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Sasha teased Alex about his obsession with the blond Swede he’d drafted, until said blond Swede actually arrived in D.C. Nicklas still hadn’t grown into his chubby cheeks and he hadn’t cut his terrible hair, but up close, he was charming in an odd sort of way. And, well, Sasha was a little weird himself, so who was he to judge. “Ok, we can keep him.” He said to Alex, sliding down the bench to watch Nicky run drills with Michael Nylander. “He’s going to be the best center.” Alex predicted. “He’ll be our center, for sure.” Sasha rolled his eyes. “No way they bump Nyls from the top line.”
“You’ll see.”
Nicky started the season on the second line. Sasha thought it was a waste of his talents, but Sasha wasn’t the coach. Nicky was quiet; God, was he quiet. “Tell him to stop chewing on his jersey.” Sasha muttered to Alex. “He can’t be a top line center if he eats his uniform. It’s unbecoming.” Alex snorted and kept taping his stick. “You tell him.” Sasha knew more English than he spoke, more than he let on in public. He didn’t do it to be difficult, no matter what Federov might insinuate. It’s just that he hated to be misunderstood, and he’s so much more likely to be misunderstood trying to use an unwieldy language like English. (Sometimes, he thinks he should’ve stayed in Russia.) “Stop.” He said, tugging the laces from his mouth. Nicky looked up at him, mouth slightly agape. His eyes were wide, looking somewhere between afraid and confused. Sasha felt a little bad for scaring him. Not too bad though. “Stupid.” He wrinkled his nose at himself; he should really learn more English. Nicky closed his mouth and frowned at him. “What?”“Stop.” Sasha repeated. Alex finally sighed and stepped in. “Sasha says stop eating jersey.” He explained. “Makes you look dumb.”Nicky scowled at both of them. “Fuck you.” He said, turning back to his stall, cheeks red. Alex laughed to himself, clapping Sasha on the shoulder. “Look, you scared him. Don’t you want him to like us?”“Maybe I’m bad at making friends.” Sasha said, letting Alex pull him into a hug. Alex chuckled and kissed his cheek. “But you’re very cute, so there’s that.” “As cute as your rookie?” Sasha teased, smiling. Alex rolled his eyes. “Not my rookie. Not even my center, yet.” After the game, Alex and Sasha went home; Sasha had his own apartment, but he hadn’t actually lived there in a while. It was a mostly empty flat with some of his old clothes still lingering in the closet. Alex stripped his shirt off and flopped down on the couch, smiling when Sasha settled beside him. “Anything but highlights.” Sasha said; he didn’t want to watch their regulation loss condensed to two minutes of clips. Alex shrugged and channel surfed until Sasha snatched the remote from his hand and picked the first movie he landed on, setting the remote out of Alex’s reach. Alex gave him an apologetic smile and watched the movie for a while, holding Sasha close. Alex acted cocky and brash, like nothing touched him, but Sasha knew better; he knew how each loss stung like a personal failing, but there wasn’t anything he could do. He laced his fingers through Alex’s, kissing his hand. “Nicky had a good game.” He said after a while. Alex perked up. “He did.” “Maybe if we suck badly enough, they’ll switch the lines around.” He continues. Alex looked like he’d eaten a lemon. “Don’t say that.”Sasha snorted. “Right. Obviously it’s more likely the coach will see how good he could be for you.” He said, sarcasm dripping from his tone. Alex swatted at him, but he was laughing and starting to relax. “He’s gonna be our center.” “Yeah.” Sasha agreed. He knew that Nicky would be perfect between them, a bone-deep certainty that once the Swede acclimated to the smaller ice, he’d be like lightning. The problem was convincing the coaching staff they should be playing together. They had other problems too. Their team sucked, the fans didn’t care about them, and the stands were half-empty at home games. Even Alex, with his magnetic personality and easy charm, couldn’t draw a full house. It was almost a relief to head out on the road. Nicky was a rookie, and rookies stayed after practice to collect the pucks. Sasha watched as Alex lingered on the ice with him, launching pucks back down to the boards and laughing as Mike swore at him vehemently. Sasha watched from the edge of the tunnel as Alex tipped Nicky’s helmet off and the blond scowled at him. It was hard for him to look menacing, what with the bleached hair and acne, but Sasha appreciated that he tried. Alex hurried to catch up with him and follow him down to the locker room, humming to himself. They managed a chippy win, the game winning goal bouncing in off the back of the goaltender’s shoulder. Sasha wasn’t picky; they were desperate for every point they could get, even early in the season. “We’re going out.” Alex told him as they got dressed. “We are?” Sasha asked, even though he had no intention of resisting. Alex gave him a toothy grin. “Yeah. I’ll buy you a drink.”“Hopefully more than one.” He teased. Alex snorted. “Nah, you’re pretty easy.” He said, eyes sparkling with laughter. Sasha pretended to look offended. “You’re one to talk.” Alex batted his eyes at him. “Only easy for you.” He said, grinning brightly. Sasha felt his cheeks go hot despite himself. Glancing over his shoulder, no one was even paying them any attention. Even if they could understand Russian (not that anyone bothered trying to learn it) they probably wouldn’t think much of their banter. Alex did buy him a drink. They watched from across the bar as Mike appeared to be coaching Nicky to be his wingman. Nicky was pink, looking down at his feet instead of at the girls’ faces. Finally, Mike slung an arm around his shoulders, whispering something in his ear. Sasha didn’t know English well enough to read lips, but Nicky flushed crimson and pulled away, which was interesting. Alex was holding court over their table and Sasha slipped away easily, following Nicky to the bathroom. When he entered, the blond was washing his hands. Sasha smiled at him. He didn’t know exactly what to say, but he didn’t have Alex around and Nicky looked uncomfortable. “Don’t worry. Girls...you’re cute. They like.” Sasha said, mentally lamenting his horrible English. Nicky looked down, ears red. “Oh, I don’t...I don’t know.” He shrugged. “I…” He looked at Sasha and shrugged, giving him a helpless smile. Sasha nodded, even though he wasn’t sure if they were on the same page anymore. Nicky left quickly and Sasha sighed, ready to go back to the hotel. Alex found him as he was leaving the bathroom. “You left me.”
“You were telling bad jokes.”
Alex laughed loudly. “You wanna go back to the hotel?” He asked. Sasha slipped his fingers through the belt loops of Alex’s pants and tugged him forward gently. “Yeah.”
“Good.”
Alex barely let the door close behind them before he crowded Sasha against it, kissing him deeply. Sasha loved kissing, could do it for hours; it was an exquisite torture, too much and too little. Alex was impatient though, and he started pulling at Sasha’s clothes after a while, hard against his thigh. “So many layers.” He grumbled between kisses. “And you said I was easy.” Sasha teased, hands at his side, in no hurry to help Alex at all. Alex huffed, finally yanking his shirts over his head. Alex liked to be in charge, but Sasha liked to make him work for it. If Alex wanted to be on top, he had to topple Sasha off of him first. It got him riled up, it made him a little bit desperate. Sometimes, Sasha wondered if it was supposed to be easy, letting someone else take control, but this was working for them. Halfway through their road trip, Nicky got his very first NHL point, an assist to Michael Nylander. Alex made an ordeal of presenting the puck to him in the locker room, Nylander fussed over him and took his picture, and Nicky did his very best to disappear into the floor. Sasha watched the whole production from across the room. Afterwards, Nicky hurried to change and shower, before coming back to get dressed at his stall. Sasha nudged him gently with his foot to catch his attention. “Good pass.” He said, smiling. Nicky smiled back at him. “Thanks.” Sasha had a lot he could say, wanted to say, but they’d reached the end of their shared vocabulary. Lines were shuffled, Nicky was moved from playing on the second line to centering the third. Sasha groaned internally; now he was further from where they wanted him. Michael Nylander kept a watchful eye over Nicky when they were out, the young Swede sitting beside him. Nicky’s wide eyes often looked nervous, anxious, like he was waiting for something to happen. Sasha was seated across from him at dinner with the team. Nicky looked lost, a familiar confusion obvious in his wide eyes. Sasha understood; it was hard with everyone speaking over each other, and fast too. He bumped their feet together under the table, trying to offer a reassuring smile when Nicky looked up at him. “All...a lot, yes?” Sasha said, gesturing around him in a way he hoped conveyed the incomprehensible din of chatter. Nicky nodded, biting his lip. “Is it…” He glanced at Nylander, like he was thinking of asking for help but then thought better of it. “Is it more easy, to you?”Ah. He wanted reassurance and Sasha wasn’t sure that was something he could provide. Luckily, Alex intervened. “Sasha never studies.” He told him, his arm over the back of Sasha’s chair. “Makes me talk for him always.” Nicky laughed and Sasha rolled his eyes even as he leaned into Alex’s space. “You’ll learn.” Michael assured him, patting Nicky’s shoulder. Alex stayed pressed against his side and Nicky didn’t pull his foot away from where it still rested against Sasha’s. It felt good, something concrete to focus on when he lost the thread of the conversations happening around him. If they weren’t all talking at once, maybe he’d stand a chance. He really ought to try to learn the language. He asked Alex later, laying across his bare chest and lazily playing with the chain of his necklace. “How did you start to learn English? Did you watch videos?” “I just started talking to people.” Alex shrugged. “And then people told me what I said wrong and how to say it the right way.”Of course he did, Sasha thought fondly. “Oh, ok.”Alex lifted his head to look at him. “Why? Do you actually want to learn now?”“Maybe.” Sasha shrugged. “Tired of needing you to translate everything for me all the time.” Alex laughed and pushed him to the side. “Here, we can find some videos, let me see.” And Sasha probably should’ve waited more than 5 minutes after sex to ask Alex anything if he wanted post-coital cuddling. Alex couldn’t sit still long, not when he had an idea of a thing to do. Sasha had learned lots of color names and different greetings by the time they returned from the roadie. He bemoaned the uselessness of it. “I already know how to say ‘hi’, what more do I need? Why do I need to say colors, I’m a hockey player.” He said, only half earnest. Alex gave him a mock-stern look. “You said you wanted to learn English.”“For talking to people, not for picking new colors for your house.” Alex rolled his eyes. “You hate talking to people.” Sasha tipped his head, not arguing. “I don’t hate it in Russian.” He pointed out. Alex smiled at him. “You hate it a little bit.”Sasha laughed, kissing Alex’s cheek and not admitting that he was right. They had a family skate for Halloween and Sasha learned that the Nylander children had mostly taken over Nicky’s English tutelage. His primary instructor appeared to be Jackie, who was six. “She’s really into it.” Michael was saying to a few others, smiling fondly. “She keeps telling the others not to speak Swedish to him.” Alex laughed at that. “Good! That’s good.”Michael looked at Sasha. “Maybe she’ll teach you too.” He said. Sasha smiled benignly, while thinking mean things. Even so, he did end up talking to Jackie, because children were inherently better than adults and a high percentage of children at the family skate were Nylanders. “Nicky says you don’t know much English either.” Jackie said, holding Sasha’s hand as they skated; she didn’t need the help, but Sasha figured being one of six kids, she liked the attention. Nicky, who was a couple feet away with Stephanie, the second-youngest Nylander, turned pink. “I know a bit.” He said. Jackie nodded. “Nicky’s learning too. He reads stories to me and Steffie.” “Is he...is he do good?” He asked. It was easier to talk to kids; he didn’t have to worry about them judging him harshly. Jackie made a face. “He’s getting better.” She said diplomatically. Nicky started to say something in Swedish, maybe defending himself but she shook her head. “No, I can’t hear you.” She said, covering her ears. “I only hear English, sorry.” Stephanie giggled and covered her ears like her big sister. “English pease!” She chirped. Nicky was still blushing, but he laughed too, scooping Stephanie up and spinning with her to make her laugh. Maybe Nicky was awkward with the team, with Sasha and Alex, but he wasn’t like that all the time. Sasha wished they could see that side of him more. “You should come learn with us!” Jackie suggested. “I’m a good teacher!” As the family skate was wrapping up, she tugged on her father’s sleeve. “Papa, papa, can Sasha and Ovi come over? I can teach them English.” The boys immediately latched onto the idea. “Yeah, and we can play ping pong!” William said excitedly. “I want Sasha on my team!” Alexander yelped. Alex looked at Michael and then at Nicky. Michael sighed, smiling indulgently. “Sure. Nicky, why don’t you all pick up some pizzas and come over for dinner?” Nicky tried to speak in Swedish and all the Nylander children covered their ears. “Lalalalala, we can't hear you.” William said, with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Nicky made a frustrated sound. Alex thought all of it was wonderful, judging by the delighted look in his eyes. “Nicky, what pizza you like?” Alex asked, phone in hand, ready to call in their order. The Nylander clan had left and, whether Nicky really wanted to be or not, he was stuck with Alex and Sasha. The blond frowned. “The...uh, banana?”Alex laughed and Sasha covered his mouth, half aghast, half amused. “What?” Alex asked. Nicky shook his head, blushing more. “I don’t know.” “Be nice to him.” Sasha said to Alex, nudging him. “In Sweden they have weird pizzas. It’s not his fault.”Nicky looked skeptical, like he suspected they were talking about him. Alex settled down. “They don’t do banana here. But pineapple?” Nicky relaxed a bit. “Pineapple?” He repeated, the word obviously unfamiliar. “Ananas.” Sasha said. His face brightened- the words must have been similar enough he understood it from Russian. “Yes! Ananas!” Sasha grinned at him, feeling victorious. “I like that.” Alex laughed, looping his arms around both Sasha and Nicky, leading them to the car. “So good at talking, both of you.” He teased playfully. “Fuck you.” Nicky and Sasha said simultaneously, which made Alex laugh even harder. “Going to be good friends.” He decided. None of them had any idea what a reasonable amount of food was for children, as was obvious when they showed up at the house. William opened the door, his eyes going wide and mouth open a bit. “Oh my god, that’s so much pizza!” He said, clearly awed. Michael poked his head around the corner and laughed. “Do you think you got enough?” He teased. “Only 12.” Alex said, grinning sheepishly. “I can eat my own pizza!” William declared, grabbing one off the top of the pile. He made a disgusted noise when he opened it. “Oh, ew, this one has pineapple!” He narrowed his eyes at Nicky. “Did you get pineapple on all of them? Oh my god, you’re so weird.”Nicky gave an innocent smile. “I don’t understand, sorry.” He said, his eyes sparkling. William set the pizza aside hastily and lunged at Nicky, who was laughing as William tried to tackle him to the ground. Michael gave them both a fond smile, taking the pizzas to set them on the counter. “Nicky is like his older brother. I think they like each other, but I’m not sure.” When Sasha looked back, Nicky was hanging William upside down, depositing him safely on the couch before joining them around the table. He was smiling, cheeks pink, and he looked so at ease he was almost unrecognizable. Maybe Nicky was cuter than Sasha had originally thought.Dinner was a veritable feast of pizza (they weren’t all topped with pineapple) and Jackie enforced strict English-only rules. Afterwards, she grabbed Sasha’s hand. “Come read books to me and Steffie.” “I don’t know…” anything, he mentally added. She smiled at him. “It’s ok. We have lots of books. I’ll be nice.” Sasha would’ve maybe felt silly reading children’s books, but Jackie cuddled up beside him and Stephanie sat in his lap, and he didn’t think they really cared when he couldn’t pronounce some of the words. After a bit, he felt the couch sink. Looking over, he saw Alex sitting beside him, so that Jackie was between them. “Is he doing good?” He asked her. Jackie giggled. “Really good.” She assured him. “Good.” Alex smiled. “Maybe you better at teaching him.” After another couple books, Stephanie was asleep and Jackie was trying to coax Nicky into reading to her next. Nicky looked reluctant, glancing at Sasha and Alex nervously. Sasha looked down, distracting himself by pushing Stephanie’s blond hair off her face and thinking about how Nicky really did look like the 7th Nylander child. Finally, Jackie wore him down and Nicky sat on the floor with her, crosslegged, slowly working his way through a book about bears. Sometimes, he’d falter, or stutter and his ears would go pink. Sasha caught Alex watching him too.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

