Chapter 2
Glenhaven Vanguards Home Opener
– October 12th, 2021
Mikhail was giddy.
There was really no other way of saying it.
He'd spent the whole day grinning.
The whole
amazing, best day ever
day.
With his
husband
He wasn't sure if the novelty of that would ever wear off.
He sort of hoped it wouldn't.
He imagined himself as an old man sometimes, waking up next to old man Declan (exactly the same as current Declan, really, except with grey hair and some wrinkles and maybe he wore his sexy glasses more often – but emotionally Declan was already well into "old man" territory, so on a day to day level it was really the same).
In his vision, he was exactly as excited to see Declan every morning as he was now – like waking up and realizing that it wasn't all a dream, that it was really his life, and this wonderful, amazingly sexy man actually
love him, and always would.
It was always amazing to see Declan.
To enter a room where Declan was.
Or to watch him now, gliding seamlessly across the ice, face furrowed in concentration, completely and totally
focused
Mikhail had spent a lot of his life watching Declan Rowe play hockey.
He'd gotten good at schooling his expression in public – at making sure to scowl when Declan scored, to roll his eyes when Declan snatched the puck away from him or from someone else.
It was nice, now, to not have to pretend – to let himself stare at Declan and Declan alone as he darted across the ice, to allow himself to wince at every hit Declan took, to allow the giddy grin to break through when Declan sunk the puck into the back of the net.
The fans were roaring "ROWE-ROWE-ROWE!
ROWE-ROWE-ROWE!" For years in Kingsport he pretended that chant drove him insane.
Here, he was half tempted to join in.
Banks, next to him on the bench, knocked their shoulders together as Pierce enveloped Declan in a hug on the ice.
"Looks like you got competition, Soro.
Pierce has a new favorite.
Maybe Rowe does, too."
On the other side, Griffin snorted.
"I'd say so.
Rowe hasn't even noticed the puppy eyes you've been shooting him the whole game."
"Shut up," Mikhail said, with no real heat.
This was chirping he'd signed up for, really, with the whole
transferring to the same team for love
thing.
"I am still Pierce' favorite.
And Rowe knows where he belongs, trust me."
As if he could hear them, Declan met his eye across the ice.
And then Declan
winked!
At Mikhail!
Declan!
It was enough to make Mikhail feel a little wobbly, getting flirted with
in public
, in front of cameras.
"Oh my god," Banks said.
"You're
literally married to the guy
Soro, you don't have to spend the whole game looking like you're pining after him."
Mikhail scoffed.
"This is why Tess will leave you Banks," he said.
"No sense of romance in your cold, dead heart."
Banks scowled.
"Just for that, I'm gonna fucking trip you."
The lines shifted again, and Mikhail got back out on the ice (Banks, of course, did
trip him, because Banks was a bit spineless when it came to these things).
It really was something else, to be playing like this.
It would be a lie to say his first few runs in Glenhaven hadn't been a bit difficult.
He hadn't really been sad to leave Kingsport – the city itself he felt neutral about, and the idea of even the
possibility
of a long-term future with Declan had tasted better than any Shield would ever taste – but it was hard, to go from winning all the time to being a big fish in a horrifically small pond.
It was nice to be winning again.
It was nice to be on a team where the fans loved him – where all games, even the losses, were filled with cheers and noise and excitement.
It was
so much better
to be sharing that with Declan.
If someone had told Mikhail years ago that his future would be like this, he probably wouldn't have believed them.
Wouldn't have believed he could have this, that it was even possible.
He'd given up a lot to be here.
Declan had too – with the salary cap and the more than a few endorsements who'd quietly decided
not to renew
their deals, he had taken to sarcastically referring to Mikhail as
the breadwinner
But Mikhail felt those sacrifices were worth it.
He'd pick Declan over money.
He'd pick Declan over hockey (again).
But it was nice that he hadn't had to, in the end.
It was nice that he got his happy ending, hockey and teammates who cared about him and
loving him back and playing
with him
and a dog and a house and a family.
