Rating:

Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning:

No Archive Warnings Apply

Category:

M/M

Fandoms:

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

Relationships:

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

Characters:

Scott Hunter (Game Changers), Ilya Rozanov, New York Admirals Team Ensemble (Game Changers)

Additional Tags:

Shane Hollander and Scott Hunter's Fight in Episode: s01e03 Hunter, POV Scott Hunter (Game Changers), Skip is important to the story but Kip doesn't actually appear, Ilya knows about Scott/Kip, New York Admiral Ilya Rozanov

Language:

English

Series:

Part 2 of how did we get here, my love

Stats:

Published: 2026-02-09 Words: 1,054 Chapters: 1/1

Interlude: Hunter

Summary

What's going on in Scott's head

Notes

Set in my universe where Shane plays for Boston, Ilya plays for the Admirals, and they have a public friendship from the get-go.

After posting Ch4, I realized I was committing Scott Hunter slander and wanted to give him a chance to tell his side of the story. Won't be necessary for that to make sense going forward, but will add another dimension!

I tagged Skip and Hollanov since they're both foundational to the story, but we're very much focused on Scott and Ilya's relationship here.

Best read after Ch4 of following the path; leaving a trail, but not hard to piece together without context.

Scott never has sex mid-season. Never. Ever.

The one time he does—when he finds a guy who is rather… wonderful, actually--he plays well for the first time in months. Then, his first game away from Kip, he’s back to the shitty play of his sexless fall.

Hollander chirps about Scott’s slow start to the season (low-hanging fruit). Scott remembers Rozanov acting weird after their last game, and so he makes some dumb quip about Rozy fucking a girl that night.

Hollander explodes like Scott lit a match near a gas leak. “You pussy!” he screams. “Get fucked, you pussy!”

Scott’s brain goes blank except for the fear that Hollander somehow, inexplicably, knows. He is so well-behaved for years, then actually does get fucked for once and the cat’s already clawing at the bag. And so Scott throws the cruel, jagged words right back in Hollander’s face: “You’re a pussy, you’re the fucking pussy!”

~~~~~~

He wants to get home to Kip.

Scott never truly understood his teammates’ obsessions with sex. He liked it when he had it, obviously, but the compartmentalization was always easy for him. The off-season--discrete parts of the off-season--was for sex; the rest of the year was for hockey. He’d long been frustrated by teammates who got distracted or couldn’t seem to tell the difference.

Now, though, Kip is all he thinks of. When he plays, wonders if Kip is watching. When he’s home alone, trying to watch game tape, he wishes Kip was with him. When he’s with Kip, it’s as if hockey doesn’t exist.

~~~~~~

Rozanov has been acting weird ever since that game in Boston.

He and Scott have never been the best of friends; Roz’s brash sexuality and Scott’s reserved focus wasn’t exactly a match made in heaven. But, in the last few weeks, the energy between them has shifted.

Roz has his guard up when Scott is in the room. That much is clear. Like he’s watching Scott to
see what he’ll do next.

Maybe Roz found out about Kip and told Hollander before that chirp. Maybe Hollander intuited it and told Roz.

Either way, Scott can’t help but feel those two know his secrets.

~~~~~~

Scott waits anxiously for Kip to arrive at the gala. He smiles through small-talk about how well the season has turned around, how the Admirals are sitting well in the playoff race as they approach the Olympic break.

He keeps one eye on the door, but is surprised when the tall, blond form of Rozanov walks in next. A blanket invitation had been issued to the entire team, but Roz hadn’t been on the rsvp list as of yesterday.

But then Kip arrives barely a minute later and he looks so good and Scott forgets all about his unexpected teammate.

Until, that is, he sees Rozanov dancing with Elena. Scott danced with her a few songs ago, which he’s sure is why Roz sought her out. He has on a seductive smile and his hand dips low on Elena’s back.

Fear settles sour in Scott’s gut.

Things have been going so well with Kip. Kip has seemed a bit restless, yes. And their art excursion hadn’t exactly gone well. But Scott thinks Kip loves him and he definitely loves Kip and is planning on telling him that tonight.

But Roz coming here? Getting whatever confirmation he’s getting right now from Elena?
He’s clearly not satisfied with just knowing about Scott. He’s going to do something about it. Word is going to get out and everything will be ruined.

~~~~~~

Kip left him. Kip… He left him.

Saying “I love you” and “please hide for me, maybe for months, maybe for years” in the same breath was apparently the wrong move.

His absence leaves Scott hollow and he fills the void with fire. He wins Olympic gold for the US. He ensures the Admirals make the playoffs in good position. He scores and he scores and he scores like it’s the only thing that will bring him any joy.

~~~~~~

They win the first round of the playoffs easily and Scott still feels empty.

~~~~~~

They win the second and Scott texts Kip.

~~~~~~

He tells his coach first; it’s taken well, if not enthusiastically.

Then his three best friends on the team--Vaughn, Bennett, and Huff--in Scott’s hotel room the night before game one of round three. The words are easier to say with each repetition and the decade-old vise around Scott’s chest loosens with every conversation.

~~~~~~

Scott pulls Rozanov aside before he makes the announcement to the whole locker room. He takes a deep breath and, without prelude, asks, “What do you know?”

Rozanov narrows his eyes. “What do you know?”

Huh? “Know about what?”

“About…” Roz swallows what he was going to say. “Do you not know?”

“I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

Rozanov jerks a nod. “I do know. About your...”

Scott doesn’t want to be the one to say boyfriend. He fears that word doesn’t fit anymore (of course it doesn’t; he hasn’t spoken to Kip in months), as much as he wishes it did.

“Your Kip,” Rozanov finishes.

His Kip.

“Have you told anyone?”

“Of course not! I would never.”

“You...” He’s so vehement, it causes puzzle pieces to click together in Scott’s brain. “Hollander,” he says, almost to himself.

“What?” Definite panic in Rozanov’s voice.

“You and Hollander. That’s why he flipped.” It all makes sense now: the ferocity and joy with which Roz always plays Boston, the amount of time they spend together, the frustration if they’re out of town when Hollander plays in Brooklyn, the scratches on his back, the panic incited by even an accidental insinuation.

“You said you did not know.”

“I didn’t. Not until...”

“What gave me away?”

“When you said you wouldn’t tell. It felt too personal to just be about me.”

Rozanov rubs at his nose.

“Hey,” Scott says, clapping a captainly shoulder on Roz’s back. “You can trust me.”

“Shane has been freaking out for months. Thinking you would tell.”

“Tell him I won’t. Does anyone else know?”

Roz shakes his head. “We don’t think so.”

~~~~~~