They played poorly enough that Nicky finally got moved up to the top line, centering Sasha and Alex, as a sort of Hail Mary, last-ditch effort to garner points. It worked. Holy shit, did it work. It didn’t matter that Sasha and Nicky didn’t have more than twenty words in common, it didn't matter that Alex couldn’t be patient for anything, even for the puck; it fucking worked and Nicky was exactly as good as Sasha had known he would be. They won a game, Alex got two goals, Sasha got his own, and Nicky had all three assists. They were on the road, but Alex insisted they go out, badgering the older guys into joining them. In Canada, even Nicky could drink. Mike and Alex alternated distributing shots to the table and Sasha was drunk after a while. He was Russian, so he should’ve been able to hold his liquor, but he’d only had a granola bar after the game. “You’re drunk.” Alex said, sliding his hand over Sasha’s thigh as he sat down beside him.
“You’ve literally been buying me drinks all night.”
“I didn’t say I was surprised.” Alex retorted, leaning in to murmur the words against his ear. Sasha shivered and Alex laughed, kissing his cheek loudly. “So fucking easy.” “Shut up.” Sasha said, laughing.Across the table, Nicky was doing a poor job imitating sobriety. He was giggling at Mike Green and Brooks, eyes wide and smiling. Nicky caught Sasha’s eye and blushed a bit. It took Sasha an extra beat to remember not to stare. Alex cleared his throat and stood up, shoulders relaxed as all their eyes turned to him. “Just want to say, thank you to Nicky, best center I ever draft.” He said, laughing at his own joke. “Three assists tonight!” The guys cheered him loudly and Mike mussed Nicky’s hair. For his part, Nicky looked desperate to escape the attention. They all walked back to the hotel afterwards, the Canadian air frigid even after all the alcohol. Nicky stumbled up ahead of them and Mike steadied him, an arm around his waist. Sasha frowned, feeling slightly uneasy at the sight.Nicky laughed at himself, leaning against Mike a bit as they continued down the street. Sasha looped his arm through Alex’s; it shouldn’t bother him, Mike touching Nicky, but it did. What did that say about Sasha?Luckily, he was too exhausted after a blowjob from Alex in their hotel room to linger on it and he fell asleep easily enough, for once. He still woke far too early, before their alarms were set to go off. Rolling over, he snuggled in against Alex, wrapping an arm around his middle as he leaned his head against his back, feeling the steady rise and fall of his breathing. He still couldn’t lull himself back to sleep though. He was just starting to doze off when Alex’s alarm went off and he groaned, rolling over to turn it off. He blinked at Sasha blearily, giving him a lazy kiss. Sasha melted into it, tracing his hands over Alex’s sides, his bare skin warm. He was already half hard when Alex rubbed a hand over the front of his sweats. It was too early to talk, so they didn’t. Alex not talking, even during sex, was a rare thing. Sasha worked his hand into the front of Alex’s shorts and the other man moaned appreciatively. Alex tugged Sasha’s pants halfway down his thigh, spitting into his hand before jacking him off. Sasha closed his eyes, burying his face in Alex’s chest until he finally came. After only a couple more strokes, Alex did as well. Alex kissed his forehead. “Shower.” Sasha groaned unhappily, but followed after him. They were supposed to have a team-bonding day, as though a day spent driving go carts could turn their season around. It was, Sasha begrudgingly admitted, fun. It was especially fun because Alex didn’t win- Nicky did. Alex narrowed his eyes at the blond. “Again.” Alex said. Nicky shook his head. “No.” He smiled. “I win.”Mike laughed, ruffling Nicky’s hair. “Yeah, too bad you’re not that fast on the ice.” He teased. Nicky scowled at him. “Fuck you.” Rain drove them back to the hotel early and Mike insisted they come play video games. Sasha didn’t care about most video games, but Mike proved that he did pay attention. “I brought Mario Kart.” He added, looking at him. Sasha paused. “I have Peach.” He decided. Nicky looked up. “Peach?” He asked. “Princess Peach. The pink one.” Mike explained. “You gonna call dibs too?” He asked, goading gently. “Dibs?”Mike gave a fond smile. “Like…” he trailed off, unsure of a good definition. “Like I call for puck. Call dibs. It’s mine.” Alex explained. “Oh. Ok.” Nicky looked thoughtful. “I dibs Yoshi?” He tried. Alex nodded encouragingly and Mike laughed. “Yeah, ok.” In Mike and Nicky’s room, controllers were divied up and they settled in on the beds to play. Nicky was perched on the edge of the bed, watching the screen intently. Nicky was quiet, sure, but he was competitive too. He was a hockey player, after all. Sasha blew Alex up with a blue turtle shell on the third lap and got tackled to the floor for his trouble. Sasha yelped and tried to get away, but he was shit at fighting and Alex was built like a brick wall. Alex tickled him, swearing in his own unique mixture of Russian and English. “Ow, hey, that hurt, asshole.” Sasha said when Alex elbowed his ribs.Alex stilled, going gentle as he checked to make sure he hadn’t actually hurt Sasha. It was enough of a pause that Sasha managed to squirm out from under him and pin him to the floor. Alex laughed. “Brat.” He said, in English for the others’ benefit. “You like holding me down?” He asked, in Russian for Sasha’s. Sasha gave a frustrated huff and pushed himself all the way up. “You worst.” He said. He sat next to Nicky. “You nice, yes? More nice than Sanya?”Mike shook his head. “No, he’s the worst too- you just don’t room with him.” He teased. Nicky flipped him off, laughing. “More nice than...more nice than Ovi and Greenie.” Alex’s laugh was loud, rumbling in his chest. “See how nice when I win Mario Kart.” He declared. They played until Nicky eventually fell asleep, controller loosely grasped in his hand. He was leaning against the headboard, close enough to Sasha that he could feel his warmth but not so close that they were actually touching. Mike smiled at the sight. “I have a sharpie somewhere.” He offered. Alex brightened, but Sasha shook his head, a wave of protectiveness washing over him. “No, no, too mean.” He chided, taking the controller from Nicky’s hands and setting it aside. “It’s hard, for rookies.” “Yeah. The first month I was up, I fell asleep on my couch every night.” Mike admitted. Alex nodded. “George have big dinner, I fall asleep in spaghetti.” He shared, grinning at himself. Nicky snuggled in, shifting just enough that he pressed against Sasha’s side; Sasha dared not move. They played a few more races before Mike switched over to a movie. Sasha couldn’t pay attention, not with the feel of Nicky pressed alongside him, warm and heavy. It shouldn’t have been distracting, but it was. Afterwards, he slipped away and caught a glimpse of Nicky frowning in his sleep and burrowing further down into his pillow. Giving in to sentiment, he carefully pulled the blanket up over him. He caught Alex watching him with an indulgent smile and he blushed, but uncharacteristically Alex didn’t say anything. Sasha couldn’t sleep that night. It was nothing new; Sasha couldn’t sleep most nights. Ever since he was a kid, he’d had a hard time falling asleep. Hockey had been amazing at first, he could exhaust himself and finally fall asleep easily, but it didn’t work that way anymore. Especially on off days, especially when he was feeling guilty. He didn’t have anything to feel guilty for, except...except he suspected he had a crush on Nicklas, which was a multifaceted problem. For one, he was with Alex and he loved him. For two, Nicky and Sasha could barely talk to each other. Still, there was nothing else to blame the uncomfortable, persistent thoughts on except a crush. He didn’t know if Alex noticed and hadn’t said anything, or if he just hadn’t noticed; he didn’t know which one would be worse. Finally, he fell asleep, after shoving Alex back to his own pillow. He wouldn’t cuddle, but he would roll over on Sasha like a steamroller. Sasha was on his second cup of coffee when Mike and Nicky sat down across from him at breakfast. “Good morning.” Mike said, smiling. “Good morning.” Sasha repeated. Huh- He did need to know other ways to say ‘hi’. Maybe Alex wasn’t the worst teacher; fortunately he was still loading his plate and didn’t find out he’d been right. “Guess what?”“What?” “Nick’s birthday’s next week.” Mike said. Nicky looked down at his plate pointedly. “He thought we would ignore it.”Sasha smiled, relaxing as Alex sat down beside him. “Birthday?” Alex said, a grin spreading over his face. “Nicky, you like cake?”“Everyone likes cake.” Mike laughed. “Please, don’t-““No, no, have to have cake.” Alex decided as Sasha laughed at the look of Nicky’s face. “We throw big party, yes?”“No?” Nicky said, as though he didn’t think he would be listened to- he was catching on quickly. Alex shook his head. “Yes, party fun, you see.” Alex have an exaggerated wink to Mike and Nicky groaned, covering his face with his hands. “Big party, lots of girls, loud music. You like?”“No.” Nicky looked at Mike helplessly but Mike looked thoroughly amused and had no intention of saving him from Alex. “Maybe a couple strippers too.” Mike suggested. Nicky buried his face in his hands, groaning as his cheeks went red. Later, Sasha leaned against Alex, watching over his shoulder as he taped his stick. “Are you really going to throw a crazy party for Nicky’s birthday?”Alex snorted. “No. But don’t tell him.” Teasing aside, Nicky was still passing to Alex and Alex was still scoring. They managed to win on the road and return home. Alex kept talking up the party they were going to throw. Alex plopped down beside Nicky on the plane. “Know a guy, he does magic tricks. Like...makes bunny in a hat.”“Bunny?”“Little and fuzzy, eats carrots and hops. Jumps.” Mike provided. “Oh.” Nicky nodded; Sasha made a mental note about the word too. “He does magic.” Alex said. “Does the tricks with fire, you know?”“No?”“Yes, yes, and cuts lady in half.” Alex mimed. Sasha was fairly confident Alex didn’t know a magician, especially since he’d watched him google some of this the night before. “Maybe do you too.”Nicky gave Sasha a forlorn look and Sasha smiled at him reassuringly. Then, Sasha turned to Alex. “You tell him fireworks?” He couldn’t resist. Alex’s eyes brightened. “We do big fireworks, just for you! With music!” Nicky shook his head. “Please no.”“No worry, it’s fun for me.” Alex said, purposefully obtuse. “No trouble.”Mike was stifling his laughter and looked like he might explode. For Nicky’s actual birthday, they did dinner at the Nylanders. Nicky looked surprised when he reluctantly opened the door and Alex presented him with a huge cake. “Happy birthday!”“Thank you?”Mike held up a couple bags. “We have Chinese food. No fireworks.”A look of pure relief washed over Nicky. “No fireworks?”Alex laughed, slinging his arm around Nicky’s shoulders and leading him inside. “No, but your face! So funny. Poor Nicky, so...Greenie, what’s the word? Thinks I’m saying true things?”“Gullible.”“Gullible! So gullible and cute.” Alex grinned, patting his cheek. After gorging themselves on Chinese food, the kids had a couple presents for Nicky. William and Alexander gave him ping-pong paddles decorated with the Capitals logo and Jackie gave him a couple children’s books, but the longer kind without pictures. Nicky opened them and flipped through. “No pictures?” He asked.Jackie shook her head, smiling. “No, I think you don’t need pictures now.” She said. Nicky nodded slowly. “Oh, ok. But…” he looked thoughtful, putting the words together. “I…” he trailed off. Jackie sighed. “For your birthday, you can ask in Swedish.” Behind her, her parents were trying not to laugh. Nicky said something and Jackie beamed at him. “You should still read books with me and Steffie. For practice.”“Oh, good.” Nicky said, leaning back in his seat and smiling. “Need lots of practice.”