" Ilya teased, grinning and hoisting the correct child in the air when she eagerly raised her hand. 

"Did you really forget me, Uncle Ilya?" Amber asked, pointing her deadly big brown child eyes at him.

"Never. Here, I brought this for you."

He pulled a hockey puck out of his back pocket. Both sides were covered in silver writing.

"Signed by the entire Centaurs team. For school project."

"Thanks Uncle Ilya!"

"Uh, what's that?" Hayden asked, pointing at the puck in his youngest child's hands.

"Game winning puck, Pike." Ilya smirked. "Amber texted, asked for it."

"For show and tell," Amber said.

"Honey," Hayden started, already, painfully, knowing the answer, "Why didn't you ask me for that? I could have brought you one from my team."

Amber stared at him blankly. It was deeply humbling. 

So, he busied himself in the kitchen, running himself ragged attempting to cook for eleven.

"We're insane," Hayden complained, "how did this turn into a holiday party?"

"You invited JJ and Mona." Jackie glared, holding a knife against a chopping board, menacingly.

"You agreed to it!"

"I know, just, finish chopping the damn onion, Hayd. We only have an hour."

Dinner was ready on time, thanks to Shane and Ilya minding the kids. Ilya kept the girls in the yard, no doubt playing some lord of the flies type of hockey, while Shane sat with Arthur in the living room. Hayden could hear his son talking Shane's ear off about dragon flies. He would feel bad for him if he wasn't busy feeling sorry for himself.

Marlow was the first to arrive. The party started at 7:30, he was ten minutes early with a bottle of red wine and Hayden's book he lent him.

"Hey, finally finished it," he handed it over after giving Jackie a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Ilya and Shane had come to the front door to greet him.

"Oh, thanks," Hayden said, leaving the book face down on an end table while they urged everyone deeper inside. JJ and Mona were there only a minute later. They served wine before dinner and sat together at the table.

Jackie built a beautiful table, she had black candlesticks in gold holders and a rich burgundy table cloth. Their dishes were her grandmother's, the edges adorned with green pears, purple grapes, and red apples.

"Wow," Mona said, "This looks beautiful, Jackie."

"Thank you, Mona."

"Mom," Amber complained, pushing lettuce around her plate. "Can I have cake now, and salad after?"

"Good try, sweetie," Jackie said, "take a few bites for me, it's good, I promise."

"It's leafs," she said.

"Leaves," Ruby corrected, as if that was helpful. 

"Shut up," Amber replied.

"Girls," Jackie said with her mom tone. The girls frowned and continued to ignore their Caesar salads.

"This is delicious," Mona said, carrying the conversation. "What dressing is this?"

"Jackie makes it herself," Hayden bragged. 

"Wow," Ilya said around a mouthful. "I must get the recipe, Jackie."

Hayden did not miss the way JJ winced at Ilya. The dinner was quiet. Ilya and Marlow started talking about some superhero movie, and JJ, Shane, and Hayden idly discussed their team's playoff chances. Everything was going well, until Jade pushed Ruby off her chair.

Both girls started crying, one because she got a shock, and the other because she knew she was in trouble. Then, Amber, as if sensing an opportunity, started crying too.

"I don't want lasagna anymore. I want cake."

Arthur was Hayden's current favorite, as he was pretending like he wasn't playing with a toy under the tablecloth, sitting quietly.

The party was officially a disaster, but thankfully, not for the reasons he expected. He had hardly any time to think about Marlow all night, between hosting duties and fatherhood duties.

Jackie took the girls to their room. Hayden took Amber into the toy room to calm her down. 

By the time he made it back to the party, Shane and Ilya had cleared the table. Ilya was actively scrubbing dishes while Shane was packaging up leftovers. 

There would be no cake that night. This destroyed the calm that had just settled over Amber, and it set Arthur off.

Hayden's hands were full with Amber, who was full-on sobbing again. He could not console Arthur, who never handled disappointment well. 

He tried, he was kneeling in front of Amber, holding her, trying to motion Arthur to come to him, but he wouldn't.

It was Marlow, the gentle giant, that sat in the chair beside Arthur. Arthur was crying quietly, so it didn't take a loud voice to get through to him.

"Hey, man," Marlow said to his child. "I heard you were telling Uncle Shane about dragonflies earlier. Do you know anything about beetles?"

It was not a perfect solution, but it caught Arthur's attention. He hiccupped out fact after fact about different kinds of beetles to a wonderfully attentive Cliff Marlow.

Marlow was just listening, never breaking his focus. He seemed to have it handled, and Hayden was beyond grateful. He carried Amber upstairs as Cliff prompted:

"I was just reading about these beetles..."

"Okay," Jackie said a little while later while all the adults lingered in the dining room, drinking wine and recovering. "That was a fucking disaster. Don't ever host people when you have an army of kids."

"It was fine," Shane assured her, "They're sweet."

"Until they all detonate at the same time," Hayden mumbled, throwing himself on a chair and snatching a wine glass.

"Free birth control," JJ joked. "We can't wait to not have kids."

Mona smacked JJ on the arm, glaring at him. 

"No offense though, I love being Uncle JJ," he said in a rush. 

"Hmm, but you are not favorite uncle," Ilya said, placing a hand over his chest dramatically, his other arm around Shane. "That will always be me."

JJ, outraged, turned to Hayden. 

Hayden was exhausted. "Look, I don't get it either, but he is their favorite. Shane was literally there when they were all born, and they love Ilya the most."

"More than us," Jackie joked, stealing Hayden's wine glass. 

"No," Shane said, "You guys are great parents. They don't love anyone more than you."

"Shane, you're sweet," Jackie said, "but the kids didn't get dessert. Hayden and I might wake up to tiny hands pushing pillows over our faces tonight."

"Speaking of dessert..." JJ said pointedly, making Mona scoff and roll her eyes.

They served cake. Hayden skipped it, stealing a few bites of Jackie's instead of having his own. He was too tired to eat. 

Mona struck up a conversation with Cliff that seemed innocent enough, until it wasn't.

"Do you have kids, Cliff?"

"Oh, no. No kids."

"Like us," Mona said, smiling. She and JJ weren't planning on having kids, last Hayden heard. He loved his kids, but he understood the impulse.

"Um...I don't know. I always thought I might have a kid, someday. But...yeah, I don't know. I got divorced a few years ago, so."

That sort of soured the mood.

"Sorry, Cliff." Mona said, looking guilty. Hayden was seriously doubting the evening could get any worse.

"Don't act like it's too late," Ilya said, nudging Cliff. "You are not an old man yet."

Cliff smiled and rolled his eyes. "Sure, Roz."

"And you were so good with Arthur!" Shane said, "He loved you. When you brought up...what was it...diving beetles? I think you became his favorite uncle. I didn't have a single thing to say to him when he talked to me about bugs. I need to do some serious research before I come over next."

"Shane, you're not allowed to compete over the affection of our children," Hayden teased.

Shane had the nerve to look embarrassed. 

"He already does with me. But he loses every time," Ilya grinned, shaking Shane lightly. Shane glowered at Ilya, outraged. 

"You bribe them with candy!"

"That is what fun uncles do!"

"No fucking wonder the kids get so hyper when you're here! You're doping them up with sugar!" Hayden shouted, glaring daggers at Ilya.

"Not every time! I just have some candy if the twins do good with their tricks."

"And if Art and Amber come up and ask." Shane added, knifing Ilya.

"Stop throwing your husband under the bus!" Mona laughed.

"Yes, you are letting bus crush me, your husband." Shane laughed and shook his head.

"Ilya," Jackie said seriously a little while later, "Please don't ply our kids with sugar and leave anymore."

"Sorry, Jackie." 

JJ and Mona left first, Marlow not that far behind them. 

Hayden and Jackie saw him out just like they did for JJ and Mona. He stood in front of them, disappointed. Shane and Ilya were still in the house. Hayden had been hoping for a goodbye kiss. The night just kept getting worse.

"See you at practice." He said to Hayden, he gave Jackie a hug, and left.

Jackie and Hayden waved at him and shut the door. 

They paused in front of each other for a moment, exhaling. They did it, the entertained. 

When they turned their backs on the front door, Shane and Ilya were standing there. For a moment, he thought they were heading out too, but their shoes and coats were where they left them hours prior. Shane was reading the back of the book Cliff returned. 

Fear raced through his body. The Ilya before him was the man he faced on the ice a decade ago, angry, stern, scary. He was scowling at them, arms crossed over his chest. Shane threw the book back on the table, but he was fidgeting with it, spinning it in circles, his serious face on and sad eyes trained on Hayden.

"What the hell are you two doing with him?"

Chapter 8

Chapter Notes

Hayden could wait all night.

If Ilya fucking Rozanov didn't think Hayden and Jackie, the parents of four children, couldn’t sit here in silence all night, he was sorely mistaken.

The confrontation from Rozanov froze them all in front of the door for over a minute. 

"What?" Hayden had asked, genuinely surprised by the sudden shift in the vibe.

"You heard me," Ilya responded. "What are you doing with Cliff?"

Jackie had looked baffled, her eyebrows sky-high. Hayden could read her mind; her first thought was clearly: what's it to you? And the second was, based on her mouth falling open; what do you actually know?

Sixty seconds of loaded silence was broken by Shane. Shane, who was clearly standing beside Ilya, both physically and confrontationally, but was still visibly worried.

"Let's all just sit, okay?" 

So, they sat.

Jackie and Hayden sat on their sofa, hands in their laps like children waiting to see the school principal. Ilya took it upon himself to rearrange their furniture, dragging a chair to the center of the living room so he could sit directly in front of the Pikes. Shane perched on the armrest, looking more distressed by the second.

"This wasn't how we were going to do this," Shane said, apologetic. His face turned to annoyance when he stared down at Ilya's blonde curls. "Ilya. We were planning to discuss it rationally."

"Rationally." Ilya repeated, leaning forward in the chair, hands clasped between his legs, intense Russian eye contact raising Hayden's blood pressure. He took Jackie's hand. "You saw Marly tonight."

"Ilya-"

"He was so sad." Ilya twisted in his seat, looking at Shane when he made this shocking comment.

"What?" Jackie asked, earning Ilya's piercing blue gaze. "Cliff wasn't sad."

"No?" Ilya’s bitchy eyebrows raised. "Were we just at the same party?"

"What the hell is this, Rozanov? What's your point?" Hayden wanted to go to bed, and also maybe text Cliff and make sure he was alright.

He had looked sad at the door, but he figured it was for the same reason Jackie and Hayden did; they just spent an entire evening together and couldn't touch each other once. 

It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep his hands off Cliff. The three of them had seen each other a lot, of course, but it was never enough. Hayden couldn't stand keeping his hands to himself. Not just with Cliff, but with Jackie too. He's noticed the same in Jackie. Whenever they've managed to see Cliff, they have kept him sandwiched in the middle, hands on his chest, legs intertwined with his, kisses over stubble, on his brow, on his thighs.

Cliff responded in kind, always reaching for them, brushing the back of his fingers over Jackie’s cheek, keeping his arm around Hayden’s waist.

They were tactile with each other in a way that he was afraid was becoming obvious at work.

And when they couldn't touch Cliff, Jackie and Hayden couldn't keep their hands off each other. Hayden's hand on her hip while cooking that very evening, Jackie's hand on the back of his neck, threaded in his hair while at the dinner table before all hell broke loose...even now, on the couch, leg to leg, palm sweat to palm sweat.

Somehow, this thing with Cliff didn't just affect their relationships with him, but also with each other. They were closer than ever. Stronger than ever.

"The point-"

"Ilya," Shane said, cutting off Ilya's venomous tone. "We're concerned about Cliff. And about you two."

"Just Cliff." Ilya replied, petulant. 

"Ilya."

Ilya didn't look poised to retract his statement. 

"Ilya's point is that Cliff's been having a harder time since his divorce with Maddie. He really wanted to make it work with her."

"I thought they've been split up for years." Jackie said, squeezing Hayden's hand.

"They have," Shane answered quickly, cutting off a (no doubt, rude) comment from his husband. "And they weren't good together."

"Maddie was a bitch," Rozanov said simply. 

"Ilya," Shane sighed. 

"She was."

"They were very different people," Shane said, then, "Maddie was a bitch." 

"Okay?" Hayden said, holding his breath.

"Cliff is...he is sensitive." Ilya said, clearly keeping himself in check, even if it was a struggle. "A romantic, you could say. He does flings, or he does serious. No in between."

Four pairs of eyes boring into each other, accusations and implications flying telepathically. 

"What are you saying to us?" Hayden asked, as Jackie had gone silent.

"My original question," Ilya said, waving his hands, "What are you doing with him?"

Jackie and Hayden glanced at each other. They were thinking similarly, deny deny deny-

"We know something is happening," Shane said, "And we know Jackie is involved too, because Hayden would never cheat on you, Jacks."

"How? How do you even know?" Hayden asked, exasperated. He was so sick of Ilya being so goddamn sure of himself. 

"I know Cliff better than anyone," Ilya said. "He is my brother. I look at him all night, look at you. Stare at Jackie like she is a painting in a museum. Then go and check out you, for whatever reason."

"Ilya, don't be mean." Shane scolded. 

"He defends only you on ice, he interacts with both of you like he has something to hide. Always reaching out but stopping, then looking like a kicked puppy. And, he never got over the one fling you had with him fifteen years ago."

Husband and wife turned accusatory glares on Shane.

"Do not glare at my husband, I guessed this for myself. Then Shane confirmed it."

"Shane!"

"I'm sorry!" Shane yelled, turning red, "he just knew...and he got me to admit it. He guessed almost as soon as Cliff came out to him."

"We shouldn't be having this conversation without Cliff," Jackie said. 

"He's been left out too much," Shane agreed.

"But what is this conversation?" Hayden asked, anger growing. "What is this, really? You're asking us about our intentions with your friend?" 

"Yes." Ilya said simply.

"Well, fuck you. It is, frankly, none of your business, Rozanov."

"Okay, Hayden," Jackie squeezed his hand again. "We all need to cool down a bit."

"We don't know, is the answer. Is that what you want to hear?"

"Oh god," Jackie sighed, knowing it was over.

"How can we know? It's only been a few fucking weeks, and what we're doing is fucking weird. It could fucking ruin us. Marlow, me, and Jackie. If people found out, we'd be the fucking laughingstocks of the league."

"Hayden-"

"We like him," Hayden said simply, he knew he was speaking for both of them, and that wasn't his usual speed, but he was wound so tight; he could feel himself snapping. He couldn't stop, he was hot in the face, his head hurt, and he missed their lover. "We like him. We like spending time with him, and yes, we're hooking up with him."

"Do you remember when I said he does flings or he does serious? That is all Cliff is capable of. That is why he married Maddie randomly in the middle of a season." 

"We don't...Ilya," Jackie said, pleading with him, "listen to yourself. Cliff is a grown man, he can make his own decisions."

"Maybe it is serious," Shane said, when it looked like Ilya was going to say something to escalate the situation. 

That gave them all pause. Shane shrugged.

"Hayden and Jackie are the same, Ilya. You weren't here for this, but Hayden and Jackie got married within a year of meeting each other. They haven't opened their marriage at any point until now, right?"

"Right," Jackie said. "We're not technically open now. We're just also...seeing Cliff."

"He cared for you," Ilya said, "Back then. For a long time. Maybe until he married Maddie."

Hayden's first thought was denial, but then, it made sense, with Cliff's timeline. Cliff barely hooked up with men, his entire life, he's only bottomed a couple of times. His bisexuality was something he had rarely explored. It wouldn't be out of the ordinary to fixate on their encounter. 

Hayden certainly had.

"Is it serious?" Ilya asked finally, tense, but less angry. 

Jackie and Hayden looked at each other.

Yes. Hayden thought. Maybe.

How could it be?

Jackie shrugged, he thought, maybe, her eyes were watering a bit.

I don't know, but it is, I think. I want it to be.

"We haven't spoken to him like this," Jackie said finally. "Like we said, it's only been a few weeks."

"He's already in it," Shane said. "You can see that as plainly as we can."

And maybe that was true, but Cliff certainly wasn't communicating that with them.

"We need to talk to Cliff," Hayden said definitively. 

"I think they are too, Ilya," Shane whispered to his husband, putting his hand on his shoulder.

"Have you two spoken to him?"

"No," Shane said. "We weren't going to do this tonight, either. Ilya."

Ilya shrugged. "I will not see him hurt again like he was. The divorce wrecked him. He is only starting to be his old self."

Shane rubbed Ilya's shoulders and gave the Pikes a weak smile.

They stood. 

"We are family," Ilya said to them, this time, ready to leave. "Figure it out. Cliff is a good man."

"He is," Hayden said. He hugged Shane goodbye. Jackie hugged them both, and finally, they were alone.

They went to bed.

They laid in bed, more like. Hayden was exhausted, physically and emotionally, but his brain would not shut up to allow him any rest.

They curled up together in the dark. Jackie was on her phone, Cliff texted the thread they shared earlier while Ilya was interrogating them. 

Cliff: Monday before afternoon practice? My place?

Not that long ago, Hayden had discovered that Cliff lived pretty close to their kids' school, and closer to the rink than they did. Once, they drove there after dropping the kids off in the morning. It was nice, being in Cliff’s home rather than their own.

Cliff: Hayden and I can go to practice after and I'll get an Uber for Jackie? 

"Yes, right?" Jackie asked. He nodded against her, and she texted him a confirmation. 

Ilya's confrontation was not changing things, they couldn't let it.

Hayden was uneasy with the very idea of this thing with Cliff turning "serious," because he had no idea what that could possibly look like. He and Jackie were already married. How did a relationship between three people even work? It didn’t seem practical. 

Throw the kids in the mix and it was an impossible situation. It was one thing if they were three unattached people, but Jackie and Hayden came with an additional four. Even if they wanted to be serious, it was a lot to ask someone to become involved in a relationship knowing there were four kids along for the ride.

"You're thinking too hard," Jackie said, her hands rubbing his chest lightly over his t-shirt. "You're exhausted."

"Ilya's a fucking prick."

"Yeah," Jackie said. "But he's family."

Hayden snorted. He, unfortunately, could not deny this. 

"I like him," Jackie said. "I know we haven't done much but fuck and talk, but I do like him, Hayden. He's a good egg."

Hayden smiled softly. 

"He is," Hayden sighed. "I like him too."

Hayden liked him a lot. So much it scared him.

He remembered being so young, too young, taking the plunge with Jackie, how foreign this weird, twisted, heart-stopping, life-ruining wriggle in his chest felt. He remembered how he yearned for her, how he was terrified of her and obsessed with her and couldn't get enough of her. 

Love was odd, it was frightening, it hit out of nowhere, and it was all-consuming.

Hayden wasn't ready to say he was in love with Cliff. Not audibly, or really, internally. Jackie wasn't either. They had only been hooking up with Cliff since January, and he's only been in Montreal a few months.

He might not even stay in Montreal. Or Canada, for that matter. He was an American, after all.

Montreal is home now. 

Hayden remembered the frog in his throat after hearing Cliff say that. He wanted that to be true. He wanted it to be true so badly.

He remembered topping Cliff in that Boston hotel room in February. He wanted badly to do it again, but with Jackie there. Maybe she would be the one topping him, the thought was arousing.

And he thought about the simpler stuff. Cliff sharing his stick tape with Hayden, buying the specific kind he liked without Hayden telling him to. Their nights out together on the road with the guys. The funny cat gifs Cliff tended to respond with in their group chat, and the memes he sent specifically catered to Jackie's taste.

The way they fell into bed together when they were finally satisfied, touches lingering, laughing at something clever Jackie said, the sad moment Cliff started to leave, and the exciting promise of next time.

"It's too soon," Hayden said, terrified they would scare him away.

"I don't know," Jackie replied. "He likes us too."

"Yeah, but...what could we even do, Jacks?"

"People do it all the time."

"But our situation is a little more complicated than the average polyamorous relationship." 

"It is," Jackie said. "But maybe we should just be thinking about it. That’s all."

Maybe they should just stop, he thought, then he thought about saying it, then he decided not to say it, because he was petrified she would agree.

Cliff answered the door Monday morning fully clothed. The smell of frying bacon spilled from his apartment into the hallway, enticing Hayden's stomach. 

Cliff had a large, spacious apartment in a charming, historic (but renovated) part of the city. It was a shady street, which meant there was ice crusted on the sidewalk and snow piled on the curb. It was warm inside, though.

"You're cooking?"

"It's early," Cliff said. He was still in his pajamas, which were blue and yellow flannel bottoms, a navy blue t-shirt, and grey socks. His hair wasn't styled either, so it kept falling forward from where his hands incessantly pushed at it. "Figured you would be hungry."

He let them both in and hung up their coats for them. Jackie went for a kiss first, and Cliff visibly melted into it. Hayden took his greeting kiss next, as happy to wait as he was to feel Cliff's stubble brush his clean face.

"You need a shave," Jackie said. 

"Yes, ma'am," he joked, "pancakes?"

Cliff made blueberry pancakes, bacon, sausage links, and scrambled eggs. He made enough food for ten, but he had clear glass containers stacked on his neat counter for meal prepping. 

Jackie took her plate away from the island to throw open Cliff's heavy green curtains. She mopped maple syrup off the cream plate with a bit of sausage as she looked her fill.

"I love this neighborhood," she said, telling them a story of some vandalism she did with her friends when she was a teenager. "All in the name of art, of course. And revolution."

"Of course," Cliff joked. "I wonder if it's still there."

Jackie laughed, "There's no way it's still there. This was over twenty years ago. I don't really remember where it was, besides it being a little overpass."

"Huh," Cliff said, he was leaning against the counter, munching on a slice of bacon. 

"What?"

"There's an overpass literally a block away covered in graffiti all the time, is all. I wonder if some is yours."

Jackie looked...excited, by the prospect, and that's how the three of them found themselves shoving into their coats and shoes, running out Cliff's door before they even had sex. Cliff didn't even bother to change out of his pajama pants, saying the overpass was truly right around the corner.

It was covered in graffiti, top to bottom, large blocky letters in mustard yellow, indigo, and white, a beautiful wilting red rose, swear words, a marijuana leaf...they reminded Hayden of Cliff's tattoos a bit. 

He had never considered getting a tattoo, there was never a design he wanted enough. He never felt strongly about the idea, but he really enjoyed Cliff's ink, there was always something new to discover. 

They wandered around the tiny bridge area, which stank of damp rot and litter. Underneath it all, the sour smell of an incoming spring was blooming in Montreal. 

They separated to look, as if they were wandering an art museum, but came back together when Hayden heard them talking.

"I just don't understand why it is the decided icon of a penis. It barely looks like a penis. It's two circles and a cylinder. I know penis, and that's just not it."

"You know penis?" Cliff teased her. Hayden came up beside them, hands in his pockets. The pair was standing in front of two penises, both done in red spray paint, one with (also, unfortunately, red) drips leaking from it. 

"You know I know penis," Jackie nudged. "From an artistic perspective, I don't get it. Nor do I get it from an anatomy perspective."

"Well, how would you draw one?" Cliff asked, "because this is how I've always seen penises drawn."

Jackie crouched. She was wearing gloves, but Hayden had to tell her to be careful anyway. The place was full of trash, rusty beer cans, food wrappers, old leaves and brush.

She found a rock and approached the cement wall. A car rolled over the bridge above them. Otherwise, it was a pretty dead area. 

Hayden and Cliff stepped back as she crudely carved an anatomically correct penis into the concrete.  

It was a mess, scraping a rock onto concrete wasn't a simple artistic medium, but you could pretty much tell what she was going for. She dropped the rock and symbolically dusted her gloved hands off.

"There. My friend's old 'fuck the establishment' graffiti is gone, but this will stick around."

"A worthy replacement," Hayden teased. "You're an anarchist."

"Well, sure," Jackie said, leading them out from under the bridge. "Give me a can of paint and I'll write it all over again." 

Cliff's hand was on her lower back, the street was quiet. There was minimal traffic, the bridge was not frequented and neither was the road below it, but it was risky enough to make Hayden nervous.

Jackie leaned into Cliff and reached out for Hayden's hand. He took it automatically, she didn't step away from Cliff, and Cliff's hand remained on her back until they passed someone out walking their dog. 

Cliff and Hayden had to be at the rink at 2:00pm. Jackie caught her Uber from Cliff's at one. They fucked all morning, but when it was over, and they were all spent, they ate grilled cheeses in bed and talked about movies, then books.

Hayden and Jackie both noticed that Cliff had a romance novel on his dresser, it was by a different author than the last one, but Hayden recognized it. He had his own copy.

"Did my husband get you addicted to cheesy romances?" Jackie asked, her leg thrown over Cliff's, in the center of them. She was propped on pillows, pink nipples standing hard as she brushed crumbs from the sandwich off her chest and onto the plate they shared.

Cliff and Hayden had both been distracted by this movement. She realized, at the same time, they were both staring at her bare chest and she started cackling at them.

That only made her boobs bounce more, so they continued their ogling. 

"Keep laughing." Cliff said, "Hayden, tell a joke."

"Shut up, I'm trying to bully you about your taste in books." Jackie said, pretending to cover herself up before dropping her arm. 

"How do astronauts organize a trip?" 

Cliff and Jackie stared at Hayden, waiting. 

"They planet."

Both his lovers began hitting him furiously with pillows.

"No! Please! Dad jokes are all I have!" He begged, laughing so hard his chest hurt. 

He and Cliff were in exceptional moods when they got to practice, arriving only within a few minutes of each other. Their moods translated to beauty and efficiency on the ice that had the entire line weeping with joy. The Metros were going all the way, dammit. It was their goddamn year. 

During away games, Cliff would slip into Hayden's room, or vice versa.

It wasn't always planned, but it did happen. They had several away games in March. They had a road trip through New Jersey, Philadelphia, and New York. In Philly, Cliff went to his mother's house, but he came to Hayden's room late into the evening, slipping in quietly with the key card Hayden slipped him earlier.

They didn't always fuck in the hotel rooms. Jackie wanted them to if they wanted to, but a lot of the time, the three of them just sat on the phone, or, if Jackie was busy, they talked. 

Hayden had recently read a fantasy novel about a relationship between two men and a woman. It was...well...not silly, but fantasy wasn't his usual genre. It was well-written, and fucking hot, and it fucked him up a little. In the sequel, the three of them live happily ever after together, somehow, against all fucking odds.

And, like a dumbass, he read it, and he offered it to Cliff when he was done.

"I don't usually do the vampire thing," Cliff told him, later, after he finished reading it. Hayden wasn't sure why it had taken the other man so long to return the first book he lent him, because he had been engulfing all the other books he shared with him quicker than Hayden could lend them.

"Me neither. I only really read romances because they're easy. Happy, you know?"

"Yeah," Cliff said, his strong arms around Hayden. They were fully clothed in Cliff's bed. Nothing had happened, and Hayden wasn't sure anything would happen. They were waiting for Jackie to call. Hayden was laying with his head on Cliff's chest, more relaxed than he had felt in days.

As time passed, he only felt guiltier and guiltier. He and Jackie both knew they had to talk to Cliff about what Ilya had said, but they weren't ready. They didn't want to end things with Cliff, but they also didn't want to face what it was. 

They knew what it was.

Hayden knew they were willfully ignoring it, and he was being an idiot, feeling warm and fuzzy as Cliff played with his hair.

He got so fucking happy seeing Cliff and Jackie together, it was embarrassing. He loved watching Cliff get more confident in reaching for her. He loved watching her fit herself into his side. He loved listening to them talk, they were so funny once they got going, Cliff latched onto Jackie's bits flawlessly. Those two could beat a dead horse to a pulp. 

"It was hot, though. Different than the other books for sure, with it being a throuple, or whatever you want to call it."

"Yeah, it was the first time I ever read anything like that."

Cliff's hand stilled in Hayden's hair.

"Did you...did you go looking for something like that?"

"No," Hayden answered honestly. 

He looked up in time to see Cliff's disappointed frown. Their lover. He really wore his heart on his sleeve. 

Hayden had been filtering his library app by LGBTQ+ stories, as he often did when hunting down romances, and he stumbled across it. The description had...implied a romance between the three main characters, and he had no choice but to try it out.

He loved the books, he ordered physical copies pretty quickly. 

"But I knew what it was from the description." I knew what it was when I asked you to read it. 

They cuddled quietly until Jackie called them. Cliff sat back and watched as Hayden said goodnight to all four of his kids, then chuckled along quietly as they all went off on tangents about their days, Hayden, of course, indulging them. 

The three of them discussed a call Jackie got from the kid's school, what she was planning for dinner tomorrow, a new wardrobe she was interested in buying, and what they would do to her if she was at the hotel with them. 