It was so nice that he felt, abruptly, a bit like crying, right out there on the ice.
He didn't, though.
No matter what Declan said he
at least a
bit
of a professional.
Still, he was maybe a bit distracted – distracted enough one of the Palmara linesmen got a stick around his stake and he sprawled to the ground.
The tripping call put Glenhaven on the power play.
Not that it really mattered – Palmara was doing terrible, and they were already up three points on them halfway through the second.
Still, power play was exciting because that meant Declan and Mikhail would play
together
One of Mikhail's favorite things to do with Declan (not counting sex, or kissing, or cuddling, or making dinner, or – okay, it was kind of a long list).
Sure enough, there was Declan, hopping over the boards and skating up to him.
"You all right?" he asked, gesturing vaguely towards Mikhail's ankle.
Mikhail waved it off – it wasn't that bad of a trip, in the end.
"Better now," he cooed with as much suggestion as possible.
It made Declan's cheeks go a delightful shade of pink, even though no one else was near enough to hear them.
Mikhail loved that shade.
He
lived
for it.
Declan scrunched up his nose, all adorable and flustered right in the middle of the game.
Playing together was the best idea anyone had ever had.
"Any tips for the power play,
captain?
" Declan asked, trying to swerve the tone back to professionalism.
Mikhail shrugged, feeling loose limbed and cocky and wonderfully happy.
"Should try scoring a goal, maybe," he chirped.
"Or maybe you should just pass the puck to me, since I am the better shot."
"Fuck off, Sorokin," Declan said, skating away, but he was grinning as he did it.
The other great thing about playing with Declan was that, after all these years of being admittedly a bit obsessed with each other, they could basically read each other's minds on the ice.
When they were playing against each other it made for difficult, trenched-in play.
When they were playing
, it made them something close to absolutely unstoppable.
Mikhail understood why they were on different lines – you needed to spread your talent out – but it made the power play feel like their secret weapon.
Commentators had spent the summer hemming and hawing about how he and Declan would play together – if they'd be distracted by their marriage (stupid) or unable to get used to working together instead of against each other (somehow even stupider).
He was very, very excited to shut those people up.
And shut them up they did.
The puck dropped and Pierce pulled away with it.
He managed to get it to Mikhail just before getting slammed into the boards.
Two Palmara guys were on Mikhail's ass, and he didn't have a great shot at the goal.
He cut his eyes across the ice and saw Declan pulling ahead of the singular guy after him.
Stupid, really, to leave Rowe so unguarded.
He passed the puck, and Declan took the shot and drove it into the top right of the net.
The crowd exploded.
Mikhail couldn't help himself – he tore across the ice to get to his husband and grabbed him into a hug immediately.
Declan was laughing, joy bursting out of him.
And it was a sound Mikhail just loved
so much
, Declan's excitement so totally infectious, that he couldn't help himself.
He felt like he had at the Star Showcase all those years ago, so overwhelmed with the joy of celebrating
Declan that he just had to kiss him.
Back then it was on the cheek, and it was dangerous, and they had to play it off.
But now everyone knew – every person cheering in that crowd was well aware that Rowe and Sorokin would go home together after the game.
And, well, Declan had given him permission.
So: fuck it.
He learned forward and kissed Declan on the mouth, a small, quick press of their lips together.
Just enough to say
congratulations, that was amazing, I am so proud of you, I love you, I am so happy you're here.
Mikhail had gotten very good at saying a lot of things through kisses.
Best way to communicate, really.
When he pulled back he half expected Declan to be glaring at him, embarrassed.
But Rowe was still smiling, cheeks a little more flushed than they'd been.
He shook his head like he found it all deeply amusing.
"Couldn't help yourself, huh?"
Mikhail shrugged at him, grinning back.
"Was a good goal," he said, an echo of years earlier.
Declan's grin got wider.
"Good assist," he said back.
The crowd around them continued to go wild as the rest of their teammates skated up to thump both of them on the back.
There was just no doubting it.
This was going to be the best year of Mikhail's life.