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As the season went on, Hayden learned not to bring up his worries or thoughts about Shane or Rozanov. He was still incredibly worried for Shane and whatever Rozanov was up to with him. But Hayden had learned that bringing those worries or the topic of Shane and Rozanov up with anyone outside of his teammates in Montreal just led to fights. Rozanov had somehow charmed and manipulated too many people in Shane’s orbit including Hayden’s own family. And since Shane and then JJ had blocked Hayden - but not Jackie and he wasn’t at all bitter about that - Hayden was left with very few options.
Another man might have wondered what everyone else saw that he didn’t. Thankfully though, Hayden had all his Montreal teammates agreeing with him. The Voyageurs were still absolutely united in their hate for the Russian menace no matter whether he played for Boston or Ottawa. They blamed him for stealing their captain and the mess he left behind. Of course, they also had plenty to say about Shane, but Hayden figured that was still Rozanov’s fault for brainwashing Shane somehow into leaving the team that drafted him.
So yeah, Hayden had learned to keep his worries and concerns to himself and focus the energy into figuring out a better plan for how to approach someone else to get the truth about Rozanov out in the open in a way that Shane wouldn’t be able to deny. Unfortunately, Hayden had no new idea. Then Boston came to town.
Even without Shane & Rozanov, Montreal v Boston was still a rivalry game, even if it felt muted without the two big stars. The first match-up of the season was an afternoon game in Montreal, which was good because Boston was currently digging out from an early fall snow. Boston was supposed to fly back after the game, but right before the game, the flight was delayed until the next evening to allow time for runways and roads to clear. During a break in the game, Hayden skated by a group of Boston players and almost skated into the boards when he realized they were talking about Shane and Rozanov.
“Since we already checked out of our hotel in Montreal, Coach agreed to the plan. Rozy and Hollzy were off today so they’ve agreed to host the entire team at their place for dinner tonight, to give us a chance to catch up. We’ll take the team bus to Ottawa after the game and the team booked us hotel rooms in Ottawa for the night. Then we’ll fly out of Ottawa in the morning instead of Montreal.” Marlow was telling his teammates.
Hayden tried to skate closer without being obvious.
“Seriously, they’re inviting the whole team?” Connors asked.
“Yup. Rozy was bummed that he left the club so early when they were in Boston that we didn’t really get to hang out. And the next two games have short turn-arounds, so why not take advantage of the snow day! And something about their house having less distractions than a club.” Marlow responded.
“Sweet! And yes, no way for Rozy to duck out early when it’s at his house!” St. Simon said laughing.
“Pike - are you lost?” Hammersmith said, suddenly appearing in Hayden’s face. “Your bench is over there.”
Hayden started to say something, but realized even if he was on home ice, he was suddenly facing Boston’s first line and his own teammates had skated back to their bench. He thought fast - “I was just going to tell y’all what club we’re going to after the game since you’ll be in town,” he scrambled, an idea starting to take shape in his mind.
“We know the Voyageur’s favorite spots already,” Marlow said as the Boston players started to skate back to position as the break wound down. “And anyway, the Raiders have other plans.”
Before Hayden could respond, the ref gave a warning for everyone to head back for the next face-off and Hayden skated away. He tried to listen in on the Raiders during the rest of the game, but nothing more was said about Rozanov or Shane. After the game, he couldn’t believe that Rozanov would actually invite the entire Boston team to his house, knowing how much Shane hated crowds, loud noises, and late nights during the season. He tried to text Shane to warn him, but his number was still blocked. Well, fine.
Hayden tried to put the situation out of his mind, but later that night he was scrolling instagram and saw Rozanov, some of the Raiders, and some of the Centaurs posting photos and videos from the #HollanovHouseParty. While Jackie got the kids ready for bed, he stalked the hashtag. He scoffed at the keg in the kitchen, the cups set all over the table with no coasters, people sitting everywhere. Shane must be going crazy with mess all over his house and the loud drunk people. Then the karaoke videos started popping up. The one that pushed Hayden over the edge was Rozanov singing some sappy love ballad, badly out of tune, tugging Shane up front with him. Shane was clearly scowling and rolling his eyes. Hayden knew Shane hated attention like that. But clearly Rozanov got off on torturing him. What Hayden didn’t understand is why Shane was putting up with it.
Jackie came into the room and looked at him when he restarted the video, “What’s that?”
“Apparently Boston decided to invade Rozanov’s house tonight after the game since they’re in town for another day. Some of the Centaurs are there too and someone must have brought a karaoke machine,” Hayden responded. “Rozanov is using that to embarrass Shane.”
Jackie sat down next to him on the bed and leaned over to watch the video. After a minute, she said, “That’s so sweet.”
