Chapter Text
Things were changing and Shane was unsure if it was for the better. He had been watching Hayden for the better part of an hour in silence, scared that speaking to him would make things worse.. Shane was treating him like a skittish animal, scared that if he made one wrong move, Hayden could either run away—or worse, hurt himself or Shane—and that was the last thing Shane wanted.
*
This all started with a phone call. Shane and Hayden had been awoken out of their sleep to Hayden’s phone vibrating and beeping loudly. Hayden had rolled over, annoyed at the early morning interruption of his sleep, only to get out of the bed frantically, hands shaking as he struggled to slide the answer button on the screen.
“What’s wrong?” Shane grumbled, sleep still coloring his voice. “Who is it?’
“It’s Gary.” Hayden whispered, body tense. That name made Shane sit up as well. Gary Holdden was the General Manager for the Boston Raiders, the NHL team Hayden had been playing for for the past 6 years. Gary Holdden was a quiet man with the power to command a room upon entrance. He was an observant man whose praises sounded like critiques, and whose critiques had the ability to humble God.
“Mr. Holdden! H-hello sir, how are you?” Shane could hear the tremble in Hayden’s voice as he greeted the other man. Hayden had walked out into the living room. His voice was muffled now between the walls, but Shane could hear the tension in his voice even without the words. What could he possibly be calling Hayden about? What could possibly be so important that it needed to come from the GM rather than their head coach?
Shane was nervously chewing on his nails when Hayden returned, his shoulders hunched with tension and his jaw clenched so tightly you could practically hear his teeth grinding.
“Is everything okay?” Shane asked, on his feet and across the room in an instant, his hands instinctively reaching for Hayden’s shoulders to try and smooth the tension from the man's shoulders. Hayden jerked out of Shane’s hold, irritation,annoyance and sadness taking over the man’s features.
“No, everything isn’t okay Shane,” tears were beginning to build in Hayden’s eyes, threatening to fall at any moment. “They put me on waivers, Shane. If my contract doesn’t get picked up by tomorrow I’m getting fucking demoted to the minors.” That was the moment the dam broke, tears freely falling from Hayden’s eyes at the confession.
Shane gasped in shock and yanked the man into a hug as the tears took over.Hayden heaving and sobbing into Shane’s shoulder, a muffled cry that sounded very similar to the words “I wasn’t good enough” coming from the man in his arms. Shane guided them back to the bed, muttering comforting words to Hayden as he sat him down and crawled into the bed behind him, wrapping his arms around the man and stroking his chest until he calmed down a bit more.
“Why are they even doing this?” Shane asked. He was a bit confused and even a bit more angry that this was the news that they got woken up to. Stupid NHL and their tendency to ruin all happy moments. “You’ve been doing so well lately, especially considering the injuries you're still recovering from! You’ve given them the best years of your life, how could they do this?”
“I guess I haven’t been doing well enough so they’re sending me out. They want to sign Rozanov from Washington and the amount of money he’s asking for they can’t give him with our cap space.”
“But you’ve been great! You helped take the Raiders to the playoffs for the past 7 years! You guys got a cup your first year on the team! It just doesn’t make any sense. Rozanov isn’t even talented enough for you to get put on waivers and demoted for him.”
Hayden chuckled sardonically. “Shane, let's be realistic at this point. I’m not useful anymore. I haven’t been playing my best, I’ve been injured the past two years, major injuries that have taken me off the ice for the majority of the season.” Hayden moved out of Shane’s hold, sitting up and pressing his back against the headboard before dragging his hands down his face. “I’m just angry at myself for not noticing it sooner. They've been scouting some of the star players at Boston College and whoever plays with Providence currently. They’re planning a rebuild. It’s clear as day,” Hayden scoffed. “Gotta kick the old guys out to make way for new meat.”
This was bad. Honestly, bad wasn’t even a strong enough word to describe what was happening but it was all Shane could think of at the moment. This was very bad.
*
Hayden Pike was a solid NHL player. He had been playing with the League for the past 11 years. He was drafted fourth overall in his year by the Vegas Golden Knights. He cemented his spot as a good left wingman during his time with the Knights. He got traded to the Raiders his third year in the league and had been doing great, helping the Raiders clinch a playoff spot, and eventually the cup, his first year in Boston. He had been a solid, strong, and tactical player for the Raiders up until about 3 years ago when he had his first big injury.
Hayden had just gotten back from playing the All-Stars game that year, his spirits high as the fight for the playoffs were starting soon and he wanted to make sure the Raiders clinched their spot again. They were going up against the Knights that day, and Raiders vs Knights games were always intense, with it being Hayden’s former team trying to best him and both teams being filled with generally feisty people to begin with. They were seven minutes into the third period and everything was pointing to a Raiders win and Hayden had the puck. He was sprinting towards the goal, spirits high in the arena with everyone expecting him to launch the puck when he was slammed into the boards, landing harshly on the ice.
They had later found out that Hayden had a Grade 3 AC tear in his left shoulder from the hit. Not something severe enough for surgery, but serious enough to require a sling and physical therapy for upwards of 12 weeks. This meant 12 weeks off the ice right before playoffs and a shot at the cup.
Hayden spent all 12 of those weeks in the worst cloud of depression he had ever been under. The Raiders ended up getting tossed out of the playoff race during week two, losing game four to Tampa Bay. He had gone through his physical therapy appointments in a haze, doing the bare minimum to finish the day and eventually get an all clear to return to limited impact practices with the team again sometime in June of that year.
