Chapter 1
23rd of December
Finn finds out that Alexei is in Kingsford a week earlier than he has to be by accident.
He's not overly fond of spending his days on the couch in front of the TV, but he's been stuck scrolling PictoPost for the better part of an hour now, and can't tear himself away from his phone.
Which is how he finds out: paparazzi photos of Alexei Kurov looking tired and cold, ducking into a hotel.
The Icebreaker Cup game isn't for another six days, and Alexei is already here.
In the same city as Finn.
Without his team.
From what he's seen, no one else from the Havenport team has landed yet, likely spending time with their families or loved ones over the holidays.
But here Alexei is, in the same city.
He should say something, right?
Anything.
Biting his lip, Finn starts typing.
HAZEL
Are you in Kingsford alone?
Merry Christmas!
Finn deletes the message.
That was too much.
He's being crazy.
Happy holidays, man.
You spending time with your team?
He backspaces immediately, because– no. Just no. Absolutely not.
Has he ever called Alexei
man
before?
It's barely one step away from calling him
bro.
They are
bros.
Finally, he settles on a simple, succinct message:
Merry Christmas, Pearl.
It's a classic.
Foolproof.
Nothing could go wrong.
His phone buzzes with a notification almost immediately.
Heart skipping a beat, Finn presses it.
PEARL
Merry Christmas, Hazel.
Are you excited for Icebreaker Cup?
Not as excited as you, apparently.
You're already in Kingsford?
Finn exhales hard through his nose, tossing his phone beside him.
When it buzzes again five seconds later, he snatches it back up again.
It will be interesting.
Interesting?
PEARL:
This week is boring
No plans?
This time, it takes Alexei several minutes to respond.
Finn stares at the TV unseeingly until his phone lights up again.
No plans.
You're not lonely?
Finn winces at the message, backspacing this one too.
Fuck.
It's never like this with other people—he's awkward, and struggles to know what to say, but with Alexei it's different.
Every text he sends feels like a monumental risk, a landmine, the thing between them so fragile and waiting for collapse.
They don't talk like this.
About this stuff.
They flirt, they chirp, they fuck with each other.
It's not like this.
Not even with your Dravonian friend from Havenport?
Katya?
She is busy
HAZEL:
So what are you doing this week?
Waiting.
I'm in my cottage in Easton.
Don't really have plans till Christmas eve.
Dinner with my parents.
Ok.
I'm kind of waiting too, I guess.
If you were in hotel we could wait together
For a second, Finn imagines it: driving to Alexei's hotel, finding a secluded place to park away from paparazzi and onlookers, and sneaking in.
He then promptly realises that's insane.
It seems like a lot more hassle than it's worth.
Especially since Alexei is
here,
in Kingsford, barely thirty minutes away from where Finn is living.
What's even more insane, is the concept of inviting Alexei Kurov into his cottage.
And yet—
Come over?
You could come here.
Finn sucks in a breath.
What the hell is he doing?
Alexei's never been in his space before—not really, only ever the work-in-progress rental and random hotel rooms.
The idea of Alexei in his cottage, his safe pace, his private oasis, feels like an impossibility, but suddenly, all at once, he can imagine it.
Alexei, wrapped up in Finn's duvet, his curly hair sticking out at the top.
In the kitchen, putting together a charcuterie board.
Challenging him to a game of cards after dinner.
Riding Alexei while the warm fire crackles in the background, his face tucked into the crook of Alexei's neck.
Fuck it.
My place is more private.
Is this invitation to your mysterious little lake cottage, Hazel?
I take it back.
No, no.
You have invited me.
You cannot revoke.
Fancy word.
I am smart in Dravonian
English is stupid
But I am learning
You're smart in English too
I think I sound stupid in French.
You do
Do you wanna come or not, asshole?
You know I love to come
Pearl.
I will come to cottage.
And maybe in cottage ;)
Send address
Finn does, not letting himself overthink it.
Ok.
I will come in three hours.
Finn stares at the phone until the screen goes dark, realising in three hours, Alexei will be fucking here.
