Chapter 2

And then he said it, the truth that had been bubbling under the surface:

"I'm gay.

I didn't break up with Rose because she's in Europe, I broke up with her because she's a woman.

So no, I don't want to go out with you guys tonight, because we aren't looking for the same thing."

And then he turned around, finished getting changed, and left.

Weirdly, it was...

fine after that, if that's even the right word to use.

A lot of the guys stopped showering with Reed again, but he seemed to expect that.

Guys were a bit weird about rooming pairs, but Reed was captain already, so by default he didn't room with anyone if he didn't want to anyways.

The homophobic slurs certainly got louder—more pointed—but Reed took them in stride.

It helped that Mason and Remy still sat with him on buses and planes, some of the nicer guys still went out for food together.

But there was a divide and somehow—impossibly—Reed was able to ignore it and continue playing insane hockey, bringing home the Wanderers' their third cup in six years.

And then Reed and Dmitri got outed (by Reed's own best friend and fellow Voyageur no less).

I got to the rink before Reed did that day and I wish I hadn't.

The shit these guys were saying about him?

His teammates?

People he had won three President's Shields with?

You would think he was a criminal with the way they were talking about him.

Just disgusting words I refuse to repeat, but it was bad.

Real bad.

And when Reed eventually walked into that locker room later that day, my heart broke for him.

You could see that he was terrified and embarrassed and so desperately hoping that his team would accept his relationship.

But the guys weren't supportive of Reed in the slightest.

Being gay was one thing.

Being gay with Dmitri Federov was apparently a cardinal sin, and they reminded him of that fact on a near minute basis during the playoffs.

If you know Reed, you would know how committed he was to Glenfield, so he would have dealt with it, would have kept playing and dealing with the homophobia if it meant he didn't let anyone down.

That is, until the team accused him of tripping on purpose to let Dmitri win in Game 7, as if the two of them hadn't met in nearly every playoff first round for the last decade, as if them being together had ever stopped Reed (or Dmitri) from scoring a hat trick against the other's team, or from shoving the other into the boards, or from beating each other at the face-off dot.

I watched from the sidelines as they turned against him so ferociously it was like a pack of lions tearing apart an injured deer.

And I think that's what hurt him the most.

Not that his team hated that he was gay, because they had always hated that he was gay.

It was the fact that they made it abundantly clear there was never going to be a world in which they would accept Dmitri Federov as his partner AND that they didn't trust him to not lose to said partner on purpose.

And once the trust was gone, what was the point of staying?

So, TL;DR:

Reed Calloway didn't "abandon" the Wanderers because he wanted to play with his husband like some of you are saying.

He was abandoned BY the Wanderers for being a gay man in a happy relationship just because they didn't like it.

And frankly?

I'm glad he found somewhere better to land.

Go Titans Go!

Take care of them please.

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Truevoyageurfan97

• 11h ago

Mannnnnn wtf?

Like sure, i dun want to think about him being gay n shit n liking dicks, but hes the best player weve ever had?

Why run him out of town?

⬆ 21.2K ⬇ 6.7K

Wanderers4Lyf

I've been a Glenfield Wanderers fan since I was 4 years old, but I cannot express how heartbroken I am to read all this.

It's so obvious you are telling the truth based on the details you shared.

So insanely disappointed in this organization.

Reed and Dmitri deserve better.

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WanderersAreTheBest

man I aint reading all dat. fuck Reed Calloway. stupid gay piece of shit.

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↪ [-] [deleted]

10h ago

This account has been deleted for violating Forumin's community guidelines.

NorthportGrizzlyFan1234

Actually, fuck the Glenfield Wanderers.

You can handle Reed being gay, but not him being in love with Dmitri?

With Dmitri Federov?

The man who loves animals and children?

Who never says no to stopping for a picture with fans?

Who is always donating money to HelpRaise's for fans in need?

Who always stays the longest at fan signings to make sure no one gets missed?

That Dmitri Federov?

Sure he's a bit of a shit head on the ice, but he's still a human being who deserves to be loved.

I hope the rest of the league absolutely destroys the Wanderers this season, fuck every single person in that room who accused Reed of tripping.

Edit:

Mildly amused at you saying he'd "set them all straight." You probably didn't even notice, but it made me laugh.

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↪ BlazeCold Creek101

• 10h ago

THIS!

I'm not even a Wanderers fan, but how could you accuse Reed "3x President's Shield Champion and 3x Playoff MVP Winner" Calloway of tripping on purpose?

Have you seen the way those two compete against each other?

If anything they probably compete harder because they are together!

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↪ WanderersAreJesus

Listen, I AM a Wanderers fan and this shit pisses me off.

I'm a 34-year-old straight male and I truly could not give a FUCK who these guys fuck in their spare time.

Can you score a goal?

Great, do that then.

This whole thing is messed up man, the Titans are going to be unstoppable, RIP to the rest of the league.

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BoringPerson101

I...

I hate to say this because I know Mason Cross is Reed's best friend and all, but I don't think I could ever talk to him ever again, especially not when his "accidentally" outing Reed and Dmitri caused Reed to lose the only team he has ever known and his captaincy.

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↪ WhyAmIEvenHere

• 6h ago

Yuuuuuuup fuck that dude srsly.

Dmitri seems alrite yno?

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JustWhy

I honestly don't know if I should upvote this post because you are so brave for sharing this, or downvote this post because what the Wanderers did was disgusting!

Poor Reed and Dmitri!

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↪ ConcernedCitizen789

• 7h ago

I was the same.

But I downvoted because I disagree with homophobia.

Thank you OP for sharing this post, I hope you don't get in trouble.

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↪ mrvoyageur

OP

• 3h ago

I was let go last night.

But I don't regret it, Reed deserves better.

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↪ JustWhy

• 2hago

I don't know if I should upvote or downvote this one either OP

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CrazyforTheTitans

• 9h ago

Alright everyone, repeat after me:

FUCK THE GLENFIELD WANDERERS!

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"Why did you not tell me about this?" Dmitri demanded 20 minutes later as he paced around the floor at the end of their bed, Reed's phone gripped tightly in his hand as he read through the post, his rage palpable in the air between them.

"What part?" Reed grimaced, dropping back down against the pillows and throwing an arm dramatically over his face with a sigh as Dmitri parroted the post back at him.

What was the mistake you ask?

" Turning to look at Reed, Dmitri glared with enough force that Reed found himself wincing, watching Dmitri's gaze soften slightly as he did.

"Reed, that is a disgusting thing for a coach to be saying to his player.

You should have told me."

"Oh yeah?" Reed found himself scoffing, averting his gaze from his fuming husband and instead turning his head to stare resolutely at Misha in her bed along the wall.

"And what would you have done, Dmitri?

Punched my coach too?"

"YES!

Of course I would!" Dmitri shouted, throwing his hands into the air, ignoring the confused look on Misha's face as she startled awake, Dmitri's eyes still locked on Reed.

"Reed, I don't care about any of this but you, it's always been you.

I have been in love with you since we were teenagers, do you really think I wouldn't punch your coach just because I could be kicked off my team?

I'd go to jail if it meant it made you happy, you should know this by now."

A sudden warmth spread through Reed's chest as Dmitri's words settled into the nooks and crannies there, Reed reaching forward to tug his husband onto the bed and pulling the phone from his grasp, putting it on the nightstand before rearranging their limbs so his own head was cushioned on Dmitri's thick chest, his heartbeat a comforting lullaby underneath his ear.