Rating:

Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning:

No Archive Warnings Apply

Category:

M/M

Fandoms:

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

Relationships:

Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov, Kip Grady/Scott Hunter, Kip Grady & Elena Rygg

Characters:

Kip Grady, Elena Rygg, Scott Hunter (Game Changers)

Additional Tags:

Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Relationship Reveal, Forced Outing, Social Media, Texting, Getting Back Together, Implied/Referenced Sex, Period-Typical Homophobia, Canon-Typical Homophobia

Language:

English

Series:

Part 2 of handing over all the olive trees

Stats:

Published: 2026-03-27 Words: 5,940 Chapters: 1/1

Kip Grady’s Rock-Bottom March

Summary

Kip wonders how long it takes for “having a fight and not talking” to turn into “had a fight and never spoke again”. Currently it has been six days, which feels like an eternity. Kip’s birthday—which Scott didn’t come to—had been Scott’s last night at home before a road trip, and he is supposed to be home tomorrow. On the nightstand, his phone buzzes repeatedly, and he picks it up to see what’s got his group chat so excited. Maybe someone interesting stopped by the Kingfisher.
Shawn: Did you bitches see the news about the gay hockey players?!?!
SCANDAL! HOCKEY STARTS CAUGHT IN STEAMY AFFAIR!
Kip’s stomach drops before he even clicks the link. It’s some gossip website, with an article about how Rozanov and Hollander have apparently been involved going back years and a ton of photos and videos have been leaked. Kip doesn’t want to look but he sees them anyway, and it’s… a lot. He closes the article, feeling queasy.

Notes

Someone free me. I can’t stop thinking about them. I have now read 4/6 Game Changers books and the other two I will probably read next week. I would die for Kip Grady but also, my man is a little dumb. Basically a few weeks back I read Worst Proposal Ever and it possessed me. So then I wrote a Scott-POV companion piece to it. And then I couldn’t stop thinking about Kip and neither could the comments so here is the Kip-POV companion piece. Hopefully I’m done now. 😂 This should stand alone without the other two pieces but also… Go read Worst Proposal Ever, I’m so serious.

Some notes! Per WPE, Shane and Ilya are 24, so I’ve put this in March of 2015. I’ve bumped the entire Game Changer plot into 2015 instead of 2017, because I was so, absolutely certain that Scott Hunter was in that fight/break with Kip during his cameo in the fic. I made Scott and Kip meet a little earlier, to add more weight to that. I have given Scott Hunter social media because I wanted to. I have also picked and chosen details from the books and the shows and also what was in WPE to suit my whims, and I’ve been having SO MUCH FUN. Please enjoy!

• Inspired by Worst Proposal Ever by RayByAnotherName

Scott♥️: I’m sorry I couldn’t make it

Kip: I’m sorry too (draft)

Kip wonders how long it takes for “having a fight and not talking” to turn into “had a fight and never spoke again”. Currently it has been six days, which feels like an eternity. Kip’s birthday—which Scott didn’t come to—had been Scott’s last night at home before a road trip, and he is supposed to be home tomorrow. They haven’t gone this long without speaking since they met six months ago, back when it was just smoothies. Kip hates it. Hates that they fought—are fighting?—, that Scott didn’t come, that Kip didn’t text him back, that they haven't called this whole trip. But Scott comes back tomorrow and they can talk. Kip won’t be waiting in the penthouse, he’s spent far too much time doing that, but he’ll go over when he’s done at Straw+Berry. And they’ll talk.

On the nightstand, his phone buzzes repeatedly, and he picks it up to see what’s got his group chat so excited. Maybe someone interesting stopped by the Kingfisher.

Shawn: Did you bitches see the news!!!

Jimmy: what?

Chuck: ???

Shawn: About the gay hockey players!

Kip’s stomach drops before he even clicks the link. It’s some gossip website, with an article about how Rozanov (Scott’s personal pest on the ice) and Hollander (hockey’s nicest boy, maybe) have apparently been involved going back years and a ton of photos and videos have been leaked. Kip doesn’t want to look but he sees them anyway, and it’s… a lot. They’re hot and the sex is hot, yes, but what does Kip in are the regular photos—a selfie snuggled up in bed; Rozanov, shirtless, with a private smile meant for Hollander behind the camera; Hollander sleeping, clutching Rozanov’s hand to his chest. It’s all the moments, the kind of pictures normal couples get to take without even thinking about it. It’s exactly the type of photos Kip doesn’t have with Scott, and this is exactly why. He closes the article, feeling queasy. The chat has continued without him.