They decided they weren't going to touch each other for the rest of the road trip, so when they got back to Montreal, they would be pent up and needy. 

"Will we have time when we get back?" Hayden whined, ignoring Cliff's quiet laugh.

"I have plans," Jackie said. "Let me take care of it. Oh, and also, don't touch yourselves until you get back, okay?"

Cliff and Hayden made quick, panicked eye contact.

"Uh, Jackie-" 

"Come on, baby, be reasonable," Hayden begged, cutting Cliff off. "Don't do this to us."

"Be good. You know the sex will be better."

Cliff and Hayden eyed each other, both visibly disappointed. 

"Okay," they agreed in unison.

"Good," she said. "Now switch to FaceTime. I want to show you my new PJ set."

"Your wife is a psychopath," Cliff said later that night as they said goodbye, Hayden going back to his own room to try and do nothing about his erection. 

"A sadist, maybe," Hayden responded. He leaned in, but stopped himself from kissing Cliff goodbye.

"This sucks," Cliff said. 

"Yeah, but what can you do?"

Cliff sighed, neither man could imagine disobeying Jackie.

It was their first night in New Jersey they started following Jackie's rule. The next day, they played the Jersey City Devils ferociously and won 5-1. They had beat Philly 1-0, and they were on track to beat New York.

They left New Jersey for New York the same night of their win, the entire team opting for more time in the big apple as it was so close to Jersey City. 

The team was tired from playing, but they were thrilled by the decisive win. JJ had half the team in a nightclub before midnight, including Hayden and Cliff.

Jackie: Send pics.

Cliff sent one in their group chat immediately, a selfie of Hayden, Cliff and JJ in the back of a Lyft. 

Jackie: Send pics when you're less sober and respectable. 

Hayden: Jackie, behave. 

Cliff: We're following your rules.

Jackie: My good boys. 

Hayden got to see Cliff flush and hide a smile after reading that message. 

JJ, of course, knew someone. The bouncer had their names at the door. He was visibly furious that they were at his club. An Admirals fan, Hayden figured. They were going to crush New York tomorrow night. Hayden almost wanted to rub it in the guy's face. The Metros were on a winning streak, and Hayden was feeling lucky.

Not that lucky, though. He was still smart enough not to pick a fight with a guy that made Cliff Marlow look small.

They drank. Hayden was allowing himself enough to feel buzzed before he cut himself off. 

The younger guys were drinking irresponsibly, though, and he had to be the one to remind them they had to play a game the next day, because JJ was at the bar doing shots with a famous actor. 

"Do one more shot with me," Cliff asked. They had been attached at the hip all evening, and did all their shots together. Four was pushing it, a fourth shot was a gateway drug.

But Cliff was looking down at him with his big, deep-space eyes and his wide, crooked grin.

They did a fourth shot together. JJ took a photo of them with flash, laughing hysterically and calling Hayden a hypocrite, disappearing into the throng of bodies when Hayden tried to catch him.

And, they danced.

The music was unrecognizable to Hayden, but the bass was luxurious. They danced together, they danced with other teammates, with JJ, with strangers. Neither man went back to the bar, but Hayden was feeling loose, and he did something reckless.

They had been dancing together, yes, but not touching each other at all. They were dancing in the silly way hockey players often did, as a joke, with space for Jesus. That made it heterosexual. Cliff biting his lip, keeping his eyes trained on Hayden's body was platonic. 

Hayden turned around and pressed his back against Cliff's chest. He looked up at his shocked face.

"Smile for Jacks," he said, angling his ass to press against Cliff's crotch. 

He took their photo, Cliff's body around his, and sent it to Jackie.  

Hayden lingered, it was Cliff who finally separated their bodies after about ten seconds, but not before hooking his fingers through Hayden's belt loops and tugging him harder against him. 

They left together, but dragged JJ with them. 

"Being the life of the party is going to kill you," Hayden said, dragging their friend out of the nightclub. He was drunk. Hayden was just buzzed, feeling good, but JJ was another drink away from not remembering the night.

"Lighten up, Pike," JJ slurred. "You're too serious. You were having fun in there. I saw."

"Yes it was very fun, JJ." He threw JJ into a yellow cab before climbing in beside him, taking the middle while Cliff folded himself in the tight space behind the passenger seat, knees shoved against the scratched plastic barrier separating the driver from the backseat. 

JJ was drunk texting someone, a quick check confirmed that it was, in fact, his fiancé. Hayden decided this was acceptable and opened his own text thread, Cliff typing away on his own phone.

Hayden: Attachment: 1 image.

Jackie: This looks like touching, boys.

Cliff: You didn't define the rules! 

Jackie: I shouldn't have to, we might have to extend the no touching rule. 

Cliff: This wasn't anything more than what we do on the ice.

Hayden: We didn't jerk each other off in the club, Jackie. We're being good.

Cliff lightly smacked Hayden on the arm, smiling at the message.

Jackie: Tell you what

Jackie: Do what I say, and I won't extend the game beyond the road trip. Deal?

Cliff: Deal.

Hayden: Cliff!!! You don't know what you agreed to!! 

Jackie: It's simple, really. 

Jackie: Send me a video right now of you guys making out. 

Cliff sighed. They were rolling, very slowly, in a cab somewhere in Manhattan. They could not be more conspicuous.

Hayden: We're in a taxi on our way back to the hotel. We will send video then.

Jackie: No. I said right now. Now or never.

Cliff: JJ is right beside us. 

Jackie: Those are my terms. 

Hayden: These windows are not tinted enough, and JJ is not drunk enough for this.

Cliff: it's too risky.

Jackie: I know damn well you're both desperate for it after not touching each other AND not jerking off. 

Jackie: And I know what you like. 

Cliff: It's a terrible idea. 

Cliff: Lean more my way, Hayden.

Hayden locked his phone and looked to Cliff. Cliff hooked his arm around Hayden's shoulders. He glanced back at JJ, who was slumped against the door, eyes only half open, directed at his phone screen.

Hayden's heart was pumping so fast he thought it might explode.

Cliff raised his phone. 

"You ready?" He whispered. Hayden, terrified and aroused, nodded.

He leaned in, hoping the passenger seat blocked them from the driver, praying that JJ was too engrossed in his phone to look up. 

His lips met Cliff's, and god, it had only been a few days, but the contact made him feel like crying. Cliff's lips, sticky from alcohol, were perfect.

Jackie said make out, but this had to be quick. Cliff's tongue only met Hayden's for a second, and Hayden forgot, until that moment, how stupid it was to make a video like this. It was how his own best friend got outed, for fucks sake.

He was horribly turned on, though. He forced himself away from Cliff as they rolled to a red light. Cliff stopped recording, and Hayden could hardly look at him. The other man looked wrecked, he looked desperate.

"We need to go home," Cliff muttered. "Before she kills us."

Hayden's phone pinged as the video went through.

"You need to delete that video," Hayden said, and Cliff nodded, deleting it immediately.

Hayden hovered over the message to delete it from his text thread, but he paused, deciding it could wait. 

Beside them, JJ had managed to get Mona to pick up the phone and he was whispering in French to her. The driver wasn't looking their way. It looked like, somehow, they got away with it.

Jackie: Fuck New York, come home now.

Jackie: I can't believe you actually did it.

Jackie: I can't believe I also have to follow this stupid rule. 

Cliff: Does that mean none of us have to follow it?

Jackie: No. And Hayden, if you jerk off, I will know, so don't think you can be sneaky.

Jackie: send bulge pics.

Jackie: Actually don't, I'll die.

Hayden: She's not gonna make it.

Cliff: We look very hot in the video.

Hayden scrolled back up, but didn't click play. The image was the two of them, mouths pressed together, faces red from a passing tail light.

They beat New York 3-2. It was a close game because half the team had not left the club when the more senior members did, dooming them to stupid mistakes on the ice.

Jackie's "plan" was for the day after they made it back to Montreal. It was a Saturday with optional practice in the morning ahead of a home game on Sunday. 

That meant when Hayden got home, he could not take his frustrations out on his wife. He was so horny he thought he might die. He had never gone this long without an orgasm.

Based on the hungry kiss Jackie gave him as soon as he walked in the door that Friday afternoon, she was similarly feeling the heat.

That night, in bed together, Hayden couldn't even bear touching her. He was so frustrated, and he just kept thinking about sinking deep into the soft, warm wet heat of her. It was killing him.

He was reading, she was scrolling on her phone. 

She nudged him, making him flinch. She had her thumb hovering over a play button. 

He leaned in and watched as she played the video of he and Cliff making out.

Cliff started the video after their mouths met. Hayden, never having seen this before, watched with rapt attention as their faces moved against each other under the bright lights of Manhattan. He caught a flash of tongue, and Hayden's contented smile as Cliff pulled away and ended the video. The whole thing was only about four seconds long.

Jackie, silently, pointed at the tent in Hayden's boxers. Before Hayden could cover himself with a blanket, she snapped a photo and sent it in their thread.

Jackie: Attachment: 1 Image.

Jackie: Showed him the video

Cliff heart reacted the photo.

Cliff: That was mean.

Cliff: Maybe you should edge him until we meet up tomorrow.

Hayden: CLIFF 

Hayden: Who's side are you on???

Cliff: No sides, I just think you would like it.

Cliff: Jackie would.

Hayden: She's looking at me with danger in her eyes.

Cliff: Good luck!

The next day, Jackie texted the chat at 5:00pm with an address, but Hayden wasn't let in on the surprise until Megan showed up at their door at 5:30. 

"Megan, you're..."

"Here to babysit," she said. "Jackie said she's whisking you away for a sex-cation."

Hayden coughed. 

"No she didn't, she didn't say that." 

"No, but that's definitely what's happening. Get a better poker face, dude. You're a man in his thirties."

Hayden frowned at his sister-in-law, but decided not to comment since she was doing him a massive favor.

The kids were, as usual, thrilled to see Megan, their favorite aunt. 

Jackie came downstairs with their suitcase. He stared at it. There was no need for a bag that big unless Jackie was kidnapping him, or it was filled with the contents of their bedside tables.

"He's meeting us at 6:30," she whispered to Hayden. They had to rush out, but they managed to get checked in on time.

The room Jackie booked was nice, luxurious. They hadn't had a "vacation" in a long time. There was a massive jacuzzi tub in the bathroom a bed big enough for the three of them. The best part was that it was a suite, so there was distance between hotel rooms on that floor.

"We could have just met at my apartment," Cliff said after saying "hello" so delicately and sweetly at the door, Hayden almost swooned.

"Yeah, but you both deserved a night away." Jackie said, "We're celebrating the wins. But also...Hayden, your agent called. You got the deal with Powerade."

"No shit?" He asked, grinning. "Really? Really?"

"Yeah!" 

He scooped Jackie up in a big hug. This was a small campaign, an ad or two, he was pretty sure, but he hadn't managed a brand deal since everything went down with Shane. No one wanted to work with him, and his last agent all but dropped him because of it. He switched over to a woman Shane recommended, and she worked him a fucking miracle.

Plenty of athletes didn't work with brands, it wasn't the end of the world not to do this sort of work, but Hayden always wanted to, especially since having kids. Anything for some extra money in the bank, with four kids, any income he could manage made him feel secure, safe. He knew what it was like to be a kid from a poor family, and he was so grateful his kids never would.

"Congrats, man," Cliff said, and, oh yeah, sex. Back to business.

"So..." Jackie said, wandering casually between them. "You followed my rules?"

"Yeah."

"Yes," Cliff said, both men nodding profusely. 

"You did exactly what I said?"

"Yes."

"Yes, Jacks," Hayden complained. She laughed at him.

"Okay, I know Hayden did. His dick was a little hard when he went to bed last night."

"Jackie."

"I'm surprised the sheets were clean in the morning, honestly."

"Jackie!" Hayden whined childishly. Cliff chuckled lowly. She turned to him.

"But you, Cliff? How do I know you listened?"

Cliff looked to Hayden desperately. Hayden shrugged, enjoying watching Jackie circle him like a shark.

"Take off your coat."

Cliff ripped his black denim jacket off, throwing it on the floor. Hayden's eyes went to his biceps bulging out of his t-shirt sleeves. 

Jackie ran the back of her fingernails up his arms. Hayden was close enough to see the hairs on his arms rise. 

"I listened, I promise," Cliff's voice was low and rough, he sounded so desperate, Hayden's dick stirred. "I was good."

Jackie smiled at him. 

"You're sure?"

"Yeah," Cliff said. "I didn't touch Hayden, and I didn't come."

"You didn't come...but did you touch yourself?" Jackie stopped in front of Cliff, latching immediately onto the guilty look on his face.

"Cliff..." she said, playing at disappointed. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't...I didn't finish, Jacks."

"When?"

Cliff swallowed hard, eyes trained on Jackie and Jackie only. 

"After the club in New York." 

"I thought so," Jackie said. "That video was risky."

"I know. Can I touch you?"

"If you knew it was risky, why did you do it?" 

"Because you asked," Cliff answered quickly, honestly. 

"Hayden?" Jackie asked, looking over her shoulder at him.

"Because you asked," he repeated. 

She nodded, stepping back.

"Wait for me," she said, taking the suitcase into the bedroom, shutting the door.

Cliff and Hayden sat quietly beside each other on the couch, the TV dark, reflecting two blurry figures. Montreal was bustling far beneath the large windows next to them. 

Hayden liked this surprise, but he kind of wished they were at home, or at Cliff's. It was more intimate that way. 

Cliff took his hand while he waited, and he found that the action relaxed him a little. 

Jackie emerged from the bedroom after a few minutes in a loose, pretty nightgown that fell just to thigh level, the outline of a strap, and a bit of harness, visible under the silk. 

She was holding the strap just under her nightgown, gripping it like a man would approach with his cock in his hand, confident, aroused, strong. 

"Jesus Christ," Cliff swore, eyeing the plastic cock hidden under Jackie's nightgown. They hadn't done anything like this before, but he couldn't imagine Cliff having an issue with it. 

"It's our second biggest. I left the first at home, don't worry," Jackie said, grinning at Cliff. "You wanna meet it?"

Cliff and Hayden stood from the couch. She moved out of the doorway, taking her hand off the fake dick, the outline of it obvious under her nightie. 

"This is..." Cliff said, hand gesturing at the strap. 

"New for you?"

"Yeah," Cliff said. "I mean, not really, but also-"

"Never been fucked by a woman? Don't worry, I'd be happy to give it to Hayden, if you'd prefer."

Cliff was visibly torn. She giggled at the big man and pulled him down for a kiss. 

Hayden watched his hand go to the dick before pulling away with a frown. 

"I want to touch you," he said.

"Don't worry, I won't keep it on all night. Someone will eat me out at least once."

They moved into the bedroom, excited by her words.

"I have a position for us to try, anyway."

"She's been researching again," Hayden joked. 

"Didn't have to research this one, baby." Jackie poked him in the chest. "You're both way too clothed."

Hayden and Cliff began stripping while Jackie sat on the bed, watching, hand ominously on her dick.

"You're both going to come pretty fast, right? Safe to say?" 

"Yeah," Hayden answered way too quickly, hands on the waistband of his underwear, not quite ready to pull them down.

Cliff nodded, removing his own boxers, his cock hard, standing against his stomach.

Hayden, of course, stared. Because Jesus Christ, he hasn't had it in his mouth in forever.

"Hayden, you're drooling," Hayden was not, he ran his hand over his mouth to make sure, which made Jackie laugh at him.

"I have plans for later in the evening, once the edge is taken off. For now..."

Jackie stood up, fitting herself against Cliff's side. They made a beautiful pair. Cliff's arm went around her automatically, hand resting on her ass.

"I want to take Hayden to Paris."

Cliff's grin was downright evil. 

"This position works better for you to be in the center, Jacks," Hayden said, shivering with anticipation. 

"Later," she reiterated. "For now, I want to fuck my husband while Cliff stuffs your mouth." 

Cliff gripped his weeping cock, biting his lip, gaze hungry.

"I give you both sixty seconds. A minute and a half tops."

"Just wait, Jackie. You probably won't make it much more than that."

Jackie shrugged and directed Hayden to the bed.

"Don't you dare touch him until I'm inside you," Jackie said, two fingers curling in Hayden's ass. Cliff was standing in front of Hayden, cock teasing, inches from Hayden's mouth, where it ought to be. "We push in together, get it, Cliff?"

"Yes ma'am," Cliff saluted, standing-by obediently.

 "You think you're ready enough?" Jackie asked, pressing a kiss to his lower back. 

"Yes," Hayden said, desperate to come, to be touched, to feel Cliff ruin his voice.

"Sixty seconds," She muttered, "pick your hips up, love."

"I can touch Cliff now?"

"Cliff," Jackie said, lining up with Hayden's hole. "You ready?"

"Fuck yes," Cliff responded. 

And Hayden...Hayden was immediately overwhelmed.

His body didn't know where to register the feeling first. Sensation fell on him, muddled, confusing. Pressure in his ass, Jackie's hands gripping his hips.

Cliff's soft hands on his face, holding his cheeks. The need to breathe through his nose brought his attention to the cock lodging itself in Hayden's throat. And finally, it all came into focus.

Hayden moaned around the length, drool already dripping from his stretched lips. Jackie snapped her hips forward, pushing him further down Cliff's dick. Hayden gagged, but when his lovers paused, he took the initiative to swallow around his length. 

"Fuck, so good, Hayden. So good with a cock in your mouth." Cliff's groan rumbled through him, "Fuck, I'm not gonna last long."

Jackie was squeezing his ass, the bed shifted under him as she pulled out and thrust back in, and there, right there-

Cliff laughed, "Fuck, do that again. He groaned on my dick. The fucking vibrations..." Cliff grabbed Hayden's hair, pulling out only to push deeper into his throat. All Hayden could do was take it as the pair timed their thrusts together.

It was overwhelming, pleasurable, yes, but not for the obvious reasons. He was enjoying simply being taken, being handled, being sandwiched between two of his favorite people, his brain mushy, leaking out of his ears.

"Fuck!" Cliff's orgasm caught him by surprise. He was mostly out of Hayden's mouth, making it hard for Hayden to swallow. Hayden had been sucking on the head when the salty release hit his tongue, spilling out of his mouth. Cliff stepped back rather than pushing deeper, coating Hayden's face in his come. 

And Hayden...

Hayden began to collapse but Cliff caught him, holding him up. Jackie's hand found his cock. Cliff's thumb was rubbing circles on Hayden's cheek, swirling his come into his skin like some kind of brand-

Hayden came with a loud cry, spraying the bedspread with an undeniable stain.

"Two minutes, good job boys," Jackie said, breathing labored. "Cliff, get him up so I can strip the bed."

Cliff helped Hayden stand. "Helping," in this context, meant fully supporting his weight.

"Ugh, my face," Hayden said, feeling the sticky residue cling to his skin. 

"Looks pretty like that," Cliff said, cupping his jaw. Hayden felt warm, he smiled, clinging to Cliff a little harder.

Cliff scooped Hayden up and carried him to the bathroom while Jackie bundled the comforter up and tossed it into a corner.

Hayden continued clinging to Cliff as he ran the tap, waiting for hot water. Jackie stood in the doorway, smiling as Cliff ran a hand towel under the spray. She had removed her strap and was just in her nightie. 

"It's everywhere," she laughed, "How do you feel, baby?"

"Good," he answered, boneless, satisfied, in love.

Cliff carefully cleaned Hayden's face, but it was hard doing it one handed and from their angle. He was obviously reluctant to let Hayden go, so Jackie took the damp cloth from him and began cleaning the come off Hayden's face.

"You came a lot," Jackie said. "Guess you did follow the rules."

"Of course I did," Cliff said, holding Hayden gently against him, back to chest, Hayden was pretty sure his face was pressed into Hayden's hair.

"I wish I could take a picture," Jackie said sadly. 

They got back in bed. Hayden was aware that Jackie hadn't been touched yet, but they all seemed content to just hold each other for a bit.

"Jackie?" Cliff asked after a few minutes of just breathing together. "Can I eat you out now?" 

"Yeah, baby," Jackie said. "I would love that. Hayden, are you okay?"

Hayden nodded, he still wasn't fully back from wherever he went. Jackie knew he got like that, sometimes. He was comfortable, his mind was quiet.

"Come here," Jackie said, offering him an arm. He moved away from Cliff to cuddle against Jackie, tucking his head under her arm. They both watched Cliff crawl between her legs. He pulled a pair of wrecked satin panties out from under the nightie and tossed them over his shoulder.

His head was mostly obscured by the nightie. Hayden could only watch his black hair slide around the material, his back muscles ripple as he held himself up. 

Jackie sighed softly. Smiling, she pressed a kiss to Hayden's hair. 

Cliff took Jackie softly and slowly, until her hands clenched in Hayden's hair and she slid down the mattress, becoming fully reclined, trembling legs in the air. Hayden, more himself, pushed Jackie's neckline down so he could get his hands on her boobs.

Jackie lasted about as long as they did. Cliff either didn't know she came, or he didn't care. She had been quiet, a soft whimper releasing as she clung to whatever she could get her hands on. 

Cliff did not come up for air.

"Cliff, Cliff, Cliff-" she whined desperately. "Oh fuck."

Hayden kissed her. He wanted to taste her, but Cliff was having a party between her legs, and he didn't want to intrude.

They made out, he swallowed her moans, her whines, and he felt his cock start to fill as she came again, this time louder, more violently. 

"Oh my god, Cliff..." Cliff still wasn't coming up. His fingers were inside her, Hayden could see his hand move. Cliff was silent all the while, totally lost in it.

"Guess we know you were following the rules too," Hayden joked, teasing a nipple between thumb and index finger. They were huge and stiff, her lips were swollen from biting them, and there were tears running down her pretty face. She was just as fucked-out as Hayden had been. 

Cliff finally came up as Jackie was approaching her third orgasm, face damp, mouth open, panting, fingers still moving inside Jackie.

"Hayden, give me your hand. You gotta feel this."

Hayden did as he was told, Cliff directed his fingers to his wife's slippery, swollen clit. 

"Jesus, Jackie. How does it feel?"

"It's so fucking much," Jackie said. "It hurts, but it feels really good. Please don't stop, I was close."

"Can I-"

"No," Cliff said, sounding almost territorial. "Later, I'm busy." 

He slithered down the bed to disappear into her pussy again. Cliff made her come two more times.

"Four back-to-back might be a record for you," Hayden said, kissing her. 

Jackie forced Cliff to tap out after the fourth. She had her thighs squeezed around his head after the third, but he seemed to only enjoy the pressure. She pushed him away roughly as her fourth orgasm made her thrash like a woman possessed. She slammed her legs shut and told him no, firmly, like he was a dog. He whimpered like one as he moved up the bed and dropped beside Hayden. 

Hayden and Cliff were both hard. Hayden was rubbing sensation back in Jackie, knowing firm hands would bring her back down from the deep space Cliff ejected her to. 

"Fuck, that was not part of the plan, Cliff. I wanted to come with both of you inside me."

Cliff laughed, "Sorry. Did you want me to stop?"

"No." She said, "I needed that badly."

"I could tell from the wet spot on the sheets," Cliff teased, pointing between Jackie's legs.

"Wet spot?" Hayden leaned forward to investigate. Jackie tried to push him back, but he ignored her, opening her legs to look. Sure enough, there was a damp spot on the white sheets. Whether it was truly from her or from Cliff drooling everywhere, they would never know.

"Can we talk about how you growled like a dog when Hayden wanted to join you?"

"No," Cliff said, turning red.

"I would like to talk about it, actually," Hayden grinned, poking Cliff's blushing cheek. 

"I was busy," Cliff said, "On a mission."

"A mission?" Jackie laughed, "To what, break me?"

"No," Cliff said, "Hayden, how long was I down there?"

"Fuck, I don't know. Twenty minutes?"

Cliff grinned, and it was impressive, pulling four orgasms out of Jackie wasn't, necessarily, a challenge, but four in such a short amount of time was unlikely, to say the least. 

"She's been bullying us," Cliff said, "I wanted to prove she was just as affected by her rules as we were."

"Was that even in question?" Jackie asked as Hayden laughed. "We were all very pent up."

"Yeah, but you have been teasing us." Hayden said. "Not so high and mighty now, are you?"

"Oh yeah, Cliff Marlow burying himself in my pussy was a humbling experience." She snickered, "You were just as desperate for it as I was."

Cliff shrugged, unapologetic. 

"I missed you both." 

"Surprised you can even talk. Your jaw must be aching."

"Not enough to stop me from giving you head next." Cliff said, moving quickly to take Hayden in his mouth.

"Oh Jesus, Cliff."

Jackie squealed, surprised by the suddenness of the action. Hayden was too, it had his back arching off the bed. Cliff hollowed his cheeks, Hayden slid his hand into his hair. 

Cliff's tongue lapped at the slit, and he popped off grinning, taking his previous position, laying leisurely against the pillows.

"Fuck you."

"Sure," Cliff said, smiling.

"Later," Jackie said, eager to stick to her plan. 

Jackie retrieved the bottle of lube from where it fell on the floor earlier. 

"Maybe we should put down some towels," Hayden said, "Since we'll be sleeping here tonight."

"Don't worry about it," Jackie said vaguely. "Get to it. I said I want you both inside me and I want now."

Jackie casually stroked Cliff's cock as Hayden slid a finger into her ass. She gasped at the intrusion, wiggling slightly. 

Cliff was smiling, his hands tucked behind his head, sprawled out like a fucking king, cock standing at attention. The man was all hard muscle, shockingly long limbs, and deep, dark eyes. 

"You're beautiful," Jackie said to him. Cliff's smile shrunk and turned shy. Hayden didn't think the man was at all insecure, but he appeared to be about as good at taking compliments as Hayden was.

"Good, Jackie?"

"Good," Jackie confirmed. Cliff's fingers pushed into her hair, she closed her eyes, humming as Hayden took his time opening her up. 

"How do you want to do this?" This was a new position for them, at least, with another entire body attached. Usually it was just Hayden, Jackie, and her pink dildo. His only reference is porn, which is not a valuable resource in the slightest. 

"Fuck, I'm nervous," Jackie said, eyes flitting between her lover's hard dicks.

"We don't have to, Jacks," Hayden paused.

"No!" Jackie said, "No, I want to, I fucking need to. I keep dreaming about it."

Hayden grinned at her.

"What else do you dream about?" Cliff asked, low voice teasing, but Jackie looked serious when answering.

"Lots of things."

The implications were damning. Jackie visibly steeled herself, determined to push passed it.

"Like this," she swung a leg over Cliff, straddling him. "Fuck, you're so fucking big."

She was staring down at Cliff's dick, so his grin turned cocky. She rolled her eyes.

"Not your dick. I mean, yes, your dick, but the rest of you. I'm all spread open just straddling you."

Cliff's grin only widened, making Hayden's heart beat funny.

"Stop stroking his ego," Hayden said through a smile.

"No, keep going. What else do you think?"

Jackie glanced over her shoulder at Hayden.

She grabbed Cliff's cock and started stroking it.

"Hayden and I love your chest hair. All your body hair. But when you come and it gets all up in your chest hair? We love that."

"Fuck, okay," Cliff breathed, eyebrows raised. "What else?"

"Your ass," Hayden said. "It's nice and plump, and it felt really good on my dick."

"Okay, okay, I get it-"

"Also, your smile. The wide one, when you're about to start laughing. It gets me wet."

"Jackie-"

"Your eyelashes. They're so long and dark, like you wear mascara."

"I like that too," Jackie said, smiling at Hayden. "I like how your cock turns red, then almost purple, the longer we ignore it."

Jackie had a condom in her hand, she ripped it open and rolled it down Cliff quickly. Cliff was squirming, red as they complimented him.

"I like how your arms feel around me." Hayden said, knowing it was embarrassing. "How you move us around, you're so strong. It's nice."

"You can really throw us around," Jackie said. "I like how you sound when you're close, your voice gets high, you get so desperate-"

"Okay, stop," Cliff begged, "Please, it's..." he looked down at his twitching cock miserably, he was leaking pre into the condom. 

"Ohhhhh," Jackie said. "You poor thing."

She shifted forward slightly, Cliff's cock resting tall against her stomach. 

"You're going to have to get used to us praising you, honey. Now, you're going to be really good and lay still for me."

"Okay," Cliff said. 

Hayden sat behind them, leisurely rubbing lube on his cock as Jackie started, slowly, sinking on Cliff's dick. 

"Fuck," she moaned. "Fuck, I don't know about this position, it's..."