“No kidding.” William chirped, laughing at his own joke. Nicky frowned at him. “I’m not share new paddles.” He decided. William shrugged. “I don’t need those to beat you.”Nicky’s face lit up. “You need lots more help?”William narrowed his eyes. “You’re going down.” He promised. They played ping-pong downstairs and Nicky and Michelle dominated the tournament with the new Capitals paddles. William declared that Mike was terrible at ping-pong and demanded a rematch with a more capable partner. Eventually, he agreed that the rematch could be another day. Afterwards, they piled into the car, heading to Alex’s. They played video games and drank beers until it was late and Nicky was yawning. “Movie?” The blond suggested. “Sure.” Mike agreed. Nicky wandered into the kitchen, returning with a piece of cake. He finished it and settled in beside Sasha. Sasha bumped their arms together and Nicky gave him a sleepy smile. Alex sat on the other side of Sasha, throwing an arm around his shoulders. Sasha smiled at him. When the movie was halfway done, Mike was snoring on the floor, Alex had his head tipped back, and Nicky was curled up around the arm of the couch with his feet tucked in under Sasha’s thigh. Carefully, so as not to wake anyone, Sasha grabbed the remote and changed the channel. “S’watching dat.” Nicky slurred, blinking thickly. “Shhhh, go sleep.” Sasha shushed him, fighting back a smile. “M’wake.” Nicky protested. “Uh huh.” Sasha raised his eyebrows. “I see.” Nicky groaned, shifting restlessly and falling back to sleep. Sasha squeezed his calf gently, leaving his hand there since no one could see him. Eventually Alex woke up, giving Sasha a warm smile and glancing at his hand on Nicky’s leg. Sasha moved it, turning red. Alex nuzzled his nose against Sasha’s cheek and kissed him. Being one year older and wiser was apparently what it took for Nicky to score. It wasn’t pretty, it was mostly lucky, but a goal was a goal. Nicky looked equal parts surprised and excited when the goal horn went off and Alex smashed him against the boards. Sasha made sure to get the puck from the referee and have someone save it for him later. Michael Nylander ended up presenting it to him after the game, grinning easily as the boys hooted and hollered at him. True to form, Nicky blushed and looked down at his feet, pulling his sleeves down over his hands. Alex took a ridiculous amount of photos and Mike dumped a bottle of Gatorade on the blond, laughing. Sasha handed him a towel. “Thank you.” Nicky said, drying his face. He acted like he didn’t like the fuss, but he was still smiling. Having his first goal out of the way was a major milestone. “Good goal.” “I...it was mostly good bounce.” Nicky admitted. “Good goal.” Sasha repeated, a bit more firmly. Nicky laughed. “Ok, thank you.” Afterwards, they tried to goad Nicky into going out, but he made excuses and slipped away with Michael, bag over his shoulder. They had a short two game road trip at the end of November and though Sasha wasn’t fond of back-to-back games, he liked that they wouldn’t be gone long. He also liked that the hotel messed up the room bookings and he and Alex ended up with Michael Nylander depositing a moderately flustered Nicklas Backstrom at their door. “I might regret this later, but he’s yours now.” Michael said, smiling teasingly at Nicky. “Figured he’d be happier here than a room full of old guys.”“Not regret. I’m only good.” Alex said, laughing at himself. “Nicky have so much fun with us.”Michael shook his head, chuckling. “I’m sure. Night, kiddo.” He ruffled Nicky’s hair and left. “I share with Sasha, you have other bed, ok?”“Oh. Thank you.” Nicky looked slightly surprised, raising his eyebrows. “Are you sure?” “Of course, sure. What else are we gonna do? No one gonna wanna sleep on the floor.” Alex frowned. “No, it’s good. Sasha’s best for cuddles.” He teased. Sasha rolled his eyes and slipped into the bathroom brush his teeth. When he returned, Nicky had already put his pajamas on; for a professional athlete, Nicky didn’t seem to be comfortable being exposed, even in front of his teammates. Conversely, Alex was barefoot and shirtless; he’d probably be without pants if Nicky wasn’t there. “TV?” Alex asked. Nicky perked up. “Friends?”“Friends?” Alex repeated, incredulously. “For...for English.” “All of TV in English.” Alex complained, flipping channels. He landed on Friends; it was always on in a hotel, it seemed. Sasha crawled into bed beside Alex and the other man pulled him close. Sasha gave him a curious look and Alex only shrugged. If Nicky noticed they were too close for only friends, he didn’t say anything. Sasha was awake long after the others went to sleep. He tossed and turned awhile; he’d like to blame his wakefulness on the addition of Nicky to their space, but the blond was quiet other than the occasional gentle noise he made breathing. Sasha gave a heavy sigh, slinging an arm around Alex’s waist and resting his head on his chest. Under his ear he could hear the steady beating of Alex’s heart and finally, finally, it was enough to lull him to sleep. In the morning, Sasha woke up to Alex kissing the top of his head and squirming out of his embrace. Sasha wrapped his arms around the pillow and groggily watched as Alex shucked off his few remaining clothes and headed into the bathroom, catching Sasha watching as he looked over his shoulder. Alex winked and closed the door behind him. Nicky was still asleep. Sasha showered while Alex brushed his teeth, towel around his waist. As he was turning off the water, he heard Alex start talking. “Nicky! Wake up! Can’t sleep all day!” He heard an indistinct groan and Alex laugh. “Up, up! Breakfast, then skate!” “Fuck you.” Nicky grumbled. Sasha dried off with a towel and wrapped it around his waist before stepping out of the shower in time to see Nicky’s riotous bed-head, red pillow lines smashed into his cheeks. Sasha watched as Alex yanked the blankets away and Nicky clumsily tried to get them back. Alex was laughing, grabbing for his towel as it started to slip, and trying to wrestle for the blankets with the other hand. Nicky laughed, dimples in his cheeks, until he caught Sasha watching him. He froze for a moment, long enough for Alex to commandeer the blankets and drop them in a heap at the foot of the bed. “Sorry.” Nicky mumbled, slipping passed Sasha and closing the bathroom door firmly behind him. Nicky didn’t shower, but he did stay in the bathroom until they were almost late for breakfast and Alex had to pound on the door, yelling at him in Russian. “Hurry up, Nicky! Can’t stay in there all day!”“He doesn’t know Russian.” Sasha said, pulling on his shoes. “He knows his name.” Alex said, grinning when Nicky opened the door scowling. “He’ll learn.” Cheerfully, he patted Nicky’s cheek and the blond made an annoyed noise, batting at his hands.Nylander looked amused when Nicky sat down beside him with his plate. “Oh, I forgot to tell you, he’s impossible to wake up.” He said, biting back a smile. “Nyles…” Nicky whined, slouching. “He may be 20 now, but he still sleeps like a teenager.” Michael continued, ignoring him. Alex laughed. “Is ok. Take all his blankets, only got a little mad.” “Did you brush this this morning?” Michael asked, twirling a lock of Nicky’s hair around his fingers. Nicky jerked away from him, glowering over his meal. Michael shook his head and patted Nicky’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, I won’t tease until you wake up more.”Nicky started to say something, in Swedish, and Michael cut him off. “English.” He said. Nicky huffed and fell silent. Sasha was only 24, but the four years between them felt like an eternity; Sasha was certain he’d never actually been that young at all. They had practice and then returned to the hotel under the pretense that they were resting for the game. Normally, Alex and Sasha would fool around and Alex would nap, but they had a roommate. Sasha could hardly fall asleep at night; he definitely couldn’t fall asleep in the middle of the day. Alex could fall asleep anywhere, including sprawled across the entirety of their bed, looking the opening scene of CSI. Nicky nudged him with his foot. “Asleep? Or dead?” He asked, with a wry smile. Sasha laughed. “Dead people don’t...you know, his nose so loud.” Sasha pointed at his own nose. “Oh. Yeah, uh...snore.” Nicky smiled when he found the right word. “Snore.” Sasha repeated. “Snore. You sleep too?” “No.” Nicky said too quickly, turning a bit pink; maybe they’d teased him a bit too much lately about his sleep. Sasha rolled his eyes. “It’s...rookie year hard. Everyone sleeps a lot.” Alex wasn’t even awake to bear witness to the improvements Sasha’d made in his English. “Sanya too.” He said, pointing at him. “Oh. You too?” Nicky asked, sitting on the edge of his bed. “I...can’t sleep so easy as Sanya. Or you.” He admitted. Nicky was watching him with serious eyes. “It’s ok.” He added, trying to assuage his concerns. “Oh.” Nicky nodded slowly. “Sorry.”Sasha shook his head, but he didn’t really know what to say, or at least not in English. Despite both Alex and Sasha scoring on assists from Nicky, they still lost. Sasha could tell Nicky was frustrated with how their season was going; losing more often than you won wasn’t what you imagined as a kid yearning to play in the NHL. And the blond didn’t hide his emotions well, silently stewing in his stall. He’d even jerked away from Mike when he’d tried to talk to him. Someone needed to do something. He nudged Alex. “Tell him it’ll be ok.” He said gently. “We’re not always going to suck this bad.” He nodded towards Nicky, who was shoving all his gear into his bag with prejudice, stopping once to brush his hair behind his ear with an irritated swipe of his hand. “He’s ok.” Alex said dismissively. Sasha rolled his eyes. “He’s your rookie.” “Not mine.” Alex said, a hint of something unhappy, resentful, in his tone. Sasha may have brought up something he didn’t intend too- Alex was smart about hockey, but no one treated him like he was. Maybe it was because he was Russian, maybe it was because he was young, but Sasha knew the older guys didn’t exactly trust either of them with the rookies. It was bullshit. “Well, Nyles isn’t doing anything about it.” Michael was chatting with a few others, the loss rolling off him like it was nothing. “Go on. We have to room with him.”Alex snorted at that. “True.” He forced a smile. “Nicky! C’mon!”“Still doesn’t know Russian.” Sasha muttered. “Knows his name.” Alex said. “Nicky!”Nicky shouldered his bag and followed them obediently to the bus, avoiding eye contact with either of them. Alex slipped into the seat beside him. Sasha sat in the row behind them, resting his arms on the seat back to listen. “We gonna win.” Alex said. “Just...working on it, you know? You, you’re doing so good. Good passes for us. Just...need everybody on same page.” Alex learned a lot of English from TV shows and post-game interviews and sometimes it showed more than others. “I know.” Nicky said, looking down at his lap. Alex sighed. “It’s not so bad.” He said. “Gonna get better, I promise.”Nicky looked up at him, green eyes unshuttered and vulnerable for a moment. “Yeah?”Alex smiled a real smile and glanced at Sasha. “Yeah. Promise.” “Ok.” Nicky nodded. “Thanks.” Alex squeezed his arm, glancing at Sasha and smiling at him sweetly. Sasha felt a moment of optimism; maybe the season wouldn’t be a total disaster.His optimism was short lived. The next day, Sasha took a puck off his ankle in the third period and barely made it to the bench, gnawing at his mouth guard to keep control. Alex found him afterwards, an ice pack in hand. “How bad is it?” He asked, eyes dark with worry. “Not broken.” Sasha said quickly, watching relief rush over his face. “They think it bruised the bone.” Alex grimaced. “That sucks.”Sasha gave a short laugh. “Yeah.” “Pain medicine?” He asked. Sasha rattled the bottle of pills someone someone had handed him. “Good. Maybe you’ll be able to sleep.”“Maybe.” Sasha said darkly. “Did you win?”“We won.” Alex assured him. “Scored for you.” He produced a pick from his hoody pocket, grinning as he handed it to Sasha. Sasha took it. He had a box of sentimental items in his side of the closet, hidden away from Alex. It had a growing collection of pucks in it whenever Alex gave him one. So, maybe he was more of a hopeless romantic than he wanted to let on.