Right here.
In his home.
Should he clean?
He wasn't prepared for guests.
His parents aren't even coming over for Christmas; he's going to theirs.
He should shower.
And scrub the shower.
And check the drain.
Maybe polish the windows?
Fuck, he should shovel the footpaths leading up to the house and salt them.
Does he have time to mop the floors?
FINN
SOS
MAYA
At your service, darling
I did something insane
MAYA:
Did you knock someone up?
:o
This is serious.
You're not funny.
Omg did you actually knock someone up
FINN:
I'm gay.
You slept with me
Multiple times
As a bit
Oh okay now who's the funny guy
Sort your own drama
Maya
has disliked your message.
Sorry.
Please help me.
What did you do?
Maya, I invited him over.
To my cottage.
For the entire week.
has surprise reacted your message.
Seriously?
Holy shit
FINN!
I KNOW
Start with that next time!
I don't know what to do!
I mean, I feel like that's a little self-explanatory.
You're alone.
In a beautiful cottage.
With a beautiful man.
Alone.
A man you have sex with semi-regularly.
I think you can piece the puzzle together here, babe
FUCK
HIM
has loved your message.
Exactly two hours and fifty-five minutes later, through the window, Finn sees a car he doesn't recognise pull into the driveway.
The car is, naturally, a sleek black Lamborghini.
He opens the front door in time to, in faint horror, watch as Alexei pops the door open and steps out, his sneakers digging into the snow underfoot.
Finn wonders what Alexei has against Fords.
Or just reasonable fucking cars to drive in this much snow.
Neither of them says anything as Alexei reaches back into the car to grab his duffel bag, slinging it over his shoulder.
"Uh," Finn manages when Alexei approaches, looking as uncertain as Finn feels.
They don't do things like this—the last time they did, it just made Finn freak out and run away, but now, here, he's the one inviting Alexei inside.
He lifts a hand, gesturing vaguely to the doorway that he's actively still blocking the way of.
"Come in. It's freezing outside."
Alexei gives a half-shrug, waiting for Finn to step aside before following him inside.
"Not so bad."
Closing the door behind him, Finn watches Alexei toe off his shoes, bending down to place them neatly beside Finn's.
For some reason, Finn's heart aches a little at the sight.
"Dravonia is worse," Alexei continues, standing up straight again.
He's so close, like this.
Alexei's eyes are so blue.
Finn has to look up at him to see them.
Without permission, Finn's gaze slides down to Alexei's mouth.
When he quickly looks back up again, Alexei's pupils dilate.
"So," Finn blurts.
"Do you want the tour?"
Lips twitching, Alexei looks away, toward the kitchen.
Finn traces the sharp line of his jaw with his eyes, watching it flex and move as he says, "Sure, Merrick."
The tour is uneventful, up until he's showing Alexei around outside, and gestures to a patch of snow-covered grass.
"You do yoga out here still?
Even in winter?"
Finn turns, almost comically slow, and says, "I said nothing about yoga.
Why do you know this is where I work out?"
Alexei's expression shifts, and for a brief second, he looks like a kid who's been caught with his hand digging around in the cookie jar, crumbs already surrounding his mouth.
The look disappears, and he shrugs.
"Is always on television.
I am forced to watch you give tour."
Finn realises that means Alexei already kind of knew his way around, but he got Finn to show him around anyway.
He doesn't quite know what to do with that.
"You could've turned it off."
Alexei leans in, crooked cocky smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.
"Well, yes, but then I could not jerk off to you arching pretty for the camera."
Finn shoves his shoulder, ignoring the warmth that's creeping up his neck.
"You're such an asshole.
We're going back inside."
Alexei laughs.
"No, come on, Finn Merrick.
I want to see your yoga poses." He grabs Finn's hips, hands dipping under his winter coat, but not the shirt beneath that.
Finn's breath catches.
It feels different.
It feels so different.
They've touched, and kissed, and fucked so many times before, but here, standing outside his home, two hands, fingers splayed, settling on his hips feel heavy like concrete.
Like a claim.