"You can go a little further, Jackie," Hayden said, his hands finding her hips. He forced her down a little more, not a lot. She whined, hands pushing down on Cliff's chest.

"Okay, okay, baby, you ready?" She asked over her shoulder. "Wait, come here, kiss me."

That, he could do. He moved to their side to pull her in, sliding his tongue between her lips while Cliff watched under them. 

"Now, go, do it now, I have to move."

"You're so fucking wet," Cliff said, his hands twitching at his sides. Jackie stared down at him, mouth hanging open. 

'You wanna touch me, baby?"

"Yes."

"Go on." The last thing Hayden saw before settling himself behind them, on Cliff's legs, was Cliff's fingers reaching for her clit.

Hayden pushed on Jackie's back firmly, she bent slightly, her and Cliff moaning as she moved. Hayden lined up with her ass. She had not allowed a ton of time for prepping. She felt ready, but Hayden was still a bit nervous as he pushed the tip against her hole.

"Do it, Hayden. Now." She commanded through gritted teeth. 

Jackie could not keep quiet as he pushed into her. Hayden and Cliff's hands overlapped on her hips. She fell forward even more. Hayden could see Cliff's cock half-inside her. She was whimpering, head resting on Cliff's chest, her curls splayed out, tangling with his body hair.

When Hayden was nearly fully inside her, he paused, the three of them tangled in each other, just breathing.

"Jackie?"

"Uh huh?"

"You good?"

"She's crying," Cliff said. Hayden could see Cliff gathering her hair up in his fist, pulling it off her face. 

"I'm good. Except..."

"What?"

"I think I'm ruined forever. It isn't like how it was with the toys."

"No," Hayden agreed. Hayden fucking her pussy with her dildo stuffed in her ass was a vastly different experience. 

"Fuck, Hayden, I think I can feel you."

Hayden didn't know the anatomy of this in the slightest, but he could feel what Cliff was talking about. The pressure was intense, she was tight around his cock and it felt incredible. 

"Jackie, do you want to keep going?"

"Yes," Jackie said. "This is so nice, just this."

"What?" Hayden asked, "just sitting here?"

She nodded against Cliff's chest. 

"Just being filled?" Cliff murmured. 

"Yeah," she whimpered.

They stayed like that for a minute, Hayden's hands sliding up and down her back.

"Okay, fuck, just fuck me."

"We can wait a minute longer, if you need to."

"I'd stay like this forever," Jackie said. "But we can't, and I need to come." 

It did feel shockingly intimate, the three of them pressed together like this. It wasn't like they hadn't done some variation of that position before, many times. Hayden had both of them inside him earlier that evening. 

But Jackie was giving up control completely, something she rarely did, and it was so beautiful, Hayden almost felt like crying too.

Cliff and Hayden held her hips again, fingers curled together, into her plush flesh. Hayden poured more lube over his cock when he pulled out halfway. 

Hayden set the pace and he kept it to firm and gentle rocking; Jackie moaning with each thrust into her as she moved involuntarily on Cliff's dick. 

They kept this up long enough for Jackie to ask for Hayden to go a little harder. Cliff dug in too, rolling his hips up as Hayden fucked into her ass a little sharper. Hayden could definitely feel Cliff, it was weird, heady and erotic. 

"Fucking shit," Jackie groaned, holding onto Cliff hard enough to cause bruises. "Don't stop. Don't ever stop."

It was good, it was so good, and Jackie was so happy. Hayden gathered her hair and held it up, off her face, the small strands around the crown of her head wet with sweat. He could hear her press kisses on Cliff's skin whenever she wasn't actively crying out. 

And Hayden's view? His cock disappearing into her, the vision of he and Cliff both sheathed inside her? He could see it whenever he pulled back, and it drove him wild.

"Jackie, god..." Cliff gasped, Hayden groped her ass, thrusting into her punishingly, bouncing her on Cliff. 

"Jackie?" 

"So good, so good, so good..." she babbled.

Hayden was falling hard and fast towards his orgasm, though. He couldn't keep it up forever. He was embarrassed at how worked up he was, but he couldn't help it.

"Jacks, Jacks, I'm gonna come-"

"Fuck, come in me, baby," Jackie ordered, the command pushing him right over the edge. 

"Oh fuck," Jackie moaned, feeling him twitch deep in her ass. 

Hayden pulled out. He got off the bed on shaky legs and went right to the suitcase. He had recognized the familiar outline of their small wand in the outside pocket. 

Jackie was taking Cliff like a champ, rolling her hips against his, staring down at him with drool and tears on her face. She hadn't registered Hayden returning with the toy.

"Wish you could come in me too. I know it feels amazing raw," Jackie said, Cliff was barely holding it together, his breathing was labored as he held on her hips, staring up at her with open adoration. 

"Ready, Jackie?"

Jackie turned to her husband's voice to find him on the bed beside her. She smiled shyly at him. 

"Yeah. It's hard after earlier. I already came so much."

"This will help."

She nodded, grateful. 

"Fuck, I wanna take the condom off." Jackie moaned, Hayden, paused with the vibrator against her clit.

"Jackie..."

"I know."

"Next time," Cliff said, earning their attention. He was too far gone to notice. "I'll get tested, I know I'm clean, but still, and then-"

"Yes," Jackie said, "Fucking yes. Turn it on. Now, Hayd."

Jackie and Cliff both gasped as he pushed the button, the buzzing quiet under their heavy breathing and the bed shaking. 

The vibrations on her clit were also going straight to Cliff's dick, and the man was visibly distressed. Hayden knew he wanted Jackie to come first, Hayden had wanted the same, but pleasing her like this while his come slid out of her onto the bedding was pretty fucking sweet.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Jackie screamed, hips stuttering as she came. 

"Oh fuck, I l-" Cliff cut himself off with a loud moan, pulling Jackie closer to him as he came.

Hayden pulled the vibrator between their conjoined bodies, knowing they would both be overstimulated if he left it.

Jackie winced and whimpered as Hayden helped her onto the bed, off Cliff's softening cock. He fit her between their bodies. She was shaking. They cuddled against her for a minute, before Cliff had to deal with the condom.

"How does it get hotter every time?" She whispered against Hayden's chest. 

Cliff got back in bed.

"It was worth it," he said, not hearing her comment. "Abstaining. But also, can we never do that again? It was also torture."

"Yes," Hayden said.

"Agreed," Jackie replied.

The suite was nice, but the shower wasn't big enough for three. Hayden went first. Jackie brought their soaps from home, and he cleaned himself up thoroughly and efficiently. Cliff was waiting in the bathroom, naked, leaning against the sink.

"Do you sing in the shower?" He asked. 

"Uh, no," Hayden said. Scrubbing his hands over his face, surrounded by the scents of citrus and coconut. 

"Never?"

"No? I don't think so. Do you?"

"Sometimes," Cliff said, "I like to play music while showering."

Hayden opened the shower door to catch Cliff's eye. Cliff was fully naked, covered in bodily fluids, waiting patiently for the shower.

"No offense, but why are you in here?"

"Jackie kicked me out of the bedroom." 

"Okay, she'll want to get in here soon," Hayden said, opening the door wider, getting water on the floor. "Get in."

They just showered, only brushing against each other because the space was small and they were two large men. Both of them were too tired to do anything more than clean up. 

"Do you have a nice voice?" Hayden asked, unable to stop picturing Cliff singing in the shower. His brain kept automatically going to Here Comes Your Man by the Pixies, for whatever reason.

Cliff smiled.

"No. You wanna hear it?"

Hayden laughed, "Not if it's bad."

Cliff started quietly singing Harvest Moon by Neil Young.

"Come a little bit closer, hear what I have to say..."

Cliff grabbed Hayden by his hips. He did sound bad, scratchy and off-key, but Hayden was pretty sure he was doing it on purpose to make Hayden laugh. It worked. Hayden cackled as Cliff held him, swaying them lightly as he sang.

Cliff almost made it to the chorus when Jackie pounded on the glass of the door.

He was grateful for the distraction, unsure if he could handle the experience of Cliff singing the chorus to him, jokingly or not.

"This is cute, but I'm disgusting. Get out. My turn." 

Hayden and Cliff towel dried in the bathroom as Jackie stepped under the spray, humming Harvest Moon quietly. Jackie had three of the hotel robes hung over the ajar bathroom door. The men slid them on and left Jackie to her shower.

"Oh, Jackie..." Hayden smiled. 

Jackie had stripped the bed completely. She brought their own bedding from home. He recognized her favorite white flower patterned sheets. The bed had their spare comforter and a collection of throw blankets all over it. Even the pillowcases were theirs. 

"I ordered food!" Jackie called from the bathroom. 

The bed looked immensely comfortable, but Hayden grabbed his phone and led Cliff to the couch in the living area instead. 

Cliff flipped through the channels before settling on a King of the Hill rerun. Hayden laid with his head in Cliff's lap. He unlocked his phone, there was a message from Jackie in their group chat.

It was a video.

He clicked on it.

He heard Cliff's shaky, terrible singing voice and Hayden's unfiltered laughter. The shower door was clear, but too steamed up to see their bodies properly, only seeing rough depictions of two tall men facing each other.

"Jesus," Cliff laughed. 

"I know." Hayden locked his phone and dropped it on his chest. "You better stick with hockey."

Cliff laughed, and Hayden was so comfortable, so happy, his feelings came to him with such clarity, it knocked the breath from his lungs. He loved him.

He loved Cliff.

The thought should terrify him. It did terrify him, but it also warmed him. Cliff's hand was lazily playing with Hayden's wet hair. He chuckled, eyes on the TV, totally relaxed against the couch with Hayden laying on him. 

He loved Jackie, and he loved Cliff.

Their food came right after Jackie got out of the shower. Hayden was in the bedroom, digging through their bag as she emerged from the steamy room, the hotel's hair dryer in her hand. 

"Hey," he greeted, desperate to not let his revelation ruin the evening. He was having too much fun, there was nothing he could do about it now. 

It was way too late to stop. 

"Hey, baby," she smiled at him. "Happy?"

"Yeah," he answered honestly. 

Cliff answered the door. 

"Oh my god," someone said. "You're...you are Cliff Marlow, right?"

"Yeah," Cliff replied. Jackie and Hayden stared at each other. The bedroom door was open, but the delivery guy couldn't see them unless he actually came into the room. 

They could close the door, of course.

Both of them stayed still.

"Sorry, here, um...okay, fuck. Can I get a picture or...oh sorry. You're not dressed. Um...will you sign something for my kid? He'll go crazy."

Hayden was relieved the guy was respectful enough not to demand a photo, most fans would. 

"Sure, what's your son's name?"

They waited while Cliff signed something for the man and made small talk before he finally left. Hayden had been holding his breath.

Cliff found them a second later. 

"That was close," Jackie commented. 

Cliff shrugged. "He didn't ask why I was in a hotel room in the city I live in, at least."

Hayden laughed hollowly. 

"Dinner?"

They made plates of fries, salad, and pasta, and climbed into bed together. Jackie put on Dirty Dancing while they ate quietly.

They had started with distance between their bodies, but by the end of their dinner, they were leaning against each other. Jackie's leg was thrown over Cliff's, her head on his shoulder, and Hayden was curled in a ball on Cliff's other side, his head on the man's large thigh.

"This is nice," Cliff whispered, and it was, it was really, really nice, and it wasn't over, they had all night.

Until tomorrow, when Jackie and Hayden would go home, and Cliff would go back to his apartment alone, and he and Hayden would go to work the next day and act like they weren't into each other. Like Hayden wasn't in love with him. Like Cliff didn't care for him or Jackie. 

Hayden twisted his wedding ring absently. He wondered if the company that made them still existed, it had been a small brand. A luxury company specializing in alternative wedding bands. 

Hayden fell asleep before the end of the movie, only waking for about thirty seconds when Jackie and Hayden shifted. He pulled a blanket that smelled like home over them, burrowed into Cliff's side, and was out like a light.

A few days later, they were back from a quick road game to Winnipeg. They flew there in the morning, played the game, and flew out early the next morning. He and Cliff had no time to interact during the short trip, which was disappointing. 

The day before the trip, Hayden found Cliff alone in the weight room at the rink. Hayden watched him lift for a minute, his muscles rippling under the harsh fluorescent light.

"Pushing a lot," Hayden commented, leering. Cliff smirked, eyeing him back.

"Yeah, well. Someone told me recently they like how strong I am, and someone else said they like being thrown around."

Hayden flushed down to his toes and had to leave the room. 

The trip to Winnipeg was awful. They played like shit. Hayden was so bad from the jump, he barely got any time on the ice. The game was 1-1 and went into overtime, where the Metros just barely managed to pull an extra point.

Cliff haunted the bench with him.

"I might look into another vampire book," Cliff said. "Fantasy was never my thing, but I enjoyed that other one."

"What are you two talking about? Books?" JJ asked, incredulous. "Since when do you meatheads read?"

"Pike is a huge reader, what are you talking about?"

Hayden chewed on his mouth guard and contemplated suicide. 

"No no no, because he's never accepted one of my recommendations. What the hell, Hayden?"

"I don't want to read books about robots and aliens and shit, JJ."

"You turn your nose up at science fiction, but you'll read about vampires? What is it, fucking Twilight?"

Cliff and Hayden were saved from answering when Cliff got called on the ice.

JJ nudged him, Hayden's eyes had been trained on his friend. He tore them away to find JJ staring with concern in his gaze.

"You and Marlow have gotten close." 

"Yeah," he answered noncommittedly. "He's friends with Shane and Ilya, you know."

"And you and Jackie," JJ said. "I miss you, man."

Oh.

"Sorry, JJ. We should plan something soon. It's hard with the kids, you know. The last time was a mess."

He hated using his kids as an excuse, but they were a damn good one.

He wanted to talk to Jackie as soon as he got in from Winnipeg, but the kids had just gotten home from school. It was easy to get caught up in their needs. 

"Why weren't you playing good against Winnipeg, dad?" Ruby asked, "They're terrible."

"It was an off day," he said, "Sometimes even professional hockey players have bad games."

"Well, obviously." Jade said "But they're Winnipeg." 

"We did win, Jade."

"Barely."

Arthur brought home a massive collage from his art class, which had, apparently, been a two month project. It was a sheet of cardboard as tall as Jackie was. It was covered in drawings, magazine cut outs, and pipe-cleaners twisted into the shapes of dragonflies, beetles, ants, butterflies, and even a massive praying mantis. Jackie was in love with it and wanted to hang it on the fridge, but it was too big, so Hayden got to work securing it to a blank bit of living room wall.

"It ties the whole room together, thank you Artie," Jackie said, hugging their son. 

"You really like it?" Art asked hopefully as the entire family gathered in front of the piece.

Hayden knew his daughters were talented. He knew they were going pro. They were driven, skilled, and hungry for it. His two younger children were more like...well...kids. 

He didn't know what artistic talent looked like, not really, not like Jackie did. But something about this collage was breathtaking. He realized Art had placed the images and homemade pieces in a way that green slowly turned into blue, almost like a wave. The cardboard was painted green like a forest floor. 

It was, obviously, out of place in their living room. It was a child's art work, but Hayden loved it, he couldn't imagine it anywhere else.

"It's amazing, baby," Hayden said. "We love it."

Art walked up to it and pointed to an image of one of the beetles.

"I found a great diving beetle." He said, and Hayden couldn't remember why that was significant until he said: "Will you show Uncle Cliff?"

Hayden looked at Jackie, who was just as shocked as Hayden felt. Neither of them told the kids to call him that.

There was precedent, of course, they called a lot of Hayden's teammates uncle when they greeted them; that had just been a natural progression from adding their uncles Shane and Ilya to their lives. JJ also had uncle status, but Cliff?

"Sure, honey," Jackie said, ushering the kids away, "Let's get ready for dinner, yeah? Amber, I need to check your homework."

She found him alone, much later, sitting beside Arthur’s collage. 

“You know more about this than I do,” Hayden said, waving at the art.

“You’re right,” she said, “he’s got a hell of an eye. Good technique.” 

“Artist or scientist, do you think?” 

Jackie shrugged, “He might surprise us and give it all up to do something random. He’s a little boy.” She was right, of course.

“Yeah, no reason to worry, the twins are going to take care of us in our old age.”

“Jade, maybe,” Jackie snorted. She joined Hayden on the couch. The conversation was light, but they were both pretty stiff.

“I think I’m in love with him,” Hayden said, finding it surprisingly easy to say. It was considerably easier than announcing to Jackie, a few months ago, that he found Cliff attractive, which made very little sense.

God, it’s only been a couple months.

“Yeah, it happened fast.” Jackie said. “I could tell, last time.”

He nodded.

“Are you upset?”

“It’s…it’s not what we wanted, out of this.” She said simply. “But also, we didn’t really discuss what we wanted. We were really stupid, we jumped in too quick.”

That didn’t answer his question, his nervous were spiking. Everything she said was painfully true.

“I’m not upset. I’m scared,” she admitted. “I love him too.”

He took her hand, they sat with it a minute.

“I loved you our first day together,” Hayden said. “When we went and rented Rocky Horror and ate and cuddled in bed all day.”

Jackie grinned at him. “Me too.”

“I loved you from our first day, and I will love you till our last. Until we’re sitting beside each other in the retirement home. Both of us wrinkled and bald.”

“Fuck you, both of us bald?”

He nodded sadly. “I’m afraid so. But even then, I will still love you.”

She sighed happily. “Me too, for the record. All of it. Loving Cliff doesn’t change my love for you.”

Hayden nodded. He knew, in an abstract sort of way, that people had these sorts of relationships. He knew that other people were capable of loving more than one person. But, he didn’t know what that felt like, until now. 

It felt…lucky. He felt lucky.

And also, terrified.

Cliff might not love them, or he might only love one of them. He might want to continue as they were, because what else could they do? He might love them, but not the baggage of their family, in which case, it would be over, and that would be heartbreaking. 

Or…or he might love them, and their family. Then what? He moves in? How do they explain his existence to their children? And then…to other people? He pictured Jackie’s family, the eyebrow raises, the comments. They were lovely people, but her parents were always a little exasperated by Jackie’s eccentricness. 

How could he explain it to the team? To JJ? God, JJ. He hit the ceiling when he learned about Shane and Ilya. Hayden couldn’t imagine what he would say about this.

“We need to talk to him, but do we…we can’t just tell him, right?”

“I think telling the person you love you love them is common, Hayd.”

“I know, it’s just very soon. We don’t know how he feels, we can’t just spring it on him. We aren’t even exclusive.”

Jackie nodded, “Alright.”

Hayden stared at her. 

“Alright?”

“Yeah, that’s next. We see if he wants to be exclusive with us.”

Hayden felt close to panicking.

“But what would that mean? What would that make him? He would be…”

“Our boyfriend, I think,” Jackie said. 

Hayden stared off into the dark, twisting his ring. 

“Hey,” She said, her hands on his shoulders, grounding him.

“Do you not want that? It’s okay, just talk to me.”

Hayden didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know what he wanted, besides Cliff.

There were a lot of moving pieces. 

“We couldn’t tell anyone still. If it got out-”

“Of course,” Jackie said simply. 

What Hayden knew definitively was; he did not want to lose Cliff Marlow. He had him once, and he lost him once. He had no intentions of letting him go again. 

There was a stupid fantasy he kicked around. The three of them together a few years from now, all in their forties, the kids older, the house comfortable, filled with warmth and laughter. Cliff’s coat hanging by the door, his underwear in their dresser. He imagined Shane and Ilya visiting with their kids, everyone a little greyer, retired, content.

It was just a fantasy. 

“Okay, okay, we’ll talk to him.”

The married couple couldn’t manage the conversation the next time they saw Cliff. They were at his apartment, a cold snap had Hayden wearing a pretty scarf Jackie bought him. He knew he couldn’t wear it to work, it was too bright and colorful, striped with pink, green, and red, but he could wear it safely to Cliff’s. 

Cliff pulled him in by that very scarf, and the three of them got very busy for a while.

They didn’t manage it a week after that,  when they were invited to a dinner party at JJ’s house. The conversation was largely focused on their upcoming wedding. JJ wanted a bachelor party and Hayden was tasked with planning one, even though Shane was the best man.

“Shane will have us inside playing Uno, Hayden. Or working out.”

So, whatever. They left at the same time, but drove away in separate cars, Hayden and Jackie had to relieve Eliza. 

Things got horribly busy as spring roared to life. Montreal began to bloom, and the Metros were hurtling towards the playoffs. They saw Cliff less and less, but texted to fill in the spaces.

Hayden dodged a dinner request in Ottawa after a game in early May. To his surprise, Cliff did as well, appearing at his hotel room after ten that night.

His communication with Shane the last few months had been minimal. Mostly, Shane was asking after Jackie and the kids, or bitching about a sports article or another player. Hayden responded in kind, neither of them acknowledging their awkward conversation in March. They hadn’t seen each other, in person (besides on the ice), since then.

He felt bad, but he wasn’t ready to face Shane and Ilya, not yet. 

So…he didn’t. Face him, that is. Nor did they talk to Cliff about being exclusive. Cliff and Jackie discussing sex without protection evaporated into thin air, things continued as they had been. 

No, they just kept getting fucking better.

Hayden had to bite-off a love declaration in mid-May while Cliff had him chewing a pillow, moving Hayden’s body around as he pleased, like Hayden was a toy. 

Jackie had a similar problem a few days prior, she actually said “I love…this. I love this.” 

“We just have to do it.” She whispered to him as they approached their front door one May afternoon.

“I know.” He responded, whisper equally as harsh, but they were quickly distracted by their handsome visitor, and, once again, failed to communicate.

Montreal was crushing their playoff games. 

Their goalie had “locked in” as Ruby kept saying, getting shut outs two games in a row. 

Hayden was also locking in (when he said this to Ruby, she glared at him). He was scoring almost every game, and every player targeting him was getting conveniently knocked on their ass. 

The media began referring to Pike and Marlow as a pair, their connection had become too obvious to ignore. The Metros social media declared them “besties,” as sports announcers continued to point out Cliff’s blatant favoritism. 

“Pike is carrying the puck, he’s passed the center line. Connors is gaining, but…yep, here’s Marlow. Who is surprised? Big hit from Marlow! And…point for Montreal!”

The announcer's tone was always, what JJ described as, “fond exasperation.” They could count on Marlow backing Pike up like they could count on the sun rising. 

Hayden would be embarrassed or anxious about this behavior if he didn't fucking love it.

The Metros had all the momentum they needed to win the cup.

The problem was that the Centaurs also had the same momentum. 

The Centaurs were also having an exceptional season.

Shane and Ilya were dominating the ice together, as they always did, but Haas, who had once been a wild card, came into his own as highly skilled player, and Wyatt Hayes kept getting his own shut outs on the goal. The media was thrilled with the match up. No one could predict the outcome of their game, it could, truly, go to the Metros or the Centaurs.

That riled everyone up in the locker room. Nerves were high, especially because they were playing against Shane. This wasn’t, necessarily, the same team that ousted Shane. They lost several players since then and gained a few more, and a lot of the guys who were on the team when it all went down have since apologized to him. Not everyone, though.

They would lose.

Hayden knew they were going to lose early, before intermission. The Centaurs, like always, were playing with a grudge against the Metros. Rozanov had instilled a fierce hatred of their team after what happened with Shane. And while it was true that the makeup of the Metros was a little different than it was, some of those guys were still on the team. Theriault was still their coach, and the fans still hated Shane.

Ilya scored twice within ten minutes. He was pushing passed their defenses, he flitted around Cliff like he was a hummingbird, assaulting Montreal with downright nasty goals. 

Shane scored before the break, too, and Ilya got a goddamn hat trick in a Stanley Cup game. 

The Metros simply could not catch up. The Centaurs were fast and brutal. Shane had never played a Stanley Cup game without winning it. Really, they should have known.

The vibe in the locker room was grim, and they brought that energy back onto the ice. Shane and Ilya were just showing off, at that point. Montreal was losing on home ice. Even Zane Boodram scored. It was a 5-1 win for Ottawa. 

Hayden was, of course, devastated. They worked so hard all season to get here.

But, so had the Centaurs. So had Shane, and his loss meant Shane’s gain. That sweetened the loss a little.

“If there’s any team to lose to,” Hayden said to the press, JJ standing beside him, disappointed, “It’s the Centaurs.”

His entire family showed up to watch him lose, but the kids came down on the ice anyway to congratulate Shane and Ilya, which the media fucking loved, especially when Ilya scooped up Amber and carried her like she was still a baby.

The Metros did not love this behavior, but Hayden couldn't really bring himself to care.

Hayden and Jackie had Megan on stand-by to watch the kids, intending to go out and celebrate if they won. That was up in the air now. Hayden didn't feel especially celebratory. 

“Is Megan still coming over?” Cliff asked Hayden as they walked the tunnel towards the locker room. 

“I think,” Hayden replied, dodging reporters along the way.

“Hey, you did great tonight, by the way,” Hayden said, still unable to get his disappointment out of his voice. 

“Ha, not really.” Cliff shook his head.

“No really. You cleared the way a ton. We wouldn’t have been able to get that one goal without you."

Cliff sighed, holding the locker room door open for Hayden, his arm over Hayden’s head.

“It’s so hard to play against Ilya. He knows exactly how to get around me.”

“Yeah, well, playing against them is…a fucking pain in the ass,” that was the understatement of the year, but it’s all he could manage.

The guys in the locker room were angry, and more than a few were loudly talking shit about Shane and Ilya. Hayden was both ignoring them and also listening carefully, making sure no one dipped into homophobic territory. 

“It should be illegal to have both of them on the same team. They don’t just fucking play hockey, they’re hockey machines. They’re leagues better than everyone. It’s bullshit.”

Cliff and JJ were also ignoring them, but their silence could not be maintained. The room was full of disappointed men ready to argue. 

“Pike, why were your kids out there jumping around like we won?” Anders asked.

“Because they like their uncles more than Jackie and I,” he said. 

“Rozanov and Hollander being your kids “uncles” is crazy, bro.”

“Not really,” Hayden responded, straightening up, staring Anders down. 

Anders raised his hands, stepping back.

“We are also their uncles,” JJ said, gesturing between himself and Cliff, flooring Hayden. “But their favoritism is painful.” 

“They like Shane’s Olympic medal.” This caused most of the guys to start loudly groaning. 

JJ left to get in the shower. Hayden was about to follow him, but Cliff stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. 

They were both shirtless, nearly fully naked in the locker room. Hayden’s eyes scanned Cliff’s tattoos before gluing to his face, praying he wasn’t too obvious. They did this almost daily, it wasn’t a hardship, usually. They were professionals.

Cliff was just…glistening with sweat, and looking directly at him.

“Uncles?” He asked, rising his eyebrows.

“Oh…um…” Hayden was definitely turning red. He wondered if anyone was watching the exchange. “Yeah, sorry. JJ heard Art call you Uncle Cliff about a week ago. Is that okay?”

His daughters hadn’t picked it up yet, mostly because they hadn’t brought up Cliff, but he made a huge impression on Arthur when he talked him down at the family dinner with talk of beetles. 

Cliff’s smile was hesitant at first before it split his face open. Hayden couldn’t look away as his emotions played out all over his big, beautiful, expressive face. He thought his eyes might be a little watery. 

“Yeah, yeah…that’s…” he coughed. “That’s fine.”

Hayden smiled at him. 

“Okay, hey, he wanted me to show you this.”

Hayden grabbed his phone and showed Cliff Arthur’s art project, making sure to point out the great diving beetles, which made Cliff laugh.

A few other guys wandered over to look at Arthur’s collage, not really getting it, but saying it was “cool,” or “interesting.”

“He’s so smart,” Cliff said. “Seriously, he’s a genius. Pike is raising a genius,” he announced to the guys hanging around. 

The way Cliff was smiling, you would never know the team just lost the Stanley Cup. Hayden couldn’t help but return it. 

When they were showered and in their suits, Hayden had a text from Jackie and from Shane.

Jackie’s was confirmation that Megan was going home with the kids, which meant, if they were meeting tonight, it had to be at Cliff’s. Cliff liked the message.

From Shane, it was the address to a club downtown. He sent it in a group chat with JJ and Hayden. 

“You going?” JJ asked, “I don’t know if I feel like dancing tonight. And Rozanov is going to be such an asshole.”

“Yeah,” Hayden said. “I don’t know. He glanced at Marlow, who was hovering obviously. Hayden fired off a quick text about Jackie’s location. Cliff left. “Jackie got her sister to babysit tonight, just in case, but…”

“It was good we even got this far.” JJ said, “That’s what Mona will say. That we worked really hard. There’s always next year, right?” 

Hayden scoffed. “Yeah, maybe if a meteor falls on the entire Centaurs team.” He regretted joking like that as soon as he said it.