“Well, it’s the least you could do.” Sasha said, hissing as he tried to stand up. “Fuck.”Alex helped him to the locker room and then to the bus. Nicky and Mike carried his bags and Sasha tried to think about anything other than the pain radiating from his ankle. Back at the hotel, Nicky sat on the bed beside him, chewing on the end of his sleeve as he surveyed the damage to Sasha’s ankle. He looked up at him with wide eyes and Sasha gave him a tired smile. “Not so bad.” He lied. Nicky ghosted his soft fingertips over the bruising and Sasha fought back a shiver.“Uh huh.” Nicky said skeptically. He handed Sasha a bottle of water and his pills. Sasha took them without complaint. He slept like a rock, he slept like Nicky. Holy shit. He woke up in the morning a little sore from not moving all night, feeling groggy and confused. Alex’s face relaxed into a smile. “Morning, sunshine.” He teased. “Thought I was gonna have to wake you up.” “What time is it?” He asked, rubbing at his eyes. “Almost 9.” Alex said, sitting beside him and gently running his fingers through Sasha’s hair. “You ok?”“My foot hurts.” He said. “I’m tired.” He could hear the shower running. Alex kissed his forehead. “Poor Sasha.” He murmured, with no trace of teasing in his voice. Sasha wasn’t used to needing help, but the pain in his foot meant that he did. The medical staff gave him a pair of crutches and strict instructions about what not to do. They told him it would probably be a week to 10 days before he could start skating again. But at least he could sleep.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sasha could sleep, sort of. His body got used to the painkillers quickly and he had a harder time falling asleep the next night. It was worse when Alex went back on the road. He missed Alex, and without him there was no real reason to go to bed; Sasha couldn’t fall asleep anyway. On top of that, Alex was rooming with Nicky on the road and kept sending texts and pictures. Sasha wasn’t jealous, he wasn’t. It was a stupid crush on a stupid Swedish boy he could barely talk to anyway. Beside the point, he loved Alex. Alex was sweet, funny, and he made Sasha happy. He loved Alex. But what if Alex had a crush on Nicky? Sasha was the first to admit he wasn’t the easiest person to be with. He’d refused to learn English at first, making Alex his translator. He was grumpy, at times. He didn’t buy into the way the team was being run; people thought he was lazy. Alex knew he cared, of course he did, but…But Nicky was cute. He was young. He was good, so good, for Alex on the ice and once he matured a bit, he’d be good for him off of it too. Nicky was shy, but they were starting to get to see the side of him that was sly and mischievous. He was funny; he was starting to be able to make jokes as he learned more of the language. Sasha tried not to spend the entire road trip lying on the couch thinking mean thoughts about everyone, himself included, but he wasn’t entirely successful. He wasn’t even remotely successful. He took an extra pain killer and slept in dreamless bliss the whole night. In the morning, he looked at the bottle and wondered how many he could take and still be safe. The sleep was enticing. Surely someone would’ve told him if only a couple more would be bad...He threw the whole thing away, instead. The night before they were due home, Alex video called him. Alex wasn’t the type to call generally, so maybe Sasha hadn’t been doing as good of a job as he thought keeping up with texting. “Hey.” Alex looked a touch relieved. “How are you?”“I’m fine.” Sasha said, settling his laptop on the couch and stretching out on his side.
“How’s your ankle?”
Sasha snorted. “Not great, but not so bad.” He said. Alex’s face softened. “I miss you.” He said quietly, though it wasn’t like anyone else could understand him anyway. Sasha felt guilt spear through him and the bitterness he’d been harboring washed away. “I miss you too.” He told him. Alex filled him in on the team gossip, though admittedly not much had happened on the road trip. Mostly, it was just nice to see Alex.
“How’s rooming with Nicky?”
Alex rolled his eyes and grinned. “Oh, he just sleeps all the time. I don’t think I was this sleepy as a rookie.”“You’re never still long enough.” Alex was either full-throttle or passed out, with very few moments in between. He laughed. “Here, look.” He turned the computer to pan to the other bed, where Nicky was curled up around one pillow, remote in hand. “Still watching Friends. Watch this.” Alex set the laptop aside and tried to grab the remote. Nicky grumbled and withdrew from his touch. “Stop it.”“Wake up, say hi to Sasha.” Alex said, nudging him. Nicky opened his eyes and propped himself up on his elbow. His hair was a mess and he looked barely awake. “Hi.”“Hi.” Sasha waved. Alex picked the computer back up. “Ok, back to sleep, Nicky.” He said. Then, in Russian. “Can’t wait to touch you again.” He said, lowering his voice. Sasha rolled his eyes at him. “Uh huh. Well, all I can do is lay here anyway.”
“Yeah? Is that all you’ve been doing?”
“Mostly.” Sasha pushed the laptop back enough that Alex could see his hand just inside the waistband of his sweats. Alex grinned. “Thinking about me?” Sasha blushed; he had, he just- well, it hadn’t been all about Alex. “Other guys too?” Alex guessed. “I have you all the time. Can’t I daydream?” He teased. Alex laughed. “You should show me what you’ve been doing.”Sasha bit his lip. “What about-““He’s asleep already. I’ll wear headphones.”Alex showed him Nicky’s bed again, the blond already fast asleep. “Yeah, ok.” Sasha said, tugging his pants further down. Alex grinned at him, leaning back with his arms behind his head. “So pretty. Can’t wait to get my mouth on you.” Alex said, voice low. “Mhm. At least then you won’t be talking.” Sasha teased, closing his eyes as he stroked himself. Alex laughed. “Or maybe I’ll fuck your face.” He said. “I just have to be careful with your foot, but I can be rough with the rest of you.”“Yeah. That would- that would be good.” Sasha stammered.
“Do you have lube?”

