Rating:

General Audiences

Archive Warning:

No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories:

Gen, M/M

Fandoms:

Game Changers Series - Rachel Reid, Heated Rivalry (TV)

Relationships:

Shane Hollander & Hayden Pike, Hayden Pike/Jackie Pike, Hayden Pike & Ottawa Centaurs, Wyatt Hayes & Hayden Pike, Troy Barrett & Hayden Pike

Characters:

Hayden Pike, Shane Hollander, Jackie Pike, Jade Pike, Ruby Pike, Arthur Pike, Ilya Rozanov, Wyatt Hayes, Nick Chouinard, Zane Boodram, Evan Dykstra, Yuna Hollander, David Hollander, Troy Barrett, Amber Pike

Additional Tags:

Good Friend Hayden Pike, Ottawa Centaurs Player Ilya Rozanov, Ottawa Centaurs Player Hayden Pike, Oblivious Hayden Pike, Secret Relationship, but it's kind of only a secret from hayden

Language:

English

Stats:

Published: 2026-02-28 Completed: 2026-03-07 Words: 8,630 Chapters: 4/4

we will find a way

Summary

in 2020, Hayden Pike is traded to the Ottawa Centaurs. he learns a few things.

or the one where Hayden means really well. but he keeps missing something that's right in front of him.

title from One Direction's Through the Dark

Chapter 1

One positive, Hayden thinks, is that the kids love the new house. The previous owners had left a frankly impressive swing set behind and Hayden had spent a weekend with David making sure it was still safe to play on.

The trade hadn’t been entirely unexpected — Hayden is a solid player, worth something when the bigger names are locked behind no-trade clauses. Ottawa had been a surprise, but Hayden hasn’t had many complaints so far. And at least they have Shane’s parents if they had to leave Hayden’s in Montreal.

But the kids are happy — Hayden and Jackie have barely been able to pull them off the swing set, yelling about princesses and pirates. Ruby and Jade are even being good about including their brother, which is really all Hayden can ask for.

He grins over at them from his spot on the patio; Jade and Ruby are both trying to push Arthur on the swing. It’s going about as well as Hayden expected.

Shane should be here any minute with the last of Hayden’s things from Montreal — things he’d left at Shane’s or J.J.’s, probably a couple things he’d left in the locker room. Shane had also promised a homemade meal with his parents, which Hayden is at least as excited about as seeing his best friend for the first time in a few weeks. That has definitely been an adjustment. Hayden misses Shane so much that he’d imagined his Jeep driving past the house yesterday when he and Jackie had been assessing the landscaping during Amber’s nap. But whoever it was hadn’t stopped, because it wasn’t Shane. There was no reason for Shane to be in Ottawa a day early, and it’s not like surprises are really his thing.

The sound of tires in the driveway pulls Hayden out of his thoughts.

“Kids, go say hi to Uncle Shane!” Hayden calls. The swing set is immediately abandoned as the kids dart for the sliding glass door into the house, shouting over each other.

Hayden laughs as he follows them.

Shane is already on the floor, wrapping Arthur in a hug even as he nods along to whatever Ruby and Jade are telling him. Behind him, David and Yuna are smiling, arms full of dishes.

“Lets let the Hollanders inside, okay?” Jackie asks, shifting Amber to one arm so she can take a bag from David.

The girls back off, letting Shane scoop Arthur up as he stands.

“Hey, man.” Shane grins, reaching out to wrap Hayden in a one-armed hug. “Missed you.”

“I missed you, too, dude.”

“Mom, you got it all?”

“Yes. Catch up with Hayden.” Yuna waves them off with a grin.

Arthur slides out of Shane’s lap the second they sit down in the living room, running after his sisters as fast as he can. Hayden is kind of impressed by how well he can keep up — the girls have hit their growth spurt and Arthur’s never been that tall. Maybe there’s a future in track in field ahead of him.

Shane is watching him, too, smiling.

“You ever think about kids? Y’know, finding a nice girl, settling down…”

“Sometimes.” Shane admits, settling back into the couch. “Not, uh. Not with a girl though.”

Hayden leans forward, eyebrow raised.

“No?”

“No.” Shane takes a deep breath. “I’m, um. I’m gay, Hayd.” He admits, eyes flicking back and forth between Hayden and the floor.

“Thanks for telling me, man.” Hayden scoots closer. “You’re getting another hug now.”

Shane nods, eyes a little wide. Hayden pulls his best friend closer, wrapping his arms around Shane’s shoulders. After a moment, he can feel the tension bleed out of them.

“I know you didn’t think I’d be shitty about it.” He teases. Shane huffs.

“Not you, no. Some of the other guys… I’m less sure.”

“Well, whatever you decide you want to do, I’m in your corner. Uh, from Ottawa, I guess.” Hayden pauses. “Do your parents know? Are you seeing anyone? Is there anyone you want to be seeing?”

“Mom and dad know. I told them when we were up at the cottages.”

Hayden blinks. The Hollanders had been up at the cottages a few weeks ago.

“Good. I don’t think I can keep a secret from your mom.”

“It’s not worth trying, honestly.”

They sit for a second, and Hayden is about to ask if Shane is seeing anyone again, but Yuna calls them to dinner and Hayden forgets the whole thing.

Team dinner before their first official practice surprises Hayden. More than Rozanov inviting him to an unofficial practice the day before, just him and some of the veterans skating around and shooting the shit more than anything else.

“You okay, Pike?” Boodram asks, setting another plate of chicken down on the table. Hayden nods slowly.

“Things in Montreal were… very different.” He admits, making a face. Bood nods.

“That’s what we hear.” He says. Hayden raises an eyebrow, wondering who might be giving the Centaurs alternate captain information about the Voyageurs locker room, but finding he doesn’t care enough to press it when Bood walks away.