“It’s not like they win the cup every year, Hayden. They aren’t unbeatable.”

“I’ll tell you what,” Clemens said, interrupting. “I’m getting drunk tonight regardless, and I’m going to find a tall blonde with tits I can bury my face in.”

JJ and Hayden just stared at Clemens.

“There aren’t enough single guys on this team,” he grumbled. 

Hayden found Cliff and Jackie in Cliff’s car. Jackie had a bag with her.

“I want to go,” Jackie said when Hayden slid into the backseat, immediately leaning through the middle to press a kiss to Jackie’s cheek. “The club they’re going to is fun. And I haven’t been out in forever.”

She looked between them.

“I know you probably don’t feel like celebrating, but our friends just accomplished something huge. And besides…” Jackie’s hand slid up Cliff’s thigh. “We have all night. Megan agreed to stay at the house until tomorrow afternoon.”

“And all summer,” Hayden said, he and Jackie hadn’t made any concrete plans for the summer, and he wasn’t sure Cliff had either.

It was a warm night in Montreal. The first day of summer was about two weeks away, but the region had warmed up earlier than usual. Cliff drove them to his apartment with one hand on the wheel and his sunroof open. 

They got ready at Cliff’s apartment. Jackie packed him a simple outfit, probably intending it to be only for the morning after. She had a t-shirt or a tank top for him to choose from. He chose the tank with a white button up open over it and light wash jeans. 

Cliff came out of his bedroom in a similar outfit of black jeans and a blank tank, neck adorned with a gold chain. He was wearing gold rings, too, and earrings. 

“Did…did you always wear earrings?” Hayden asked, staring at him confused and aroused.

“I used to. I got them pierced again recently. Maddie didn’t like them.”

Hayden nodded. “Well, that’s fucking insane.”

Cliff grinned and pulled Hayden in, kissing him lazily while they waited for Jackie. 

Jackie strutted out of Cliff’s bedroom looking like she was going to a red carpet rather than a night club. She was wearing a deep blue shimmery skirt and top combo. The top was tight, she wasn’t wearing a bra with it, it had one strap over her shoulder. The skirt was tight, hugging her hips and her ass in a way that had Hayden bouncing on his heels. It was a longer skirt, the hem falling above her ankles, showing off her pretty silver disco wedges.

“I hope it’s okay, it might be a bit much, but I haven’t gotten a chance to wear this yet.”

“Okay? You look fucking hot.”

Hayden stared at them, Cliff’s hand on her ass, they made a hot couple. 

“They’re going to be all over you both all night,” Hayden said, a little sad.

“Us? What about you? This is a gay bar, you know.”

Hayden did know, but it didn’t really matter. Having a wife protected him from suspicious glances. If he seemed too close to Cliff, it could be easily explained away by Jackie. Jackie meant Hayden couldn’t possibly be interested in men.

He wasn’t really, or women. Just one man, and one woman. 

They took a Lyft to the club. Hayden texted Shane to let him know the three of them would be making an appearance. 

They sat in the back together, Jackie between them. They watched her slide a shimmery blue eyeliner pencil along her lower lids. 

“You want some?” She asked, both men nodded. 

She leaned into Hayden first, his eyes twitching and watering as she applied the makeup to his waterline. 

She did the same to Cliff, and Hayden caught the Lyft driver glancing in the mirror at them. Cliff stayed perfectly still as she applied the eyeliner, wiping away a smudge, her silver thumb ring glinting under passing light.

“Good try tonight, boys,” the Lyft driver said as they arrived at the club. Hayden’s stomach dropped a little. 

“Thanks,” Cliff said, handing the driver a cash tip. 

There was a short line that they made it through in only a few minutes. 

“Wow,” Cliff said once they were under a streetlight. “Your…” he glanced around. “The eyeliner…your blue eyes…um…”

“Take your time, Cliff dear,” Jackie teased. 

“The blue makes them pop,” Cliff said finally, blushing along with Hayden as he tried to accept the stammered compliment. 

Jackie was getting compliments on her outfit in the line. Hayden knew it was a gay club, but he kept his arm around her protectively. When he saw a guy slowly drag his eyes up and down Cliff’s delicious form, he mourned his inability to do the same for him.

Shane and Ilya had a table at the back of the club, but he found them on the dance floor first. The first thing Hayden noticed about the bar was that it was a million degrees inside, and there were a lot of shirtless men on the dance floor.

Shane noticed them first. The three of them were hugging the bar, Cliff ordering them a round of lemon drop shots, which the bartender seemed annoyed about until he looked at Cliff a second time.

“Anything for Cliff Marlow,” He purred. “The club is full of hockey players tonight.”

Hayden scanned the crowd and saw JJ dancing with Mona. He thought he saw a few other Ottawa players too. Troy Barrett definitely, Luca Haas possibly. 

“Hey man!” Hayden yelled as Shane crashed into him for a hug. “Congratulations!” He had to scream it in his ear, because the crowd started yelling as the DJ transitioned to a Kesha song.

“Thanks for coming, Hayd, it means a lot. JJ is here too!” 

“Of course.” Cliff turned back around with two shot glasses in his hand. Jackie was already holding hers. 

“God, gross,” Shane said. Hayden took his shot and he saluted them. 

Ilya was beside Shane after Hayden knocked back the liquor. 

“Shots, yes!” Ilya said, “More, Marly!” Ilya pulled Marlow in for a hug. “I will buy next round, since we beat you all very badly.”

“Thanks, Ilya,” Cliff said genuinely, grinning down at his friend. “Congrats.”

Ilya did buy them another round. This time, it was just straight vodka, because Ilya was an insane person. And, because his insanity rubbed off on loved ones, Shane also took one. It took very little convincing from Ilya, just a whisper in Shane's ear. Hayden would rather die than know what Ilya said.

Shane led them to their designated table, which Wyatt Hayes was haunting with a woman Hayden didn’t recognize, but, based on their rings, he figured she was his wife.

Hayes looked surprised to see them, which was fair. Hayden didn’t need to stick by the booth. He stripped off his button up so he was just in the tank, it was too hot in the club for layers, he was probably sweating his eyeliner off.

Jackie pushed into the booth and greeted the pair.

She shook the woman’s hand, then Hayes’s. Cliff slid in beside her, so Hayden did too, because they were staying, apparently. 

Ilya and Shane appeared as they got comfortable, pushing in beside Hayden, shoving him against Cliff. He had a bottle, at least, and a stack of plastic cups.

“Okay, we drink,” Ilya said, “We’re celebrating our win. And next years win too,” he said, pouring straight liquor in each cup. 

“Ilya,” Shane said, shaking his head fondly. 

“Leave some cups for the rest of us, Rozy,” Marlow said over Hayden’s head.

“No,” Ilya replied, grinning widely, passing out the cups. 

“Hazy, you apologize to Pike yet for blocking all his shots?”

“Um…” Wyatt genuinely looked worried, which made Hayden feel a little better. 

“Shut up, Rozanov,” Hayden said, throwing back the vodka in the cup. 

After another round of ribbing from Ilya, Shane pulled him out of the booth to dance. Hayden still struggled to wrap his mind around Shane Hollander willingly dancing.

Hayes and his wife left them pretty quickly too. 

Hayden went to the bar to order vodka crans, Jackie’s request. When he got back to the booth, they were alone, pressed against each other, heads tilted together so they could speak over the music.

“Thank you, baby,” Jackie said as Hayden slid to the other side of her, getting close enough to raise eyebrows. 

“Jackie, this outfit is so hot,” Cliff said in their huddle. Shoving against each other was the only way they could hear each other. “You’re stunning.”

“I wanna know what’s under it,” Hayden breathed, Jackie’s wide eyes turning to him. “Nothing under the top, right?”

“Right, but behave. We haven’t even danced yet.”

“So let’s dance,” he said, taking her hand. 

“Waiting for a better song,” she said, grinning, sipping her drink. 

The song that she finally decided was worthy of their time was Gimmie More by Britney Spears, but Hayden was pretty sure it was just that her drink was empty. 

Hayden and Jackie climbed out of the booth. They took two steps towards the dance floor, holding onto each other, when they realized Cliff wasn’t with them.

“What are you doing?” Hayden called. 

Cliff raised his eyebrows. “Uh…”

“Come on!” Jackie waved her arm at him, hand outstretched. 

Cliff followed them to the dance floor. The bodies were thick, he didn’t recognize anyone around him, but he knew there were hockey players in the club, he knew they had to be careful.

It’s just that the alcohol was getting to him already, and when he grabbed Jackie’s swaying hips to pull them against his center, the eyes he made at Cliff forced Cliff to move in closer, dancing against Jackie. 

There were guys all around them, some making out with each other, some getting handsy, but the three of them felt like they were in their own bubble. Cliff’s thigh was brushing Hayden’s, his hands were on Jackie, and Jackie was moving like water under his grip. The song changed to something he didn’t recognize, something with heavy bass that made Hayden feel like he was floating. 

Cliff was in front of him, arms exposed, tattoos on display, eyeliner running slightly, looking like the sexiest man alive, and Jackie was below him, setting the rhythm with her movements, pure sex appeal. He had the hottest lovers in the world. What loss? Hayden was a fucking winner.

“Okay!” Someone yelled in his ear. Cliff retreated a few steps, Hayden didn’t let Jackie go, though. He looked over his shoulder, it was just Shane. “Come on, back to the table. Before you all get thrown out for public indecency.” 

Cliff was a little worried, but Shane waved him off. 

Cliff looked to Jackie and Hayden, but the music got louder. All Hayden could do was grab Cliff by his wrist and drag him off the dance floor.

“Hey!” JJ greeted, “I haven’t seen you guys, how long you been here?”

An hour, probably.  Hayden shrugged. Ilya forced everyone to gather around the table. Everyone was the three of them, JJ and Mona, Shane, Troy Barrett, and some guy with his hand in Troy Barrett’s pocket.

Ilya raised his cup, signaling everyone to do the same. He said something Hayden only caught snatches of, and the words were Russian.

Hayden, Cliff, and Jackie were drinking more than they initially planned. Hayden ordered another round vodka crans and they agreed to nurse them. They had an after party to get to, after all.

Barrett and his guy stayed behind. When Hayden made it back to the table with their drinks, Jackie and the stranger were talking and laughing, Cliff and Troy sitting quietly.

“Harris,” the man greeted, offering his hand to Hayden, who shook it gently. “I’m Troy’s boyfriend.”

“Nice to meet you,” Hayden said, “How did you meet?”

“I do social media for the Centaurs,” he said, Hayden nodded. “How did you meet Jackie?”

“Oh, uh, a club, in 2008.”

“Wow, that’s a long time. Uh, I mean, congratulations.”

Old man Hayden smiled and sat back in the booth, signaling the end of the exchange.

Cliff was on his phone, but he locked it quickly as the song changed.

“I fucking love this song,” he announced, earning Jackie’s attention.

“Really? Madonna, Cliff?”

Cliff nodded. Hayden could tell he was itching to go dance, so he stood up.

“Come on,” he said, waving to them. He offered his hand to Cliff, then did the same for Jackie, knowing Harris and Troy were watching. 

Cliff, after multiple drinks, was quite the dancer. Hayden and Jackie moved to the music, but they mostly just watched Cliff command space as the songs changed.

Halfway through a song, Ilya and Shane found them. Ilya waved to get Cliff’s attention. They lined up beside each other and started doing the exact same moves.

“What the fuck,” Hayden and Shane said at the same time, just watching them. 

“Did they fucking rehearse this?” Shane asked. They were so in sync, it was almost frightening. 

JJ was nearby, of course, filming the entire thing.

“Okay, someone has to take JJ’s phone.” If there was one thing JJ couldn’t be trusted with while drinking, it was his phone.

The song ended, switching to Doja Cat, and their choreographed number ended as well.

Hayden’s lips were sticky with liquor and his head was pleasantly fuzzy, and he found his fumbling hands on Cliff way more than was appropriate while they danced. He knew there were eyes on them, mostly guys checking out Cliff, but still.  

Jackie was similarly affected by him. He knew they were being way too obvious, especially when he caught that guy, Harris, looking at them during throwback Lady Gaga.

They lost Shane and Ilya at some point, and Hayden decided enough was enough. He was turned on, pleasantly buzzed, and ready to go home with his lovers.

They burst through the doors shortly after midnight, their arms around each other in a way that could be written off as friendly. Probably. Cliff pulled away once the sobering experience of downtown Montreal burst their bubble. Hayden kept his arm around Jackie as Cliff called the Uber.

They waited, making quiet conversation, ears ringing from the club. Hayden felt himself settling, the alcohol he consumed slowly fading. He just felt happy. Happy and alive. 

“That video of you and Ilya is definitely going viral,” Jackie snickered. “What the hell, Cliff?”

“Ilya and I used to be a problem at the clubs in Boston,” he shook his head, smiling fondly. “Good times. That guy can dance.”

Hayden tried to picture Ilya Rozanov dancing, and, even though he saw it earlier and multiple times prior, he couldn’t manage it.

“Do you think JJ already posted it?”

“It’s JJ,” Hayden and Jackie said at the same time. Cliff nodded, agreeing.

Their driver was a sweet older woman who asked them if they had a nice night.

“Yeah,” Jackie said, “How’s your night going?”

Jackie kept up polite conversation with the driver until they got to Cliff’s. They tipped her in cash and climbed out together. 

They giggled, bouncing into each other as they made it through the front door. 

“I wanna fuck you,” Cliff said to Hayden.

“Ugh, I’m all sweaty.” Hayden complained. 

“So? Jackie?” 

“I’m good with it,” she said, her hands on both of them. 

They stripped each other as they slowly made their way to Cliff’s bedroom. Jackie’s skirt was unzipped. Cliff grabbed her top from the bottom and ripped it over her head, her tits bouncing out, making Hayden’s dick twitch. 

“I kinda just wanna lay back,” Jackie said, eyes dangerous. “That okay?”

“I want to fuck you,” Hayden said. 

“You can fuck me, and Cliff can fuck you, yeah?” 

Hayden nodded, kissing her. Cliff was below them, his hands opening Hayden’s fly. He shimmied his jeans down. Hayden’s boxers were an obnoxious shade of red, the band showed a few times while they were dancing.

His tongue danced in Jackie’s mouth. He gripped her by her jaw, pushing closer, trying to climb inside. 

He felt the fabric of Jackie’s skirt fall, brushing his bare legs as it pooled under them. Cliff was getting right to it.

“Do you want to see her panties before I rip them off?” Cliff asked.

Hayden broke away and looked down. Jackie’s panties were lacy neon green thong he had never seen before. 

“Wow, alien green,” Hayden said. 

“Uh, rip them?” Jackie asked. Cliff took it as a command, he heard the seams tear until they were a scrap of material hanging off Jackie’s body.

“Oh my god,” Jackie gasped, her expressions were a journey of outrage and arousal. Cliff wrapped his arms around Jackie’s legs and pulled her in so he could press his face into her wetness. “Oh god,” She said, with feeling.

Hayden, wanting to get in on the fun, knelt and tore them the rest of the way, grinning, he stood up, the ruined panties in his hand. 

“Fuck you,” Jackie moaned, Cliff’s tongue playing with her clit.

Hayden tossed the underwear towards the trash can and pulled her in for a kiss.

“Okay,” Jackie said after a few minutes, “Okay, okay, okay, I want to get fucked. Cliff you need to start prepping Hayden right fucking now.”

Cliff stood. He said nothing, he just grabbed Hayden and threw him on the bed. Hayden bounced a little, which hid the violent twitch his cock gave at the harsh treatment. 

“Okay, that was hot as fuck,” Jackie laughed, her fingers finding her clit.

Cliff hovered over Hayden, lube in his hand. Hayden’s eyes raked over his tattoos, eyes catching on the 777. 

“Spread your legs.” And, okay, easy enough. 

Hayden loved commanding top Cliff as much as he loved crying, whining submissive Cliff, and he was extremely turned on. 

Jackie climbed on the bed, taking up the center. 

Cliff made quick, skilled work of opening him up, until Hayden was writhing on the bed, sweating, his cock leaking on his skin. 

“Feels good?”

“Yeah,” it felt familiar, it felt safe, it felt fucking hot.

Hayden knew how he was looking at Cliff, he could feel it. He could feel love in his gaze, but he couldn’t help it. Cliff was standing over him, three fingers curled wonderfully in his ass, dark eyes firmly trained on Hayden. His hair was falling in his face and his eyeliner ran enough to leave shimmery streaks on his cheeks.

And Cliff was looking at him like he was something beautiful, like he was something precious. 

"Okay," Cliff took his fingers away, Hayden gasped. "Jackie's turn."

Cliff stepped away with a condom and the bottle of lube. 

Hayden pressed kisses to Jackie's thighs, starting at the front but moving inside where the skin was soft and sensitive. He sucked a hickey there, enjoying her gasping breaths. He slid his tongue in her, lapping up her wetness, before taking her swollen clit in her mouth.

"Hayden, baby, I love you, I love this. Please get inside me." 

Jackie's proposal had the two of them in missionary, which Hayden loved. He kissed her as he entered her, feeling her gasp on his teeth. 

He did not forget about Cliff, but it still made him flinch when he felt his strong hands on his ass, spreading his cheeks. 

Cliff pushed into him slowly, Hayden pausing his movement in Jackie so he could tremble and moan with each inch. 

Jackie kissed him, her hands all over his body. 

They rocked together, Cliff doing the work to set the pace. Every harsh thrust from Cliff only shoved Hayden deeper into Jackie. The married couple held on for the ride.

Hayden started sucking hickeys into Jackie's neck, every whine and whimper she let out went straight to his dick. This was all going to be over very fast.

"Jesus Christ," Hayden moaned against Jackie's neck, her skin wet with saliva. "Jesus Christ, Cliff."

"You feeling good, baby?" Jackie asked. "I'm feeling amazing." Hayden was mostly collapsed onto her, he was torn between pushing deeper into her, and shoving back on Cliff. It was overwhelming. 

"Yeah. I fucking love your dick." He heard Cliff laugh behind him. He didn't care how pathetic he sounded, it was the truth.

"Oh god," Hayden moaned, rapidly devolving. Jackie's fingernails dug into his arms. He felt her clench around him as she came on his cock. 

Cliff was hitting his prostate dead on, Jackie's orgasm sucked him in deeper. He was out of his head, he didn't know what he was saying.

"Fucking love this. Cliff, Jacks, you feel so good, I fucking love you. Fuck-" Hayden came with a mortifying, whimpery moan. "I love you both."

At first, Hayden didn't know what he said. 

He felt Cliff pull out of him as his softening dick slipped out of Jackie. Jackie was the first indication that something was wrong. She was tense under him when she was usually boneless after an orgasm. He rolled off her and she sat up immediately, face grim.

Cliff was not there. The door to his bathroom was closed. He heard the sink running. 

"Hayden," Jackie started, afraid.

"What?"

And it hit him.

I love you both. 

He said it. Out loud, like a fucking idiot.

All spring, Jackie and Hayden had been avoiding all the serious conversations they needed to have with Cliff. They were cowards, the both of them, and they were idiots. They never even managed to discuss exclusivity with him, and Hayden just told him he loved him.

And Cliff wasn't here.

He was hiding. In the bathroom.

It didn't take him that long to tie off and dispose of a condom. The shower wasn't on. The sink was still running, but the bathroom was otherwise silent.

"He's freaking out," Jackie mumbled.

Hayden felt sick. He hated himself. He felt like crying.

"Should we go?" They would have to Uber to the rink to get Hayden's car. 

Hayden didn't want to go. He didn't want to put his clothes on and make small talk with a stranger. He didn't want to drive home, uncertain. He didn't want to leave Cliff's apartment. 

At least, not without speaking to him.

Jackie's underwear were ruined. She climbed off the bed, digging around in her bag for fresh panties. She threw Hayden's boxers at him. He sadly slid them up his legs and sat on the edge of the bed. He didn't want to get dressed without a shower, but the bathroom was still firmly occupied.

Jackie shoved a grey t-shirt on. She was kneeling by her bag when the door opened.

Cliff was wearing sweatpants, he must have taken them from his hamper. Hayden slowly made his way from his hips, up his bare torso, to his terrified, wide-eyed gaze.

He stood, paused in the doorway awkwardly, shuffling on his feet, before coming to sit on the edge of the bed. He was beside Hayden, but there was a considerable gap between them. 

"I haven't been with anyone since my divorce," Cliff said, voice low and scratchy. 

Jackie took up the space between them.

"I had never been in love before I met Maddie. Now I'm not certain I ever really was in love with her. I don't know. It's a mess, I'm a mess."

"Cliff-" Jackie started, but he cut her off.

"I have a lot of baggage, is all. The divorce was hard, my relationship with my family is weird, I'm not good at lying or keeping secrets, I have no idea what I'm gonna do once hockey is over, I'm greying-"

"Cliff, stop," Jackie shifted off the bed. She was on the floor, knees pressed into the carpet, holding his hand. Hayden, afraid Cliff would push him away, but desperate to be there for him, sat a little closer.

"I love you." He confessed, eyes squeezed shut, tears on his face. "Both of you. So much. Did you mean it? When you said it?" 

Hayden meant it, god, did Hayden fucking mean it. He wanted to touch Cliff, but didn't know how.

"Yes," he responded, choking on the word a little. 

"We're in love with you, Cliff," Jackie said, squeezing both of Cliff's hands in her own.

Cliff sniffled, and Hayden couldn't take it anymore, he threw his arms around the man, hugging him to his chest.

"How do we do this?" Their lover asked, clinging to them hours later, after they had a chance to clean up and go for round two, which was kissy and emotional and embarrassing. And Perfect.

"Carefully," Jackie answered. "Very carefully."

"We have all summer to figure it out," Hayden whispered into Cliff's neck, the promise of time shifting them closer together as they could finally, truly, breathe.

Chapter End Notes

I was inspired to write this fic after seeing a Cliff Marlow edit on TikTok a while ago. It was only about Cliff, but the edit was so good, I became obsessed with him. The edit was to Million Dollar Man by Lana Del Rey, and I listened to that song so much while writing this fic that my 2026 Spotify wrapped is irreversibly fucked.

This is the longest chapter yet at 19k words, my brain is pickled, there is no hope for me. I'm a grad student about to go into finals, but I want to wrap this up as soon as I can, hopefully before finals knife me. If you like what I've done, please leave me a comment, or do my final projects for me so I can focus all my time and energy into Jackie/Cliff/Hayden romance.

Thanks so much for reading, I am very grateful.

Chapter 9

Chapter Notes

Cliff, at his stove, resplendent in the morning light while a Beatles record melded with the sound of sizzling bacon, was a memory Hayden wanted to bottle so he could take small sips of it the rest of his life.

Hayden was the last out of bed that morning. It was still early. Cliff was nowhere to be seen and Jackie was actively climbing out of bed. Hayden watched her slip a t-shirt out of Cliff's closet and underwear from her overnight bag. He took another ten minutes to get moving, falling in and out of consciousness for a bit.

Cliff's back muscles flexing under dark hair, the scrape of a spatula on a frying pan, and his wife, sitting at Cliff's little breakfast nook, which was just a red, vintage square table with three matching chairs shoved against his windows. Jackie's curls were clipped up, she was sipping from a blue and yellow mug, humming softly to Here Comes the Sun, scrolling on her phone.

"Morning," Hayden greeted after standing, staring in the doorway for an inappropriate amount of time. Luckily, neither of them caught him at it, being half-emotional, content and grateful that this was his life. The only thing that could possibly make it better would be their children around them, all loud and messy and chaotic. 

"Morning, baby. Cliff is burning bacon for you."

Hayden grinned and rolled his eyes. He helped himself to a mug out of Cliff's cabinet. This was one was brown with the logo for some diner printed on the side. He snagged a piece of bacon off the paper-towel-covered plate beside the stove, and, because he could, pressed a quick kiss to the freckles on Cliff's shoulder. He had three right between two tattoos that Hayden just noticed for the first time. They were a perfect target.

"Morning," Cliff's voice was gravely, sexy. Despite his lack of clothing, he smelled like cologne or detergent, and like bacon, and sweat. A heady combination. 

They ate. Cliff had three chairs at his tiny table, like it was made for them specifically. He told Jackie he found it at an estate sale in May. Hayden took in the knowledge that Cliff was, apparently, the type of person to hunt for vintage pieces at estate sales. Without Jackie, Hayden would have no real sense of design or style. He liked what she liked.

Hayden checked his phone while Cliff and Jackie happily discussed their finds at sales over the years. Shane texted him that morning, early enough for the three of them to still be sleeping.

Shane: You should come to the cottage in August, after the camps.

Shane: Ilya brought it up to Cliff once, but I want you to know, you're all welcome. 

Shane: Love you, Hayd.

Hayden raised his eyebrows at the messages and immediately slid his phone across the table so Cliff and Jackie could read them. 

"Yeah, Ilya did mention the cottage," Cliff said.

"Do you have summer plans, Cliff?"

"Uh, not really. I was gonna go to Philly for a couple days at some point to see mom and my brothers. JJ's wedding. That's it, really."

Hayden and Jackie didn't really have that many plans either. Between JJ's wedding, their own wedding anniversary, and the twin's birthday, July was overbooked. 

August was pretty open, though.

Cliff looked down at the messages again before locking Hayden's phone for him.

"Shane saw us last night." 

Hayden nodded.

"We don't have to worry about Shane and Ilya." Hayden said automatically. Cliff didn't look worried necessarily, but he certainly didn't look thrilled.

Hayden and Jackie shared a glance. 

"We have to tell you something," She started, launching into the conversation they had with Shane and Ilya in March. This conversation spiraled into Hayden confessing that Shane knew about Cliff ever since Hayden came out to him years ago. 

"He guessed," Hayden said, "He can be stupidly perceptive when he wants to be."

"He...guessed?"

"Yeah," Hayden shuffled his feet under the table, bumping Jackie. Cliff didn't seem upset, but he should be. "He, um, heard us calling each other by our first names a couple times. And when you got your last concussion we were watching the game together."

Cliff's eyebrows disappeared under his hair. "What does that mean?"

"Hayden had a reaction," Jackie said. "He was upset."

"I guess it was obvious that I cared about you."

Cliff's dark eyes were unreadable, until they softened. 

"Even then?" He asked, quiet, unsure.

"I cared about you the entire time," Hayden responded, knowing his cheeks were pinking. Jackie squeezed his hand. "And then we went and fell in love with you."

"Pretty hard not to," Jackie said. "Love you, that is."

Cliff looked overwhelmed by this confession, and that scared the fuck out Hayden. He was certain he said too much immediately, that it was weird that he was so emotional over Cliff back then, when they had virtually no connection. 

"It is," Cliff said. "Or, it has been. For other people."

Jackie was closer to Cliff, she took his hand. 

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Cliff shrugged, he couldn't look at them, it seemed. Or wouldn't. He stared down at the table, then out the window.

"Maddie and I weren't right for each other. Is all. She was the first person I was ever really serious about. And it was fun. She was adventurous. Spunky, is how she described herself on our first date." He smiled to himself, but it looked painful. "We got married fast. Too fast. But it was good for a bit. Then it wasn't. She was...controlling. Difficult. I don't know. When it was over, it was over. She told me I was impossible to be with."

Fuck.

"Shit, this isn't right," Cliff scrubbed a hand over his face. "It's not like the divorce was all her fault. I was always away, you know? And back then, there was some stuff going on with Mikey, my little brother. She was...she always thought I was out cheating on her. If I wasn't back at a certain time, it was a problem. I kept having to fly down to Philly our last year together, and it...it was her last straw."

"Cliff, sweetie," Jackie said, one hand on his shoulder, the other holding his. "You're not a difficult person to be with. You're not a difficult person to love."

"Are you sure? Because our situation isn't exactly easy."

"No," Jackie responded. Hayden wanted to say something, but she was much better with words than he was. He pressed his ankle against Cliff's under the table and let her continue. "But that's the situation, not you."

He glanced between them, steeling himself. Jackie kept rubbing his shoulder. He leaned into it while visibly attempting to suppress his emotions.

"Are you sure?" He asked, "Both of you? Are you sure you want...this? The mess of it? The complicated, fucked up-ness of it all?"

"Yeah," Jackie said quickly, easily.

"Yes," Hayden responded, unthinking. It was his first instinct to agree with Jackie in all things, and that's where his quick reaction came from. But, it was also true. He did want Cliff. He couldn't imagine going forward without both of them at his side, and in his bed.

"And do you, Cliff? We come with a lot of...baggage too," Hayden said, cringing at referring to the kids as baggage. 