“I’m in the living room.”
Alex rolled his eyes. “Do you have lube?” He repeated. Sasha laughed. “No.” He spat into his hand and heard Alex’s sharp inhale. “Fuck, when are you getting home?”
“You think I do it better?”

“I think- ah- I think it’s easier. I’m lazy.” Sasha teased.

Alex chuckled. “The laziest.” He grinned.

“What are you gonna do? Shower again?” Sasha asked, feeling breathless. Normally, he didn’t like being watched, but something about the slim risk of them being caught was exciting. “Nicky probably wouldn’t notice.”

“Probably not.”

“If you can stay quiet.” Sasha’s other hand drifted down to roll his balls between his fingers. Alex bit his lip, watching closely. “He might sleep through the whole thing.”

“Yeah?” Alex let Sasha see that he was stroking himself through his sweats, spreading his legs a bit wider. “You look so beautiful like this.”

“Fuck.” Sasha moaned, jerking off faster. He could feel his orgasm mounting, fucking into his hand faster. His face felt hot and he stripped his shirt off one handed.

“God, you’re gorgeous. Look at you, all worked up for me.” Alex smiled at him. “You like me watching, yeah? You like that?”

“Yeah.” Sasha managed.

“You like that Nicky might wake up, see how hard I am for you?” Alex guessed, a knowing glint to his eyes as he spoke.

Sasha would have refuted the claim, had he not cum all over himself. “Shit.” He panted, slumping back against the pillows.

Alex was still smiling. “I’m gonna let you go.”

“Send pictures.” As if Alex needed an excuse to send Sasha more pictures of his dick.

Sasha cleaned himself up and pulled his pants back up, closing his eyes. He hoped Alex didn’t read too much into Sasha cumming as soon as he mentioned Nicky; he tried not to read too much into the fact that Alex mentioned Nicky at all. It probably didn’t mean anything.

A week after his injury, he was able to start skating a bit. The first day, it was only 15 minutes before he left the ice and headed to the medical room. Alex followed. “Does it still hurt?” He asked.

Sasha nodded, sitting on the exam table and closing his eyes as Alex wordlessly helped him get his skate off. His ankle seemed more swollen than it had that morning. Alex frowned. “Ice.” He said, looking up at the trainers.

Someone supplied a cold pack and Sasha let out a sigh of relief.

After practice, he was sitting in his stall waiting for Alex, when Nicky finally came back from picking up pucks with Mike. Nicky was smiling, laughing as Mike shoved him playfully.

For the first time all season, he looked like he’d let his guard down. It made Sasha smile, even as his ankle throbbed dully.

“Jesus, Nicky, could you be slower?” Mike complained. “C’mon, Megan and her friends are waiting.”

“Megan? And friends?” Alex asked, looking intrigued.

Nicky turned red and instantly looked ill at ease, shifting restlessly.

Mike barreled on, seemingly without noticing. “A couple girls I know. I tried to set Nick up with one them a couple weeks ago but he got too shy.” He wrapped an arm around Nicky to keep him in place.

“She cute?” Alex asked, winking at Sasha.

“She’s my friend, so no. For you, she’s not cute.” Mike teased.

Alex laughed. “So mean, hurts me, Greenie.”

“I’m sure.” Mike said, eyes sliding over to glance at Sasha.

Sasha knew people speculated. He knew people thought he and Alex were too close, but it was amazing what they could get away with just because North Americans thought Russians were weird.

“We very nice.” Sasha added, grinning. The best way to hide something was to keep it in plain site.

“Well, give Nicky a chance with her first.” He said. Then, to Nicky. “C’mon, quit stalling.”

“Stal-ling?” Nicky asked, trying to project a look of innocence.

“Like a car stalls and doesn’t work. I mean quit wasting time, c’mon.” Mike gently pushed him along. “And don’t pretend you don’t know English again, either, you fucker. I already told her you did.”

Later, Mike and Nicky came over with pizzas. Nicky was flushed, uncomfortable looking, and Mike looked vaguely remorseful.

Sasha wanted to ask, but decided it wouldn’t be tactful yet; Alex wanted to ask and did. “How was date?” He asked, taking the pizza boxes and carrying them into the living room where Sasha had his foot propped up.

“Not really a date.” Mike said. “More like just lunch.”

Alex nodded, looking from Mike to Nicky before catching Sasha’s eye. Sasha shook his head, trying to tell him to drop it. Alex seemingly got the message.

“Video games?” He offered.

“Only if it’s something ridiculous.” Mike decided.

So, they wound up playing Super Smash Brothers. Sasha liked the game because...well, he guessed because he liked cartoon violence and smashing Alex with a baseball bat. Or maybe because he could get away with not really having a strategy. Or maybe just because he could play as Peach.

Nicky sat on the floor beside him, quietly determined to beat them all with Kirby.

“Stop- Stop eat! Nicky!” Alex yelped, when Donkey Kong got swallowed up again by the little pink character. “Nicky!”

Nicky giggled as he killed Donkey Kong with his hammer. “Yes?”

“Worst human.” Alex moaned dramatically.

“I told you. No one believed me.” Mike said.

Eventually, they got tired of video games and Alex turned on a movie. Nicky was lying on the floor, leaning against the couch. If Sasha reached down, he could touch him easily.

Halfway through the movie, Nicky fell asleep. Sasha gently draped a blanket over him, giving into temptation and gently touching his shoulder. He looked up in time to see Alex watching him, though he looked away afterwards, as though nothing had happened.

After the movie, Mike herded a sleepy Nicky out to the car and drove him home.

Alex looked at Sasha appraisingly, a rare thoughtful silence.

He had to know. He had to know about Sasha’s stupid crush. He had to know that Nicky probably liked him; he was Alexander Ovechkin, he was bigger than life- who didn’t like him?

Alex squeezed his hand. “I think Nicky likes you.”

“What?” Sasha asked, a bit blindsided; they were not on the same page.

“He likes you. He was worried about you when we were roommates.”

“He- what?”

“It’s ok. I thought it was cute. He’s really funny, you know? He’s finally getting less shy.” Alex laughed.

“I thought he liked you.” Sasha admitted.

Alex laughed harder. “Me? No, he likes you.” He considered it and shook his head. “Definitely didn’t like Mike’s friend.”

Sasha smiled. “No, probably not. I wonder if Greenie knows.”

“I doubt it. Nicky’s not gonna tell anybody.”

“True. I wouldn’t. We haven’t.” Sasha pointed out.

Alex nodded, a wistful look on his face. “I know. We...I don’t think it would be a good idea.”

“No shit.” Sasha snorted. “You think?” Back home, if anyone knew...well, Sasha knew what happened to people like them back home, and they definitely weren’t playing hockey anymore.

“Yeah…” Alex looked up. “You think he has a crush on me?” He looked a little hopeful.

“Well, he has terrible taste, so…”

Alex threw a pillow at him, grinning. “You’re such a brat.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.” Sasha said.

“Definitely likes you.”

“Maybe likes that I don’t know very much English yet, like him. You can talk to anyone, you’re not shy about it.”

“You shy, Sasha?” Alex asked, cocking his head.

“Nicky is. I just...I don’t want to be misunderstood.” He looked down at his hands. “I’m not stupid, but they all just assume…”

“I know, you speak a different language and you can’t be smart.” Alex agreed. “Never mind that hardly any of them know a second language.”

“Exactly.”

“Don’t distract me though.” Alex said. “I think he likes you. I like you. You’re very likable.” There was a teasing fondness to his voice and it made Sasha smile despite himself.

“You literally just called me a brat.”

“A likable brat.” Alex said with a dismissive wave of his hand. Sasha stifled a yawn and Alex’s smile softened. “Tired?”

“Yeah, but I know I won’t be able to sleep.” He admitted.

“What about the pain pills?” Alex asked. Sasha swallowed and shrugged, looking away.

“They didn’t really help.” Which, wasn’t exactly true, but Sasha couldn’t have them around, not when sleep was so tempting.

“Poor Sasha.” Alex rarely cuddled, but he wrapped his arms around Sasha and stroked his hair gently. Sasha closed his eyes and let himself relax in Alex’s embrace.

Sasha was able to return to the roster after a few more days, happy to be back on the ice. Especially happy because a couple months in the NHL had made Nicky grow quickly as a center, and he was making passes like he had the puck on a string. Alex and Sasha were reaping the benefits of it.

They won their next couple games and everyone’s confidence started to slowly build. Maybe this was their turning point, maybe this was that first step they’d been needing to take.

Alex had a bad habit of trying to stay on the ice too long. He was slow on changes and no amount of yelling on Sasha’s part seemed to do any good.

Sasha always forgot Nicky had a temper because they saw it so rarely, but evidently he did, and evidently he was finally tired of Alex’s shit.

Sasha couldn’t hear what he said first, because even pissed off, Nicky had enough self-restraint to keep from making a scene. They weren’t even in the locker room, but just outside the doors.

“Fuck you.” Alex hissed, scowling at him. “Two months, you think you know best?”

“You stay on the ice, it’s bad for us!” Nicky argued. “You...selfish.” He landed on, crossing his arms.

Selfish was a good word, as far as Nicky’s English went, but Sasha had the sneaking suspicion he’d learned it specifically for this interaction.

“Selfish?” Alex sounded appalled. “Selfish? No. No, I’m just try my best. Do my best for the team. Selfish? No.”

Nicky stilled when he saw Sasha watching, like he automatically assumed he was outnumbered, or Sasha would rush to Alex’s defense. Which, Sasha might, if Nicky had been wrong, but he wasn’t. Not exactly.

“You have to trust everyone more.” Sasha said, ignoring Nicky momentarily.

“You think I’m selfish?” Alex asked, his eyes hurt. Sasha shook his head, wishing he could kiss him. God, Alex was so smart and so dumb all at the same time, and Sasha loved him.

Sasha shook his head. “I think you play with your heart too much, sometimes. Have to let everyone else do their jobs too.”

Alex looked at Nicky. “You yell at me.” He said, anger gone from his voice.

Nicky faltered. “I-I’m sorry.” He looked between the two of them, clearly bewildered; he didn’t know what Sasha had said to calm Alex.