Rozanov is dancing between groups of players and WAGs, laughing and making conversation with everyone. Reluctantly, Hayden can admit it probably contributes to making him a great captain, but he hasn’t said anything to Hayden yet. (He’s actively ignoring the fact that he and Jackie have only been here for about five minutes.)

But then, sure enough, Rozanov is making his way over to Jackie, offering to take Amber as Ruby and Jade drift off to make friends with some of the other kids, Arthur following behind. Hayden tries to follow their lead, settling in with the team. Rozanov is still talking to Jackie, bouncing Amber seemingly absentmindedly. Hayden doesn’t have the energy for that right now — maybe in a little bit, after a beer or two — so he makes his way to the porch, where Dykstra, Chouinard, and Hayes are sitting around a fire pit.

“Pike! Welcome to Ottawa.” Chouinard says. “Pull up a chair, man.”

“Settling in okay?” Hayes asks. Hayden nods.

“I think so? The kids are excited to be here, and I know Jacks is having fun getting to know the girls.”

“Yeah, Caitlyn said she’s a riot.” Dykstra says.

“We’re really glad to have you here.” Hayes says, leaning forward.

“Yeah, Hazy’s been dying to have someone to talk super heroes with since he got here.” Chouinard laughs, bumping Hayes with his shoulder.

“Yeah, man! Shane mentioned that-”

“We’ll leave you to it.” Dykstra laughs, nudging Chouinard, who laughs and stands.

“Beer, Pike?”

“Oh, sure. Thanks.”

The two of them wander off, leaving Hayden with his new goalie.

“How are you really settling in?” Hayes asks, settling back in his chair.

“I…” Hayden runs a hand through his hair. “Maybe it’s conceited, but I didn’t think I’d get traded? I’ve been playing on Shane’s line since we were rookies, y’know?”

Hayes nods.

“I get it. But I think you’ll be happy here. It’s a good environment, these are good guys.”

“Even Rozanov?”

“Yeah, even Rozy. He’s a bit of a pill, but he’s a good guy. Good captain.”

“Honestly? I think I’m starting to see it. But don’t tell him I said that, I’m supposed to be on Shane’s side.”

“My lips are sealed.” Hayes laughs.

“Thanks, man. My reputation depends on it.”

Hayden relaxes after that, getting into it on the latest Batman run as the rest of the party continues around them. The conversation shifts as other members of the team come out to the porch, and at some point someone puts a plate of food in Hayden’s hand — probably Jackie, since it’s all his favorites — along with another beer. Even Rozanov stops to chat for a minute, chirping Hayden like he usually does.

“Good night?” Jackie asks later as they lead the kids to the car. Hayden is holding Ruby and Jade’s hands and Jackie is carrying a very sleepy Arthur. In a surprising show of helpfulness, Rozanov is carrying a sleeping Amber. He sets her in her car seat, then slips back to the party with a wave.

“Yeah. I think things are gonna be good here.”

“Good.” Jackie grins over at him. “I know you miss Shane, because trust me, I do, too. But he’ll be here when he can, you know that.”

“Yeah. I’ll miss J.J. too, but…”

“I get it.”

“How’re the WAGs?” Hayden asks, getting the girls settled into their car seats.

“They seem really cool, I’m excited to get to know them.” Jackie grins. Hayden smiles back at her.

Ottawa will be good. He’ll make it good.

One of their first preseason games is against Boston. Hayden doesn’t quite know what to do with himself — for the last ten years, Boston has been public enemy number one. Voyageurs fans had burned effigies of Rozanov in the streets. And while, yeah, Hayden thought that was taking it a little too far (not that he’d ever tell Rozanov that), he can’t help but still feel the extra thrum in his blood. Like his body is trying to remind his brain that this game matters.

And it does. Hayden can admit that. He hasn’t gotten a ton of time on the ice yet, but it’s early still. Part of him wonders if that’ll change today, if Wiebe will put him in to see how he does under that kind of pressure.

“You coming today?” Hayden asks Jackie as he shoves breakfast in his mouth.

“We’re doing a WAG brunch. Yuna’s gonna watch the kids.”

“Good. I’ll see you later, then.” He drops a quick kiss on her lips before scarfing down another bite of breakfast and heading for the door.

“Drive safe.” Jackie calls after him.

“Love you, too!” Hayden shouts back. He can hear Jackie laughing as the door into the garage closes behind him.

The atmosphere in the locker room is the same as it has been in the few weeks of practice they’ve had — lighthearted, easy. Fun. Hayden had almost forgotten that hockey is a game first and foremost.

It makes him think of Shane, far more serious than he should be. The near-permanent furrow between his eyebrows, the inward slope of his shoulders. Rozanov doesn’t do that. He’s singing something with Hayes, clapping Bood on the shoulder, even bumping his shoulder against Hayden’s own with a laugh. It’s not just confidence, because once he was on the ice, no one was more confident than Shane Hollander (except maybe the man in front of Hayden now). It was… Hayden stumbles over the thought.

It was acceptance.

For all his talk about the Voyageurs maybe understanding, Hayden doesn’t think Shane really believed it. He doesn’t believe it, not after seeing what an actually accepting locker room looks like. Hayden takes a deep breath, then shoots Shane a text, reminding him that Hayden loves him.

 

Hayden shakes his head fondly as he slides his phone back into his bag - of course Shane knows the Cens' preseason schedule. He takes a deep breath, then squares his shoulders and turns to face his new captain. Rozanov’s eyebrows are furrowed, but they smooth under the attention of the team.

“I hear Boston is very happy to see us.” He smirks. “Especially me, of course, but also surprisingly Pike.”

Hayden laughs with everyone else, leaning into It when Bood claps his shoulder. Rozanov’s speech continues, but Hayden’s nerves have settled now. He shouldn’t be surprised, but it continues to amaze him exactly how good Ilya Rozanov is at the actual captain part of his job. It’s more than just being good at hockey, Hayden knows that from when he was Shane’s alternate. (Once upon a time, he knows Rozanov would chirp him for that, something about how captaining had nothing to do with hockey ability if someone picked Hayden to do it. Now Hayden’s not so sure.)