Chuck: Wow, they’re so hot 🥵🥵🥵

Shawn: Oh talk about it!

Jimmy: really shitty this happened though, this is scary

Kip: Super invasive… And hockey is full of homophobes and losers

Chuck: And at least two gorgeous yummy queer men

Shawn: Maybe more will come out after this and Kip can snag the hot hockey boyfriend he so clearly wants

Kip has the hot hockey boyfriend already, and he’s pretty sure this event will actually push him further back into the closet, if that is possible.

Kip: Fuck off

SCANDAL! HOCKEY STARTS CAUGHT IN STEAMY AFFAIR!

@BostonBearsFan So the rivalry was fake the whole time? Fuck this

@BonVoyageurs Can’t belive this bullshit

@Hollanov2010 HELP SEND HELP

@shilya_my_loves WHAT IS HAPPENING

@motherpucker good for them

@highstick gross. 

@uptownfunky can’t believe we got gay hockey players b4 gay marriage

➡️@shanesgirl24 actually gay marriage has been legal in Canada for years, so

➡️@ily_ilya_ily and in Massachusetts too! just need the rest of the states to catch up

@jennifersbaby this is a huge invasion of privacy, disgusting

@shanesgirl24 take this article down

@ily_ilya_ily delete, report, block

@captainrozy idk if it will matter, the folder is everywhere

@hockeyhollander Someone call Yuna and Farah and the lawyers

➡️@shanesgirl24 I’m sure someone has

➡️➡️@hockeyhollander yeah, I’m sure they’re on it, BUT STILL

@Hollanov2010 THIS IS A RED ALERT THAT CCM PIC IS FROM THE AD BEFORE ROOKIE SEASON

➡️@Hollanov2010 I REALLY CAN’T BELIEVE I’VE BEEN RIGHT FOR FIVE YEARS

@shilya_my_loves has anyone checked on the Shaydens

➡️@Hollanov2010 who cares!

@FairPlayForAll This is an invasion of privacy. Please report and block any accounts sharing illicit content of these athletes. Links for support and guidance in the thread 🔽

@USAFreakFlag No one should be outed and exposed like this. All support to Hollander and Rozanov in the coming days.

Scott♥️: I’m sorry I couldn’t make it

one week ago

Kip: I saw about Hollander and Rozanov. Are you okay? (draft)

Kip is antsy all through his shift. He should maybe text Scott, let him know he’s coming over. He hasn’t had to do it in so long that it feels weirder if he does. He doesn’t. He just grabs his bag and gets on the subway. He’s just walking up the street toward Scott’s building when he sees Scott come out the front door. Kip absurdly has the sense that Scott knew he was almost there and came down to meet him, before he registers the overnight bag and garment bag Scott is carrying. He gets into a royal blue SUV with Carter Vaughan and his girlfriend in the front seat and the hulking shadow of someone else in the back seat. Carter pulls off and the car goes right past Kip on the sidewalk.

Where on earth—Kip feels disproportionately hurt that Scott is going somewhere on the day he got home without even telling Kip. Either he thinks Kip wouldn’t care to know or he didn’t care enough to tell him. He doesn’t know which option is worse.

He doesn’t want to go all the way home to his parents like this, with visions of making up with his boyfriend crumbling behind his eyelids. So he heads to the Kingfisher, hoping maybe one of his friends will be there. He orders the vegan cauliflower wings and sits at the bar and flirts with Kyle and gets steadily drunker and drunker. If he’d met Kyle before Scott, they could have had fun together. But Kip has been stupidly swept away ever since that man had stepped into his smoothie shop six months ago, ripped and sweaty in his ridiculously tight shirt.

Still, when Kyle’s shift ends and he offers to walk Kip out, he accepts. The air is cold on his face and the city is loud and Kip kind of wants to go back to Scott’s and sleep in his stupidly comfortable bed, which would be a phenomenally stupid decision. He’ll go home.

Kyle keeps up an easy conversation, until they get to Kip’s stop, when he trails off. He kisses Kip, and Kip freezes, then leans in, then pulls back so abruptly they both stumble.

“I’m sorry, I can’t—” He starts.

“But I thought—” Kyle looks bewildered and Kip feels like he might throw up.

“I’m not looking for,” Kip says, “I shouldn’t have,” and he stumbles on the words. He takes off down the stairs into the subway without looking back. God, could this day get any worse? He just wants to be asleep, cradling Scott in his arms, to make him a smoothie in the morning. He may never get that again.