He smiled sweetly. "I like your baggage."

"The kids like you too, but we're going to have to take this very slowly. Figure out the best course of action before we...introduce you to them as our partner."

Cliff and Hayden both nodded.

"Cliff, we should've had this conversation before, but, like, this is us asking you to be exclusive. With us."

Cliff nodded. "I haven't seen anyone else since coming to Montreal."

Hayden heard the implication. They had, quietly, been playing at exclusive the last six months. 

"So, yes?" Jackie asked. "Exclusive? Be our boyfriend?"

Hayden suppressed a wince. 'Boyfriend' felt a little childish, and a little reductive of their relationship. 

But...Hayden had never had a boyfriend before. The thought was a little thrilling. Hi, I'm Hayden. This is my wife Jackie, and my boyfriend Cliff.

Cliff smiled at her, all teeth. 

"Girlfriend," He nodded at her, "boyfriend," he said, repeating the action at Hayden.

They passed a quiet, private June.

They had Cliff over for a barbeque a few days after becoming official. He left the door unlocked for him, so when Cliff appeared in their backyard unannounced, it set butterflies loose in his stomach. The kids were happy to see him. Ruby roped him into a conversation about losing the Stanley Cup. Arthur patiently waited his turn before leading Cliff into the house to properly show him his collage. 

Once Amber heard Arthur call him Uncle Cliff, she copied the title.

"Uncle Cliff, do you have any kids?" She asked, standing on the bench of their picnic table while Hayden grilled on the patio, turning over pieces of marinated chicken. "Daddy wants us to have cousins, but Uncle Shane and Uncle Ilya haven't had babies yet."

"No, sorry, Amber."

"You have cousins!" Jackie called from the grill, her arms around Hayden. "Aiden, Jordon, and Isabella." 

She was referring to her brother's kids, the oldest, Aiden, was younger than Amber. Isabella was nine months old.

"Do you want to play my game?" Amber asked Cliff, ignoring her mother. Cliff easily agreed to play a fucked up game she invented where she was on a hunting trip, and Cliff was a boar she had to spear. The spear was Jade's hockey stick. Because Ruby was just as feral as Amber, she happily got her stick and also tried to hunt Cliff, who was crawling around in their yard, barely dodging jabs from their daughters.

"Girls! Be careful with him!" Jackie scolded. 

Cliff was unbothered, even with a stick to the gut. He was a good sport. The married couple smiled at each other when Cliff stood up suddenly, scooping Amber up, spinning her in circles while she shrieked.

"The boar hunts back! The boar wins!" 

Horrifyingly, he reminded Hayden of the way Ilya played with them. A little rough, like he was still a kid himself. He tried to immediately erase that connection from his mind. 

"What do your tattoos mean?" Jade asked a little while later while they were eating. They had marinated chicken, pasta salad, and fresh cucumbers. There was fruit salad that two out of four kids would actually touch, and popsicles they would definitely all demand when the meal was finished. 

"All different things," he said.

She pointed to the 777 on his arm. 

"What's that one?"

"He's number 7, obviously, Jade." Ruby scoffed, Jade glared at her sister and turned her back on her to focus on Cliff. 

"That's true, it is my jersey number. But it's also my lucky number," he said, winking at her.

"I want a tattoo," Jade said. "Not the fake ones. A real one."

"In a few years, sweetie," Jackie said while Hayden momentarily had a crisis about his daughter being a fully grown adult able to make such choices.

Maybe Hayden should get one first. Test the waters, just so he knew what she was getting into. 

"When?"

"You can't legally get one until you're 18," Jackie responded. Jade was devastated by this news.

"What will you get, do you think?" Cliff asked her, unaware the rest of the children were watching the interaction with rapt attention. 

"I like that one," she said, pointing to the medium-sized half-naked woman in his right inner arm.

Hayden liked that tattoo too. A naked woman is not inherently sexual (though, he was sure that was Cliff's intention when he got it), and the kids had seen similar art plenty of times in their life, but something about Jade pointing out that tattoo specifically stressed him out.

Jackie gave him a look, so maybe his thoughts were spelled out on his face. He shoveled more pasta in his mouth and studied the plate.

"My good friend Grace designed that one for me," Cliff said, twisting his arm so she could see it more. "I got it right after your Uncle Ilya and I won the Stanley Cup."

"You should have a cup tattoo," Ruby responded, earning an eye roll from her sister. Cliff only smiled.

"Maybe when your dad and I win next season."

"Yeah right," Ruby laughed. Hayden gave her a weary look, and she had the decency to look a little guilty. 

"No, you need a dragonfly." Arthur said definitively. 

"Yeah, I don't think I have a dragonfly yet," he said, looking around his body as if he had forgotten what tattoos he did have. Maybe he did forget, there were a lot. "Maybe you could design it for me."

Oh lord.

Arthur's eyes widened. He gave Cliff an extremely rare, extra-wide grin.

Hayden had a stark realization, in that moment, that he had never seen his son so happy. Arthur was the child that looked the most like Hayden, with his straight blonde hair and blue eyes, but when you put photos of Art and Hayden at the same age beside each other, you couldn't see much of a resemblance. Hayden was silly in all his childhood photos, always making faces or smiling at the camera, and Art always looked kind of...despondent, in his. He and Jackie discussed it, but they weren't certain on their course of action yet. They were mostly focusing on encouraging him; and being ready for him whenever he needed them. 

"Really Uncle Cliff? I could draw you a tattoo?"

"Yeah!" Cliff nodded. The twins were staring at Arthur, maybe also realizing what a big deal his reaction was. "You're a very talented artist. I would love to get some of your work inked."

"Inked," Art repeated quietly, staring down at the picnic table. "I gotta get my sketchbook!" 

"Arthur!" Jackie called, but their son was already through the door and in the house. He did not finish his meal. 

"Sorry," Cliff said a little later, when the plates were cleared and the adults were sitting on the patio furniture while the kids played. Ruby and Amber were on their updated playground equipment Hayden bought in the spring (he hired someone to put it together). Jade was inside, reading. Arthur was obsessively scribbling in his sketchbook, occasionally taking breaks to study Cliff.

"For what?"

"The tattoo thing, with Art. Sorry if it was weird. If I overstepped."

"Come on," Hayden scoffed. "Look at him, he's thrilled." 

He really was. He loved bugs, and he loved art. Cliff had just given him the best gift of his life. He wasn't as happy while competing in art competitions, or when he one first prize in the spelling bee, or when he found a, frankly, odd looking beetle at the playground and carried it on his hand over to Hayden to study. Hayden tried really hard to be cool about that one, because Art was overjoyed, but he could not let that thing touch his skin like Arthur had.

"You don't have to have it tattooed if you don't want to, though." Jackie said.

Which, this was true, but Hayden was slightly afraid that not getting the tattoo would crush Arthur's little heart. 

"Of course I want it! I've been trying to figure out what to do next, anyway. Been running out of ideas."

"And space." Hayden mumbled. 

"You have plenty of free space," Cliff said, nodding towards him. Hayden raised his eyesbrows, smirking, he took a swig out of his beer bottle.

Arthur ran over with the sketchpad. He showed Cliff about a dozen rough sketches of dragonflies. 

Cliff took off his shirt and showed Arthur a bit of bare skin he had on his right side, over his ribs.

"That's about as much space as you have to work with," Cliff said. "That okay?"

"Yeah," Art replied. "These aren't finished, just an idea."

They looked great, honestly. His son was still in elementary school and he was already beginning to excel at realism. He was a genius. Hayden knew that in, like, a casual way, but he was starting to think he, as a father, should get a little more serious about raising an exceptional kid.

Arthur was flipping through his sketchbook when he dropped it. The book fell face-up, displaying a pencil drawing of a beetle.

The beetle was the kind with freaky pincers on its face. It was...terrifyingly realistic, and looked like it was photocopied from a textbook rather than drawn in pencil.

"Wow," Cliff said, picking up the sketchbook. "Can I use this one?" 

"For a tattoo?"

"Yeah, it's a stag beetle! Wicked cool, Art."

"Wicked?" Art whispered, clutching his sketchbook with tiny hands, staring down at his drawing. 

"Do you still want a dragonfly?"

"Can I do both? I would like both, but only with your permission."

Art, momentarily, looked extremely overwhelmed before he nodded, smiling slightly, crooked teeth on display. He ripped out the stag beetle sheet and handed it to Cliff.

"Wait until I'm done with the dragonfly to get them," he said, "Promise?"

"I promise." Cliff offered Arthur his pinky, which Arthur took very seriously. 

Cliff slid his shirt back on as Arthur went to go draw. 

"Your kids are incredible." Cliff said, staring down at the drawing. "This kid is...he's a prodigy."

"He's a genius," Jackie nodded. "They all are."

"Amber?" Hayden asked. His youngest child was smart, yes, but she was more...ferocious, than brilliant. She always wanted to play some creepy or downright frightening game, and was constantly telling kids at school that she was going to put curses on them if they were mean to her. 

"In her own way," Jackie said. "Give her a little time."

He would give his kids all the time in the world, especially if it prolonged their childhoods. 

Cliff went home to Philadelphia the day before American Independence Day. Even though they didn't see him every day, he was missed greatly. Montreal felt a little emptier. 

JJ and Mona came over to discuss wedding plans. The wedding day was child-free, which Hayden understood. The wedding was just outside of Montreal, though, so they would have to hire a real babysitter ahead of time. Hayden got the contacts for Hayden's other groomsmen so they could work on planning the bachelor party. All this planning was massively stressful. 

"Are you going to a strip club?" Mona asked JJ at the table, in front of Hayden and Jackie.

"Uh, I'm not planning it."

"Tell me if you are, because then we're getting strippers too."

Hayden shrugged. He had been to plenty of bachelor parties at strip clubs, but if he was planning the night, they would probably avoid them. He was weary of strip clubs.

He knew he had to plan something, though. The end of July was horribly chaotic. Jackie and Hayden had their wedding anniversary. A few days later, it was JJ's wedding. The day before the wedding was the bachelor party. Then, it was the twins birthday with only a few days to plan that.

It was difficult to find time for Cliff in July. He came over to hang out, and they talked and ate and laughed, the three of them had some of the best conversations of their lives, but finding time for sex was nearly impossible.

That's why, when Megan offered to take the kids to the zoo the day after Cliff got back from Philly, Jackie and Hayden jumped at the opportunity. 

It was hot enough in Canada for Cliff to have the AC running. They had three hours max, so they didn't waste any time when they got through the door. Jackie and Hayden were sweaty, but Cliff didn't care as he crowded them against the front door.

"You smell good," his gravely voice was almost a growl against the pair, his face pressed between them so he could ghost little kisses on their skin.

"It's sweat, weirdo," Hayden laughed, then shivered when Cliff's tongue fell out, licking a wide, flat stripe up Hayden's neck. "Jesus."

"I missed you guys," Cliff said, catching Jackie's mouth with his.

He had called them twice when he was in Philly. The first time, he was taking his mom's dog for her evening walk. He asked about the kids, how they were doing, and if Hayden was doing the workout routine Shane recommended him (no). 

The second time was the second day he was there. It was a late FaceTime, after midnight. Cliff answered with his dick in his hand, which suited them well, as they had been relentlessly sexting him for two hours, idly touching each other while they waited him to finally crack. 

He led them to the kitchen. Surprisingly, he broke away from them and took a seat on a bar stool. There was a piece of paper on the counter, he slid it towards them.

"Had an hour to kill while I was visiting Ma," he said. 

Jackie picked up the paper. Hayden read it over her shoulder. It was the reporting of an STD panel from a clinic in Philadelphia. 

Hayden raised his eyebrows at Cliff. 

They hadn't discussed it since the last time. Jackie had expressed, continuously, a desire to feel Cliff inside her raw. Hayden wanted it too, badly, but Cliff said he wanted to get tested first, just to be safe. 

There had been no discussion since, and Cliff had not informed them about testing. 

Jackie's grin was wide and telling, she was bouncing on her heels, thrilled at his all-clear. 

She threw herself at him, kissing his lips quickly before pressing hurried kisses all over his face. He was grinning and laughing, strong hands holding her against him.

"Did you want us to get tested too?" Hayden asked. Hayden hadn't had an STD test since right before he met Jackie. He was clear, they both were, he was sure, but Cliff's peace of mind mattered to him. 

"Oh," Jackie pulled away.

"I think it's...it's probably fine," Cliff was hard in his shorts. "You guys haven't been with anyone but each other all this time, right?"

"Right," Jackie said. "Are you sure, though?"

"Yeah," Cliff said, "I'm really sure."

They kept the curtains open in the bedroom, the room was bright and cheery. Hayden wanted Cliff to come inside him, he wanted it more than he wanted a Stanley Cup.

(Okay, maybe not quite that much, but it was close).

He almost wanted to fight Jackie for it, but he would concede to her, wanting her happy more than he wanted Cliff's sticky load, his cock throbbing, bare deep inside him-

Fuck. He wanted it. Maybe he would fight Jackie for it.

"Okay, fuck." Cliff said, lazily making out with both of them in the bed. "How are we doing this? Who...who wants it?"

"Hayden does," Jackie said instantly. 

"What?" Hayden asked, confused at being volunteered. Jackie had been dreaming of it. (Specifically, she had been dreaming about double penetration in which they both came in her. She told him about this dream one morning while she jerked him off). 

"Hayden wants it, give it to Hayden."

"Jackie, you've been talking about feeling him inside you bare for months..."

"Yeah," she practically moaned. Cliff's fingers were inside her. "And I do want that. But..."

"We can both have it," Hayden said, they had time, probably. Cliff often had a quick turn around.

"I really wanna see his come spilling out of you, though."

"Fuck," Cliff gasped, "I almost forgot about your filthy fucking mouth, Jacks."

Jackie smiled at him. "I'll dirty talk a little more so you don't forget, honey."

"You first. We have time."

He wasn't certain they did, really, but Cliff looked ready to try.

"Don't rush."

"Hayden, get my bag," Jackie said, shimmying her shorts down, taking her hot pink thong off with them. "I brought you something."

Cliff had Jackie's shirt lifted up, he was licking and sucking her hard nipples as Hayden climbed off the bed to retrieve her bag from the kitchen.

When he made it back, Cliff was mostly naked, save for boxers, eating her out, her legs high in the air. 

He dropped her purse on the side of the bed and dug around in it before finding a familiar black bag.

Inside it was a dildo. A six-incher, it was watermelon pink with prominent veins running up the sides.

Cliff quit lapping Jackie up to see Hayden standing there with the dildo.

"So, what's gonna happen is: Cliff's gonna fuck me until my back is broken and he comes so deep inside me my IUD malfunctions-"

"Oh my god, don't even joke, Jacks-"

"And while he's doing that, you're gonna fuck yourself open next to me. And you will not come, not until Cliff does the same to you, okay?" 

"How do you always have a plan?"

"I'm a house wife," Jackie said, rolling her eyes. "I'm busy as hell with the kids, or I have all the time in the world."

"And you're a freak," Hayden said.

"And I'm a freak. Get over here. Cliff, you too."

"I want you on your stomach first," Cliff said, hovering over Jackie, hard cock hanging between them. "But then I want you in missionary so I can see your face when you feel it." 

"God," Jackie whimpered. "Yes, whatever you want." Hayden pressed kisses to Jackie's jaw as he popped open the lube bottle. 

Jackie got in the position he preferred. On her hands and knees, she was looking down at Hayden through the curtain of her hair. Hayden was not under her, he was beside her, legs spread, working two fingers into his hole as he watched Cliff's bare cock slid into her pussy.

He studied her face as she felt it, her mouth fell open. She bit her own arm before letting go, releasing a choked-off, guttural moan to the room. That, probably, wasn't because he was bare, it was because he was Cliff, and his dick was fucking perfect.

Raw sex is only better when you're in love, that was something Hayden firmly believed. His first time going bare with Jackie was a life-changing experience because he was unbelievably gone for her. He felt totally, and completely, connected with her.

He knew Jackie had some kind of kink, or preference, that Hayden didn't have, but Hayden could understand the emotional aspect. He loved Cliff, Jackie loved Cliff, and that made intimacy a thousand times hotter.

Hayden's ass clenched around his fingers. He moaned, catching Cliff's eyes. Cliff looked gone already, like he was on another planet. Hayden wanted to get there too, he wanted to ascend. 

"The dildo," Jackie said. "You-you can take the dildo. But don't fucking come," She groaned, "Harder, Cliff. Fuck me."

Cliff answered her prayers. Hayden, watching the hottest performance of his life, picked up the dildo and dribbled lube over it. He was so ready to feel it inside him. He didn't touch his own cock, desperate to follow her orders and make it last, even if it meant waiting for them to be finished and for Cliff to be ready for round two. 

If Cliff's erratic thrusts and desperate moans were anything to go by, he didn't have long. Hayden pushed the tip of the dildo in, pausing, transfixed on Jackie's open-mouth breaths, her eyes squeezed shut as she bounced with each thrust, the slapping of skin music to their ears.

"Fuck," Cliff's fingers were digging into her hips. He traced a finger over her lower back, she shivered. "You'd be hot with a tramp stamp."

Jackie laughed over a moan. "You think?"

"Mhm," He responded. 

Hayden pushed the dildo in further, gasping as goosebumps erupted. He was feeling good, moving lightly with the shake of the bed. He was just opening himself up, not trying to come, just trying to prepare and feel good. He rubbed a hand over his chest, brushing his nipples lightly.

"You're so pretty, baby," Jackie mumbled before crying out. She was close. Cliff seemed aware of it.

He pulled out of her and turned her over. She rested against the mattress with a sigh. He got to work, lifting her legs and pushing back in. 

Hayden tried timing his thrusts with Cliff's, but Cliff's were too fast for his wrist, he kept it gentle with himself, slow, as Cliff drove into Jackie mercilessly. 

Jackie eyes were rolling back in her head, she reached over and took Hayden's hand, squeezing it as Cliff's thumb found her clit.

"Fuck," She moaned. "Yes, fuck."

He rubbed her clit, hips rolling.

"Fuck, Jackie. Are you ready for it? Are you sure you don't want me to pull out?"

"Do not pull out, Cliff!" She growled. "Fucking do not. Come in me."

"Jesus Christ," Cliff whispered. "I fucking love you. Love your fucking pussy. Holy fuck-"

He paused his movements, hips flush with her own. Jackie's eyes went wide, Cliff did not pause in rubbing her clit.

She shot up as she came with a gasping whine, reaching for Cliff's face but mostly slapping it lightly, before falling back on the bed, twitching beautifully. 

Hayden was going to come if anyone so much as breathed on his dick. He paused his movements, taking his hand off the dildo, trembling. That was so fucking hot.

"Oh my god, no wait, don't go."

"I was gonna get a cloth." Cliff said, halfway off the bed.

"No," Jackie said, holding him by the wrist, tugging him towards her. "No."

Cliff collapsed on top of her, kissing her. 

"It's so good, Hayd," she said a minute later. Hayden still had not continued touching himself. He was dribbling pre on his stomach. "You're gonna love it."

Hayden was a little nervous, but mostly, he was desperate for it. He kissed Cliff and Jackie lightly. They still had an hour before they had to be home, and no missed calls on either of their phones.

It was a few minutes later that Cliff asked:

"Why did you stop?" 

Cliff motioned towards the dildo, which Hayden had slid fully inside him before he stopped.

"He was gonna come," Jackie said. "I told him not to."

"Yeah."

Cliff reached over to rub his chest lightly.

"You're so sensitive."

"I'd like to see you keep it together in my position," Hayden accused. 

"I'd take that rag now, Cliff," Jackie said. Cliff left to grab one immediately.

She turned on her side when he was gone and immediately grabbed hold of the dildo. He gasped as she pulled it out a bit and shoved it back in. 

"Feel good?"

"Yeah."

"You ready for this?"

Hayden nodded at her.

"You're so pretty. Pretty blue eyes," She smiled, kissing his cheek before fucking the dildo into him again, the snap of her wrist violent.

Cliff returned and started cleaning Jackie up. He didn't move her from her position on her side. He cleaned the come off her leg before lifting her other one, resting her ankle on his shoulder so he could clean up her pussy.

She shivered.

"Thank you, baby, how are you?"

He wasn't soft, that was obvious, but he wasn't fully hard yet either.

"I'm good," Cliff said, eyes burning as he ogled the dildo deep in Hayden's ass.

Cliff climbed over Hayden to kiss him. Hayden happily returned it, enjoying the slide of Cliff's nice lips over his own. He kissed him slowly, sweetly, like a lover, before Cliff introduced his tongue, deepening the kiss. 

Hayden ran his palms over Cliff's stubble, the sensation was immensely satisfying. Cliff once accused him of petting his face like he were a cat. Hayden couldn't deny it. 

Cliff's happy hum reminded him of a cat's purr, anyway, so it was fitting.

Cliff gasped into the kiss. Jackie was stroking him to full hardness. Hayden paid her no attention, he couldn't care less about his own desperately neglected erection, he just wanted to kiss his boyfriend. 

Hayden smiled into the kiss, breaking it. 

"What?" Cliff asked, pulling back, smiling too.

"You're my boyfriend." Hayden chuckled lightly. 

"I have two boyfriends," Jackie replied, laughing at him. "That is a brag, by the way."

Cliff grinned, pounced on her for a quick kiss, before returning to Hayden.

"You ready to get fucked, boyfriend?"

Jackie giggled, delighted. She leaned against the headboard, playing with Hayden's hair.

"Yeah," Hayden bit his lip, gasping as Cliff slid the dildo out of him. Cliff found the lube, as he started spreading a generous amount on his cock, Hayden couldn't help but blurt:

"I've never done this before."

Cliff raised his eyebrows at Hayden.

"What? Anal sex?"

"No," Hayden squirmed, "Obviously."

"Obviously," Cliff and Jackie teased in unison. Jackie knew what he was getting at, but she wasn't jumping in to explain for him.

"I've never been fucked without, like, a condom."

"Oh, I see." Cliff said. "I haven't either."

"It's nice," Jackie said. "You'll like it. You both will."

Hayden took a moment to imagine himself sinking into Cliff without anything between them. 

Fucking hell. 

"I think we're making something out of nothing here," Hayden said, eyes on Cliff's cock. "I mean, it's not that different."

"Sure," Jackie said. "Except it is. You can't deny you like it better without a condom. How did our family start? I distinctly remember you saying something in 2009 like 'you know it feels better raw, baby.'"

"You agreed!" Hayden said, blushing, trying not to cringe at his much younger, stupider self.

"Yeah, and that's why we had twins right after our first anniversary! Speaking of, we don't have all day, unfortunately, and Hayden's dick is going to mutiny if someone doesn't start touching it."

Cliff hovered over Hayden. Hayden stayed on his back, and Cliff gave no indication he wanted this to change.

Immediately, the feeling wasn't so different, but that's because his hole was adjusting to the size, the slight burn of the stretch slowly but surely giving way to intense pleasure as Cliff filled him so completely. 

Cliff, as deep in him as possible, pressed kisses to Hayden's scrunched up face as he waited for Hayden to be ready for more.

Jackie swiped his cheek, he wondered if a stray tear had fallen or something. He didn't think so, but he couldn't really account for anything except Cliff splitting him open. 

Cliff pulled away to kneel between his legs so he could pour more lube on his hand. As Hayden breathed, Cliff massaged a slick hand down Hayden's dick. 

Hayden gasped, his eyes flying open. 

"Your eyes are so bright," Cliff mumbled, palm lightly cupping his cheek. "You're the prettiest man in the world, Hayden."

"Isn't he?" Jackie hummed. "We're so lucky."

"So lucky."

"Move," Hayden said, face burning. "Please move. Please fuck me."

Hayden, really, couldn't account for the difference. Mostly because he was immensely overwhelmed by Cliff splitting him open, but also because every time he had sex with them, the both of them, it was always better than the last time. They raised the bar after every meeting. Hayden thought they would hit a ceiling eventually, but they still had not found it. 

"Mm, mm, nn," Hayden was making deeply embarrassing noises, Cliff's thrusts were as brutal as he liked. His hands squeezed his legs, his mouth found Hayden's to swallow whimpers and whines. And when he pulled out of Hayden to force him onto his stomach, he didn't waste any time keeping the pace.

Jackie's fingers carded through his hair while Cliff's massive hand gripped his shoulder, the other on his hip. He could get so fucking deep in this position, right where he needed him.

"Cliff," Hayden moaned. "I'm gonna come." 

"Fuck, I'm almost there too," Cliff groaned. "Jackie, will you come here?"

Hayden thought he could hear them kissing over the sound of skin slapping, he couldn't focus, really, all he could do was feel his orgasm build, and, eventually, crescendo in a sticky mess all over Cliff's bed.

"Oh fuck, Hayden-" 

Hayden felt it, then, while he was learning to breathe like a normal person. Hot liquid inside him. He felt it before, in his mouth, in his hand, all over his body, but not like this, never like this. 

Cliff released his hips gently, lowering him to the bed. He pulled out, Hayden could feel most of his load sliding out with his cock. Hayden whined. He felt...messy.

He felt claimed.

"Fuck," Jackie said. "That's what I wanted to see." 

"You really are a freak, Jackie," Cliff laughed. A hand on his ass, spreading him open inelegantly. He could feel her cold ring on his flesh.

"You both like it," she replied, "I'm not ashamed."

"You shouldn't be."

"Do you feel bred, Hayden?"

"Jesus Christ," Cliff swore at her language.

Hayden shivered, but laughed. "A little, yeah." He was half-joking.

"Maybe Hayden needs an IUD too."

"Shut up," Hayden giggled. Jackie's hand fell off him, so he turned over to smile at them, they were kneeling together at the foot of the bed. 

His stomach was a little stained, but the bed caught most of the damage. Hayden felt bad for him, especially because they both had to clean up quickly in Cliff's shower and race home. 

"But you liked it?" Cliff asked at the door. "It was a nice surprise?"

"The best surprise," Jackie responded. Hayden nodded. He wanted to say: I can't wait to do it to you, but he didn't have his wife's talent for spouting off filthy talk at all hours.

"Can't wait for Hayden to top you next," Jackie grinned, reading his mind again. 

Cliff blushed down his chest. 

They, unfortunately, would not see Cliff again until JJ's bachelor party.

The wedding was at a large, gorgeous estate an hour outside Montreal. Everyone in the wedding party rented rooms at the venue for Friday (parties) and Saturday (wedding). 

The hired a nanny for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, even though they would be home early on Sunday. Choosing a nanny was difficult and terrifying. They typically left the kids with family if they were using a babysitter at all, preferring them to spend time with Megan, or Eliza in a pinch. Shane and Ilya too. But, Megan and Eliza couldn't watch them for three days, and Shane and Ilya would be at the wedding.

They left the kids with a nice young man who had plenty of glowing references (Hayden checked them all). Hayden decided to trust him, because he was required to, and the nanny promised to send them as many photos as humanly possible. 

They drove to the venue Friday afternoon. Hayden nearly cried a little in the car after leaving the kids, acting like he had never left them before.

"The Pikes!" JJ was in the small parking lot of the venue chatting with two men Hayden vaguely recognized as groomsmen. One was Mona's brother, he was pretty sure. Or cousin.

Hayden hugged JJ, he noticed Shane and Ilya's SUV in the parking lot. He found them inside. The large front room of the inn was already set up for a wedding, as was the massive wrap-around enclosed porch beside it. The boys were at a table alone, talking quietly while Ilya fanned himself with a paper fan.

He checked his phone, knowing Cliff wouldn't be there for another hour. They were heading back to Montreal in the party bus Hayden rented at 6:00. 

"Hey guys," Jackie said, dropping herself in the chair beside Ilya and immediately stealing his fan. It was quite hot in the front room. 

"Jackie," Ilya pouted. "I needed that."

"Too bad," Jackie said, fanning herself.

Ilya turned to Hayden, who sought refuge beside Shane at the circular table.

"Thought Marly would have rode in with you."

Hayden glared at him. 

"He'll be here in like, an hour." Jackie said. "He had errands to run."

Her eyes were closed, so she missed the searching look Ilya gave her.

"So it is serious, then." It wasn't a question. 

Hayden spoke to Shane earlier that month, quickly, updating him (with Cliff's permission) on their status. Shane had been happy for him, but ultimately, surprised. He clearly didn't understand how it worked between the three of them, but he was cautiously supportive. 

"Be happy for us, Ilya," Jackie replied, fanning him to earn a little goodwill. 

"I am," Ilya said. "I made jokes before, because I didn't think it would happen. Then it did, and I was...worried for Cliff."