“Sweet?!” Hayden practically spit out. “Shane looks miserable!”
Jackie looked at him with a questioning look, “I don’t see that. Maybe overwhelmed by the emotion of having his husband serenade him in front of two teams after hiding for so long, sure. But miserable, no. Anyway, they host the Centaurs at their house all the time and I’m sure Shane’s already scheduled the cleaning service for the morning.”
Hayden started to say something else, but Jackie silenced him with a glare before she got up and walked to the bathroom. He swallowed down his retort, not wanting to sleep on the couch just for caring about his best friend - again. As he clicked on another video, he heard one of the players say something about heading to a club after the house party. It reminded him that the Raiders had mentioned Rozanov went clubbing with them in Boston and left early. “Probably with an old girlfriend,” Hayden thought. Even as he frowned at the thought an idea started to form. He needed to talk to the Boston players to get more information. Even if Shane didn’t believe him, surely he’d believe the evidence of an entire team, or even city of witnesses, to the Russian’s playboy ways.
Hayden checked the calendar to see when his next game in Boston was and marked it on his calendar. He had 3 weeks to come up with a plan.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three weeks later, the Voyageurs lost 4-2 to the Raiders in Boston. There was less grumbling in the locker room now, which Hayden realized should probably concern him. Since when was Montreal not surprised by a loss? But at the moment, he was too focused on the after-game trip to the club. Hayden had spent the last couple of weeks talking to his teammates about wanting to go back to one of their favorite clubs in Boston. It was one of the Raiders’ favorite clubs too. Both teams often showed up there after their games, which wasn’t always great if tempers were on edge but he didn’t think would be an issue now. Hayden never used to go. This season he was trying to go out with the team more though, so after getting back to the hotel he changed clothes and met some of the guys downstairs waiting for their Uber.
When Hayden and his teammates arrived at the club, a handful of Raiders were already there. The club was busier than normal tonight, so they had put the two teams at tables next to each other in the VIP area.
“Perfect,” Hayden thought to himself. He decided to stop at the bar for a drink first so he could check who was here. Also, he hoped that the table with the Voyageurs would be full so he would have an excuse to join the Raiders’ table. He smiled to himself as a group of his teammates walked in and quickly filled up one of the tables, giving him the excuse he was looking for.
“Mind if I join, our table is kind of full?” Hayden asked the Raiders table where Marlow, Connors, and Hammersmith were chatting. They looked annoyed but nodded and he figured that was as good as he could expect.
“Surprised you guys came out tonight after that game,” Hammersmith said after a minute. “Though, maybe this is your new normal?” Hayden forced himself to chuckle sheepishly.
“Yeah, unfortunately we haven’t hit our stride yet this season, but it’s still early and we have time to turn it around,” Hayden shrugged.
“Maybe if your coaching staff and management hadn’t thrown away your best player - the player they built the entire team around - you could have been winning,” Connors said coolly. Marlow elbowed him in the ribs and shot him a look that even Hayden could tell was a warning. But it was the opening Hayden needed.
“Shane leaving was a huge loss. He always said his plan was to retire as a Voyageur so I was surprised that he left,” Hayden started.
“After what I heard about your locker room, I don’t know why you would be surprised,” Marlow practically growled.
Hayden scoffed, “C’mon, chirps are normal. Shane knew we were all just joking.” He was met by glares from the Raiders. “You can’t tell me your locker room was any different - I mean Rozanov chirped more than anyone in the league.”
“Roz chirped, but he never crossed the line to slurs,” Marlow said. “He’s great at getting under your skin, but in the locker room, we couldn’t have asked for a better captain.”
“Really? I mean everyone in the league knows he’s an asshole,” Hayden pushed. “He was voted most punchable face 3 years running.”
“Ha! I forgot about that,” Connor said smiling. “He printed out that story and put it on a posterboard in the locker room. I think he was more proud of that than his Con Smythe.”
“Seriously?!” Hayden started. “That’s a fucking weird thing to be proud of.”
Marlow laughed. “Maybe, but it’s all part of his charm. We miss him in the locker room.”
“Yeah, I held a grudge for a bit that he abandoned us to Ottawa of all places, but now seeing him and Hollzy together, I can’t even be mad about it.” Hammersmith added. The rest of the Raiders smiled.
Hayden knew this was probably an opening he was looking for, but wasn’t sure the best way to approach it. Looking around for a second, he decided to go for it, “The whole league was surprised for Rozanov going to Ottawa and not just because of how bad the Centaurs are, but Ottawa isn’t known for their club scene.”
The Raiders looked at each other for a moment before Marlow answered, “The Centaurs are actually ahead of the Voyageurs in the standings now, so you shouldn’t really talk about them. And Roz hadn’t really been into the club scene for awhile before then.”