@ilyarozanov81 + @shanehollanderhockeyplayer 

Today was everything we could have hoped #twoofthegreatest

[Two images. The first is Shane and Ilya dressed in nice suits, grinning broadly at each other with a spray of florals in the background The second is the two of them in the middle of a crowd of well-dressed people, including Shane’s parents and a good handful of NHL players.]

In lieu of wedding gifts, please support one of the causes that matter to us 🔽

@Hollanov2010 I AM MELTING DOWN WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY GOT OUTED TWO DAYS AGO AND DECIDED TO GET MARRIED ABOUT IT #hollanov

➡️@Hollanov2010 AM I IN A COMA

➡️➡️@Hollanov2010 IS THIS THE DREAM BEFORE I DIE

@captainrozy I have never seen him so happy, congratulations baby! #twoofthegreatest #hollanov

@shanesgirl24 ohhhhhh Shane’s smile, I will never be sad again #twoofthegreatest #hollanov

@jennifersbaby I’ve never heard of these men before this week and I am SICK, they are in LOVE #twoofthegreatest

@AdmiralsWatch That’s our captain along w/Vaughan and his GF and Castagnetti in the group photo! Using their rest day to support #twoofthegreatest

@Why’sItHazy Congratulations! What a gorgeous day #twoofthegreatest #HolRozWedding

@NHL-Gossip Over 40 active & retired NHL players + their partners make up the crowd at the #HolRozWedding ! Full thread on who’s who 🔽

@motherpucker okay but I am actually emotional at that guest list on such short notice, way to show up!

➡️@uptownfunky maybe it wasn’t short notice, maybe this was their plan and the leak was bad luck

➡️➡️@motherpucker I promise the two best players in the league did not plan their wedding to be mid-season with barely two days between games

@hockeystatsqueen Drafted 1 & 2, Rookie of the Year, led their teams to playoffs every season they’ve been in the league, MVP, lead scorers, team captains, one Stanley Cup and more sure to come, and now MARRIED! #twooftheggreatest

➡️@hockeystatsqueen In the words of the wise sage @CoachJackie WINNING IS GAY

@CoachJackie usually I talk about women’s sports, but huge congrats to the first out players of the NHL on their marriage! #HolRozWedding #twoofthegreatest

➡️@CoachJackie now if a player from every team follows them out and hard launches a partner, the NHL will be almost as gay as the PWHL

@hockey_ho🌈The list of charities they have in lieu of gifts is so important. Queer organizations, including one in Russia, youth sports! Taking the publicity from one of the worst things that could ever happen to you and turning it into something good for so many other people is amazing #twoofthegreatest #HolRozWedding

➡️@hockey_ho🌈 The dog rescue is kind of random though. Do either of them even have a pet?

➡️➡️@MajorLeaguePetWatch not as far as we know… maybe soon!

@ily_ilya_ily Did anyone have hockey’s two biggest superstars being in a years-long relationship, getting outed, and getting gay shotgun married about it on their 2015 bingo card?

➡️@Hollanoverandover not even in my wildest dreams

@hockeyhollander so are we friends now, despite the generational hatred between our teams?

➡️@ily_ilya_ily Our boys are married, so off the ice? Yes! On ice, they better be as intense as ever, if the rivalry isn’t real I will be so disappointed

@NHL-Gossip In addition to supporting in person, here is a thread of all the online support for the #HolRozWedding from the NHL World 🔽
➡️@NHL-Gossip Eric Bennett retweeted the wedding post
➡️see thread

Scott♥️: I’m sorry I couldn’t make it

one week ago

Kip: Why haven’t you called? (draft)

Scott has social media, but doesn’t post often, so naturally Kip has notifications on for his posts. He opens Twitter to learn that Hollander and Rozanov apparently got married in Montreal this morning, and Scott was in attendance with a few of his teammates. Kip blinks at the post. So that explains where he went yesterday, and probably also why he didn’t tell Kip. There’s no way they had much advance notice, holy shit.

Kip sees the list of charities they are honouring as a wedding gift and his throat closes up. He calls Elena before he even has time to work out what he wants to say to her.

“Did you see they got married?” Kip blurts out the second Elena picks up. “Married,” he repeats, feeling a little hysterical.

“We’re talking about Rozanov and Hollander, I assume?” Elena replies after a beat. Kip loves having a genius best friend.