“We go out, and we win today. We show them that we are not fucking around.” Rozanov finishes. The locker room erupts into cheers.

Hayden is one of the first down the tunnel, Rozanov right on his heels.

The energy between them all is electric. They even squeak out a win — just barely, the final score is 3-2 in their favor — and Rozanov drags them all to Monk’s with the promise of the first round being on him.

Hayden can’t help but shake his head — Rozanov is acting like they’ve just clinched a playoff spot — but he gets it some once they get there. The Bears have all come out, too, and the players are all chatting, teams mixed between tables. At some point, Hayden finds himself having a very serious conversation with Cliff Marlow about whales.

Later, he’ll realize that this is what really settles him. That Ilya Rozanov is actually a fantastic captain, and that Hayden is glad to play with him.

He’d never thought he’d see the day.

 

Chapter 2

Hayden is suspicious at best when he hears the news about Barrett. He’s never liked playing in Toronto, and Barrett was always part of that — though, Hayden has to admit, not as much a part as Dallas Kent. Close second, though.

“So. Barrett.” Hayden says, dropping himself into a chair next to Wyatt. Bood, sitting at the third side of the table, makes a face.

“Kent’s lackey.” He agrees. Wyatt frowns, thoughtful.

“Yes, but… I don’t know.”

“You know him better than we do.” Hayden says, trying to keep the skepticism out of his voice. But Bood meets his eye, nodding.

“He stood up to him, though.” Wyatt muses.

“Not much point speculating.” Dykstra says, taking the fourth seat. “Sorry I’m late.”

“Pike just got here, too.” Bood shrugs.

“Kids.” Hayden offers as explanation. The others just nod.

Any further conversation is put on pause by the appearance of their waitress, who Hayden practically begs for coffee. Evan does too — Susie’s been teething, and he and Caitlyn haven’t been sleeping. Hayden loves his kids, but he definitely doesn’t miss that.

“This is what you have to look forward too, man.” Hayden says, nodding to Bood as he sips his coffee.

“Can’t wait.” Bood smiles.

“But back to the topic at hand.” Evan says once their food has arrived. “Barrett. He’s a nasty little shit.”

“Not that little.” Hayden mutters. He’s spent his share of time being slammed into the boards by Troy Barrett and that’s one thing he can say for sure.

“He can’t be that much taller than you, Hayden.” Wyatt frowns.

“He’s wider than I am.”

Bood and Dykstra snort but don’t say anything. Hayden glares at them anyway.

“Anyway.” Hayden says, turning back to Wyatt. The goalie shrugs.

“I don’t really know him better than any of you. But I’m willing to give him a second chance.”

“And it’ll be nice to have some offensive depth.” Evan adds with a laugh.

Hayden and Zane both smack him on the shoulder.

Having Barrett in the locker room is… weird. Hayden knows that he’s made some kind of peace with Wyatt, he was there when Barrett said he’s trying to be a better person. So far, though, he’s just been kind of awkward.

If Hayden is being completely honest with himself, he reminds Hayden of a young Shane. He clearly feels out of place, not sure what to do with himself beyond playing hockey. And it seems like he’s even struggling to do that right now. Hayden feels a little bad about that — Barrett is a hell of a player when his head is in the game.

Hayden sighs to himself. He’s gonna have to talk to Jackie.

She clocks him immediately when he gets home from practice, narrowing her eyes at Hayden over Amber’s head.

“Whatever you’re thinking about we’ll talk about later. We have company on the way.”

Hayden raises an eyebrow but nods.

“What do you need me to do?”

“Make sure the downstairs bathroom is presentable and that there aren’t a dangerous amount of toys on the patio. I’m not sure how many more nice nights we’ll get, so we should light a fire tonight.” Jackie takes a deep breath. “Also, hi. Welcome home. I can’t wait to hear about your day later.”

Hayden laughs, leaning over to kiss her over Amber’s head. He gives Amber a kiss, too, while he’s there, pressed to the top of her soft baby hair. Then another for Jackie since he can.

He’s tying off the bathroom trash when the front door opens and an unexpected voice calls a hello to the Pikes.

Hayden almost drops the trash.

There’s a thunder of little footsteps and tiny voices yelling “uncle Shane!”

“Dude, what?” Hayden demands, coming around to corner to see his best friend being jumped by his children.

“Hey, Hayd.” Shane grins at him like this is completely fucking normal.

“What the f-”

“Here, give me trash. I will be right back.” Hayden is — admittedly thankfully — interrupted by Rozanov grabbing the bag from Hayden’s slack hand and disappearing towards the kitchen.

“Surprise.” Shane laughs.

“Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?” Hayden asks, but he’s laughing too as he wraps Shane in a hug.

“Mom’s birthday is Tuesday and we have a break in our schedule.” Shane shrugs.

The kids are chanting something about Uncle Ilya that Hayden is perfectly happy to ignore as he puts his hands on Shane’s shoulders to really look at him.

“Are you okay in Montreal?”

“I am. I haven’t told anyone other than J.J., so things are just… normal, I guess. Miss you, though.”

“I miss you too, man.” Hayden sighs dramatically.

“You’re having a good season, though.”

“Yeah, even though things with Barrett are kinda weird, we’ve really clicked as a team, I think.”

“I agree, but I’m not talking about the Cens, Hayd. I’m talking about you.”

“What?”

“You don’t actually listen to Ilya when he says you’re bad at hockey, do you?” Shane asks, frowning. Hayden blinks at him.

“No.”

“Good. Because he’s wrong.”

“I am never wrong!” Rozanov protests, reappearing from the kitchen with Jade and Ruby each hanging from an arm.

“If you’re gonna be a jungle gym at least do it outside!” Jackie yells from the other room. Rozanov just laughs and heads for the back door.