“Not sorry.” Sasha told him. “Yell if he’s dumb.” He said, only half joking; Alex cared so much about hockey, sometimes his judgement suffered for it.

Nicky balked at the idea. “No, I-“

“You yell, it’s...maybe not yell, next time, but...good to tell me. We have to fix things, yes?” Alex said slowly.

Nicky looked a bit relieved. “You can...you tell me too.”

Alex ruffled Nicky’s hair. “You keep passing, yeah?”

“Yeah, ok.”

In the third, Alex was better about his line changes and things seemed to roll more smoothly. Nicky rewarded him with another easy tap in. Honestly, he was going to get spoiled.

He told Alex as much. “If he keeps setting you up like that, you’re going to get spoiled.” He teased.

Alex laughed brightly, tugging Nicky closer. “Sasha says you spoil me.” He told him.

Nicky was already red from the game, but he relaxed a bit when it seemed that Alex really wasn’t mad at him. “Yeah, well…” he shrugged. “Have to help you.”

Alex rolled his eyes. “I get you, ok? Sasha, we get Nicky a goal.”

Nicky looked uncomfortable being the center of attention. Sasha smiled at him. “Lots of time. Get him...get him hat trick.”

Nicky groaned and took a gulp of water to avoid looking at either of them. They didn’t get Nicky a hat trick, but they did manage to eek out a victory.

At the optional the next day, Nicky looked unbalanced, unsteady. Sasha kept an eye on him discreetly, ready to go tell him to sit out if he was sick.

Michael Nylander beat him to it. He watched as the older Swede gently shepherded Nicky towards the bench, a hand on the nape of his neck to steer him. Nicky leaned into the touch.

Michael was talking to him in Swedish, slipping an arm around him to coax him off the ice entirely. Sasha caught Alex watching too.

Afterwards, Sasha showered quickly and got dressed, finding Nicky sitting next to Michael’s stall, eyes closed.

“You ok?” Sasha asked quietly.

Nicky squinted up at him. “Yeah.” He whispered.

“You look...not ok.”

“Sorry.” Nicky breathed, eyes sliding closed again.

Sasha sighed and reached out to touch his forehead, checking for a fever. Nicky’s skin was clammy, but not overly warm. Sasha grazed his hand over Nicky’s hair and the blond tilted his head back, blinking up at him thickly.

The moment was broken when Nylander came up and pressed the back of his hand to Nicky’s forehead, deftly checking for a fever. “C’mon, Nicky, let’s get you home.” He decided, offering Sasha a smile like they were in on the same joke.

Nicky stumbled and Michael guided him gently down the hall, out of sight.

“Is he sick?” Alex asked.

“I guess.” Sasha shrugged, his insides feeling oddly twisted out of sorts. He wasn’t one for protective urges, generally, but he wanted to take Nicky home and wrap him in blankets. It was the chubby cheeks, maybe. Sasha was a soft touch anyway.

Nicky was at morning skate the next day, pale and quiet, with bags under his eyes.

Alex bumped their shoulders together, grinning at him. “You ok?” He asked.

“Yeah.” Nicky nodded.

“You come over before game, I have soup.”

“Don’t need soup.” Nicky said, looking down.

“Look sick, need soup.” Alex decided firmly. “Can nap at our place too.” Nicky looked tempted to say no. Alex continued. “Kids home from school, yeah? Loud? Easy to nap at our place.”

Nicky sighed and nodded slowly. “Ok.” He agreed.

Alex smiled and hugged him. “Good. You look like shit.” He said as he got up.

Nicky flipped him off, laughing.

Sasha wasn’t one for nurturing, but Alex was. Alex liked fixing problems, even if it wasn’t really a problem or didn’t really need fixing.

Alex installed Nicky on their couch with a bowl of soup, a slice of bread, and a blanket over his shoulders. “I’m ok.” Nicky protested mildly.

“Look sick.”

“I have...my head hurts, sometimes. It’s ok.” He shrugged.

“Hurts? You get headaches?”

Nicky mouthed the word, glancing at Sasha, who could only shrug; he knew what ache meant, but he didn’t know which random English words it was acceptable to mash together into one word.

“Yeah, sometimes.” Nicky stirred his soup. “This smells good.”

“My mama made it.” Alex said. “Well, she made the broth. Left lots of broth for us.”

“So much.” Sasha added, in case Nicky thought he was consuming a precious resource. “Freezer, so full.”

Nicky smiled and finished his bowl.

He fell asleep on the couch and Sasha decided they could leave him there. Alex adjusted his blanket and drew the blinds closed. “Poor Nicky.” He murmured, fixing the blanket again.

“Shh, don’t wake him.” Sasha warned. “He gets cranky.”Alex smiled, looking down at Nicky and then back up at Sasha. “I know, I roomed with him for a whole trip.” He stood up, trailing after Sasha to their bedroom. Alex fell asleep easily enough, after tossing and turning a few times. Sasha wished he could do that. Closing his eyes in the middle of the day seemed like a waste of time, but he did it anyway. Maybe it helped him to focus for the game, or to rest. Maybe it was just an exercise in futility. He should go lay in the guest room- that way if Nicky woke up, he wouldn’t see that they’d been in the same room. But...Alex hadn’t suggested it and Sasha found he didn’t really care if Nicky found out. Maybe part of him even wanted him to. That was ridiculous, of course. What would Nicky do? He might tell someone. He might avoid them. There wasn’t a good outcome available, not really. Sasha briefly considered Nicky in bed with them, even platonically. Just because he couldn’t sleep didn’t mean Sasha didn’t like snuggling, but Alex really didn’t. Even in his sleep, he’d move away. Sasha didn’t want to think about it too much, but Nicky was probably snuggly.Or maybe Sasha was just projecting. Eventually, he got his arm around Alex and managed to drift off to sleep.They hadn’t needed to worry about Nicky catching them; the blond was still sacked out on the couch when Sasha followed Alex down the hall later.  “You think he’s ok?” Alex asked.“Nylander probably wouldn’t let him skate if he was really sick.” Sasha answered.
“Should we wake him?”

“Not yet.”
Left to his own devices, Nicky woke up about fifteen minutes later, stumbling into the kitchen with his blanket still draped over his shoulders. “Tea?” Sasha offered. Nicky nodded. “Thank you.”Sasha poured him a cup from the kettle and presented him with the boxes of tea to choose from. There was something oddly intimate about watching someone prepare their tea, Sasha decided.Nicky stirred in a generous helping of honey, and a dash of cream. Sasha typically took his with milk and sugar. Alex, seemingly from an entirely different planet, drank coke. Alex nudged Sasha’s foot under the table. Later, he would be loud and full of energy, so Sasha savored the quiet spaces in between. He loved Alex every which way, but these quiet moments away from hockey were always his favorites. “Nicky, what you do for Christmas?” Alex asked, still somewhat subdued. “Uh...the Nylanders, they say I do dinner with them.” Nicky fumbled.“You get tired of them, you come here, ok? We gonna make lots of food.” “Ok.” Nicky nodded. “You sure?” He asked, looking between the two of them and catching Sasha’s eye.“Yeah, of course.” Alex said. “You’re not so bad.”“Oh, thanks.” Nicky said dryly, smiling at them over his mug.“Only little bad.” Sasha added, grinning when Nicky laughed. Alex looked deeply content, a little more settled. Sasha knew Alex got homesick occasionally, but mostly Alex seemed to miss having so many people whom he was close with. He missed family, or the hockey version of that. Their team wasn’t as tight knit as many Sasha had played on and he knew that weighed on Alex, even when there was nothing else he could do. Having Nicky around, in their space, seemed to alleviate that a bit. Midday on Christmas, there was a knock at the door. Alex frowned as he got up to answer, leaving Sasha on the couch to hastily tug his clothes back on.“Nicky! You have Santa hat!” Sasha pulled his sweatshirt on in time to see Nicky, flushed and wearing a Santa hat, step into the living room, politely taking off his shoes at the door. “For Christmas.” He said, touching the hat. “From Jackie.” He looked at Sasha. “She give me more books.”Sasha would endlessly deny that he was learning English reading the children’s books Nicky had been toting around but that didn’t mean it wasn’t true.Nicky dropped his backpack beside the couch and Sasha grabbed the stack of books from inside, going through them. “This is dinosaurs.” Nicky said, eyes lighting up. “Steffie likes it best.” Sasha had to fight back a smile at that, an upwelling of fondness threatening to overwhelm him. Nicky was relaxed, pointing out some of the new words he’d learned, until he heard Alex take a picture of them; Sasha regretted getting him the iPhone already. When the camera clicked, he turned scarlet, scooting away from Sasha. Alex was oblivious. “So good at learning.”“Don’t be mean.” Sasha chided. Then, in Russian. “Look, you scared him. Say sorry.”“Sorry, Nicky.” Alex said with a toothy smile. “Won’t send to people.” Nicky looked skeptical and stayed on the far end of the couch, turning his attention to the TV. The color stayed high in his cheeks long after the show ended.Alex plopped down in between them, kicking his feet up on the coffee table and leaning over Sasha to grab the remote from the arm of the couch. He flipped through the channels a bit until he landed on a channel showing Friends. “Nicky, look. It’s favorite show.” Alex said, setting the remote down. Nicky relaxed a bit. “It’s good for English.” He argued mildly. “Uh huh.” Alex said skeptically. “Boring. They always get coffee, complain, do stupid things.”“You do stupid things and complain.” Nicky said, careful and deliberate as he repeated the words.Alex pretended to look offended. “What stupid things I do?”“Today?” Sasha asked, smiling when Nicky cracked up laughing.After the show ended, Alex turned the TV off. “Ok, now we make food.” He decided. “What food?” Nicky asked, looking hesitant. “Pelmeni!” Alex said. “You like, you see. I make the meat, then show you how, ok?”

“Uh huh.” Nicky nodded, teeth worrying at his lower lip.

Sasha gave a reassuring smile. “It’s easy.” He promised.

Alex and Sasha had both made pelmeni, a meat dumpling, though they both did it slightly differently. Nicky might not have ever cooked anything in his life.

Trying to explain how to roll the dough to the right thickness was hard, especially because Sasha didn’t really know what that was exactly; he just knew when it looked and felt right.

It was also hard because Nicky was starting to look flustered, flour on his cheek where he’d smudged it, and Sasha thought he looked adorable. Using the cookie cutter to cut out the dough was easy, but Alex decided Nicky needed to have the complete experience, so he determinedly showed him how to fill the dumpling and crimp the edges shut.

Alex sighed when Nicky did it wrong again, scooting closer. “No, like this. See?” He put his hands over Nicky’s, trying to demonstrate.

Finally, Nicky made a rather ugly, but structurally sound, dumpling and Alex beamed at him brightly. “Yes, perfect! Good job, Nicky.”

Nicky looked dubious at the praise. “It’s...looks bad.” He said.

“Tastes the same.” Alex promised.

After a while, Alex set about cooking the pelmeni as Nicky and Sasha finished the rest of the batch. Nicky was working diligently and he was starting to get the hang of it.