“Yeah,” Kip says, “Scott went to the wedding with a few of the other guys on his team.”

“That’s good,” Elena says, and Kip suddenly feels like he’s going to cry.

“I think so,” he replies, “But I—I’m mad.”

Elena listens while Kip talks about the way the months of secrecy have worn on Kip, their fight, the lingering silence, the fact that Scott came home from a road trip yesterday and still nothing, he didn’t tell Kip about the wedding, that he’d be going, how awful some of the response has been online, how he’s worried about Scott, how good some of the response has been online and it makes him stupid with hope, how he still hasn’t talked to Scott, and he’s not sure if he even can. “It’s a lot, I know,” he finishes sort of lamely.

Elena hums. “Is it a support night or an honesty night, Kip?”

He takes a second, staring at his bedroom ceiling, to consider what he needs right now. “Honesty.”

“Good,” Elena says. “You and Scott, it’s been five, six months? And it’s been really good. But the total secrecy isn’t working for you, anymore.”

“Scott’s not ready to come out,” Kip defends him on instinct.

“Right,” Elena would probably be looking at Kip like he’s her favourite idiot right now. He can hear it in her voice. “And you just spent like ten minutes telling me how you’re wasting away all your hours in his penthouse and lying to your parents and distant from your friends and you’re miserable.”

“I thought—” Kip swallows. “It was fine at first. I thought I could do it, for him.”

“You thought he would be ready faster than this.” Elena sounds so gentle.

“Yeah,” Kip sighs. “I mean, other than him coming to the smoothie shop, we’ve only been in public together a few times and they were disasters.”

“So I think maybe the problem,” Elena says, “is you’re both so all-or-nothing that it hasn’t occurred to you that there is a place between totally in the closet and totally out.”

“That was us trying to go to a museum,” Kip contends.

“Okay, but what about—you tell your parents. You each tell a few close friends. Maybe you have those friends over for dinner at Scott’s. You both have people to talk to who know your relationship is real. The whole group could go out to, like, baseball games or something. Your relationship doesn’t only exist in Scott’s penthouse, but no one has to make a statement or do anything dramatic.”

Kip blinks. He feels so stupid. He’s been out for so long, he was never in between like that. All his friends are out. But of course there are people who have partners they just don’t really talk about at work. Gay marriage isn’t even legal in almost half the States right now. He feels almost queasy with how much he wants Scott to have dinner with his parents, how badly he wants Scott to exist to them, as his partner. And still, he hesitates. “Scott doesn’t do anything in halves.”

“Maybe for you, for both of you, he would try. Have you ever asked if you could tell your parents?”

“Yeah, of course,” Kip says, but then he thinks it over. He’s talked about how he wishes Scott could meet them someday, and Scott always echoes the someday with a wistful smile. Kip has never actually started a real conversation with Scott to try to negotiate when things started impacting Kip more than he could stand. He’d hinted and wished and convinced Scott to go out—once for lunch, one art gallery, the museum—but he had never actually said, “This is getting too hard for me. I don’t want to break up. What can we do?” Well, until the fight. He didn’t say, “I don’t want to break up” during that, which is with each passing day feeling more and more like one of the biggest blunders he has ever made.

“No,” he corrects himself. “Not really. Not until the fight.”

“And that wasn’t asking.”

“No,” Kip agrees.

“So what now?” Elena asks.

“I gotta talk to him.” The Admirals are about to start a stretch of home games. Maybe Scott will message Kip. Maybe Kip will try going over to Scott’s again. They can resolve this before it stretches to two weeks.

Scott♥️: I’m sorry I couldn’t make it

one week ago

Kip: How was the wedding? (draft)

@NHL-Gossip One week since the #HolRozWedding, here’s the updates on all NHL-adjacent folks who have publicly shown support! 🔽
➡️see thread

@shanesgirl24 glaring lack of anything from most of Montreal

@BonVoyageurs get that shit out of hockey

➡️@captainrozy fuck off, loser

@hockeystatsqueen Rozanov took the lead in the scoring race with his husband in attendance at his first game post-wedding. Hollander took it back and has maintained for the next two games. Will Rozanov catch up again tonight?

➡️@hockeyhollander Yeah buddy!!

➡️@VivaVoyageurs That’s our captain!

➡️@Hollanov2010 marriage looks SO good on them

@hockeystatsqueen Boston has played better than usual in their two games post #HolRozWedding. Montreal has played worse than usual in their three games. Neither stretch statistically noticeable, but an interesting observation.