Being on the ice was when Hayden felt his most whole as a person. Hockey had consumed his life since he was a toddler. His dad was a huge hockey fan, having almost gone pro in college before he had a career ending injury on his scouting day. Hayden had always wanted to make his father proud by continuing on the path that the older man never got the chance to see through. Every time he scored a goal, got an assist, won a shootout, it was all for his dad. That’s why every injury felt like the end of the world.
Hayden had been playing a bit more cautiously the months he was cleared after his AC tear and everyone could tell, but they couldn’t judge him too badly. To get injured that late into the season and miss out on playoffs and a chance for the cup, it would make anyone hesitant.
But being hesitant isn’t helpful in the fast paced world of the NHL and his head coach was losing patience with Hayden’s wariness on the ice. So Hayden pushed hard. Since his injury was to his left shoulder, his scoring and passing ability was still pretty decent, he just couldn’t rely on backshot in a moment of need without his shoulder feeling extremely tight. When the season officially started, everyone mentioned Hayden’s resilience and hard work and how much they couldn’t wait to see how far he and the Raiders went that year. And Hayden was excited too, to be back on the ice, adrenaline coursing through his veins at every pass and hard stop, at every assist he got and point his team score.
The season had been great so far. The Raiders were in the middle of a winning streak and Hayden was in high spirits. He had a great career, an even greater boyfriend, and his team currently had a 3 point lead on the Washington Capitals that he would like to keep.
That lead was hard to sustain, due to Capitals’ center and resident Golden Boy Ilya Rozanov; the bane of the entire Eastern Conference. He was a smart player, calculating in the most dangerous ways, and he was a damn good shot. And he knew it too, based on the snarky chirps that fly off his lips with a quickness to rival his backshot.
Hayden did not like Ilya Rozanov for a number of reasons. Reason #1 being he was too pretty to be a hockey player and needed to be somewhere in Italy far away from Hayden and a puck. Reason #2 was the fact that Ilya was everything Hayden wished he was and could be on the ice, and seeing that potential and starpower shoved in his face constantly did something to a guy's ego.
Hayden had finally gotten the puck in a face-off, just for him to get shoulder checked by Rozanov and lose the puck to him. That same tactic kept happening over and over again, with Hayden getting the puck just to lose it to Ilya who then scored. Soon their 3 point lead led to a tied game with 7 minutes left in the third period.
Rozanov spurred Hayden to play harder and harder, refusing to be bested by the younger man. On one particular chase for the puck, Hayden was hot on Rozanov’s heels, pushing to reach him and the puck. Ilya skated like he had wings on his heels, peeking over his shoulder every now and then and seemingly flying farther away from Hayden. A man on a mission, Hayden pushed to go as fast as he has ever skated, cutting Rozanov off but the other man was faster, stopping short of Hayden. Hayden halted to a stop and tried to correct his stride, staying on top of Ilya when he felt his leg buckle out from underneath him and a sharp pain radiating from his knee. A sharp cry ringing out on the ice.
He remembered being lifted off the ice, his coach at his head saying it would be alright, his team members rushing to the boards to see if he was okay and what was wrong. He remembers the number of x-rays and exams he got in the hospital, being told it was a Grade 3 MCL tear on his left knee. Another season he wouldn’t finish due to the mandatory 8 weeks for recovery and physical therapy. Another cloud of depression as his one true love was ripped away from him.
Hayden actually tried this time around in physical therapy. He needed back on the ice in better condition than he left it. It seemed to be working too, he got cleared for on ice practice two weeks earlier than they had planned, and he practiced like this was his last chance on the ice.
The season had started the same as the last one but this time Hayden was sharper, more determined to get to the end. To get the cup with his team one more time. Each game he pushed harder, scored another goal, and skated towards the finish line and to glory.
Ilya Rozanov was destined to be his downfall, however. Hayden had been playing hard and fast, making sure each shot counted and got them a goal. Rozanov was hot on his heels, going goal for goal with Hayden and the Raiders causing a 4-to-4 goal tie at the end of regulation game time. Overtime started and Hayden was on the ice with two other players on the Raiders. Ilya was also on the ice, he and his team mates ready for the intense 5 minutes that were about to begin.
The Raiders won the face-off and it was war from that moment on, everyone skating as hard as they could, trying to be the one to score the winning goal. With two minutes left on the clock, Ilya had the puck and was skating towards the goal with Hayden on his heels.
The moment hit him with a strong sense of deja-vu with Ilya coming to a quick stop, Hayden trying hard to correct himself and stay on Ilya and the puck, just for his feet to give out from under him and he goes down, his ankle twisting harshly on his way down and pain shooting up his right leg. All while the Capitals got the overtime goal, winning the game.
The team doctor said it was a minor sprain, nothing that will keep Hayden off the ice for more than a week as long as he kept it wrapped and stayed off of it for the entire time.
That was the moment Hayden knew his time with the NHL was coming closer to a halt. He couldn’t keep up the way he used to. He wasn’t as fast or powerful as he was before- getting weaker and slower with each injury.
He felt the cloud of depression creep back over his head, grey and dreary, the calm before the storm that was inevitably going to hit him.
And it did hit three weeks later with a career ending phone call from the Raiders General Manager confirming his worst fear. He wasn’t good enough and they were sending him down the field for someone better—Ilya Rozanov.