“Looks good.” Sasha said, gently bumping their elbows together.

Nicky smiled at him. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh. Thanks.” He looked pleased, turning his attention back to the task at hand.

“Here, first one. Tastes best when you work hard, yes?” Alex said, holding a still-steaming pelmeni on a fork for Nicky.

Nicky blew on it gently to cool it and took a bite. “S’good.” He said with a smile.

“Best food.”

They had more pelmeni than they could eat, which was an impressive accomplishment for three young athletes. Afterwards, they cleaned up and returned to the living room with booze to watch Christmas movies.

“This one, George make me watch.” Alex said, grabbing a DVD. “Parents forget kid, then he fights bad guys with tricks.”

“Tricks?” Nicky asked, looking curious. “Like…like magic tricks?”

Alex huffed. “No, tricks like sneaky.” He explained, flopping onto the couch. “You like, you sneaky too.” He told Nicky.

Nicky may have liked the movie, but it remained to be seen; he fell asleep in the first half hour, while Sasha was trying to figure out how you could get all the way to France without realizing you forgot your child.

Alex smiled when he snored quietly, gently tugging him down so his head rested against his thigh. Sasha covered him with a blanket. “Luckily, he’s cute, or the snoring would be annoying.” Sasha said, pitching his voice soft so as not to wake the rookie.Alex chuckled, looking down at Nicky fondly. “Yeah.” He looked back at Sasha. “It’s nice having him around.” He said carefully. Sasha looked at him. “What do you mean?”
“Just...you know, he’s funny. Makes you laugh. Good for your English. You wouldn’t learn it for me, but you did for Nicky.”
“Well, if he can learn it, so can I.” Sasha said, intentionally petulant as his heart started to race.Alex nodded. “Of course.” He looked back down at Nicky, fiddling with the edge of his blanket. “I think...he might like you, or me, or maybe both. And that’s ok.”Sasha forgot the movie was even playing. “That’s ok?” He repeated. Alex shifted, uncomfortable, looking anywhere but Sasha’s face. “You like when he’s with us?”

“Yeah. Do you?”
“I- yeah. I just, I thought you’d- I don’t know.” Sasha admitted. “I didn’t know what to say.”“Say what you mean, I guess.” Alex shrugged. “I love you, and...I wouldn’t love you less if someone else was with us.” He said, always the one to leap headfirst into something unknown. Sasha’s heart clenched with adoring fondness at that. “I love you too.” He assured him. “I think...if it was the right person, if they loved both of us...it could be good.” Sasha didn’t doubt that Alex had enough love for one, two, or a dozen people; but the logistics of relationships were tricky, especially in the public eye.
“Ok. So...we wait, I guess? See what happens?”

“Yeah.” Sasha squeezed Alex’s hand where it rested on Nicky’s shoulder.