"We know," Hayden responded, he did get that. Cliff was important to Ilya like Shane was important to Hayden. They were both territorial over their best friends. It was a challenge they each had to get over.

"But I am not so worried anymore. He tells me you are in love. He is happy." Ilya still sounded a bit off, but Hayden didn't push it. They sat, sweating in the heat in silence.

Cliff was there an hour later, as he said he would be. JJ and Mona had disappeared for a while at that point. The four friends were at the table discussing the next hockey season. A few other members of the wedding party were scattered around, mostly chatting and smoking outside.

Jackie and Hayden looked up as they heard Cliff's footsteps in the doorway. He was, technically, across the entire room. This was, essentially, a manor house. 

Cliff was a hard man to miss, though. 

Ilya and Jackie waved him over. Cliff approached them with a wide smile on his face. 

He clapped a friendly hand on Hayden's shoulder as he took the only empty seat at the table, the one between Jackie and Hayden. 

Shane and Ilya leaned close together, their faces, weirdly, were pressed cheek to cheek. Hayden felt the cold chill of Ilya's intense gaze over him, followed by the terrifying calculation of his best friend's brown eyes.

"What are you doing." The question came out flat, already showing Hayden's irritation. 

"Studying," Shane and Ilya replied, scarily, at the same time.

The three partners stared back, confused.

Shane broke away from Ilya, nodding. 

"You are sure?"

"Yeah," Shane replied. "Aren't you?"

"They are attractive together, I agree." Ilya said, making the three of them squirm. "Even Pike."

"You're crazy, Ilya," Cliff shook his head. "Hayden is gorgeous."

"I've been telling him for years," Jackie said, "he's thick-headed."

"I know beauty, Jackie. Gorgeous is a stretch."

"Okay, let's change the subject," Hayden said, sweating through his shirt. 

"I like your dress," was Cliff changing the subject. Jackie was wearing a casual purple sundress. It was a tube top, so her pretty, freckly, broad shoulders were on full display. She was wearing several necklaces on long chains. Her curls were half-up so everyone could see her silver, dangly earrings. 

"Isn't it? Hayden picked it out."

"Good taste," Cliff said, eye's raking down his body before he turned to do the same to Jackie.

"Jesus," Shane mumbled, sipping from his water bottle.

"I need to change out of it soon, anyway. And do my makeup."

"Where are the ladies going?" Ilya asked her. Jackie wasn't, officially, a bridesmaid, her and Mona weren't close like JJ and Hayden were, but she had been invited to the bachelorette party. 

"Strip club crawl, I believe. I think one might even be men and women, which is exciting." 

"You have your cash?" Hayden asked her.

"Yep, I'm gonna go change. See you later."

They were alone in the hall, she stood between Cliff and Hayden, did a long look around the very empty room, before quickly kissing Cliff and Hayden and skipping off.

Cliff and Hayden were both watching her go with embarrassing lovesick expressions that had Shane and Ilya fake gagging. 

"Oh my god, grow up," Hayden said, ears red. 

"I kinda love it," Shane said. "Our best friends are dating each other."

"Yeah, but your best friend is-"

"Oh my god, Ilya-"

"Hayden Pike."

"You literally like me," Hayden accused, smirking at Ilya's outraged expression. 

"Why would you say that?"

"Because it's true. You say we're family."

"What is that saying? You can't pick your family?"

The bus was in the parking lot at 6:00 on the dot. Hayden had changed into a fresh shirt, but he kept it simple in a red button up. He wanted to wear pants, but it was too humid in Canada for anything but shorts. Jackie started buying him shorts that were a little too short for the average hockey player to tolerate, but he wore them anyway. It helped that Cliff kept checking out his legs.

Ilya, luckily, was not attending the bachelor party with them, as he was not in the wedding party, or close with JJ. The few players on the Metros that were invited into the wedding eyed Ilya warily as he walked Shane out.

"I'll be waiting for you," he promised, loud enough for them to hear, before kissing Shane and heading inside.

It was Clemens and Anders on the Metros who were in the party, along with a few other of JJ's friends. Hayden introduced himself to the strangers. They had all met in the group chat already. Everyone was friendly, there was little awkwardness among the guys, which was to be expected. That would go away with sobriety. 

They only rented a bus so no one would have to DD the hour drive between the venue and Montreal. They greeted the bus driver, a no-nonsense man named Tim. 

There were 99 shooters waiting for them in a mini fridge. Hayden had, of course, arranged for this. JJ didn't want to get blackout drunk, having to be present at his wedding the next night, but he wanted to 'get buzzed early so I can sober up for sex one more time before marriage.'

"What is this? Oh my god, you are crazy, Pike," JJ asked as they passed around the 99s. Hayden's flavor was, allegedly, fruit punch. He didn't buy it for a second as the fiery liquid hit his throat. 

"Fuck, 99s? What are we, teenagers? I thought hockey players could afford something a little better," one of JJ's buddies complained, but eagerly twisted off the cap.

Hayden, glaring teasingly at the man, reached under his seat and pulled out a bottle of disgustingly expensive scotch that Shane paid for. 

Shane poured everyone a glass, and they sat back, each guy telling a story about married life.

"Pike," JJ said, "You've been married your entire life. What's your advice?"

Hayden shrugged. "Love your wife," he replied, it really was that simple. "Keep it interesting."

"How do you keep it interesting?" Anders asked, nudging the guy beside him. 

Hayden smiled and sipped his drink, feeling Cliff's body heat beside him. 

Their first location was another idea by Shane. He called up JJ's buddy, the one who owned a Haitian restaurant in downtown Montreal. They had recently earned a Michelin star. Shane rented out the entire restaurant for the evening, even though they would probably only be there an hour max.

JJ was, predictably, delighted by this. JJ's buddy would be at his wedding tomorrow, but JJ was very excited to see him that night. There were already several dishes prepared for them to sample before they placed their orders.

They took it easy with drinks at dinner, each eating enough to soak up the hard liquor from the bus. 

Hayden had not planned too much for the evening, deciding to keep it, mostly, simple. After dinner, they were making their way to Montreal's newest nightclub. It was called "Dirty." It sounded, to Hayden, like a strip club, but it was just a dance club. It took every favor Hayden had to get their party on a list at the door, all because he knew this would be a new experience for JJ. The club only opened that spring. JJ had connections everywhere. For that reason, Hayden was desperate to treat his friend to something different, something new.

It was certainly a new experience for Hayden, the club was built in a large, historic building that had been totally gutted. There were two stories of dancefloors, but hanging above them were...bird cages? Cages, kind of, with mostly naked women inside gyrating in leather "outfits."

The majority of the crowd was similarly dressed. JJ's party were clearly the odd ones out, but JJ didn't seem to mind. They found a table, as it was still pretty early in the night, only pushing 9:00pm. Hayden had drinks procured for the group quickly, knowing this night was going to hurt his bank account. This was most of his wedding present to JJ, though, so, whatever.

They did not take it easy on the drinking.

Anders and Clemens got drunk fast. Their booth was on the second level. JJ, Hayden, and Shane watched from the railing as the two Metros starters dance with two strange women who were in leather corsets with belts around their legs and makeup out to their ears.

"They look happy," Shane said. "I think they're fine."

"Oh yeah," Cliff said, "They're right where they want to be."

There were chains with cuffs attached to the wall opposite their booth. 

"I can't believe you took me to a BDSM bar, Pike," JJ said, grinning, eyes glowing with drunkenness. 

Hayden frowned dramatically, also drunk.

"It's a normal club."

"The server has a knife attached to her thigh," one of the guys said.

"I think that's fake," Shane replied.

"I love it. You're so weird, Pike. You're such a good friend." JJ pressed a fat, wet kiss to Hayden's cheek and ran off to dance. The music was all heavy and unfamiliar, but this did not deter JJ from finding a partner in a person of indeterminate gender. Their buckle-covered platform boots covered their legs up to their thighs, which was good, because their shorts barely covered their ass.

Hayden was starting to think JJ might be onto something.

"Okay, maybe it's a BD-BDM-whatever, night club. But it sounded like JJ's thing."

"It's good, babe," Cliff soothed. Hayden leaned into him, a little forlorn. He really didn't wanna fuck it up for JJ. "You did a good job."

There were two other groomsmen at the table who heard the interaction, but neither seemed interested in commenting. Shane, also drunk, looked frightened and obvious.

"I wanna call Ilya," Shane said, "He's probably lonely."

"I wish he was here," Cliff said. "He would love this. But he would be so mean to Hayden about it. I wish he would be nicer to Hayden."

"Me too," Shane said. "You tell him, he doesn't listen to me. Unless I threaten to withhold sex."

The two other groomsmen vacated the table.

"Good, now it's just us queers," Shane slurred, opening his phone. "You guys, JJ is pretty drunk, but Hayden, you gotta get out of Cliff's lap."

Hayden looked down just to make sure, but he wasn't in Cliff's lap. His thigh was only over Cliff's, and Cliff's hands were on his hips. That wasn't his lap.

"No," Hayden said. "Leave me alone."

Cliff laughed at him. 

"You're so bossy when you're drunk. And whiny."

"Shut up," Hayden said, moving away from Cliff, betrayed.

"Nooo," Cliff responded, pulling him closer with his big, strong, sexy arms. "I take it back."

"You can't unring a bell, Cliff. You broke my heart."

"I'm sorry!" Cliff nuzzled closer. They were pretty secluded in the private corner booth, but Shane still looked exasperated by them. "What can I do to make it up to you?"

Hayden smiled dangerously. He was about to say something crazy when JJ threw himself into the booth beside them.

"Hey, guys, this is viper." 

Viper, the person JJ was dancing with, stood beside the table, smiling sweetly at them. 

"Hi."

JJ was too busy sitting up to notice Hayden move away from Cliff a bit, just enough for plausible deniability. 

"Viper has edibles. Buy some."

"Demanding," Cliff said.

"It's my bachelor party, I don't buy the drugs."

"Weed edibles, right, to confirm?" Shane asked, elbows on the table, staring at Viper intently (privately, Hayden thought Shane looked like his mother. The thought made him choke down giggles). 

Viper eyed Shane, head titled to the side, contemplative. 

"Hey, aren't you that gay tennis player?"

"No," JJ snickered. "He's that gay hockey player."

"Huh. Okay. Yeah, weed edibles. I'll sell them to you at a discount if you take a picture with me. My girlfriend will lose it."

"Deal," Shane replied easier than Hayden expected. He never knew his friend to take drugs, but he seemed extremely willing to start a drug deal in a public place.

Shane posed for a photo with Viper, the chains on the wall the icing on the cake. He could hear the rumors now. Shane pulled out a shocking wad of cash and counted out the predetermined amount. Viper passed them a baggy. There was enough for everyone to have one gummy.

"What are the milligrams?" Cliff tried to ask Viper, but they left as soon as the money was exchanged.

JJ got the rest of the party back to the table after one text, everyone eager to try Viper's gummies.

"You gonna do this, Shane?"

"Ilya and I smoke in the summers sometimes. Once in a while."

"Wow," Hayden replied. "Aren't you a rebel?"

"Shut up." He frowned at the table.

"We should only take half, since we don't know the dosage," but three of the guys were already chewing theirs, and JJ shrugged, popping the whole thing in his mouth.

Hayden did the same before ushering them all out of the club, desperate to get them to the second club before the edible kicked in.

They managed it. The second club was operated by a friend of Jackie's. Priscilla was there almost every night, and eagerly greeted both Hayden and Cliff when they entered. Huh.

He didn't dwell on it. The edible was starting to make everything a little hazy around the edges, and the roving, rainbow lights of the club were capturing his attention. 

He danced with Shane in a way that they absolutely should not have been, having never touched his friend the way he was. His hands were on Shane's hips, and their crotches weren't...like...touching, but they were close to it. They weren't being inappropriate. Shane and Hayden just weren't exactly the touchy-feely type of friends. Until now.

Hayden put his hand on Shane's shoulder as they shouted the lyrics together. Hayden was, again, surprised and delighted that Shane actually knew a fucking song. He had a lot to thank Ilya about.

JJ joined them, and then Cliff, and the four of them danced, somewhat awkwardly, but fluidly, together in a slightly suspicious, but mostly drunk and high way. 

"This is the best night ever!" JJ shouted at him once, his hands on both Hayden's shoulders, staring at him intensely. "Thank you."

He kissed Hayden quickly on the lips before doing the exact same thing to Shane, intense stare at all. 

"I don't know how you guys do that," JJ said after he kissed his friends. "Kissing men is nowhere near as good as kissing women."

"Disagree," Shane replied. 

Hayden was, momentarily, terrified that JJ said "you guys."

JJ caught his frozen, frightened gaze, his high possibly ruined. 

"Don't worry about it," JJ said, "It's not the most shocking thing that I've ever seen." 

He winked, spinning in a circle in time with the song. "Your secret's safe with me."

Hayden, a little confused, and a little scared, decided not to let it ruin the night. Cliff didn't seem all that bothered by the revelation, if he could even hear them as he towered over everyone, head in the clouds as the music blasted.

Hayden was high, but he didn't say no to more shots. Cliff bought a round, then Anders bought a round, and then, it was almost two in the morning and Hayden was pretty sure this was the best night of dancing of his life. Cliff was on his back, Shane was singing a Cardi B song, bitchy little sunglasses on his face Hayden was pretty sure he stole from some girl, and JJ was professing his love for his fiance, and all his friends, every five minutes.

They spilled out of club at 1:58 with plans to go to one more, after dropping Mona's cousin off at the bus because he could barely stand. It was probably cruel to leave the guy, but the men were buoyed by the night. And drunk. They turned the corner to find Tim smoking outside the bus. They loaded him onto a seat. Shane made sure he was on his side before climbing out.

"Isn't it a little late for another club?" Shane asked, "We aren't 19 anymore, man."

"Don't give up, Shane! We're going to the Disco, right?"

Hayden paused dramatically before nodding.

JJ fist-pumped the air. 

"Yes! Yippee!"

The Disco was a club that had a roller rink in it. The club's primary function was dancing, but you could rent skates and get onto the rink if you were sober enough. There was a bouncer at the gate of the rink to enforce this. 

He was pretty sure they were all too drunk to get on the rink, but Hayden wasn't ready to go back to the estate yet. He was energized as fuck.

Their fourth location was only two blocks away, they agreed to walk, which made Tim happy.

They were just turning a corner when an irritatingly familiar accented voice invaded Hayden's ear canals. 

"Ilya?" Shane called, suddenly extremely alert.

There was Ilya, standing in a crowd of scantily dressed women.

Hayden, confused, took way too long to realize one of those scantily-clad women was his wife.

Shane ran at Ilya. Ilya shouted something in Russian, opening his arms open to catch Shane, who jumped full-force at Ilya in a way that would kill anyone except an equally large (if not larger) hockey player.

The men's group meshed with the women's. JJ was backed against a wall by his wife, they were making out very messily and very publicly. 

"Holy shit, Jackie,"

"Wow," Cliff agreed. 

Jackie was wearing a black dress he had never seen before. It was tiny, obscenely tiny, with a halter top that squished her tits together. Her breasts were covered in body glitter, along with her shoulders, and she was shimmery like a star as they stood huddled together under the streetlight.

"Easy, boys," she smiled at them both. "Behave."

"I don't wanna behave," Cliff said. 

Jackie smiled at him, "Shh."

Cliff pouted. 

"I want to tear it off you," Hayden said, pinching the fabric at her hip. He took his hand away, horny and frustrated.

"Rozy!" Cliff distracted himself by yelling at Ilya, who took a break from macking on his husband. "What are you doing out with the ladies?"

"He's one of us!" Mona exclaimed. "That's my girl, right there. We're like this." She crossed her fingers.

"They are party animals," Ilya said. "You must rescue me," he called Shane something in Russian that sounded about as tender as the look he was giving Shane. It was Hayden's turn to fake gag.

"We were going to another club," Anders said, wrinkling his nose at all the PDA. "Are we going?"

It was decided there that they would not be going to another club. They were all going back to the estate. This was probably for the best, as everyone was sufficiently hammered. 

They separated to their respective vans, minus Shane, who went with Ilya to the women's van. 

Hayden watched them go, holding hands, leaning into each other. Cliff was beside him, but he couldn't do the same, he couldn't reach out and hold his hand. Sure, he could kiss Jackie, but Cliff couldn't, and that just felt too cruel to do in front of him.

The vibe was no less rowdy in the van. JJ kept begging Tim to drive faster, not shy at all about why they were trying to get back.

"It's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding," Clemens said, drinking water from a scotch glass, laying flat on the ground. 

"I'm gonna see every inch of her before, during, and after the wedding, thank you."

Hayden was sitting with his legs in Cliff's lap, because he couldn't stand not touching Cliff and this seemed easily explainable by their drunkeness, even with Cliff lightly rubbing his calve.

"When did this happen?" JJ asked, sitting on the bench across from him.

"JJ," Hayden said, looking to their teammates. But Anders was passed out, and Clemens was staring up at the blue lights on the ceiling of the bus like they were the answers to his prayers.

There were the other groomsmen, of course. Two were in one corner chatting about the first club they went to, another one was curled in a ball rapidly typing on his phone. Mona's cousin was still passed out. 

"January," Cliff said, "All three of us."

"Oh, I know. Mona and I saw you after we lost the cup. She's been trying to get me to add a third ever since, but I do not like men like you guys do."

Cliff shrugged, "you're missing out."

Hayden was a little horrified, expecting the other shoe to drop.

"You're not mad? You were mad at Shane."

He didn't want to say the last part, but the words slid right off his over-saturated tongue.

"I learned. I treated Shane very badly. I think I have his forgiveness, but I do not deserve it."

His stare, as wobbly as it was, was very serious.

"I love you, bro. And Cliff too. Even though he's another fucking Bear. What the fuck is it with that team? I'm scared to play them. Is it gonna happen to me next?"

Cliff laughed.

"Don't worry, I think all the queer players left."

"Hey!" Clemens shouted from the floor, staring at something in his hands. Hayden was pretty sure he was playing with a string. "You shouldn't call people queers, it's not nice."

"You're right," Cliff responded. Clemens nodded firmly, still focused on the string. "Clemmy, I'm queer."

Hayden stared at Cliff. Cliff smiled at him before turning back to Clemens. Clemens sighed.

"Whatever, brag why don't you? Do you guys think Jenn will take me back? Where's my phone-"

They spent the rest of the drive trying to keep Clemens off his phone.

Back at the venue, everyone stumbled slowly and stupidly to their rooms. JJ screamed Mona's name at the top of his lungs as soon as they got inside, so it was safe to say the entire house was awake.

It turned out, Cliff had a room right beside Hayden and Jackie. This was good, because Cliff didn't even pretend to go in his own room first.

Jackie was on the bed, her dress hiked up her hips, rubbing her clit, eyes rolled back in her head.

They pounced.

There was a quick practice early in the afternoon. Everyone was anywhere from slightly to severely hungover. Hayden, Cliff, and Jackie thankfully did not get sick, but Shane had to run down the aisle to a trash can during the first trial run.

Despite this, the actual wedding that evening went as smooth as you could expect. JJ and Mona both cried during their vows, which made Hayden cry, because he was a wedding crier. His tears also made Shane cry. Shane silently passed Hayden his handkerchief after dabbing his own eyes.

He found Jackie in the the crowd, grinning in a green dress. 

Hayden couldn't help but remember JJ coming up to Hayden on his first day. He had walked into the Metros locker room shivering like a stray dog. JJ walked right up to him, clapped him on the shoulder, and welcomed him to the team. He had Hayden's back ever since. 

Oh god, more tears.

The wedding was lovely. It was beautiful, fun, even with tame dancing and avoiding the wedding photographer. 

The real highlight of the summer was-

"Welcome," Ilya smiled, down at the kids, not at Hayden. Amber and Jade made it to him first for hugs. Jade was wearing one of the presents Ilya and Shane sent them for their birthday, a stupid baseball cap that said 'cooler than you.' Jade, apparently, specifically asked for it.

The kids spilled into the cottage, making themselves comfortable.

"When can we go in the pool?"

"Lunch first!" Shane called from the kitchen. "I made potato salad and Ilya's cooking burgers. There's also egg salad for Jade." Jade was currently doing a vegetarian thing. Meaning, she was eating no meat except the occasional chicken nugget off her baby sister's plate.

"Uncle Cliff!" Amber called, standing at the sliding back door. Amber ran out, and Hayden immediately made for the door.

But Cliff had her, he was just returning her hug. He kept an eye on them anyway, knowing Amber was likely going to make a break for the lake or the pool as soon as she could.

They were just staying the weekend, but four kids came with a lot of stuff. Shane helped Hayden carry their bags upstairs. Jade and Ruby would share one room, Amber and Arthur the other, and Hayden and Jackie the one between them.

"Cliff is on the first floor," Shane said. Hayden nodded.

"Hey I just wanna say..." Shane glanced over his shoulder. "I know I said it already, but we're cool with this. We support you. I support you."

Hayden nodded, "Thanks, man."

"Do you...do you know what you're doing, though? Like, with the kids and the team and everything? Because you guys aren't exactly...subtle."

"We're working on it." Hayden said. "Right now, the kids are just calling him Uncle Cliff, or just Cliff, and we're all comfortable there, I think. It's still pretty early."

"Yeah, Arthur was showing me his sketches for Cliff's next tattoo," Shane said, obviously not buying his 'early' comment. 

"You know it's complicated." Hayden said, "And...neither of us have that much longer in the league, man. I mean, I don't have retirement planned, but it's not going to be that hard to hold out until then."

"Ilya and I couldn't. Even before we got outed, we were planning on coming out."

"I know, but it's a little different. This relationship...you know how people are."

"I do." Shane winced, nodding. "I'm sorry. Let's just have fun this weekend, yeah?"

Arthur had Cliff's undivided attention on the patio as he walked him, and Ilya, through the dragonfly he had been working on all summer. 

Jackie was chasing Amber around, who was shrieking like a banshee. Jade was on the couch with headphones on. Ruby was also on the couch channel surfing. 

They had lunch. Jade ate her egg salad, but she kept her headphones on for most of the dinner, only taking them off once to compliment Shane's egg salad skills. 

The weekend was wonderful; it was three days in the sun with family.

Hayden and Shane watched from pool loungers as Ilya and Cliff, both shirtless and glistening in sweat, kicked around a ball in the yard.

"I never knew soccer could be such a contact sport," Jackie called from the pool, Amber splashing happily beside her. The other kids were scattered around the house doing their own thing.

Hayden and Shane were both leering a bit too much. Their hands kept slipping down each other's bodies as they pushed each other around, laughing as they chased the ball across the yard.

"They're just so...big," Shane said, condensation from his cup dripping down his hand. 

"Yeah," Hayden said, similarly captivated. "Big."

Hayden realized their heads were tilted the exact same way as they watched the horribly erotic soccer match.

Jackie splashed them from the pool.

"Cool down!"

Saturday night, they snuck down to Cliff's room for some contact sports of their own, but they had to go back to their own room to sleep, in case any kids needed them. 

With practices and the kid's school year only a week away, they spent their last day of vacation by the lake deep into the night catching lightning bugs with the kids.

Arthur was the best at catching them, very patient. He kept muttering the Latin name for the little creatures until Shane asked him to sound it out for him so Shane could learn it too.

"Now you speak dead languages," Ilya rolled his eyes. "Perfect Shane Hollander."

"Hush," Shane said, passing the glowing bug from his hand to Ilya's, who could take the little legs on his skin only for a second before he released it with a disgusted noise.

"Don't be grossed out, Uncle Ilya," Arthur urged, "They're not scary, they're gentle. They're part of the ecosystem like us."

"Da, you are right, sweet. I am sorry."

Jackie was swimming in Cliff's zip-up hoodie. She was hovering around Amber, trying to get her to sit still long enough to catch one. Amber was just a little too erratic to grab one of the slow-flying bugs.

"Aw yes!" Cliff whispered, grinning widely as the gaps in his fingers glowed a yellowish green. 

"I got two!" Jade yelled.

"I'm gonna get three!" Ruby walked off, leaving them to hunt bugs in her own patch.

"Here, Amber, check it out. Cup your hands," Cliff said, "Then close them, careful so you don't squish him."

Cliff carefully passed his lightning bug into her little hands. He held his over it until she was ready. She nodded, serious, closing the lid on the bug.

"Wow," she said, wide eyes on the light show. "It tickles!"

She opened her hands and watched it fly off.

The adults sat together while the kids skipped around, excited to be out after dark. The yard was well-lit, but he had to yell at the twins not to go too far anyway. They were always testing their limits.

Arthur had about six lightning bugs in his hands. 

"Okay, watch, are you watching?" He asked, standing proudly before of all his adults, his hands raised just under his chin.

"We're watching, Artie," Shane said. 

Arthur grinned and released them, a swarm of bugs flying off in every direction. 

It was a really nice, quiet moment while the kids played, the lake lapping on the shore.

Until Amber grabbed another one and intentionally smashed it against her wrist. 

Arthur was horrified. His bottom lip wobbled, Hayden knew the tears were coming. Before they could fall, Arthur ran off and disappeared inside.

Hayden found him in his and Jackie's bedroom, curled up on the bed.

"Art, you alright?"

That was, of course, a stupid question. He joined his son on the bed, brushing strands of blonde hair away from his face. His hair was pretty long, but he expressed no interest in a haircut before school. 

"She's so mean. I hate Amber."

"You don't hate your sister, you know she didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

"She meant to hurt the bug," he said. "Some bugs aren't nice, but lightning bugs aren't bad. It was mean."

"It was wrong," Hayden said, "Amber knows, but your mama is reminding her that we're kind with all living things."

Arthur repeated this lesson as Hayden said it, their voices overlapping, sounding oddly similar. 

God, his kids were really growing up. 

"You wanna stay in here tonight, baby?" He asked, because Arthur was still his baby and always would be.

Arthur nodded. The tears had been quiet rather than meltdown sobs, which scared Hayden a bit. 

He left to check on the other kids and found Amber tucked in with the twins, already asleep. 

"She didn't wanna upset Arthur. She wanted to know if it would still glow if it died."

"Ugh," kids were so creepy sometimes. 

They said goodnight to Shane and Ilya, then to Cliff, kissing him at the bottom of the stairs. 

After the cottage, it was firmly back to the real world. 

It was not back to the real world as they had left it, however. Something had shifted. For the better. 

"Goodnight," Hayden said, smiling against Cliff's lips, holding Jackie's hand. 

"Goodnight." 

Jackie pressed a kiss to Cliff's jaw. He had been clean shaven all weekend, it was a nice change. It reminded Hayden of the young man he met on the ice. Maybe time wasn't passing as quickly as it seemed.

"Goodnight, love."

Jackie and Hayden curled together, their sensitive middle child in the bed between them. Time could stand to slow down a little. Hayden quietly prayed for a pause. Let the kids stay small, let the summer never end. 

He would never get his wish. He didn't really want it, anyway.

He was pretty excited for what was next.

Chapter End Notes

Can you tell how much I love the kids? They all have such distinct personalities in my mind, they are like my kids. They are my kids. I have kids now.

Anyway, this is almost over if you can believe it. The scene I imagined writing when I initially started writing this fic is in this chapter, so that's pretty cool. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Epilogue

Chapter Notes

The first practice of the new season, Cliff entered the locker room with two fresh tattoos, still wrapped up under second skin. The guys saw them as he stripped down.

JJ was reminiscing, loudly and at length, about his honeymoon with Mona in the Caribbean when Winslow said:

"Oh look, Marly has new ink. Let's talk about that instead!" The comment earned him a glove whipped to the chest.

"You're all just jealous I had a great summer with my hot new wife." 

"We all had great summers. We're rich hockey players," Anders pointed out. A second later, he was on the receiving end of JJ's other glove.

The dragonfly, unlike most (but not all) of his other pieces was done in color, because Arthur colored it in with purple, blue, green, and even a little orange. The tattoo was nestled over the large space that was left over Cliff's ribs, under his arm.

The stag beetle was simple in various shades of black ink. The beetle was smaller than the dragonfly, squeezed in free space on the back of Cliff's leg. Hayden could see some ink pooling under the second skin and he wondered if it was normal.

Did they still hurt? How long did tattoos hurt for? How long was he supposed to wear the weird plastic he called skin? Was the pooling normal? 

Cliff got them only a couple days ago. He sent a picture to the chat he shared with Jackie and Hayden from the artist's chair, he was on his side, twisted so she could get to his ribs. Hayden winced when he saw the photo. Cliff had said he was used to the feeling of being tattooed, but Hayden could not imagine ever getting used to repetitive needles injecting into your flesh.