“Arthur! We are going outside.” He calls.

“Do you want me to…?” Shane trails off, gesturing towards Amber when Jackie emerges from the next room.

“Please. Its so good to see you, Shane. I’m glad you could make it over.”

“Me, too. Thanks for having us.” Shane happily takes Amber from Jackie, settling her on his hip like Hayden had showed him so many years ago. “Did Ilya give you…?”

“Yes! Thank you, they’ll love it.”

“Good.” He looks like he’s about to say something else, but Rozanov and the kids are waving to him from outside, gesturing for him to join them.

“I’d better see what they want.” He laughs.

“Sorry I didn’t tell you.” Jackie says once the door is closed behind him. “But I know you like a good surprise.”

“I do.” Hayden agrees. “And this is the… fourth best surprise of my life.”

“Good.”

“Rozanov surprised me more, honestly.”

“Shane cares about both of you, and he doesn’t get to see you guys as much as he’d like. You know that.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Go hang out with your best friend.” Jackie nudges. “Harris dropped off some cider yesterday if you guys want.”

“Give me two ciders and one of those fancy ginger ales.” Hayden says.

“Ciders are in the garage fridge.”

“Do you want one?”

“Yes, please.”

The late September air is crisp but pleasant when Hayden steps outside. Shane and Rozanov are standing close together on the patio, talking about something Hayden can’t hear. Ruby and Jade are on the play set, explaining something very seriously to their brother.

“How long are you in town, Shane?” Hayden asks, bumping his shoulder into Shane’s as he hands over the drinks.

“Just a couple days. Go over and see my parents tomorrow. Then back to Montreal.”

It’s damning, Hayden thinks, that Shane no longer refers to Montreal as home.

Shane and Rozanov stay for dinner and a movie with the kids, then Shane helps put the kids to bed while Hayden and Rozanov clean up.

“So. Barrett.” Rozanov says as Hayden puts the last dish in the dishwasher. Hayden nods.

“He seems to want to not suck as a person. So I thought — and I have to check with Jackie first — but I thought maybe he could use a friend.”

“You are planning to invite him here?” Rozanov asks. Hayden nods.

“Good.” Rozanov pauses. “If we did not have Zane, you would make good A.”

Hayden stares at him for a beat.

“I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“Probably.”

Hayden rolls his eyes at Rozanov’s smirk.

“Yeah, well. You’re a surprisingly good captain.”

“So glad you two are finally getting along.” Shane says from the doorway. He’s leaning against the doorframe, clearly comfortable, with a smirk on his face.

“Was bound to happen at some point.” Hayden laughs. “Thanks for helping Jacks with the kids, I know they miss Uncle Shane story time.”

“I miss it, too.” Shane admits. “Maybe we can set up video calls sometimes.”

“We’d love that, Shane.” Jackie says, wrapping him in a sideways before joining them in the kitchen. “Thanks for coming over. I know you’re not here long.”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Shane promises.

“You’re gonna make me blush, Holly.” Hayden teases. “Let me know next time you’re gonna be in town, okay?”

“Promise.”

They say their goodbyes, then Shane and Rozanov head out the door.

“What did you want to talk about when you got home?” Jackie asks, meeting Hayden in the living room.

“The new guy.”

“Troy Barrett?”

“How do you feel about having him over for dinner?”

Jackie just raises an eyebrow.

“He’s not like we thought. And I think he just needs better friends. Rozanov agrees.”

“You and Ilya agree? Well, we’d better invite him for dinner, then.”

“Thanks, babe.”

“I heard what Ilya said, about the A. I’m glad you two are starting to get along better.”

“Yeah, well. I guess we both could have been trying harder. For Shane.”

“He appreciates it. He was telling me. He loves you both.”

“We’re lucky to have him.” Hayden agrees.

“Hey, Barrett.” Hayden says, leaning against the wall next to Barrett’s stall. “What are you doing tomorrow night?”

“Nothing…?” Barrett answers, zipping his gear bag.

“Come over for dinner.”

Barrett looks surprised.

“You should go, dude. Jackie’s an incredible chef and the kids are adorable.” Evan says.

“Alright.” Barrett says slowly. “Thanks, Pike.”

“Yeah, man. See you tomorrow. Six.”

“Six.” Barrett agrees. Hayden thinks he almost smiles.

The knock on the door comes exactly at six, just as Jackie is sliding the garlic bread into the oven.

“Is it Uncle Shane and Uncle Ilya again?” Jade asks, looking up from the book she’s reading. She’s sprawled out on the living room floor on her stomach, kicking her feet in the air.

“Sorry, kiddo. That’s a different co-worker of Daddy’s.”

Jade huffs, turning back to her book. Ruby hasn’t looked over from her coloring book.

“Hayden, go get the door.” Jackie shouts.

“Working on it.” Hayden shifts Amber so she’s still comfortable and mostly asleep against his chest, then goes to let Troy Barrett into his home.

“Hey, man, come on in.”

“I brought wine. I wasn’t sure if you guys like red or white so…” He holds up two bottles.

“Jacks will be thrilled.” Hayden grins.

“Hi, Troy. It’s nice to meet you. Jackie Pike.”

“I’ve heard good things.” Troy says. He looks like he wants to shake her hand, but can’t figure out what to do with the wine.

“Only some of it is true. Let me take those from you, and you and Hayden can sit in the living room while I finish dinner.”

“Oh, sure. If you don’t need help…?”

“Just waiting for a few things to finish up. Go sit.”

Troy looks a little lost as he follows Hayden through the house, skirting around toys that Hayden had tried to clean up before he got there.

Troy sits as Hayden settles Amber in her bouncy chair. Jade and Ruby are both still occupied, and Arthur is playing quietly with his toys by the glass door to the yard. Hayden nods, then sits down himself.

“How are you settling in?”

Troy winces.