Connors quickly added, “Cap would come out with us, but mostly he only stayed long enough to have one drink to celebrate before telling us not to do anything stupid and heading out.”
“Well, I guess it wouldn’t take him long to find a hook up after so many years - he probably had them lined up,” Hayden said with a chuckle. The Raiders stared at him.
“Not that it’s anyone’s business, especially yours, but Cap stopped hooking up years ago,” Hammersmith finally said. “He enjoyed dancing but he went home alone.”
“He was always nice about it and really, it made him a great wingman sometimes,” Connors added. “For awhile, I thought he was just finally getting serious with Sveta, but then he left.”
Hayden barely had time to wonder who Sveta was before he heard a female voice behind him, “I have told you to call me Svetlana, Connors. We are not close enough for a nickname. Yet.” Connors blushed. “And move over, these shoes are beautiful to look at but not to stand in.”
The Raiders all quickly shifted in their seats to make space for the beautiful woman with curly hair who was now standing next to the table.
“It’s great to see you, Sveta! I didn’t know you were joining us tonight,” Marlow said with a smile.
“Crushing Montreal is always worth celebrating,” she responded, lifting her arm to signal a waiter. “Vodka - and not the cheap one you sell drunk Americans. The Russian one the bartender keeps in the back,” she said as the waiter nodded and turned away.
“Why does he get to call you Sveta and not me?” Connors whined.
She winked at Marly before she answered, “Marly and I know each other too well for full names now, yes?” Now it was Marlow’s turn to blush. “Not that I don’t deserve to be the topic of conversation, but why were you talking about me before I even arrived boys?”
“Pike was asking about Cap before he left Boston,” Connors responded and before he could say anything more, Svetlana raised her hand and turned her gaze to Hayden. He tried not to squirm.
“Hayden Pike. And why is anything Ilya does or did any of your concern?” she asked with a piercing look.
“Well, he married my best friend. I’d be a bad friend if I didn’t check into his character.” Hayden responded. All of the Boston players started to talk at once, but were silenced when Svetlana again raised her hand.
“You call yourself Shane’s best friend, but I don’t remember seeing you at the wedding.” She said coolly.
“I wasn’t cleared to travel yet,” Hayden responded quickly.
“Not cleared to drive three hours?” She scoffed. “And that’s bullshit. Since I know that Shane stopped talking to you months before that. I don’t know the whole story because I know better than to pressure Shane to share something he doesn’t want to share. But I do know they were very careful about who they invited to the wedding and shared information with so it wouldn’t get out before they were ready.” The waiter arrived at the moment, putting her vodka down in front of her. She took a sip before continuing, “And I also know that you were one of the people who they warned security about. If you had shown up, you would not have been allowed to stay.”
Hayden could feel his jaw drop open. At this point the entire table was glaring at him and he knew he needed to defend himself somehow. “Well, it’s not a secret that Rozanov and I never got along, but I can’t believe he would go that far to keep me out of Shane’s life. That’s a really unhealthy level of possessiveness.” Hayden started but was prevented from continuing when Svetlana started to laugh loudly.
“Oh, it wasn’t Ilya who gave your name to security. It was Shane. He’s rather protective of his husband and their relationship. They fought long and hard for it and only deserve the best. And they only deserved love and support on their wedding day - not whatever you would have brought.” Hayden started to say something, but she continued. “And before you dig this hole any deeper - Rose told me what you said to her in the club in Montreal last month. It would be funny that you think you still have any say in his life if it weren’t so sad, Pike. But let me be clear in case Shane, Ilya, JJ, Rose, and Yuna were not - Shane is no longer yours to care about or think about. Shane and Ilya are married and happy. They’ll be even happier when the Centaurs win the cup this year.”
“Hey, the Raiders…” Marlow started, but Sveta cut him off, turning to look at him. “No you won’t Cliff. The Raiders could make the playoffs, but won’t make it past the first round.” She took another sip of her vodka and focused back on Hayden. “Pike, if you came to Boston and especially the Raiders looking for dirt on Ilya, who is a brother to me, you’re even stupider than I thought. And I already thought very little. This city loves him. The Raiders love him. Whatever your vendetta is, it needs to end. And if it doesn’t, I am still very well connected in Russian circles and many people owe me favors.”
Hayden paled and looked at the Raiders for support, but by their expressions, it was clear he would get no help from them. Instead he stood up to leave. Before he went, he did manage one last question, “Since when did it become such a bad thing to look out for your friend?”
Svetlana looked at him for a moment, “What’s the saying, with friends like you, who needs enemies?” And with that, she turned to the Raiders and started talking about the game. Hayden waved goodnight to the other Voyageurs and headed back to the hotel, her last words ringing in his ears. Did Shane think of him as an enemy?