Chapter 1
February 2020
The Hawks had a rare weekend off coming up and Sam couldn't wait to get out of the fucking arena, and not only because Vargas had once again taken control of the aux cord and was playing what he had described as "EDM-Country fusion." Sam loved hockey, but he was looking forward to laying on a couch and doing fuck all for a few days.
No games, no practices, no meetings, no tape review, no nothing.
Just time at home with Leo and Apollo.
And maybe one other person.
"You doing anything during the break?" Sam asked Anton as they changed.
As always, he tried to keep his eyes to himself, but it was hard when Anton always took up so much space and was seemingly allergic to wearing shirts.
"Yes," Anton said.
He hesitated for a moment, then added, "Will see friend, probably."
Sam tried to keep his face from showing any surprise.
It was more information than Anton usually offered.
He decided to press his luck.
"Elle?" he asked, trying to sound casual.
Anton smiled in that infuriating way he had and began pulling on his pants.
Sam soldiered on.
"Because I was talking to Leo, and we were thinking, if you weren't busy, you could like, come over for a bit, if you wanted.
Apollo would be stoked to see you.
And you could bring your... friend."
Anton raised an eyebrow at Sam.
"I have just told you I am busy.
You are so desperate to spend time with me?"
"Oh, fuck off," Sam grumbled, pulling on his shirt.
"I was just seeing if you wanted to hang out."
Anton flashed him a crooked grin.
"I did not know you were so obsessed with me, Calloway," he said.
"Do I need to tell your boyfriend?"
Sam rolled his eyes.
"You are such a dick," he said.
"Sorry for trying to be a good friend."
Anton put a hand on his shoulder.
"Is okay.
Leo is also a little bit obsessed with me, I think."
"He is not!" Sam squawked, but Anton had already moved back to his stall to (finally!) pull a shirt over his head.
Sam watched out of the corner of his eye as the ugly bear tattoo on Anton's broad chest disappeared.
(He loved Leo but he wasn't a fucking nun, okay?) Now dressed, Anton gave his still-damp curls a shake, shot Sam a quick nod and headed out of the locker room door.
Sam watched his back until he disappeared.
"He's a weird guy, isn't he?" Boone said, sliding into the spot Anton had just vacated.
Sam gave one last glance at the empty space that had just been filled by broad Karovian shoulders.
"Yeah," he sighed.
"Like he says we're friends but I feel like I barely know the guy."
"Same," Boone said.
"We've been playing together for a year and I feel like all I know about him is that he's bisexual and likes fast cars." He paused, looking thoughtful.
"And beating sick kids at Speedy Circuit."
Sam glanced around.
Thankfully, it didn't seem like any of their teammates were listening.
"I worry about him, you know?" he said quietly.
"Sometimes he just seems...
Like lonely."
"You talking about Drago?" Val asked as he swooped in like some sort of ginormous Valtic bat.
"Oh, he's definitely lonely," Jonas added, scooting in next to Boone.
"Yes, I agree," Jett said, popping up behind Jonas.
"What the fuck, were you all listening?" Sam complained to his gathered teammates.
"This was supposed to be a private conversation."
Val shrugged his broad shoulders.
"He is our captain.
We care about him.
And he does seem lonely."
"How can you be lonely when you're fucking so many beautiful women?" Billy asked as he also joined the little group crowding around Sam's stall.
"And men," Sam added automatically.
Ally and all that," Billy said, and put his hand over his heart and gave Sam a solemn little nod.
"You can be lonely while sleeping around," Val pointed out.
"When its just two people using each other for a brief moment of connection, without any depth or meaning." The team stared at him and Val cleared his throat.
"Or uh.
Whatever."
"Is he though?" Damien broke in. The cluster of teammates turned to stare at him.
"Is he what?
A certified playboy?
A womanizer extraordinaire?" Billy asked.
Sam raised an eyebrow and Billy amended.
"A womanizer and a mananizer?"
"Mananizer," Jett mouthed.
"That's not a word, don't try to learn it," Val warned.
Sam ignored them.
"What'd you mean, Damy?"
Damien shrugged.
"I know Drago doesn't go out with us super often, but when he does, do you see him pick up?
Like, ever?"
The team was quiet as they thought.
Slowly, they all began shaking their heads.
"I can't believe I never noticed," Boone said.
He sounded a bit shocked.
"Goalie eyes," said Damien smugly.
"We see everything."
"How long has this been going on for?" Sam demanded.
"I've seen him flirt and be flirted with, but I've never seen him leave with anyone." Damien shrugged.
"Could just be that things with Elle are getting serious."
"I don't know about Elle," Sam said doubtfully.
"It seems sporadic, as far as I can tell.
I think he can do better."
Billy got a thoughtful look on his face.
Or painful.
Sam couldn't quite tell.
"Do you..." Billy started, then trailed off.
"Do you think he's like, sick or something?
The big K?"
Sam frowned.
The big K?
He looked at his teammates.
They looked just as confused as he felt.
Billy stared back at them as if they were all idiots.
"You know?
Cancer?"
There was a moment of silence before Jonas took a deep breath.
"Man, we have got to get you into some sort of night school because–"
"What if he's like... depressed?" Sam asked.
They would deal with Billy's issues later.
There was another pause as the team considered this.
"He doesn't seem depressed," Boone said slowly.
"Well you can't always tell," Sam argued.
"And isn't losing interest in something you love doing a sign of depression?"
There were a few hesitant nods around the circle.
"So we need to try to convince Drago to start going to therapy," Boone said.
They all looked at each other as they envisioned being the one to tell their captain he needed professional help.
A collective shudder ran through the group.