“Is this an intervention? Are the rest of the guys gonna show up?” Troy asks warily.

“I promise it’s just us, and it’s not an intervention. Rozanov and I thought you might need a friend, and he’s scary.”

“Uncle Ilya isn’t scary!” Ruby protests.

“He scares the other teams on the ice.” Hayden explains.

“But you’re on his team.” Ruby says, like they’re idiots.

“But we weren’t always.”

Jade thinks about it, then nods, accepting the explanation. When Hayden turns back to him, Troy is smiling.

“Troy, that’s Ruby. Jade is reading on the floor over there. Then we have Arthur and Amber.”

“It’s nice to meet you guys.” Troy offers with a wave. The kids wave back, then go back to what they were doing.

“Friends?” Troy prompts.

“Yeah, man. We all know you just go back to your sad hotel after practice.”

“I didn’t think it made sense to find a place before the road trip.” Troy protests. It’s not, Hayden notes, a denial.

“It probably doesn’t.” He shrugs. Troy squints at him, suspicious, but he nods.

“Look, man. I also come from a team that’s toxic as- more toxic than anyone would care to admit. I get it, at least a little. But it’s not like that here. Not even a little. You can relax.”

“I’m starting to see that.” Troy offers Hayden half a smile.

“Good.”

Chapter 3

Chapter Notes

ahead be the plane crash

 

Hayden stumbles off the plane and immediately leans on Wyatt.

“Fuck, man.”

“Fuck.” Wyatt agrees.

“I gotta…”

“Yeah, I. Lisa.”

Hayden fires off a quick text to Jackie — that they’re on the ground, that they’re safe. They’re alive — then tunes in to what the emergency crew is telling them. There’s an ambulance on hand if anyone needs it and, to Hayden’s dismay, Harris is standing there, talking to the EMTs. Letting them press a stethoscope to his chest. But then they’re nodding, and Harris is thanking them, and then Wiebe is herding them all onto the bus.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I could use a drink.” Coach announces.

Hayden’s never seen a hotel bar so full. He imagines this is what it looks like at All-Star Weekend, but he’s always been happy to have the time off with no travel. He’d have to ask Shane. Hell, he could ask Rozanov. Except Roz is… suspiciously absent. Hayden frowns, making eye contact with a couple of the guys, but they all shake their heads.

Hayden takes a deep breath. Roz is probably fine. But Jackie is texting him again, and Hayden should probably call her.

He steps into the warm Tampa night, already pulling his phone out to call Jackie. He’s not alone — he catches a glimpse of curly hair under a street light, which answers the question of where Rozanov is.

“Hayden, oh my god.” Jackie gasps. “I was so worried.”

“I was so scared.” Hayden admits. “God, Jacks. I can’t even…”

“But you’re okay. Everyone’s okay.”

“Yes. We’re all okay. When we’re done talking I’m gonna get a drink with everyone at the hotel bar.”

Jackie laughs wetly.

“Well, as long as you’re dealing with it like hockey players. And you have the day off tomorrow?”

“Yeah. We’re okay, Jacks. I promise.”

“Let me see your dumb face.” Jackie demands. Hayden laughs as he pulls his phone away from his ear.

“Hi, baby.”

“Go back in the lobby so I can actually see you.”

Hayden obliges, letting Jackie see a few angles of his completely fine head before she’s satisfied.

“Okay. I love you, Hayd.”

“I love you, too, Jacks. I’ll call you again later, okay?”

“You’d fucking better.”

“Hey. Swear jar.”

Jackie’s laughing as she hangs up.

Hayden shakes his shoulders, trying to get his energy a bit before he lets himself get sucked into the general chaos, grabbing a glass and a pitcher from in front of Wyatt.

“To not dying in a plane crash!”

He regrets the pitcher, and the shots, the next morning. He regrets a lot of things the next morning. Like not texting his best friend.

 

Hayden locks his phone, about to roll over and pass back out for a while, when Wyatt forces himself up. Hayden blinks at him. He doesn’t think he was supposed to room with Wyatt last night, but he guesses it doesn’t really matter.

“C’mon. Harris wants to go to IHOP.”

“Pancakes.” Hayden agrees, dragging himself off the bed. It doesn’t seem like he’d actually made it under the covers last night. Whoops.

“Grab Roz, he’s down the hall. 1102, I think. I’m gonna get Haasy.”

Hayden nods, grabbing a bottle out of his bag.

“Oh, thank god.” Hayden mutters, drinking half the Gatorade faster than he probably should. “Here.” He shoves what’s left of it at Wyatt, then starts pawing through his things for a fresh pair of pants. He’s pretty sure there’s beer on the ones he’s wearing.

“You’re a god among men, Hayden Pike.”

“Don’t let Roz hear you say that."

“I don’t care if he agrees. He doesn’t have blue Gatorade right now.”

“He probably likes the red one.”

“Don’t slander your captain.”

“I’ll stop when he does.”

“Fine, fine. Come on.”

“How are you not desperately hungover?” Hayden groans, following Wyatt into the hall.

“Oh, I am. Go get Roz.”

Hayden grumbles but wanders off to find room 1102.

He’s barely knocked twice before the door swings open.

“Pike. The fuck you want?”

“Harris and Wyatt want pancakes, c’mon.”

Roz stares at him. Hayden does his best not to fall over.

“One minute.” Roz says, stepping back into his room. As the door shuts, he’s lifting the phone Hayden hadn’t noticed him holding against his check back to his ear. Hayden only hears a couple of Russian words before the door clicks shut.

“Da, solnyshko.”

Hayden doesn’t know what it means, but it sounds fond. Affectionate. Hayden frowns. Does Roz have a significant other? He’s never mentioned anything specific, but he’d been in the parking lot last night… Hayden hums to himself. Might be something to bring up to Wyatt at some point.

A minute later, as promised, the door opens again, revealed a dressed Rozanov sliding his phone into his pocket.