Hayden tore his eyes off Cliff's calve and continued getting ready.

"What is that? A fucking bug?" 

Cliff turned to glare at the guy, but it was just Winslow being his usual brash self.

"That's a stag beetle," Cliff pointed, "This is a dragonfly." He had his shirt half-on, his head was through the neck hole but he hesitated, letting the guys look. Showing off a bit, Hayden thought.

"Whoa, looks painful."

"Not really," Cliff said. 

"Why did you get bugs?" Another guy asked, more were crowding closer. It was like they had never seen a tattoo before. Hayden knew for a fact that a few guys on the team had multiple tattoos.

"Pike's kid designed them. Aren't they sick as fuck? He and Jackie are raising the next da Vinci."

Hayden felt hot. He didn't dare look over...but he found himself glancing anyway. A few guys were staring at him. He shrugged, needing to play it off. 

Because the implications were...well...maybe they were only alarming to Hayden. 

Hayden, obviously, had much more information than the rest of the team (the information being that he knew the exact curve of Cliff's dick, and so did his wife). They didn't know anything about that! Hayden was just being paranoid. 

Really, the only implication was that Cliff was close to the family. And that was fine, they were friends! Everyone knew that!

A few guys moved away, turned inwards towards their lockers. 

Hayden immediately felt panicked at this response, remember how a lot of the players resolved to ignore Shane after he was outed.

He willed himself to relax as he continued getting ready for practice. 

JJ was laughing quietly beside him, his shoulders were shaking as he held his ducked face in his hands.

"Stop it," Hayden hissed, angrily shoving his gear on. 

Cliff shrugged and nudged the guys away. They were quickly distracted by the arrival of their new teammate, some baby-faced kid that existed to make Hayden feel elderly. JJ quit laughing long enough to swoop in and play captain.

"Can you play with those? Is it safe?" Hayden found himself asking, voice quiet as he leaned towards Cliff.

Cliff raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, it's fine. I've done it for years."

"That's not really an answer."

"What are you, Pike? His wife?" 

The guys laughed. Hayden frowned and moved away, telling them to fuck off. It was both good-natured teasing and offensive. Hayden could take it. He's tolerated it all his life.

Practice was fine. The rookie pinned him down at some point and said that it was an honor playing with him, which was as sweet as it was maddening. Then he asked if Hayden could get something signed by Shane for him, which made Hayden want to skate straight into the boards.

"Why don't you ask him at our next Ottawa game," Hayden responded, which was as polite as he could manage to be.

The season began in a tangle. Two guys got seriously injured in the same game. They were both younger guys. Freddie broke his fucking leg, somehow, like a dumbass, and Daniels got a concussion from a bad hit by a too-eager Toronto defensemen. 

So, they were down two players and the lines had to be switched up. The media was counting Metros out by their second away game, this one across border in Detroit, when Winslow earned his own concussion and a fractured wrist.

"We're fucked," JJ said as they helped Winnie off the ice. He was standing by the boards with Cliff and JJ, the play stopped. Winnie started a fight with a guy bigger than him, and the bigger guy ended it with blood on the ice. "The season is fucked."

"It's still early," Cliff replied, tone as grim as JJ's. 

Yeah, it was still early, but the team was feeling completely and utterly cursed, and everyone was wondering who would fall next.

Cliff came for a visit at the end of October as he could finally show off his tattoos to Arthur. 

The kids gathered around. Arthur stared in wonder. Hayden could see the moment when it clicked that Art's design was going to be etched on Cliff forever.

"Does it hurt?" Ruby asked.

"No, sometimes it stings when they're doing it, but not after."

"They tattoo with needles, right?" Amber asked excitedly. 

"Yep, it's called a tattoo gun, and it feels like small needles. But you get used to it."

"Mom, can I-"

"Not till you're eighteen," Jackie told Amber. Hayden sighed, he had to accept the fact that all his kids wanted tattoos now. He couldn't manage to be upset about Cliff's influence. He could understand wanting to be like him. 

It was nice, how much they liked Cliff. Jade and Arthur both fawned over him, Arthur for the display of his art, Jade because she was fascinated with the medium. 

"It looks just like my drawing," he said, staring with wide eyes at the dragonfly. He reached out and poked a wing before quickly ripping his hand back, as if it bit him. 

"Yeah, she did a good job, right? Do you approve?"

Arthur knelt to study the stag beetle. 

"Uh huh," he said after a while. "I can design more if you want."

"Let's let these ones heal first, huh, Art?" Jackie said, steering him away. "Let's have dinner and stop treating Uncle Cliff like a science experiment."

Autumn fell over Montreal like a well-worn blanket. With the kids back in school, Cliff started spending his mornings at the house.

It wasn't discussed, really. He texted one morning and asked if he could come over. Jackie was home, Hayden was in the drop-off line at Amber's school. When he got back, Cliff was in their kitchen making poached eggs.

It became a routine. They would take the kids to school, and Cliff would be in their home just after eight each morning.

"You're going to get tired," Hayden said, his head rising and falling with Cliff's breathing as he laid on his bare chest. "Getting up early everyday."

"The early bird gets the worm," Cliff said, which made Jackie laugh uncontrollably. 

Despite the numerous injured Metros, the team was playing alright. They were holding it together, somehow. JJ started implementing more mandatory practices, and the rookie was quite naturally gifted. They media had shifted to him and off the rest of the Metros, which was a nice change of pace.

They had a Christmas Eve game against Jersey City, but it was home. This was good for Hayden, who would be home in time to kiss his kids and tuck them in (he would be missing story-time, the milk and cookies ritual, and the spreading of the reindeer food in the yard, unfortunately), but bad for most of the guys who's families were not in Montreal.

They had Christmas and the day after off, thankfully. 

"You going to Philly tomorrow?" Hayden asked Cliff, on the ice, while one of their guys beat up one of the Devils. 

"Oh. No." Cliff said, "I don't really...we don't get together for holidays. Or I don't. Timing never really works out."

"So what are you doing?" Hayden asked unthinkingly, their guy had the Devil on the ice now, so the fight would be broken up any minute.

Cliff shrugged. Hayden realized a second too late that Cliff was planning on spending Christmas alone. 

Fuck. He was such a prick.

He opened his mouth to say something but they had to get back in position, the fight was over. 

They lost on Christmas Eve, which sucked for Montreal, but Jersey earned it, especially when their flight was grounded due to nasty weather. He hoped the win soothed the loss of Christmas Day. (Privately, and childishly, he hated them and thought they deserved it).

"Come over tomorrow," Hayden asked, in the locker room, like an idiot.

Most of the guys were rushing out, anxious to get home to their kids for Christmas. There were still some around, though. People without familial obligations. JJ was on his way out, talking on the phone. The rookie was straddling a bench, half dressed, texting.

"What?"

"Yeah, we're not going over to Jackie's parents until the 26th."

"But...it's Christmas," he said, staring, like Hayden didn't get it.

"I know. So come over. You shouldn't be alone. You should spend Christmas with family."

He kept his voice low. There weren't any guys close enough to them to hear Hayden's admission or the tenderness in his voice. No one but Hayden could see the broken expression on Cliff's gorgeous face. 

"Fuck you for saying that here," he replied, even quieter. He cleared his throat and averted his eyes. 

He followed Hayden out. They tended to move weirdly in sync in the locker room those days. 

The hallway was dark and dead, most of the staff had cleared out for the holiday. Even coach left as soon as the game was finished, not bothering to chew them out for the loss or wish them a happy holiday.

It was so easy to pull Cliff into a supply closet at the end of the hall, right near the doors where reporters usually hovered. They were all gone now, though. The lights were out All was still and silent.

He pulled Cliff into his arms. Cliff's bear hug was instantaneous.

"Family," Cliff said. "You said you guys...you're..."

"You are." Hayden said, "We love you. The kids love you. It's just Christmas, Cliff."

"It's not just Christmas," Cliff said into Hayden's neck. He felt a drop of moisture. Cliff may have been crying. It was pitch black in the supply closet. Hayden couldn't see him.

Cliff pushed Hayden until his back hit the door. He fell to his knees. Hayden felt the weight of him slide down his body.

"Oh god, Cliff, this is dangerous-"

Cliff opened his jeans. Hayden was already thickening in his underwear.

Fuck, he longed for light. He wanted to see Cliff. He wanted to see his hair get wrecked under Hayden's hand, his red lips stretched around Hayden's cock, his lustful gaze meeting Hayden's.

Cliff pulled Hayden's cock out. Hayden heard someone walking down the hall. The rookie leaving, maybe, or one of the guys who had been in the shower when Cliff and Hayden left the room.

Fuck, the door wasn't locked.

No one would open the door, they had no reason to. But what if they did? Hayden would stumble backwards, Cliff would stabilize him with a hand on his thigh, but his cock would slip from between Cliff's lips, it would be so obvious, what they were doing in there.

This had not been Hayden's intention when pulling Cliff into the closet. He just wanted to hold him a moment, he wanted to feel his body against his and tell him he loved him.

"Fuck, Cliff, I love you, I love your mouth-" Hayden moaned, he shoved his hand over his mouth as Cliff bobbed on his length. The tiny space was filled with the sounds of muffled whines and sloppy head. 

Hayden heard someone else making their way down the hall as his orgasm built. 

It was the rookie, he was on the phone with someone, talking about Christmas presents.

To Hayden's horror, the kid stopped right outside the supply closet, standing in the hall, arguing with someone about a gift for his sister. Apparently, a Coach bag was not the way to go.

Hayden couldn't hold back. Cliff did not relent, despite the man right outside the door. It was possible Cliff didn't even notice him, Hayden was just pressed against the door, hearing every word of the rookie's stupid conversation. 

Hayden came in Cliff's mouth. Cliff swallowed, of course, there was no other option there. 

He released Hayden, Hayden couldn't see him, just hear his heavy breathing, then quiet laughter as their teammate's conversation got a little louder, more heated.

Hayden tucked himself away and threw himself to the floor. His hand landed on Cliff's torso somewhere.

"Oof," Cliff grunted.

"Shh," Hayden insisted, fumbling around in the dark, feeling Cliff's hard length pressing against his pants. Muscle memory was a hell of a thing. It took less than five seconds for Hayden to get Cliff's cock free so he could spit on it.

Cliff leaned back, bumping into something plastic that went skittering noisily across the concrete floor.

"Fuck," he whispered. They listened. The hall was quiet, their audience gone. They were safe.

"Fuck, Hayden," Cliff moaned as Hayden sucked him off, his large hand sprawled across the back of Hayden's head as he kneeled on the hard concrete floor.

"You'll come over, right?" Hayden asked after as they stood in the dark, smoothing down their clothes. Hayden triple-checked his fly was up, paranoid. "Around one? We'll do presents in the morning and then just hang around watching movies until dinner, probably. Wear pajamas."

They stepped into the hall, but not before Hayden checked for anyone lingering. It was dead.

"Fuck, presents. I gotta get on that."

"Don't worry about it-"

"No, I mean, for the kids. It's Christmas, I have to bring something."

"Really, Cliff, it's fine-"

"I'm getting stuff," Cliff said. "I miss Christmas and birthdays for my nieces almost every year. Let me have this."

They made their way to the parking lot. It was snowing, there was a thin layer on the asphalt. The flakes were coming down wet and large.

"You have nieces?"

"Two, Tony's kids." he said. "My older brother. Stephanie is fourteen and Amelia is twelve."

"Oh, so that's why you're so good with the kids," Hayden said. They were hovering beside their cars, both unwilling to separate despite the bitter cold. Hayden had to go clean up carrots from their front yard when he got home. He was already taking longer than he should have. 

"Not really, I haven't seen much of them. I'm not super close with my brothers."

Hayden frowned, he wasn't sure what to say, so he reached out for Cliff and took his hand. They were under a streetlight, but the parking lot was empty besides their two cars. 

"Tomorrow," Hayden said, instead of saying 'goodbye.' "1:00pm. Wear pajamas."

"Okay," Cliff smiled at him, the corners of his eyes crinkling. Hayden wanted to kiss them. He drove home alone instead.

At home, he told Jackie about the closet as they worked in the yard. They were retrieving the carrots Amber and Arthur left in the grass earlier than evening for Santa's reindeer and either sticking them in their bag for proper disposal, or breaking them in pieces so they appeared partially eaten. 

Jackie was shoved into her bathrobe and a pair of old boots. Her pajama pants were zebra print. Hayden wished he was as comfortable.

"I'm glad you invited him," Jackie said. "I would have hated it if he were alone all day tomorrow."

Hayden thought a 'but' was coming. He dug around in the snow and found a whole carrot. He broke off the tip and put the rest in the paper bag they were carrying around. At the rate the snow was falling, there would be no evidence the 'reindeer' were there at all come morning.

"i think it might be good," Hayden said, afraid of what her (imaginary) 'but' could be. "It's like...soft launching. For the kids."

"You're suggesting we soft-launch our boyfriend to our children?"

Hayden shrugged.

"What do you suggest?"

"A direct conversation. Eventually. When we're ready."

"Do you think they're old enough for that?"

Hayden sighed at the absurdity of their current activity while having this conversation. He stood up straight, his back aching. He figured they had to have found enough of the carrots by now to call the ruse quits.

"I think that Amber and Arthur are young enough to accept him easily. The twins are going to be harder."

Hayden had similar thoughts. The girls had more time to learn what a family unit 'should' be in the traditional sense. What the three of them were proposing was hard enough for adults to comprehend, let alone two kids about to become teenagers.

Oh god, Hayden was going to freak out. If he even thought about the girls turning thirteen in a few months for more than half a second, he wanted to scream.

"We're still a ways off that, I think. I mean, it's not like we're marrying him," Hayden said.

"That's true, but you want him to move in."

Hayden glared at her. The only lights they had were from the porch and the moon, which gave the snow an eerie glow.

"So do you."

"Yeah. And I think introducing the idea to the kids now is better than waiting."

They stopped, shivering in the cold air. They were a distance away from each other, trudging around in the snow looking for carrots because they were good parents. Hayden wanted to go inside and curl up beside her until they both stopped trembling.

The thought of Cliff in their bed, in their house permanently was wonderful. He wanted it badly, but he wasn't sure how to get it. 

He was overly tired. He played a long game, swapped emotional blowjobs with Cliff in a closet at work, and labored in the yard hunting down vegetables.

Christmas was as casual as Jackie and Hayden could make it. In previous years, they would bundle the kids up early, collect all the presents from under the tree, and drive to Jackie's parent's house to hang out all day.

It was too much, it was way too stressful, the kids would be cranky, the adults would be irritating, and he and Jackie would be snipping at each other by the drive home. They changed the tradition a couple years ago to going to grandma and grandpa's the day after. 

They woke up at 6:30 to Amber in their bed. Hayden was snuggled up to Jackie, holding her. Amber climbed on top of both them, a small hand on each of their shoulders, shaking incessantly. 

It was better than last year. Last year Amber and Arthur had them up at 4:15. Hayden had only just filled their stockings an hour prior and climbed into bed. 

"What? Why are you waking us up? Is the house on fire?" Jackie asked groggily, yawning. Hayden burrowed closer to her, she was warm.

"No!"

"No? Is it flooding? Are the cops here?" 

Hayden chuckled into her neck.

"No mommy no! It's Christmas!"

From the doorway: "SANTA CAME!"

That was Arthur. He screeched the exclamation loud enough to startle Hayden. Okay, Christmas morning. He was up.

The twins were in the hall, mirroring each other; crusty eyes, tangled hair, arms crossed in annoyance. He guessed one of their younger siblings stopped in their room first. 

"We told you, Santa isn't real." Ruby said to Arthur.

"Ruby," Hayden scolded, somewhat half-hearted, as he walked by her, leading his ducklings down to the tree.

"You're stupid," Arthur responded, but he looked a little uncertain. Arthur was getting a little too old to believe in Santa, Hayden was pretty sure, but he was going to preserve the Christmas magic for his children as long as he possibly could.

"Arthur," Hayden pleaded, even less inclined to correct. "It's too early. Daddy needs coffee."

"And mommy!" Jackie called from the second floor.

Hayden stared at the coffee maker. Four pairs of eyes bored into him from the breakfast nook, the massive, glittering pile of presents behind them as mouth-watering to the children as coffee with cream and sugar was to Hayden. 

"Do you guys want breakfast first?"

"No!" The four of them chorused. The twins weren't even trying to hide their excitement anymore, it was cute. 

Jackie had gingerbread cookie creamer, which made his coffee vaguely perfume-y, but 'tis the damn season. He and Jackie cuddled on the couch and watched the kids tear into their presents.

It was a nice morning. Amber tried to rip into the candy in her stocking first, which they had to put a stop to. The kids were thrilled with their presents. The living room became a mess of colorful paper and packaging for various toys. Ruby got four new barbies. She tended to mutilate her dolls, chopping their hair and coloring on them, but she always wanted more, so, sure. 

Hayden cleaned up the living room while Jackie cooked a huge stack of pancakes. Arthur was carrying around the praying mantis plushy he got, it sat on his lap during breakfast. Ruby, oddly enough, asked for one of those weird hats that had a  propeller on top. She wore it all day. 

"Our kids are so fucking weird," Hayden observed as they cleaned the kitchen. Ruby kept flicking the propeller (weird) while Jade was glued to her new switch game (neutral). Amber was doing somersaults in the living room (nothing to do with Christmas? Weird), and Arthur was laying on his back, throwing the praying mantis in the air and catching it over and over (neutral, probably).

"Merry Christmas, Mr. Pike," she said, bumping her hip against his.

They would exchange presents with each other in private. Usually they waited a few days, until the craziness of the holiday calmed down. 

"Okay, my turn." Jade started a little while later, appearing in the kitchen like a ghost. 

Clutched in her hand appeared to be several strands of green string.

"What is it, honey?"

"Give me your wrist, mom." 

Jackie offered her wrist to her daughter. They weren't strings, but braided bracelets with beads woven in. Each was a different shade of green: lime, forest, or teal. Jackie got a forest green bracelet with yellow and purple beads in it.

"You made these?" Hayden asked, running his finger over the little beads in Jackie's.

"Yeah, I made one for everyone. Uncle Shane and Ilya too. And Aunt Megan."

Hayden, a little choked up, offered her his wrist. His was teal with pink beads and the same yellow ones Jackie got. 

"It's beautiful, baby, thank you," he scooped her up in a tight hug. She seemed confused by the gesture but hugged him back after a moment.

In a lot of ways, Jade was more aloof than Arthur. She could be a tough nut to crack, and this was the sweetest gesture she had...ever made. Jackie snapped about thirty photos on her phone as Jade pulled a small one out of the bunch and tied it on Amber's wrist. Hers was lime green with yellow and red beads. Arthur's was teal with red and orange beads.

"Do I get one?" Ruby asked, standing by with arms crossed, tone filled with attitude. 

Jade held up the bracelet. Ruby took it from her and tied it on herself. Forest green with blue and purple, the same as Jade's.

The twins held their wrists together, and Ruby cracked, her lip wobbled a little.

"Thank you."

Jade had a few more bracelets in her hand. She shoved the rest in the pocket of her pajama pants before going back to her game, as if she hadn't just given Hayden his most treasured possession. 

Cliff came over just before two. He texted them from the car, asking Hayden to hold the door open for him.

He was not wearing pajamas. 

"Hey, holy shit," Hayden greeted, Cliff's arms were so stacked with gifts, it was like he was recreating a scene from the Grinch.

"Hey, oh shit, catch-"

Hayden caught a box that was sliding off the top. It was a light cardboard box, the top had a snowman tangled in lights on it.

"That one's for you guys, anyway. For later," He specified. Hayden was smart enough to guess what he meant. He ran the box to their bedroom.

"Uncle Cliff?" Amber asked as Cliff appeared in the living room, arms full of presents that made the kid's eyes grow ten sizes.

"Uh, hi. Merry Christmas?"

"Are those for us?"

Cliff, impressively, knelt on the floor without dropping a single gift. Jackie was curled on the couch, watching with amusement, Home Alone paused on the TV. 

The kids gathered around the pile. There had to be ten individual packages.

It turned out, actually, that there were eight. Two for each kid.

"You did all this with a day's notice?"

"You wouldn't believe how many stores are open on Christmas."

Cliff sat on the sofa beside Jackie. Hayden joined on the other side of him, the adults watching as the kids sorted out their presents.

"Oh, Jade, so let me explain that one."

She was holding a medium-sized package wrapped neatly in shiny red paper. It was complete with a green ribbon. So, Cliff is good at wrapping gifts. Hayden filed that knowledge away for the future. 

Jade came over and started slowly tearing the paper.

Hayden didn't know what it was. 

"What is it?"

"So, this is the stuff that tattoo artists practice on. It's fake skin." He turned the box around to show her the picture. From the window on the front of the box, he saw a stack of...well. It really did look a little like flesh, and that was turning his stomach. "Synthetic. Usually, they practice on it with a tattoo gun, but I think your parents would kill me if I gave you one of those."

"Yes," Hayden and Jackie said in unison, which made Cliff smile. 

"Anyway, I spoke to my new artist, and she said this is the best fake skin for practice and you can draw on it with a ballpoint pen."

Hayden was a little confused. He knew Jade was interested in tattoos, but she had never been particularly artistically inclined. 

He was clearly missing something, because Jade was practically vibrating with excitement holding the box. She tore open her second present, which was a massive pack of ballpoint pens in various colors.

"Thank you, Uncle Cliff," she said with reverence. 

"You're welcome. You have to show me what you come up with, okay? And my artist wants to see too."

"Okay." 

The others were through their own packaging and enjoying the novelty of even more presents. 

"Here," Jade said, her hand in her pocket. "Give me your wrist."

Cliff, brows furrowed, did as he was told. She pushed up the sleeve of his sweater and tied a lime green bracelet on his wrist. The electric color was a stark contrast to his olive skin and tattoos. The beads were orange and yellow.

Jackie took Hayden's hand. His feelings were reflected on her face. How quickly the children accepted his presence and brought him into the fold.

"Thank you," Cliff said. He cleared his throat. "I love it."

"They're friendship bracelets," She said. "That means you can't take it off."

"I won't take it off," Cliff promised her, and Hayden believed him. 

They spent the afternoon eating candy and snacks. Jackie poured wine for all the adults sometime during Home Alone 2. Cliff got in the kitchen and whipped up a shockingly delicious pasta dish for dinner, which they ate in front of the TV during Gremlins, a movie choice Hayden kept having to defend.

"It is a Christmas movie!"

"Just because it's set during Christmas doesn't mean it's a Christmas movie!" Jackie argued.

"Can you guys stop? You have this argument every year," Ruby complained, which shut them up.

Cliff sat on the floor 'helping' Arthur construct the dinosaur from the science set he got him.

"They didn't have any insects, sorry, buddy."

"That's okay. Triceratops are cool. But I'm using my own paint on it," he said, punctuating the statement by throwing the paint that came with the set away. 

It was a win, Cliff knew that. He sat beside their son, handing him glue and dinosaur pieces when he asked for them.

It was a perfect Christmas. They were painfully full of pasta and snacks, Hayden was a little wine drunk and fatigued from lounging all day. The kids tried to carry all their gifts into bed with them. Hayden allowed it with the twins, as Jade was reading one of her new books, and Ruby just wanted to sleep in the stupid hat.

Cliff and Jackie were laughing on the couch after he finished tucking Amber in. 

"Cliff's gonna stay the night," Jackie said. "We got him drunk."

"I'm not drunk," Cliff said, and truly he didn't seem drunk, but Hayden was happy to latch onto the excuse.

"We shouldn't risk it. You don't wanna get a DUI."

"No, I do not."

The living room was a mess of toys and tiny pieces of paper he missed during his cleanup. The dishwasher was ready to be emptied. Hayden had to mentally prepare to go to the in-laws tomorrow.

They went to bed. Cliff wasn't planning on staying, so he wore a pair of Hayden's pajama pants that were too short on him by a noticeable and adorable amount. 

"Should I stay in here?" Cliff asked, hovering at their bedroom door. Hayden could see his ankles. It was so cute.

"Yeah, it's fine. They won't bug us tonight. Shut the door."

Jackie laid down, over the comforter. She grinned, rubbing her eyes.

"Fuck, good Christmas."

"It was great."

"Thank you for inviting me. I had a great time." Cliff said, oddly formal. He was twisting the bracelet on his wrist. 

"Oh," Hayden said, picking up the snowman box from Jackie's vanity where he dropped it earlier. "Forgot about this one."

A smile tugged at the corner of Cliff's mouth. "I don't think we can use them tonight."

"Them?" Jackie asked, intrigued, "bring it over."

"It's just something simple really. A little dumb."

Hayden grinned at Cliff's surprising show of bashfulness. 

Hayden knelt on the bed beside Jackie, handing her the box to open. He caught a glimpse of baby blue fabric tucked delicately in pink tissue paper.

"Oh my god," Jackie said, delighted. "You didn't."

Hayden took the lid and peered into the box.

There were two pairs of identical baby blue panties in the box. They were cotton with matching lace accents along the legs and the band. 

"You got her two of the same underwear?" Hayden asked, his tone a little judgmental in its confusion. He tried to backtrack immediately. "I mean, I'm sure they're great-"

"Uh, no, baby. He didn't get me two. These are your size."

She held up a pair of the underwear between two fingers to show the large waist size.

Hayden stared at them. 

Jackie was grinning at him, the apples of her cheeks red with delight. Or lust.

Hayden turned to Cliff, who was just as uncertain as before, but with a little more color on his face.

"Matching panties?"

"Yeah," Cliff said. "I want you to wear them for me."

"That's so hot," Jackie said. "Fuck. I want to. But I'm too tired. And full. And I'd be too loud."

Hayden took the underwear that was supposed to be his.

This was new.

Sometimes it felt like he and Jackie had done everything in the bedroom, but lingerie was a territory he had not personally ventured into.

He wasn't sure why, now that he was looking at the underwear. They were really pretty, and the cotton was nice and soft. He ran his thumb over it, imagining the panties cradling his cock. Maybe the tip poking over the top as he got hard.

Cliff and Jackie were making out slowly, and, by the sounds of it, wetly. Hayden took Jackie's panties from where they were discarded on the bed. He tucked them both in the box and put it back on the vanity. Another time.

They woke up tangled in each other. 

Hayden was aware, as he blinked sleep from his eyes, his legs tangled in Cliff's, Jackie's arms around him, that they just slept together without sex preceding it.

"Oh god, what time is it?" Cliff groaned.

"Almost eight," Hayden said.

"I should go, before the kids get up."

"No," Jackie protested, snuggling in closer, her hand came over Hayden's body to grab hold of Cliff. Cliff took her hand from where it was smacking the air. "No."

"Jackie-"

"No."

"Are you sure?" Cliff asked.

"Yes." She said with all the certainty of a woman making decisions while half-awake.

Cliff did stay. They got breakfast going. Hayden and Jackie in their pajamas, Cliff back in the clothes he wore yesterday. In the early light, he was unfairly handsome in his black sweater. He pushed his sleeves up as he dunked bread in the mixture for French toast, and Hayden stared, for too long, at the bracelet on his wrist. 

"Uncle Cliff?" Ruby was the first to come down. She was still wearing that fucking hat, the propeller crushed from a night of being slept on. "You had a sleepover?"

"Uh yeah," Cliff said. "Do you like French toast?"

"Love French toast," she said, resting her head on the kitchen island. Jackie played music from her phone quietly while the three of them prepared breakfast.

"Are we still going to grandpa and grandma's?" Amber asked at breakfast. Arthur kept trying to feed pieces of his French toast to the praying mantis.

"Yeah, we'll get ready after breakfast," Hayden said.

"Is Uncle Cliff going to grandma and grandpa's?" Ruby asked.

"No, honey."

Ruby frowned at her breakfast.

"Will grandma and grandpa have more presents for us?" Amber asked next, her smile widening when they confirmed that there were even more presents in their future.

Cliff left after finishing the dishes. Jackie was at the island attempting to tame Amber's blonde curls. Cliff was washing, Hayden was drying. It was all so normal, Hayden didn't even think about how abnormal it was until they were back in bed later that night, barely surviving a trip to Jackie's parents.

Their visit at the O'Brian's was going well until Ruby mentioned 'Uncle Cliff' having a sleepover.

"I didn't think you had siblings, Hayden," Hayden's father-in-law said, confused. 

"Oh, I don't. I'm an only child. Cliff is on the Metros with me." Hayden explained, only furthering the confusion of the room. Megan's boyfriend's eyes lit up, he was a Metros fan, and he was trying to be really cool about being in the presence of Hayden; the guy was desperate to make a good first impression with his girlfriend's family, but he had been vibrating with excitement all day. 