➡️@shanesgirl24 ohhhh I see a pattern and i don’t like it

➡️@hockey_ho🌈 plz be a fluke plz be a fluke

@NHL-Updates Hollander after the Voyageurs game last night. [video: Hollander in post-game media scrum, sweaty, tired, but satisfied. Has your marriage impacted the rivalry? [laughs] Somebody ask Rozanov about the scoring race before his game. Isn’t it a conflict of interest? We don’t share strategies. Loads of guys have friends across the league. The only thing that’s really different now is I can openly say Rozanov has always made me a better player and there’s stats to back it up.] #shanehollander

➡️@NHL-Updates Rozanov before the Bears game tonight [video: Rozanov in pre-game comments, toying with his wedding ring. Did you hear what Hollander said about the scoring race? Hollander is always nice when he is winning, he will not feel so nice later tonight. [winks] Do you make him a better player? Of course. [suddenly still] Just as much as he always makes me better.] #ilyarozanov

➡️@NHL-Updates They really are a matched set. It feels so obvious in retrospect #twoofthegreatest

@TrevorProject One week on from the #HolRozWedding we are so happy with the support we have received. These donations will allows us to fund several initiatives 🔽
➡️see thread

@YouthSportsForAll We have never had this much attention. Our gratitude to #twoofthegreatest for their support

@BostonRescue Every dog has been adopted! Thanks to the publicity and support from the #HolRozWedding we are ready to take care of any dogs who need it, and solidly funded for the next several years.

@ilyubov Here’s my translation of Love in Russia’s statement about the uptick in donations since #HolRozWedding 🔽

@OttawaPride We love our hometown hero, Shane Hollander! Thanks to everyone’s support from the #HolRozWedding, our outreach capabilities for the foreseeable future have tripled!

@Hockey4Kids We are overwhelmed with gratitude for all the donations we have received since the #HolRozWedding. This is going to allow a lot of kids to play the sport we love so much!

Scott♥️: I’m sorry I couldn’t make it

two weeks ago

Kip: Can we talk? I miss you (draft)

The week drags on. Scott doesn’t text, or call, and neither does Kip. He watches all of the Admirals’ games and thinks about what Elena said and what he wants to do. Kip needs to find out where in the midground he is comfortable and what he can live with, be happy with, going forward. If he gets to go forward.

He’s got a shift with Maria tomorrow… maybe they can talk, vaguely. On the other hand, Maria has had a front row seat to a six month smoothie friendship saga with Scott, so…

Shawn: babe are you DEAD

Shawn: kingfisher tomorrow at 7!!!

Kip is actually not sure when the last time he saw Shawn was, and that feels a little like realising his arm is missing. He’s been avoiding the Kingfisher (Kyle, he’s avoiding Kyle), but it will be worth it to see Shawn.

Kip: I’ll be there

Shawn: [celebration.gif]

The next day, Kip clocks in at Straw+Berry just before the morning rush, so he and Maria can’t chat but they joke and play around fulfilling orders, and it’s good. Kip feels a little like he’s been a shadow of himself lately, and it’s nice to be the person he usually is. After things settle down, they gossip for a while about the dates Maria’s been on, how the Admirals are doing. Maria wants to gossip about why Scott hasn’t come to the shop in this stretch of home games; Kip wants to die. He finally tells Maria he’s applied for grad schools and she shrieks so loudly Kip is sure it startles the people in the building next door.

“I haven’t heard back yet,” Kip hedges.

“You’ll make it in, I know it,” Maria declares with all the confidence of a good friend.

The rest of the shift passes quickly and Kip thanks all the gods he doesn’t pray to that Maria doesn’t ever bring up the Rozanov/Hollander wedding. Kip worries he would actually have a breakdown if he had to talk about it.

He takes the subway part way to the Kingfisher, then walks to pass the time, stopping on the way for a few slices of pizza. He’s walking up to the doors of the Kingfisher at 7:13, which, accounting for how late Shawn runs, should be just about perfect. Kip is just through the door, glancing at the bar and hoping Kyle’s not on shift, when his phone buzzes.

Shawn: sorry running late, be there in 10

Kip: bitch!

Knowing Shawn, that will be at least fifteen minutes. Kip considers leaving, but Kyle is already waving him over.

Kip takes a seat at the bar and Kyle grins at him from where he's washing glasses. “What can I get you?”