“Where are we getting pancakes?”

“Honestly? I have no idea.” Hayden admits. Roz shakes his head, but he’s smiling a little.

“Did you text Shane back?” He asks, leading the way to what Hayden hopes is the elevator.

“This morning.”

Roz nods, satisfied.

“He was… worried.”

“Yeah, I should have texted him last night.”

“He is not upset. He spoke with Lady Pike.”

“I forget you guys are close.” Hayden laughs.

“Da.” Is all Rozanov says.

Wyatt and Haas, the rookie, meet them at the elevator, bleary eyed.

“Harris?” Roz asks.

“Already downstairs.” Wyatt answers.

Thankfully, it’s not long before they’re sitting around a table at IHOP, an obscene amount of food in front of them. Hockey players love a breakfast combo.

“You good, man?” Hayden asks, nodding at Roz’s toast and coffee.

“Shaken up, still.” Roz admits, lowering his gaze to his food.

“Yeah, me too.” Hayden admits softly.

Roz nods, looking surprisingly relieved.

Conversation flows across the table, soothing some of Hayden’s frayed nerves. These guys are more his brothers than the Voyaguers ever were, and, if Hayden had to go through a traumatic experience, he’d rather do it with Ottawa than Montreal. He snorts a surprised laugh.

“What?” Harris asks, catching his eye.

“No, I was just thinking… if Montreal’s plane had almost gone down, Drapeau would swear at everyone until we pretended to feel better and then move on.” Hayden makes a face. “It’s not funny, but… well. If I’m gonna almost go down, I’m glad it was with you guys, I guess.”

“We love you, too, Hayden.” Wyatt says. “Even Roz.”

“You are… good player to have on team, Pike. And good friend.” Ilya admits. The table sits in stunned silence for a moment.

“Okay, we definitely need to do something to get everyone’s spirits up. I need Roz to go back to being mean to me.” Hayden laughs. But when they’re standing to leave, Hayden grabs Roz’s wrist.

“Hey, man. Thank you. I’m glad we’re friends, too.”

“You are important to Shane, so you are important to me also.” Roz says, like it’s that simple. And Hayden maybe hadn’t realized that Shane and Rozanov were that close, but he can adjust. Roz is a good guy, at least. Hayden knows that now.

“Yeah, man. For sure.” Hayden knocks Roz gently on the shoulder, more like he’s one of Hayden’s kids than anything else. Roz smiles over at him.

“You guys are coming to the beach, right?” Harris asks, looping back to where they’re standing on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant.

“That sounds perfect, dude. Let’s go.” Hayden grins, grabbing Roz to drag him back towards the hotel.

Hayden texts Jackie and Shane again when they all get to the beach — that they’re still doing okay, spending the day on the beach. He promises Shane that he’s keeping an eye on Roz, which Shane seems to appreciate. They’re lounging next to each other on towels they got at a tourist shop right down the street, listening to the others relax bit by bit, when Roz turns to face Hayden.

“So.” He starts. “Harris and Troy.”

“Oh, thank god.” Hayden groans. “Can we do something about them, please? It’s breaking my heart.”

“Ugh, I know. I tried to get them to spend the night together last night, but I think it did not go well.” Roz nods to where Harris is throwing a Frisbee around with some of the other guys. “Barrett has literally run away.”

Hayden sighs, dropping his head back into the sand.

“First, I had to deal with the fact that he’s not an asshole and I actually like him. Now we have to pull his head out of his ass, too? We do not get paid enough for this.”

“Was not in description of captain duties.” Rozanov agrees. “Though probably could have been, here.”

“Not in Montreal.” Hayden scoffs. Roz sighs.

“No. They do not believe in happy players, do they?”

“No.” Hayden agrees. They meet each others eyes again. Hayden knows they’re both thinking about Shane, about how things in Montreal have shifted so much that they can tell from the outside. God knows Shane won’t talk about it, though, at least…

“Has he talked to you about it? How they treat him?” Hayden asks. Roz shakes his head.

“No. Says it is all fine. That he is managing. I try to remind him that hockey is game. Should be enjoyed.”

Hayden feels bad that it makes him feel a little better that Shane’s not really talking about it with Roz, either, but he’s only human. They sit in silence for a minute.

“But Harris and Barrett. What are we doing?”

The grin Roz gives him is a little scary.

“I’m so glad you asked.”

Their first home game after their brush with death is electric. Hayden doesn’t know where Rozanov has been for the last two days — hopefully everything is okay — but he reappears in the locker room before their game with the Admirals with a new fire in his eyes.

Hayden almost wants to make a joke about Roz’s new attitude, going around complimenting everyone in the room — Hayden included — but the Centaurs are too fired up, too loud. Too fucking sick of losing.

The energy is contagious, and it spills out onto the ice with them. Noticeably, if the look Cater Vaughn gives Hayden before the face off is any indication. But Hayden just smirks, then flies down the ice when Roz wins the face off.

He cheers with the rest of the team when the third shift scores, then feeds Troy a perfect pass to get their second goal of the game. Troy looks a little surprised to be included so enthusiastically in his and Roz’s celebration, but Hayden’s really come to like the guy. And he’s surprisingly good with Hayden’s kids.

Hayden is a little surprised when Troy agrees to join them for a post-game drink, following agreeably to Monk’s with a comment about how it’s not far from his apartment.

“Good, that means we won’t have to wrangle you home.” Hayden teases.

“Pike, Jackie meeting us out?” One of the other guys calls. Hayden’s grin widens.

“Yeah, David and Yuna are gonna watch the kids for a bit.”

“I can’t believe Shane Hollander’s parents babysit for you.” Nick laughs. “That’s actually certifiably insane.”

“Shane’s been my best friend for a decade, man. He’s their godfather. And my parents and Jackie’s are still in Montreal.”