All the O'Brian-Pike grandchildren were gathered around in the living room playing with their new toys. Mrs. O'Brian asked the twins how their Christmas was. Ruby spoke for three entire minutes about her new hat before saying:

"And Uncle Cliff made us French toast this morning."

"He slept over," Amber added, not bothering to look up from her new dolls. Her grandmother bought her a new barbie dreamhouse and Hayden already had a headache as he contemplated how he was going to maneuver it into the van.

Mrs. O'Brian raised her eyebrows at Jackie, who was giving the windowsill across the room one hell of a thousand-yard stare.

"A sleepover on Christmas, honey?" Mrs. O'Brian asked, just as confused as her husband.

"Yeah, it's just...he. He's...um." Jackie was floundering big-time, which was a rare occurrence for her. Hayden tried to step in, but floundering was his natural state of being, so he only made it worse.

"He's...you know. Cliff's our friend and he-he...he's new to Montreal. No family here, you know?"

That didn't exactly explain him staying the night, and when Hayden caught Megan's eyes, he was certain she had put it together.

"Interesting," Megan said, grinning wolfishly. She nudged her little sister, who was pink in the face. 

"Well, that's nice of you two," Hayden's father-in-law said, sensing the uncomfortable tension. "That's the spirit of Christmas, after all."

Hayden struggled the dollhouse into the car, got all the kids buckled, and drove home in silence. 

In bed later, they were just breathing together, staring at the ceiling. 

"They're going to lose their minds," Jackie said. "It's gonna be bad. It's gonna be like...Chernobyl."

"Fucking Chernobyl?"

"Nuclear. It's gonna be nuclear."

Hayden silently agreed with this prediction. Her parents were nice people. They were accepting, they voted liberal. 

But they were older. And while they accepted Jackie's lifestyle choices, her mother always raised her eyebrows at her outfits, her makeup, her humor. Jackie's decision to marry a guy she met less than a year earlier had been particularly challenging. They loved Hayden now, though.

Hayden's own parents were still alive. He didn't speak to his father much but he called his mom monthly at least. The O'Brian's became, a bit, like the parents he always yearned for.

They would get over it, act accepting until they finally settled, but it would be tough going.

"They don't actually know anything," Hayden said, the implication clear. They didn't have to introduce Cliff to them. Cliff wasn't going to join the family yet, they were borrowing grief from the future.

And if Jackie decided it was all too much...

"Megan knows. I can tell. She tried to talk to me about it while you and dad loaded the dollhouse."

"What did she say?"

"Not much. Just, like 'Christmas sleepover, huh?'" 

"She doesn't know."

"She knows. I know my sister, Hayden."

Hayden couldn't contest this. He was an only child, after all.

"She also offered to take the kids for New Years. So we can go to Cliff's party."

"I don't know how we can go to that party."

Cliff was hosting a New Years Eve party at his apartment. He invited a bunch of the Metros and their partners. Most people were busy for New Years, so Hayden didn't know how many people would actually show, but some undoubtedly would.

It was a question, then, if Jackie and Hayden could tolerate playing guests at his apartment. Like they didn't know he kept his sugar and flour in special sealed containers in the kitchen cabinet with the squeaky hinge. Like Hayden hadn't fucked his wife against the counter while Cliff knelt under her, licking her clit. Like they hadn't cuddled on the couch after and watched reruns of 90 Day Fiancé. 

They couldn't touch him at the party. They couldn't hover beside him. They couldn't slip into his bedroom...

But they had to go. Because if they didn't, Hayden would probably cry. From guilt, but mostly from pure want. 

He wanted to be there, he wanted to host the party with Cliff and with Jackie. He wanted it at their home, the kids around, playing with Cliff in front of the entire Metros team. He wanted Cliff to maneuver behind Hayden in the kitchen, his hand delicate and oh-so telling on his waist as he shifted behind him to grab something from the fridge. He wanted the moment captured on camera and broadcast to the world.

He wanted so much, his teeth ached with it. 

In a way, it was being broadcast.

Cliff proudly showed off the tattoos that Hayden's son designed for him. All the guys on the team, and the coach, new Arthur drew something and Cliff decided to permanently mark his body with it. 

At a game before New Years, JJ nudged Hayden and nodded to the bracelet on Cliff's wrist, then at the one on Hayden's. Hayden shrugged but quickly pulled his sleeves down. JJ was the only one who noticed.

JJ's knowing, teasing smirk sent warmth blossoming through his body. 

Someone knew. Someone straight knew, and he was okay with it. He was comfortable with Hayden, with Cliff. The world didn't end.

"If we wear them all night they'll be ruined by the time everyone leaves," Jackie said, clutching the underwear in her hand. He had popped the tags off them and left the panties on the bed for her to find.

Hayden shrugged.

"They don't get ruined," he said, "they just get better."

Jackie laughed, "You're insane."

"I'm insane because I like when my wife gets so wet she soaks her panties? You know what I really like? When the fabric gets so drenched it spreads to the inside of your jeans too."

Jackie flushed. He kissed her, his hands sliding under her hair, cradling her head. 

"It's gonna be a long night," she said, their heads rested together. "Think you'll be comfortable in panties all night?"

Hayden wasn't sure, especially as they stood outside Cliff's apartment door. He shifted his weight. The underwear weren't uncomfortable, but they sat differently than anything he was used to. He was hyper aware of them, and his slightly aroused cock. Turns out, he really liked the sight of his own bulge in lingerie. Jackie had too, she groped him over the panties after he slid them on until he was half hard. 

"Oh come on," Hayden whined. 

"Put your pants on, pervert. We'll be late."

The kids were already at Megan's. "Have fun at Cliff's," she said as the kids piled into her home. Her eyes lingered on Hayden, but she raised her eyebrows and shut the door without further comment. 

Hayden was pretty sure she thought it was some kind of cucking situation, but he wasn't eager to correct her.

Cliff answered the door, his smile broad. He had his earrings in, Hayden's eyes caught on them immediately. He needed a shave, but it was hot, so, did he really? He was wearing his pretty burgundy sweater, the sleeves pushed up, and dark jeans.

"Hayden, Jackie, welcome," he said, holding the door open for them. "You look both look nice," he whispered, voice low and enticing, as they brushed by him.

"Thanks for having us," Jackie said. She had a container of cookies Hayden stress-baked that morning. They were kind of terrible, so they supplemented the bad present with a bottle of scotch. 

"Thanks for coming," the apartment was busy. Music was playing at a reasonable volume from his living room. It wasn't coming from the record player, though. It was popular music rather than classic rock pumping from a modern sound system.

There were more people than he expected. The living space was filled with Metros and their partners. Jackie broke off to talk to a few WAGs she was friendly with. 

Shane and Ilya were in the kitchen. Hayden had followed Cliff into the space. Ilya was mixing a drink. Shane was standing nearby watching, eyes not moving anywhere for a second.

Hayden twisted the bracelet on his wrist. 

"There's beer, liquor, and some seltzers. Can I make you something?" 

"Oh, beer is fine, thanks," Hayden said, a little embarrassed. Ilya poured clear liquid into a martini glass and passed it to Shane. He was drinking vodka from a scotch glass, a single round ice cube in the center.

Hayden watched Cliff pop the lid off a Corona. His deft fingers slid a lime wedge into the bottle. Hayden shivered as he took the beer, pulling from it, his eyes on Cliff.

"Hey buddy, remember me?" Shane was suddenly on his left, grinning playfully.

"No, remind me? Shawn? Lane?"

Shane laughed.

"I didn't think you guys were gonna make it."

"We can only stay another hour." Ilya said, sipping from his glass.

"We need to make it to the team party at Bood's before midnight." 

They passed the night in a haze of dull conversation, concern for the younger guys hitting the bottle a little too hard, and unbearable arousal every time he remembered what he was wearing under his clothes.

After midnight, all the good people were gone (Shane, Ilya, JJ, and Mona) but the apartment was still full of Metros with, apparantly, nothing better to do. Six of them were shoved together on Cliff's couch pounding hard seltzers and playing an Xbox Hayden was pretty sure Cliff did not own.

Cliff, Jackie, and Hayden stood behind the couch. They watched one grab the jaw of another, maintain eye contact, and pour the rest of their white claw into his mouth. He forcefully closed the mouth of the other and instructed him to swallow. Hayden was appalled. 

"This is getting out of hand."

"I already tried to kick them out." Cliff said, "but now I'm worried. They're all very drunk. I think a few of them drove here."

"Hey!" Jackie said, standing in front of the TV. The loud, drunken protests and the sounds of the boys losing the video game did not deter her. "Keys. All of you. I want your keys."

"You can't have my keys," one slurred. 

She stretched out her hand, using her best mom-stare that made even Hayden squirm. 

"Now."

The men handed their keys over. Jackie took the six sets of key rings into the kitchen and shoved them in a box of cereal.

"They're not leaving," Cliff said sadly.

"It doesn't look like it," Jackie replied, frowning. "It's a shame. Hayden and I had a surprise for you."

Cliff looked between them.

"What kind of surprise?"

Jackie's hand rested on her hip, over her jeans. Cliff's gaze tracked the movement and stuck there. 

"No."

Jackie raised her eyebrows, accepting the challenge.

The kitchen flowed into the living room. The whole apartment was an open-concept fucking nightmare. She was standing between the island and the fridge. The guys on the couch were pretty distracted.

She unbuttoned her jeans and shimmied them down, just low enough on her hips to show a flash of blue fabric.

Cliff's keys and wallet materialized in his hands. 

"Let's go." 

"Where?" She asked, laughing as she quickly buttoned her jeans back up. 

"To your place. Or just to the car. A hotel room. Who cares?"

"What about them?"

"Who cares?" Cliff repeated. "They won't notice. They're going to fall asleep on top of each other out there."

Hayden and Jackie each only had one drink, so Hayden drove. Cliff and Jackie climbed in the backseat together.

"I just-I need to see again-" Cliff said when they were at a redlight. Hayden glanced over his shoulder. Cliff had her fly open again. The light turned green, and Hayden had to look away just as Cliff's hand slid into her jeans.

"Oh," Jackie gasped. 

"Hayden, you're wearing them too?"

"Yeah."

Hayden was currently hard and leaking into the gifted panties. 

"Fuck, all night? Why didn't you say anything sooner? We could have left hours ago."

Hayden laughed. Jackie's breathing changed. He chanced a look behind him. His hand was still down the front of her jeans, Jackie's mouth was open as she panted quietly.

Hayden forced his eyes forward. The streets were busy, it was just after midnight on New Years Day. They could not get pulled over right now. Those handsy assholes in the backseat would have them caught in seconds.

Hayden suddenly felt a surprising pressure on his dick. 

"Cliff, fuck. Get back in your seat. Put your-put your seatbelt on."

Cliff was pressed between the seats, roughly groping Hayden over his pants.

"I knew you'd be hard."

"Obviously," Hayden breathed, his touches sending pleasure zipping through his body.

Hayden had to focus on traffic, everyone was being a little crazy tonight. Even as they left Cliff's neighborhood, there were people fucking everywhere, and god, the windows were not tinted enough for this-

Cliff pushed Hayden's shirt up and unbuttoned his jeans one-handed, opening them so roughly his body jerked to the side.

"Oh shit."

Hayden glanced down. From this angle, you could only see the soft blue material. The lace wasn't on display, nor was the cut of the underwear. You couldn't identify them as women's panties. 

"Cliff, put your seatbelt on!" Hayden demanded, feeling exposed and needy.

Cliff snickered and went back to his seat. Hayden, embarrassingly enough, drove the rest of the way home with his pants unbuttoned.

Hayden did his pants up before they went inside. Cliff had gone back to fingering Jackie in the backseat, and the sounds of her heavy breathing were undoing him.

It was the couch first, or, more accurately, it was the coffee table. Hayden thought the couch was closest to the front door, but he was technically mistaken.

Fucking on the coffee table was stupid, impractical, and uncomfortable.

But it was closer to the front door than the couch.

Cliff and Hayden were on Jackie, a man on each side. Jackie was gasping and whimpering as they kissed, licked, and sucked on her neck. They were being a bit too rough, probably. She was going to have obvious marks in the morning.

They walked with her, all the way to the living room, until her legs hit the coffee table. She started to topple backwards, but Hayden caught her before she could fall over.

She lowered herself to the coffee table, and they bent with her, sticking with her neck until Hayden could get her shirt off. Her bra underneath was white and silky. Cliff's massive hand cupped her left breast before squeezing, pushing it out of the cup.

Hayden had his hands behind her, he unclipped the contraption on the first try. He was silently proud of himself as he whipped the bra across the room. She was flushed down to her nipples, which he eagerly took into his mouth.

Her fingers carded through his hair.

"You guys treat me so well."

"We love you," Cliff said, Hayden watched his pink tongue slide out to lick her nipple. 

Hayden sucked at the squishy flesh, deciding her chest could match her neck. She only allowed that for a second before she pushed his face away.

She was shaking under him. "Too sensitive."

Cliff and Hayden moved down her body, kissing her abdomen, trailing low until they met jeans.

Her jeans were partially down her hips already, the lacy fabric stuck out at the top. 

Cliff took one side, Hayden took the other. They yanked her jeans down by her belt loops. The men ripped at them until her back was coming off the table and they hung sadly off one ankle.

"Jesus fucking Christ."

It was animalistic, it was loving. It was beautiful, it was dirty.

Cliff spread her legs and buried his face against her crotch, lapping at the soaked cotton.

He seized the ruined underwear between his teeth and pulled. 

"Cliff, baby, fuck, you really like us wearing your gifts?"

"Yes," Cliff said. He stood up and rubbed a hand over his length, which was still hidden in his jeans. "Want to feel how much?"

Cliff stripped down. Hayden helped him so he could get a hand around Cliff's girth. 

Hayden, in doing so, became the center of Cliff's attention. Jackie watched them, happy to stay flat on the glass table. 

Cliff kissed him once, and pulled Hayden's pants off.

Hayden was tenting his underwear. His cock was hard as fuck, the tip was poking at the lace waistband.

"Wrapped up like a present," Cliff mumbled. 

Cliff directed them. Slowly, he slid Jackie's panties down her legs. He held them up to his face and inhaled like a fucking pervert.

"Oh my god, you fucking creep," Hayden said, taking the underwear from him and doing the exact same. God, he never got enough of his wife's pussy. 

"You're both unbelievable."

They stared down at her.

"And you look possessed."

Cliff fucked Jackie on the table, legs splayed open while she gripped the edges of it. 

He forced Hayden to stand beside him. As he thrust into Jackie, he kept one hand on Hayden's dick. He rubbed him over the baby blue panties until they were soaked with pre at the tip. 

"Fuck, make him come in them."

"Come on, Jacks," Hayden protested pathetically. The truth was, he was on the edge, it wouldn't take much to get him to ruin the underwear.

He really did like wearing them. He liked the way Jackie and Cliff looked at him, and he liked the way the lace tickled his skin. He felt pretty. 

"Come on, baby, what are you holding back for?" Cliff asked him. 

Hayden was a man in his thirties, he was deeply embarrassed at the idea of coming in his clothing practically untouched.

"He gets sh-shy," Jackie moaned. 

"You look so pretty in blue, baby. You're so beautiful."

"I married the prettiest man in Montreal," Jackie smiled. 

"Shut up," Hayden said, still failing, miserably, to hold his orgasm off.

"You know, Hayden, if you-fuck Cliff- if you come in them, the stain will probably be dark enough to match your eyes."

"We should test that out," Cliff said.

"In the name of science. I'm gonna fucking come, Cliff. Don't stop."

"I'm not stopping, baby."

Hayden was losing his battle, but it was over the moment Jackie came, shouting Cliff's name as she gripped the edges of the table hard enough to turn her knuckles white. 

"Fuck-" Hayden whined, following her with Cliff's hand rubbing him all the while. 

Cliff pulled out of Jackie and jerked himself off, his cock glistening with her wetness, before he came all over her tits.

Hayden still had his soiled panties on. They were pretty sticky and uncomfortable, not to mention deeply embarrassing. 

"Come here," Jackie said, gesturing to him. He walked to her, wincing as they started to go cold. 

She peeled back the lace waistband and looked inside. Jackie giggled before pulling the underwear down.

Hayden stepped out of them and picked them up before they could ruin rug.

Cliff took the underwear and inspected the stain. Then, like a massive fucking prick, he held up the dark blue wet spot to Hayden's face, comparing it to his eyes.

In the morning, the house was cleaned up, and the trio well-rested. 

Everyone was dressed and respectable. They were walking Cliff out, chatting about their next road trip the following week, when the front door swung open and the kids filed in.

They barely acknowledged the three of them. They just threw their backpacks down and stumbled like zombies into the house. They were clearly all freshly awake and not happy about it.

"Uh, hello?" Jackie called to their children.

"Hi mama," Arthur replied.

"Hi mommy!" That was Amber. The twins just kept heading upstairs.

"Sorry," Megan was at the door looking tired and frazzled. "I know I was supposed to keep them until one-"

She froze, taking in the massive presence of Cliff Marlow.

Fuck.

This was already bad enough, but just behind Megan was her mega-fan boyfriend, who looked ready to cry as he stared at Cliff like the man was the second coming of Christ.

"Cliff Marlow, I'm a big fan-"

"Go wait in the car, Jeremy." Megan said, tone flat, fully cutting the man off. 

"But-"

"Jeremy."

Jeremy went to wait in the car.

"So, I get to meet Cliff."

"Cliff was just leaving," Jackie said. It wasn't even eight in the morning. Usually he would linger longer, but he wanted to make sure there were no dead hockey players in his apartment. 

It was lucky that those six idiots fell under Cliff's care that morning, otherwise they may have caught them still in bed, the house trashed from their numerous activities the night before. Megan would have had a fucking field day with that.

Megan made a point to check her watch.

"Uh huh. Just stop in?"

"Um. Yes." Cliff said, but he interrupted Megan's second question of:

"Or is it a sleepover like Christmas?"

Silence.

Hayden knew they were busted this time. There was no getting out of this conversation. 

Cliff shook his head. "Sorry, you're Megan, right? I've heard all about you from the kids."

He offered Megan his hand and she took it, the look on her face growing more and more smug with every passing moment.

"Oh yeah, no, I heard all about Uncle Cliff last night. The kids never stopped chattering about you. It didn't help that Jeremy kept asking them questions."

Megan turned to her sister. Hayden had telepathy with his wife, but it could never hold a torch to the freaky sibling telepathy those sisters shared.

Megan was grinning, Jackie was scowling, Hayden and Cliff watched and waited with bated breath.

"Amber told me you were at Shane's cottage this summer too." Jackie buried her face in her hands.

"Oh, yeah, Ilya and I have been friends a long time. And Shane's great too, of course."

"Listen, Megan, can you just, like..."

"I love it, Jack. Really. It's very you."

"Don't start that shit-"

"No, really. Two hockey players? Greedy greedy greedy!" Megan was cackling.

"Meg! Be quiet," Jackie hissed, superstitiously looking over her shoulder for a lingering child.

"What? The kids don't know? They call him uncle."

"We didn't tell them...they just started doing it."

"Oh my god, you have one of Jade's bracelets. You guys are idiots if you don't think those kids know."

"They're kids."

"They're perceptive kids, Jackie. They're like we were."

Jackie frowned. 

"Jade and Ruby especially."

"I'm Ruby, you're Jade."

"Exactly," Megan nodded. 

"Mom and dad don't know."

"Of course not. Why would they?"

Jackie looked between Cliff and Hayden. Cliff looked as likely to say something as Hayden felt, which was, of course, not likely at all. 

"And you're okay with this?" Megan's attention was suddenly on him. Hayden felt his cheeks heat. 

"Meg-"

"It's not..." He hesitated. Happy fucking New Year, now come out to your sister-in-law.

"It's not just between them," Hayden settled on. 

Megan looked confused for a moment. The three winced as it dawned on her.

"Oh. Oh. Gosh. Christ."

"Yeah," the trio said in unison.

"So this isn't just a...kink thing. This is a real thing."

"Yeah," Cliff answered earning syrupy, lovestruck smiles from Hayden and Jackie. 

She turned to Jackie with a much more gentle expression.

"Well fuck. You don't do anything half-assed, do you?"

By the end of January, several of the guys that were out with injuries at the start of the season were back.

Until Winslow took a hit hard enough that he would never step back on the ice again. 

It was a fucking tragedy, as every career-ending injury was. Winnie was almost to retirement, too. He had played even longer than Hayden had, which basically made him a dinosaur. Hayden visited him in the hospital. He took the hit at an away game, so the room was empty, his wife and kids in Montreal. He sat with him and talked for a long while, until both men were stealthily wiping away tears.

The Metros were playing a "mid" season (according to Ruby). Losing Winslow shattered team morale. 

They started losing in February and didn't stop until March. 

In a game against Ottawa, Cliff got a rare goal just before the timer hit 0, tying them up 2-2. Ottawa, somehow, against all odds, lost in overtime thanks to a cocky twenty-something with a crazy backhand. 

In March, they started winning. 

There were several guys injured, they lost one of their veteran players halfway through the season. They should not have been able to turn it around.

Suddenly, it was like a switch flipped. Plays, techniques, and scoring possibilities were obvious to Hayden. Reading the ice had never been so simple in his life. 

"Right here," Cliff said. He was fucking Jackie. Well, they both were. Hayden was under her, buried in her pussy, Cliff was behind her, fucking her ass.

"What?"

"Right here, on your lower back."

"Cliff, I don't..."

"Oh I know, baby. So overwhelming, isn't it?"

"Mhm," she said, her eyes squeezed shut, her forehead resting on Hayden's. Hayden kept staring up at her, waiting to see the fucked-out look in her brown eyes.

"A tattoo right here on your lower back, so we can see it while we fuck you."

"What-what-fuck. What would it be?"

Hayden and Cliff matched their thrusts, Jackie was scratching the fuck out of him, her hair was tickling his face. He could feel Cliff's cock inside her, the sensation was making it impossible to keep in control.

"I'm still thinking about it."

"I'll do it," Jackie gasped, "if you and Hayden do too."

"I am not getting a tramp stamp," Hayden announced. The locker room would be a fucking nightmare.

"I'll change your mind, Hayd," Cliff promised, and Hayden was afraid, because he believed him.

The Metros were playing well, but it hardly made up for their nightmarish early season. They wanted a spot in the playoffs, but it wasn't guaranteed. 

And then, at the end of April, Ilya Rozanov had to be helped off the ice by his husband. 

It was Ilya's second concussion while playing in the NHL. He took it as well as you would expect.

Jackie and Hayden had the kids mail him homemade cards even though Jade and Ruby both frequently texted them. Shane, Ilya, Ruby, and Jade had a group chat called 'family serious about hockey.' Hayden was not allowed in the group chat.

Ilya: I could still beat your papa with a concussion. Is just a headache, really.

Shane: No. It is not just a headache, Ilya. And get off your phone.

Ilya: Yes, listen to your uncle. He is responsible. (Boring).

Ruby showed him the messages from Ilya excitedly. Hayden texted him:

Hayden: Glad you're feeling well enough to bully me with my children.

Ilya: Enjoy losing your first playoff game!

Shane texted Hayden a little while later to yell at him for texting Ilya while he was concussed. 

They did not lose their first playoff game.

But the Centaurs did.

It was almost hard to watch. Shane and the rest of them should be more than capable of holding their own without their Captain, but they lost 2-1 to San Jose. Shane had obviously been playing distracted, which made Hayden a little sad, but as alternate Captain for Montreal, he was thrilled.

The Metros were charged by the Centaurs getting knocked out so easily. Playoffs continued until, somehow, miraculously, they once again found themselves playing a Stanley Cup game.

Hayden was twisting his bracelet as JJ gave his speech.

"Last year, I gave you guys some bullshit speech about hard work and team work, and everything. Fuck that. It's been a hard fucking season. An impossible season. We lost more guys than any other team. We lost Winnie."

Hayden already felt emotional, the mention of their friend hurt. He pressed the length of his arm over Cliff's, blue on blue.

"No one thought we would get this far this season, but we fucking earned it. We had to play twice as hard. We had to put in more hours than any of us wanted to. We've given our blood, sweat, and tears to this fucking season. Are we going to lose now, at the end?"

"No Cap!" The team chanted.

"No we're fucking not! We have the advantage. They're fucking intruding in our house. Are we gonna let them get away with that?"

"No Cap!"

"Fucking no! Listen boys. Those other games? Losing playoffs, losing the Stanley Cup...it's been a tough few years. And I think most of you agree with me that maybe...maybe we deserved it, then. Maybe we earned that curse they all said we had."

The guys shuffled nervously at the mention of the Metros curse.

"We have redeemed ourselves. We've broken the fucking curse. Tonight, we're gonna show everyone who we are. We are the fucking Metros!"

"METROS!"

It was the comeback of the season, that's what everyone said. Throughout the summer, sports commentators would shake their heads and question how Montreal managed the win after their endless setbacks. 

It should not have been possible, their win. None of it should have been even remotely possible.

The stands were filled with blue and white. The ice was speaking to him, and he could hear it. 

Their game was against San Jose, the team that knocked out Ottawa. It could have been any team in North America, though, and the result would have been the same. 

San Jose got the first point, and it was the only point they earned all night.

Hayden got the third point, much younger guys, the guys that would take over when Hayden finally hung up his skates, got the first, second, and the fourth.

Hayden threw his gloves off and jumped into Cliff's arms as the final buzzer sounded. He was closer to Hayden than JJ was, but JJ jumped them immediately. Guys poured off the bench to join the sobbing, celebrating team.

The cup felt familiar in his hands. JJ handed it off to him after his own well-deserved victory lap. He skated to the glass and caught his children's wide smiles. Jackie was crying.

He passed the cup to Cliff, who smiled broadly at him over the massive trophy. 

Their families came down on the ice. Jackie ran to him, reminding him, overwhelmingly, of his very first championship win, when they were much younger, much less grey. He caught her as she slid, holding onto her.

"Daddy, daddy, you got a point!" Ruby said, bouncing up and down. "You won!"

"I won, baby," he scooped his oldest up and grabbed another one, Amber, for a hug, before he could get his arms around all of them.

Jackie hugged Cliff. Cliff's hug was bone-crushing, but Hayden couldn't care how it would be interpreted. The kids swarmed him, chatting animatedly. 

Hayden and Jackie held onto each other, watching the kids split their attention between Cliff and JJ. 

He pulled Jackie in for a kiss. 

Tomorrow, the trio would celebrate their win properly. The week after that, they had plans to take the kids to a waterpark. Summer had come again, and it sweeter and more vibrant than ever.

He hugged Cliff again, on the ice, because he didn't care, even if his other arm was around Jackie.

The victorious team cheered and cried and held each other all the way to the locker room. JJ got tapped for an interview. Cliff stuck right to Hayden's side, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

Through the haze of champagne and loud music, he stared at Cliff, his black hair weighed down by the spraying bubbly. He was so in love. He was so happy.

"We fucking won," Cliff said, smiling down at Hayden. That grin of his, the one where the left corner tugged higher than the right...it did things to Hayden.

"We did. We won."

Families piled into the locker room after everyone was dressed. Hayden sat on the bench, Jade was running a brush through his wet hair even though it wasn't necessary.

Cliff and Jackie were talking beside them. Hayden was aware he was gazing at his lovers like a moonstruck fool, but he couldn't stop.

"I'm proud of you, dad," Jade said, squeezing his shoulder.

He looked to his daughter, her smile was small, maybe a little somber. He returned it, his hand covering hers. "Thank you, baby."

The cup sat like a beacon in the middle of the locker room. Ruby was taking photos with it with another player's daughter. Jackie reached out and touched Cliff's arm, laughing at something he said. Hayden's chest was so full it ached. 

We did it.

We won.

Chapter End Notes

Hello, as soon as I submitted by last final I ran straight here.

As you can see, I made this into a series. This is because I have at least two stories to add onto this one. I am very very excited to get those out. There may even be more after that, depending on interest and if I have the energy to pursue them. These three have a really huge future in my head that is pretty much already planned out. Unfortunately, it was not possible to include everything that happens to them in this specific fic.

If anyone is interested, I have a couple other (much shorter) Heated Rivalry Hollonov fics up.

I have never done this before, but if anyone wants to send me hate mail, my tumblr is obviousobituary. It's not strictly Heated Rivalry, and I mostly just reblog stuff, but I am active there.

I appreciate every single one of you. The response for this fic has been overwhelming and so, so unexpected. I am very grateful for every comment, subscription, kudos, bookmark, and click. You're all beautiful. Thank you for supporting me.