“Just a glass of water, I’m waiting on a friend,” Kip shrugs. The glass is cold between his palms, and Kip takes a deep breath. “Listen, about the other night—”

“Don’t worry about it,” Kyle says easily. “It seems like maybe you’re going through something,” Kip snorts an ugly little laugh as Kyle continues, “And I’m sorry if I made it worse.

“Sorry if I encouraged you,” Kip says, “But yeah. I’m—going through something is a nice way to put it.”

Kyle is surprisingly easy to talk to, when they’re just talking, and by the time Shawn arrives, Kyle has listened to Kip talk through his fight with Scott briefly, including some of Kip’s insecurities about how different their worlds are, bantered with Kip about grad schools and art history, and recommended Kip apply at the Kingfisher. Kip has a feeling he may have just made a lifelong friend.

Also, he hasn’t even told Elena about the money stuff with Scott—it’s hard to talk about, but Kyle got it.

Shawn swans in with a brilliant smile, planting a sloppy kiss on Kip’s cheek and Kip feels better than he has since before the fight.

Maybe a middle ground could work, if Scott still wants him. The longer the silence drags on, the less certain Kip is—but on the other hand, this time has been good for Kip. He knows now, what he wants, what he can live with, and how to move on.

He settles into a booth with Shawn and their favourite cocktails and laughs at Shawn’s latest bad date stories.

@YunaHollander24 Some of my favourite moments #HolRozWedding
[a series of photos. Shane, escorted by Yuna, and Ilya, escorted by Svetlana, walking down the aisle toward each other. Shane and Ilya kissing in front of the officiant. A huge messy group hug with the wedding arch in the background. Shane laughing with Hayden and J.J. while Ilya looks on fondly. Ilya embracing David while Shane watches teary-eyed. A before and after of the buffet. A collage of the guests talking while they eat their food. Shane and Ilya facing apart in two different conversations with their fingers still linked behind their backs. Yuna and Svetlana talking to a horde of NHL players. Shane and Ilya waving goodbye out the van window as the Bears drive away.]

@Hollanoverandover The devil works fast but Yuna Hollander works faster, one week turnaround on WEDDING PHOTOS is crazy

@shilya_my_loves DID YOU ALL SEE THE HANDHOLDING PIC

@ily_ilya_ily god I wish I was in the group Svetlana Vetrova and Yuna Hollander are talking hockey to

@Hollanov2010 Seeing their families come together, UGH. Svetlana and Yuna?? David and Ilya??

@VivaVoyageurs Cannot deny the heart eyes, that’s real love

@Best_are_Bears So happy to see our captain happy!

@Cliff-Marley The one where Ilya is looking stupid at Shane laughing is going up in the locker room so Rozy stops scaring the rookies

@Why’sItHazy Congratulations again!

@Carter_Vaughan Anyone see Casty stacking pancakes on his nose in the collage? He did in fact get nine of them up there

➡️@NicoCastIron It was eleven and I’m glad it’s immortalized on film

@hockeyhollander Will I ever stop crying about this wedding?

retweeted by

@BostonBearsOfficial We love to see our captain happy! 🐻 #HolRozWedding

@ScottHunterOfficial ♥️🌈🏒

@NHL-Gossip, @hockeystatsqueen, @motherpucker… see all

Kip gets the notification and looks through the wedding photos Yuna Hollander has shared that Scott just reposted. Rozanov and Hollander are brilliant in love, blindingly happy, and the photos capture a beautiful array of moments. Kip scours the collage of the guests and finds Scott twice. In one, he is laughing with his teammates and a few other hockey players. In another, Scott is merely in the background, and there is something so solemn in the set of his jaw that Kip aches to kiss away.

Maybe Kip should text him? Or call him? But the Admirals leave for another road trip the day after tomorrow and it’s been a rough stretch of home games for them. Scott has been playing like shit and Kip worries it’s his fault. And if the conversation they need to have doesn’t go well, it feels cruel to drop that on Scott right before he leaves town. That’s what he tells himself anyway.

Scott♥️: I’m sorry I couldn’t make it

two weeks ago

Kip: Maria is wondering why you aren't getting your smoothie. I still make one every game day, like you're going to come. I'll make one tomorrow too. (draft)

Maybe he’s just a coward.

He needs to go out and see his friends, get himself out of this useless spiral over Scott. He texts Maria and the plans for the evening bloom out before him, promising a riot of colour.