There’s an enthusiastic chorus of “fuck Montreal!” that Hayden ignores. They’re not wrong, far from it. But it still doesn’t quite sit right.

“Not Hollander, though.” Wyatt says, meeting Hayden’s eye.

“Yeah, the rest of them can get fucked, though.” Zane chimes in, slinging an arm around Hayden’s shoulders. “Now come on. Who’s paying for the first round? Rozy?”

“Fine, fine. Only because we beat NHL’s favorite dinosaur tonight.”

The weird tension Hayden had been feeling breaks as the team laughs, crowding around the bar. Jackie will help him figure it out later. First, he has a win to celebrate.

Chapter 4

Hayden isn’t trying to snoop, really. But Roz is having the team over to watch the Admirals play Carolina, and he left his phone open next to Hayden.

 

The conversation continues in Russian, but Hayden is very much looking away now.

“Jesus.” Hayden mutters, shaking his head. It figures that Roz would have a girl that knows hockey stats off the top of her head, but for Roz to turn it into a game… well. Hayden guesses that figures too — Roz is one of the most competitive people he knows.

“What?” Bood asks, glancing away from the TV and catching the lit up screen of Roz’s phone. “Oh, damn. Yeah, Jane’s kind of a freak. He won’t let us meet her, though. Says she’s not local.”

“Gotta take a special kind of person to keep up with Roz.” Evan adds.

“What about me?” Roz asks. Bood laughs.

“You left your phone unlocked again, cap.”

“Ah. You are all jealous of my Jane.” Roz laughs. But his cheeks are a little pink. Hayden grins. Attached is a good look for him.

The team had only recently found out about Roz’s long-term partner — Roz himself had never used the word “girlfriend”, but he’d never corrected the guys either. Hayden wonders if he’d even notice if Shane hadn’t come out to him.

They’d all figured, of course. Roz had to be going somewhere when they had time off, and there had been all the phone calls right after their plane had almost gone down. But one day a few weeks ago, he’d been smiling down at his phone in the locker room. Wyatt had teased him about it, and Roz had told them about Jane.

“Jane’s right — you should have more points that Scott Hunter.” Hayden says mildly. The guys sitting around them burst out laughing.

“You really have found your match, haven’t you, Roz?” Evan laughs. Zane is shaking his head.

“She’s as crazy about hockey as you are, man.”

“Crazier, probably.” Roz laughs. “You have no idea.” His gaze flickers to Hayden, inexplicably, but he’s looking back at the TV a moment later. As Scott Hunter scores again.

“You'‘ve got a lot of work to do this week, Roz.” Zane laughs.

“Shut up.” Roz groans. But he’s settling back into the couch, laughing at the joke.

It’s quiet for a while as they go back to watching the game. And then, on screen, Hunter gets an assist. Roz groans as the rest of the team bursts into laughter.

---

“Shane, tell me it’s true. Please tell me it’s true.” Hayden says, pacing back and forth in his living room, phone pressed to his ear so hard it almost hurts, like that’ll make Shane answer him sooner.

“It’s true, Hayd.” Shane laughs.

“I need you to say it.”

“I’m signing with Ottawa. I’m coming home.”

“Yes! Suck my dick, Montreal!”

“The problem is that they really don’t want to do that. Like, aggressively don’t want to do that.” Shane says dryly.

“I guess you’re right.” Hayden muses.

“Will you stay with your parents while you’re looking for a place? Or you can stay here if you want.”

“I’ll be with Ilya.” Shane sounds confused, which confuses Hayden, but the kids run in the front door before he can ask.

“Hey, can you switch to video for a minute?” Hayden asks.

“Yeah, of course.”

“Kids, come here.” Hayden turns the phone so they can all see Shane. “Uncle Shane has some news.”

There’s a cheer of “uncle Shane!” as all four kids cluster around Hayden, Jackie coming up behind them.

“Hey, Pikes. I just wanted to tell you guys that I’ll see you soon. I’m moving to Ottawa this summer.”

“Will you be playing with Daddy again?” Arthur asks.

“I will. So you’ll get to see me all the time.” Shane promises. The kids cheer again.

“That’s great news, Shane. We’re so excited for you.” Jackie says warmly.

“I’m, well, we’re excited too. It’s gonna be great.”

Shane chats with the kids for a few more minutes, then says something about a call with his agent and then movers, so Hayden lets him go with another congratulations and a promise to text him to set up dinner once he’s in town.

“I’m excited for you, too. I know you’ve missed him.”

“So much. And this team is gonna be so good for him.”

Hayden and Rozanov drive out together to help Shane move the last of his things to Ottawa. Rozanov is practically giddy, happier than Hayden has ever seen him.

“We are going to be best team in hockey. Cup is ours this year.”

“Never took you for such an optimist, Roz.” Hayden laughs.

“No. Am realist. We will have me, Shane, Barrett, Hayes, Haas. And you, Pike. Cannot ignore how well you and Shane play together.”

“If you keep being nice to me I’m going to break out in hives.” Hayden informs him. Roz laughs.

“Things are going to be very good in Ottawa this year.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Hayden watches Rozanov spin the ring on his chain. It’s a newer addition — Hayden had only noticed it towards the end of January. He’s seemed more settled since then, too. It’s a good look on him.

Hayden thinks that Wyatt has noticed it, too, but they haven’t had a chance to talk about it. Maybe once Shane is more settled in, Hayden and Wyatt can grab coffee. They still have enough summer left. Enough that, after he gets all his things moved, Shane is planning to go up to his cottage for a little while.

“One normal thing before everything changes.” Shane had said.

“As long as you promise to hang out with the kids when you get back.” Hayden teased. Shane had promised without hesitating.

 

Hayden isn’t expecting to hear his best friend laughing with Dykstra and Cassie Boodram when he climbs up the steps to Bood’s back porch, but he’s been spoiled for Shane-shaped surprises recently and he’s not one to look gift MLH players in the mouth. It also explains why Jackie made him stop for a case of the fancy ginger beer Shane likes on their way over. Hayden had thought Shane was still up at his cottage, winding down and locking up for the summer.