@hockeystatsqueen Scott Hunter—usual mid-season slump? Here’s his +/- by game over the last three weeks 🔽

@Carter_Vaughan Proud to have a captain who always shows true leadership
[image: a candid photo from the Admirals locker room, showing Scott speaking to a group of younger teammates]

retweeted by @NicoCastIron, @AdmiralsWatch, @NYCAdmiralsOfficial, @ScottyHunts… see all

@NHL-Updates Hollander speaking to the media after the Voyageurs played in San Francisco. [video: Hollander in his exit suit, a little disheveled. Any comments on who was in the audience tonight? [laughs] Yeah, I was at Ilya’s first game after our marriage, took him long enough to get to one of mine.]

@Hollanov2010 AAAAAHHHHHHH????

@shanesgirl24 let this confidence live FOREVER

@shilya_my_loves the way he SMILES when he thinks about Ilya!!!

@ilyarozanov81 Tonight I am WAG
[image: Ilya, wearing a Hollander jersey, sitting in the middle of the Montreal WAGs.]

➡️@Hollanoverandover I AM CRYINGGGGGG

➡️@ily_ilya_ily oh please his CURLS

➡️@shilya_my_loves god bless San Francisco god bless gay love god bless WAG Ilya forever

Kip: Did you see Rozanov is acting like a WAG?

Elena: He looks really happy!

Kip: I am so jealous 🙃

Kip’s father is a die-hard hockey fan and Kip has been drawn further and further into the world since he met Scott. The absurdity of Ilya Rozanov proclaiming himself to be Shane Hollander’s WAG is not lost on Kip, but it also makes something bitter burn in his gut, crawling all the way up his throat. He still hasn't heard from Scott, so the daydream of the possibility where he gets to do that someday is more out of reach than ever.

Scott has been playing better on this road trip. To Kip, it looks like there’s a weight off his shoulders. Kip finds himself replaying every closeup of Scott on the bench, looking for clues. What if the secrecy with Kip and the fear of getting caught is what he’s let go? What if Kip screwed this up irreparably?

The Admirals have an afternoon game against Detroit, and they'll probably fly home tonight. Kip will talk to him tomorrow, get the closure he needs, and move on from this weird, awful, wonderful time in his life. He doesn’t think he'll ever find a love as intense and pure and all-consuming as he has—had—with Scott ever again, but he’s lucky to have had it at all. And there’s still a slim chance they can make it work, but he’s trying not to hope too hard. He’s going to go home and wait on his grad school acceptance letters and move on with his life.

Scott♥️: I’m sorry I couldn’t make it

three weeks ago

Kip: Is it over? (draft)

Kip is on the train when he gets the notification that Scott has posted. He opens Instagram and stares and stares and stares. It’s a picture of Scott, from chin to elbow. He’s in his game day suit, fixing a button on his shirt. It’s ridiculously hot. But the reason Kip can’t stop looking at it is the cuff links clearly visible at each wrist. The cuff links, which are the green, white, and blue gay pride flag. The caption just says, “Game day.” which is so understated it's almost laughable. Kip can’t believe what he’s looking at, and he watches as the likes tick upward and the comments come in, most of which seem to be fairly positive.

Some hockey-related accounts show up predictably mad, but Kip wonders how many of the people who would be mad just don’t realise there’s something to be mad about. What Scott is signalling is undeniable to people who are in the community, but others might miss it. Kip stares at the photo like it won’t exist anymore if he stops looking at it. Scott is so goddamn gorgeous, it’s unreal. The way the wristwatch emphasises his muscle, the hint of a smile on what’s visible of his face.

Kip looks up at all the other people on the train. Does the man across from him in the Admirals jersey know? A couple is arguing, teenagers are laughing, a businessman is checking the time. None of them know that the fabric of Kip’s world has shifted fundamentally, turned shades brighter and more vivid than just a few minutes ago. A disbelieving giggle slips past his lips. He wants to shout to everyone on this subway car that his boyfriend has just come out of the closet. Instead, he likes the photo. A few minutes later, Scott finally, finally texts him.

Scott♥️: I’m sorry I couldn’t make it

three weeks ago

Scott♥️: We travel home tonight. Can we talk tomorrow?

Kip: Yes! I work until 2, but after :)

Scott♥️: After is great :) Come to mine?

Kip liked this message

Looking at the time, Scott must have texted Kip right before he has to be on the ice for warmups. Kip’s grin feels impossibly wide as he stares at the texts.

@hockeystatsqueen Who’s excited for game 6? The NY Admirals win the cup if they win this game over the Edmonton Oilmen!