“How did you know?” Hayden asks, pressing a kiss to Jackie’s cheek as he heads over to put the ginger beer and the sours he knows Troy likes too in the beer fridge.

“He told us at wine night a couple weeks ago. And he’s in the group chat.” Jackie says easily. She’s swept away by Lisa Hayes before Hayden can ask any followup questions, so he shrugs, grabbing a drink for him and Shane before heading over to him.

“Hayd!” Shane cheers when he notices Hayden. His cheeks are a little pink.

“Are you drunk, buddy?” Hayden asks, laughing. He slings an arm around Shane’s shoulders, pulling him close. Shane has always been more tolerant of touching when he’s like this.

“Just a little.” Shane admits. “We’re celebrating, right?”

“Hell yeah, we are.” Dykstra cheers. “We’ve got the best offense in the league.”

“Roz said so himself. Even included me on the list.” Hayden laughs.

“I keep telling you he likes you.” Shane insists.

“I think I actually believe you, now.” Hayden admits with a shrug.

“Good.”

“Yes, is very good, Pike. Shane wants you to be best man at the wedding.” Rozanov says, appearing on Shane’s other side.

Before Hayden can figure out what to say to that — because what wedding, Rozanov? — Roz is leaning over, tilting Shane’s chin up a little to give him a gentle kiss.

Hayden is staring.

“That’s gonna take some getting used to.” Dykstra laughs. “You let us all think you were an incurable playboy for so long, Cap.”

Roz smirks, letting Shane burrow further into his side, embarrassed.

“Was true for long time.” Roz shrugs. “But who would not love these freckles?”

“Ilya.” Shane sighs. The look Roz gives him is nothing short of dopey. Hayden shakes his head.

“Yeah, okay, we get it. You’re deeply and incurably in love.” He pauses. “It’s great, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” Shane agrees, leaning up to kiss Roz again. Hayden makes eye contact with Evan, and they leave the two of them to it, settling into another conversation with the rest of the defenders.

He finds Jackie later, talking to some of the other WAGs. And shit, are they gonna have to rename their WAG chat? Hayden has no idea. He’s barely been allowed to see the name of the chat. He hasn’t pushed it. Would Shane be allowed in since he’s a player? Hayden has questions, but he’s pretty sure Jackie will just tell him it’s none of his business.

“Jacks.” He says lowly as the conversation trails off and people drift away. “Was I supposed to know about Shane and Roz?”

Jackie blinks at him.

“Yes. You were supposed to know that your best friend is in love.” Hayden winces.

“And they’re — oh my god, Jacks. The ring. Roz has been wearing a ring on his chain, and he mentioned a wedding. My best friend got engaged and I had no idea. Oh god, I’m a terrible friend.”

“Relax. There’s still a few days before camp starts. Just go over and talk to him.”

“This explains why he’s staying with Roz. He’s not looking for a place. He’s moving in with his fucking fiancé.”

“It does make sense.” Jackie muses.

“But what about… Lily. Ilya. Oh, god. Shane is Jane.”

That gets a laugh out of Jackie.

“Not very creative, are they?”

“Apparently not.” Hayden shakes his head. “Jesus.”

“Get back to the party. We’ll talk to Shane later.” Jackie promises, pushing lightly at Hayden’s shoulders.

“Okay. Yeah. Thanks for listening to my freak out.”

“Was part of our vows, baby.”

 

Hayden is standing in the entryway to Shane and Roz’s house — because they live together, because they’re fucking engaged — staring at the framed photos on the wall.

The first is a still from the CCM ad they did, the summer before their rookie year. They’re bent over like they’re facing off, but both of them are laughing, eyes crinkled up. An awkward selfie from the NHL awards. A still from the All Star game in Tampa, Roz kissing the side of Shane’s helmet. Then some at the cottage, some with Shane’s parents.

The years between photos aren’t lost on Hayden. Neither is the fact that half of them are probably screen shots or grabbed from some official social media.

The newer ones are softer. More real. Hayden likes them more. He’s sure Shane and Roz do, too.

“Is everything okay, Hayd?” Shane asks, reappearing in the hallway.

“Yeah, of course. Sorry. Got distracted.” He gestures to the photos. Shane’s face softens.

“When did you know?”

Shane laughs, shaking his head.

“Remember when Marlow gave me a concussion?”

“Dude, really?”

“He came to see me, you know. In the hospital. It was risky.”

“Roz loves taking risks.”

“Sure, but he’s not stupid. And that was almost stupid.”

Hayden follows Shane through to the living room. He’s been here before, of course, but he can see all the little pieces of Shane here, now. The hockey books on the shelf, the glasses folded neatly on the side table, the neatly folded throw blanket over the back of the couch.

“Shane.” Hayden says seriously. “When did you tell me about you and Roz?”

“What?” Shane laughs. “When you moved here. When I told you that I’m gay.”

“Did you, though?”

Hayden watches Shane’s brow furrow as he thinks about it.

“I meant to. But with the kids, and my parents… Shit, Hayd. I’m sorry.”

“You both thought I knew. And I didn’t realize there was anything to know.” Hayden laughs. “But what about the engagement?”

“We haven’t told anyone.” Shane admits. “It’s not like we’ve been planning the wedding yet.”

“Good. Because you know Jacks will want to help.”

“Rose and Svetlana, too, probably.” Shane lets out a long breath.

“Do you even have a date in mind?”

Shane shakes his head.

“Honestly? Part of me wants to drag him down to city hall and just be done with it.”

“Ah, but then how would you be the center of attention?” Hayden teases. Shane makes a face.

“I’m really happy for you, buddy. Roz is lucky to have you.”

“We’re both lucky, I think.” Shane says. Hayden smiles.

“Yeah. I think you are.”