@FairPlayForAll Pictures from the wedding of Denver Blizzard defenseman Jared Tomlinson and his husband Ajay Sachidanand!

➡️@NHL-Gossip This brings the total of out NHL players to eleven. A lot can change in four months! Full list in thread 🔽

➡️@JaredsFutureWife ooohhhh my dreams have died but looking at his husband I get it

➡️@Blizzards5ever Congratulations!

➡️@highstick not my damn team too 😡

@hockey_ho🌈 Out queer men on almost a third of NHL teams in the big old 2015, I can hardly believe it

@NHL-Gossip Sources at practice say the Admirals all seem to be in top form!

Kip sits in the stands with his parents and Elena, about to watch Scott’s team win the final, and he’s a little sad, even if he’s trying not to be. Things have been good, better, brilliant, since the beginning of April when they got back together. They both cried, apologised, said how much they missed each other. Kip took Elena’s advice and they found themselves a comfortable middle.

Now, Scott comes over for dinner with his parents every other week; they are both wearing Scott’s jersey to this game. Kip is fully moved into the penthouse and they have friends over when they want to. Kip has met Scott’s closest friends on the team and their partners. Gloria Grey and Laura Huff started a group chat with him and now they gossip about the team and their lives.

Scott is still cautious, has acknowledged that he’s gay but plays coy about a partner and redirects the questions to hockey. But they’ve gone on actual dates, too.

Still, it is pride month and there’s two minutes left in the game and the Admirals are up by two and Scott is about to win the cup and Kip wishes he was sitting with Laura and Gloria and the other WAGs and their kids, instead of a few rows up, with his family.

Scott has promised to work towards going public, really, actually, over the summer, when the pressure is off.

The Admirals win and the stands erupt and Kip is on his feet with everyone else, cheering his guts out as Scott finally, finally, hoists the Cup for the first time in his career. He does a loop with it, then passes it off to Carter. An official opens a gap in the boards and the players’ families walk carefully onto the ice to join them, children skidding gleefully. And Scott…

Scott skids to a stop right in front of Kip and beams up at him and Kip wonders if everyone else in their section can tell Scott’s in love or if they think it’s just triumph in his eyes. And then Scott waves, insistently, and Elena and his dad are shoving at his shoulders, and Kip is walking down to the ice, and—

@hockeystatsqueen The Admirals take it in game six with a 3-1 victory!

@NYCAdmiralsOfficial After 14 years, the Cup is back in the Big Apple!
[image: The entire Admirals team, crowded around the cup at center ice.]

@hockey_ho🌈 @RielPhoto got THE SHOT. I am STILL SOBBING
[retweeted image: Scott Hunter and his boyfriend kissing on the ice. Behind them, the rest of the Admirals cheer at them. Eric Bennett and Mattieu Brisebois are hoisting the cup.]

@RielPhoto Maybe the best moment I’ve ever captured as a sports photographer.
[a series of images. Scott handing Carter the Cup. From behind, Scott gesturing up at the stands. A man making his way down to the ice. Scott and the man kissing, with the rest of the team cheering in the background. The two men smiling at each other radiantly. All the Admirals swarming them in a group hug.]

@NHL-Gossip WHO IS SCOTT HUNTER’S MAN???

Shawn: OH MY GOD!!! BITCH!!!!

Jimmy: CONGRATS HOCKEY IS GAY

Chuck: Did you know he was going to do that?

Shawn: I’M FRAMING THIS

Shawn: WHAT A GOOD KISS

Chuck: Good for you!!

Maria: KIP CALL ME IMMEDIATELY

Maria: KIP I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU

Kyle: Congratulations, holy shit!

@ScottHunterOfficial Everyone, meet Kip 📸@RielPhoto
[image: Scott and Kip kissing on the ice, the rest of the Admirals cheering behind them.]

@Kippp ♥️♥️♥️

@ilyarozanov81 Kip + Cup, well done

@shanehollanderhockeyplayer Congrats!

@AdmiralsWatch So happy for you!!

@Elenanana it’s about time!

@ScottyHunts OH OUR MAN IS LOCKED DOWN

@hockey_ho🌈 WHAT A HARD LAUNCH

@AdmirableAdmirals that’s our captain!!!

@Carter_Vaughan WELCOME TO OUR WORLD, KIP

@GloriaGloriaGrey @Kippp you can finally sit with us!!! 🫶

@NicoCastIron proud of you both!