Nicky woke up towards the end of the movie and didn’t seem concerned that their hands were touching his arm or that he was lying between them. He was concerned about the movie. “They...leave little kid with no parents?” He asked, frowning. “And bad guys...they fight him?”“You sleep through the explaining parts.” Alex chided gently.Nicky smothered a yawn and slowly sat up. He checked the time and frowned. “I should go home.” He decided. “You can stay.” Sasha said. “Tired, cold. No problem.”“Have a extra bed.” Alex added. “Oh. I thought…” he looked at Sasha. “Your bed?” Sasha looked at Alex helplessly; he didn’t want to misspeak and say something unintentional revealing. “Sasha sleep with me, tonight. Or, you have couch. Your choice.” Alex said. Nicky chewed at his lip, deep in thought. “It’s no problem?” He asked hesitantly. “No problem.” Sasha repeated, trying to look reassuring. “Ok. Thank you.”The spare bedroom looked enough like a space someone might live, especially a hockey player with low interior decorating skills, which Sasha readily admitted he was. Nicky didn’t ask many questions, either due to a lack of language abilities or tiredness. Sasha crawled into bed with Alex. “Could’ve put him on the couch.” He said.Alex shrugged. “We want him to figure it out eventually, right? I don’t think he’s paying much attention to this anyway.” He gestured between the two of them. “True.” Sasha agreed begrudgingly.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Alex hosted a spectacular New Years party, with food and drink in great abundance. And more shiny decorations than Sasha thought could’ve fit into one apartment. He even managed to sneak Sasha away just after midnight and kiss him breathless in the master bedroom, with promises of more once everyone cleared out.The party was a success, to say the least.As the crowd started to thin, Sasha stepped outside for a moment to himself and instead found Nicky sitting on the patio, a blanket over his shoulders but otherwise unprotected from the chill. He wasn’t even wearing shoes. “Toes freeze, can’t skate.” He said, wincing when Nicky jerked at the sound of his voice. “Sorry.” Nicky said, apologizing. “You ok?” Sasha closed the door and sat beside him, bumping their shoulders together and letting Nicky lean on him. “Thinking.” Nicky shrugged. “Ok.”“Uh huh.” Sasha said, doing his best to sound skeptical. “Look...not so ok.” He said, gesturing to him. Nicky laughed, a sound more wet and raw than Sasha was accustomed to from the reserved young man. “Yeah.” He scrubbed his sleeve across his eyes, sniffling. “Sorry.”“Why?” “I...I don’t know. I’m sorry.” Nicky tried to get up, but the chill and alcohol combined to make him clumsy and Sasha could easily pull him back down. “Try.”Nicky sucked in a loud breath, closing his eyes. “S’stupid.” He slurred. “Not stupid.” Sasha sighed. “You sad about...about can’t go home?” Nicky nodded, leaning forward. “Never away so much.” He whispered. Sasha wrapped his arms around him, resisting the urge to kiss his forehead. He did pull the blanket tighter around him, smoothing it under his hands. “It’s ok. Everyone sad sometimes.” There was a lot more he could say, but it was useless because Nicky couldn’t speak Russian. He could tell him that even Alex got homesick, sometimes intensely. Sasha did too, even though he’d been away from home for almost a decade. If Nicky knew Russian, or if Sasha knew English, he could’ve told him that the holidays are unexpectedly hard like that, that even having an adopted family like Nicky did couldn’t smooth over the ache of homesickness. But he couldn’t say any of that, not to Nicky, so he didn’t say anything else at all. Eventually, Nicky collected himself and Sasha helped him back inside. By then, even fewer people remained inside and Sasha helped Nicky slip away into the kitchen, wetting a paper towel and handing it to him. He blotted at his cheeks, the cool pressure taking away some of the redness. Inside, in the bright lights, he somehow looked even more vulnerable than he had out in the cold. Sasha sat at the kitchen island, nudging the other chair out to indicate Nicky should sit too. He did, somewhat hesitantly. Sasha slid a plate of cookies between them. “Good.” He said. Nicky smiled at him, eyes still wet, and took a cookie. “Yeah.” He agreed. “Good.”“You stay tonight?” Sasha offered. “I should...should go to Nylanders.” “You want?”Nicky blushed, shrugging. “I don’t know.” He admitted. He kicked his feet nervously, looking down at his hands. Sasha opened his mouth to say something, but Mike came in. “Hey, Nick, you ready to go?” Mike asked. “You ok?” He asked, brow furrowing. “Yeah.” Nicky said, not looking at Sasha. “Thanks.”“No problem. C’mon, I’ll drive you back to Nyles’ ok?” Mike said, gently steering him with a hand on his back. At practice the next day, Nicky was closed off, sticking close to Michael Nylander when he could and looking down at his skates when he couldn’t. Sasha suspected he was embarrassed for having been caught in a vulnerable moment. “Burgers?” Sasha suggested when Nicky came back from picking up pucks. “Fuck, yes.” Alex agreed easily. “Nicky, burgers?” Nicky looked reluctant, but Michael smiled and nodded. “You should go out, it’s good for you.” He said as he gently nudged Nicky along. “Ok.” Nicky agreed slowly, with reticence. “Good!” Alex said. “Get dressed, I’m hungry.” He laughed, a sound that made Nicky relax somewhat. When Nicky returned from the showers, Alex tossed clothing at him, hurrying him along. “Ok, ok.” Nicky mumbled under his breath as he tugged on the pullover Alex had thrown at him. It was dark green and it might’ve been Sasha’s- or maybe Sasha stole it from Alex. Either way, it looked nice on him, his hair still wet and tangled behind his ears, his cheeks still too round and childish. Sasha glanced at Alex, but his compatriot was busy watching Nicky tie his shoes, a foot up on the bench. “Like the view?” Sasha teased. Alex laughed, shaking his head as his eyes sparkled. “Nicky, you should learn Russian. Sasha so much more funny in Russian.”Nicky gave a thin smile. “Maybe English first.”“Eh, English whatever. Russian best language.” Alex asserted. Nicky rolled his eyes; it was good to see him looking more comfortable in his skin. Alex had a way of settling people down so they wouldn’t even noticed. They got burgers and ate them in the car. Someday, Sasha might think fast food was gross, but it was such an uncommon luxury to eat growing up he couldn’t help himself. “Today, we should go out. Do something.” Alex decided, once he’d finished eating. Sasha looked up. “What?” Alex shrugged. “I don’t know. Museum?” He suggested. “Lots of museums in D.C.” Nicky wrinkled his nose. “Museum?” He repeated unhappily. Alex rolled his eyes. “You think of something.”Sasha shook his head. “Nicky can’t pick. Hates outside.” He teased. Alex grinned. “I know, both of you so...shy.” “Not shy. Hate people, its different.” Sasha laughed, leaning back in his seat and taking a sip of his soda. “We go Swedish store? IKEA?”Alex perked up at the idea. “Yes! So Nicky not so much miss home.” Sasha didn’t know if Alex was just teasing, or if he had caught on to Nicky’s homesickness. He was more perceptive than most people gave him credit for. Nicky rolled his eyes but didn’t argue, so off they went. To Sasha, IKEA was a wonderland. They never intended to buy anything there, but they always did. After only 10 minutes inside he was holding a fake plant and an organizer for kitchen utensils. Alex spent the first half hour asking Nicky what all the names were, and butchering the pronunciation brutally. Nicky tried not to smile, his lips twitching at the corners and his eyes sparkling. He shoved Alex after a particularly egregious attempt and Alex wrestled him to a futon, both laughing. Sasha rolled his eyes and ignored them both; he wasn’t getting kicked out of the store before he could buy his treasures, which included a pillow with fox faces on it that he found while pretending he didn’t know either of his teammates. He did look over in time to see Nicky close his eyes, cheeks flushed. He was being pinned down by his wrists and he looked like he liked it. Sasha filed that bit of information away for later, just in case. They reached checkout with the plant, the organizer, a pillow, a scarf for Alex, a matching blanket and pillow Nicky had picked up and refused to put back down, and inexplicably a chair packed in a flat box. “You don’t know how to make.” Sasha said, gesturing at the box and looking at Alex. “Nicky makes, he knows IKEA.” Nicky looked up from fidgeting with the fringe on his blanket. “I’m not make that.” He decided. “Yes, you help. I’ll buy you meatballs.” Alex offered. Nicky wrinkled his nose. “I don’t want those.” “Swedish, of course you want meatballs.” Alex said, gesturing towards the cafeteria. “All Swedes like meatballs and weird fish.”“Not weird.” Nicky said, shoulders shrugging up to his ears. “Not like the meatballs, either.” He added. Alex rolled his eyes. “I’m get meatballs, eat all of them.” He said, but he dropped it for the moment; even Alex could tell Nicky was starting to bristle and become defensive. Alex bought meatballs, because he was a brat, but he also bought tea and chocolate for Nicky and Sasha, so he wasn’t as much of a brat as he could be. Nicky was quiet until Alex nudged his foot under the table. “You miss meatballs? Like, real ones, ones mama Backstrom makes?”“I- yeah. Sometimes.” Nicky mumbled. Alex’s smile was soft and warm. “I miss my mama’s food too.” He assured him. “I don’t. My mama, bad cook.” Sasha said, only to make Nicky laugh, which he did. The blond looked relieved at the diversion, leaning back in his seat. Sasha’s mother wasn’t an exceptional cook, but he’d never tell her that. At home, Nicky and Sasha watched from the couch as Alex tried to assemble his chair. Finally, Nicky sighed and got out from under his blanket to help. He muttered under his breath unhappily as he worked on the project, but he put it together more or less without issue. “Sanya, is all pictures.” Sasha teased. Alex laughed. “Bad pictures! Look!” He flapped the instructions in Sasha’s face. “Lucky, Nicky here to make the chair.” “Needy.” Nicky said, biting his lip and glancing at Sasha as he tried not to smile. Alex squawked in protest, laughing. “Needy?!” He asked, with mock aghast. “Sasha, he says I’m needy!”“Yes? And?” Sasha raised his eyebrows. Nicky giggled in the background and Alex had a look of delight under his exaggerated countenance. “Both of you, so mean.” He lamented. “I’m only good, you know.”“Only needy.” Nicky teased. “Need help with chair, need passes so you score-“Nicky was still laughing when Alex tackled him, pinning him face first into the floor and sitting on top of him. “Now who’s needy?” Alex asked, looking up at Sasha and smiling proudly. “You.” Nicky said, trying to get out from under the bulk that was Alex Ovechkin but failing. Finally, Alex let him get up. Nicky was pink and rumpled, his hair more of a mess than usual. It was a good look for him, and Sasha could tell Alex was thinking the same thing. That night, they made a massive pot of pasta for dinner, covering it with sauce and cheese. Afterwards, they did the dishes, shoulders bumping companionably as they playfully chirped each other as best they could with their broken English. Sasha had never spoken so much English in entirety of his years in North America as he had since he met Nicky; he felt he was actually improving.Afterwards, Nicky looked at Alex. “You sit in the chair?” He asked as they returned to the living room.“You do a good job?” Alex teased. “Very good.” Nicky promised. Either Alex wasn’t paying attention, or he missed the mischievous glint in Nicky’s eyes all together. He flopped down into the chair and it immediately collapsed under him, tipping him backwards with a dramatic yelp. Sasha buried his face in a pillow, muffling his laughter. Nicky leaned over to help Alex up but was tugged down and hit with the seat cushion. “Brat!” Alex roared with laughter. “So sneaky, so brat!” He sounded joyous with it though; Sasha knew better than most that Alex liked a good prank. The tussle, like many before it, ended with Nicky in the ground and Alex on top of him, looking triumphant. “Don’t kill rookie.” Sasha said from the couch, feigning that he wasn’t watching intently. “Can get more.” Alex teased. “Fuck you.” Nicky laughed, squirming as he tried to free himself. “Off, so big.” He grumbled. “Big? Sasha, Nicky call me fat!” Nicky flushed, even after Alex let him up. “Not fat...Uh, how you say…”“Heavy?” Sasha guessed. “Yes! Heavy.”“All muscle, baby.” Alex said with a wink, the tips of Nicky’s ears burning pink. “Yeah, right.” Nicky grumbled. Alex reached out pinch his cheeks but Nicky swatted his hand away. Eventually, Nicky correctly assembled the chair, sitting in it with his feet tucked in underneath him to demonstrate its sturdiness. Alex sat on the couch anyway. Nicky moved to join them, mumbling an excuse about the angle of the TV. He snuggled up with his Ikea blanket and pillow and started to doze off almost immediately. Sasha took advantage of his distracted state by curling in against Alex’s side and relaxing. Alex grinned at him, an arm over the back of the couch to make room for Sasha. His other arm was resting across Nicky’s lower legs, the blond’s feet pressed against his thigh. It was nice. It was cozy, homey, in a way Sasha hadn’t expected but had hoped for. They were supposed to go to a football game over the weekend. It was cold outside- not Siberia cold, Sasha maintained- but cold enough to warrant boots and wool socks and hats and things. Nicky stayed at their place and slept in until Sasha flipped the lights on. “Nicky…” He said softly. Nicky wrinkled his nose and pulled the covers up to his face. “Nicky...Kolya.” Sasha poked his arm. “M’up.” Nicky mumbled, face half-pressed into the pillow. “Next, Alex wake you up.” Sasha threatened mildly. “No, m’up.” Nicky blinked blearily at him, hair untamed and the creases in the pillow imprinted in his cheek. Sasha rolled his eyes, trying not to let the cuteness of it get to him. “Uh huh.” He said, with a heavy amount of skepticism. “Alex making pancakes.” “Ok.” Nicky closed his eyes again. Sasha sighed. “Kolya, up.” He pulled the blankets back and Nicky groaned. “Ok, ok. Up.” It was only over a steaming mug of tea that Nicky questioned him. “What name do you call me?”Alex glanced at Sasha, curious. “Kolya.” Sasha repeated. Nicky nodded slowly. “What’s that...What’s that mean?” He asked. Alex broke into a broad grin. “Is you! Is short for Nikolai, in Russian.” “Oh. Ok.” Nicky nodded, smiling into his tea. “You like?” Sasha asked. “Yeah.” Nicky nodded. After breakfast, they didn’t have enough time to run by the Nylander house to get Nicky’s things. Instead, Sasha found a warm pullover in his closet and an extra coat. Alex tugged a hat onto his head, pressing the curls down over his forehead. “There! Perfect!” He declared. “Should be warm.” Nicky laughed, brushing his hair out of his eyes. “Thanks.”Even bundled up, the game was cold. Being cold and moving was tolerable, and Sasha was used to that. Cold and still was much worse. Or maybe being in America for a few years had made him soft. Sasha found himself between Alex and Nicky, rocking back and forth to try to restore warmth to his feet. He had no idea what the rules of the game were and he had finished the beer Alex had bought him. Well, Nicky has helped, but Nicky wasn’t old enough to legally drink. Which was a shame, given how cold it was. He looped his arms through Nicky and Alex’s, pulling them both closer to him. “Cold.” He complained, grinning. Nicky laughed. “Cold like Siberia?” He teased, eyes twinkling. Sasha sighed, of course they would tease him about this. “Cold is cold.” He said, trying not to smile. “Sasha is a baby.” Alex said, even as he let Sasha cuddle up against him. “Fuck you, it’s cold.” Sasha said, rolling his eyes. “Yes, so cold.” Alex placated. “Is snow!” Sasha countered. “Snowing.” Alex corrected. Sasha huffed. “Now you fix English? Never help, but now?” He wasn’t really mad, but Nicky was giggling beside him and he didn’t want him to stop. Alex looked happy too, smiling wide despite his chapped lips. The home team won the game, which Sasha was happy about in a very distant sort of way. He was happiest that Alex’s car had heated seats and they could go home. Finally back at home, Nicky reclaimed what was quickly becoming his spot on the couch. He had his pillow hugged to his chest and his blanket over him. He looked ready to fall asleep. Alex went to change. When he came back, he laughed. “Look at you, so boring.” He teased. Alex was shirtless and barefoot; Sasha teased him for being an exhibitionist, but he did appreciate the sight. Nicky might’ve too, judging by how pink his cheeks went when he looked up at Alex. “We go out?” Alex asked, tugging on a t shirt. “Tacos?” He offered. Sasha nodded slowly and Alex grinned. “Nicky, tacos?” Nicky nodded, fidgeting with the edge of his blanket. “Ok.” Sasha nudged him gently. “You sure?” He asked. Alex cocked his head, looking at him more carefully. “Nicky, you ok?” “Yeah.” He said, rubbing at his eyes. “M’fine.” Alex squatted down in front of him, offering a reassuring smile. “Taco place doesn’t have too many people.” He promised. “Not too loud.” Nicky nodded slowly, flushing more. “Ok.” “C’mon, it’s ok. You like, I promise.” The taco place wasn’t crowded; it was a bit of a hole-in-the-wall, half of it was actually a grocery store. Sasha didn’t speak Spanish, but he liked being around other people who didn’t speak English all the time. Alex was at ease; they’d been there enough times that the staff knew them. Alex was unabashed about his imperfect English and grinned helplessly when he couldn’t find the right word. Still, their order had never been wrong before, so he was doing a good job. Sasha picked a table and Alex returned a few minutes later with all their food. “Here, chicken.” He said, putting a plate in front of Nicky. They were mostly quiet as they ate. “You like?” Sasha asked. Nicky nodded. “S’good.” He said, through a mouthful of food. Alex grinned and offered him one of his tacos. “Here, try.”“What is it?” Nicky asked carefully. “Just try.”“What is it?”“It’s cow.” Alex said, grinning broadly. Nicky reached for it and then paused. “What kind of cow?”Alex cracked up laughing. “It’s...I don’t know. Cow insides. Just eat, tastes good. Eat weird Swedish fish.”“Not weird.”Alex rolled his eyes. “Just eat.” Finally, Nicky took a bite. “Good?”“It’s...yeah, good.” Nicky took another bite, grinning at him and relaxing a bit. After tacos they returned home and Nicky didn’t even pretend to make an effort to stay awake, passing out on the couch almost immediately. Alex covered him with his blanket, fond smile tugging at his lips. He smoothed the edge of the blanket out and glanced up, catching Sasha watching him. Sasha didn’t say anything and Alex shrugged, cheeks dusky pink. The next day, they had a game. Sasha hated playing Boston, hated it more after someone caught Nicky with a elbow across the face. There was a collective wince from the bench, the air going out of everyone for half a moment as the rookie dropped to the ice. Sasha grabbed Alex’s arm, keeping him from jumping over the boards; Nicky shouldn’t have been moved off the top line. Michael Nylander circled back to him, spitting bitter profanities at the Bruin responsible before kneeling down beside his compatriot. Nicky kept a hand over his face as he got up, careful to keep from getting blood on his jersey, Sasha noted with a surge of fondness. Michael steered him to the tunnel, steadying him when he took a faltering step through the gate. Alex clenched his teeth beside him. “Don’t do anything stupid.” Sasha told him. The blood was cleaned up and play resumed. Alex didn’t do anything horribly stupid, at least until the lines matched up right and he hip checked the guy who hit Nicky hard enough to knock him flat on the ice. But, it was a clean hit at least. Sasha sighed; he hated playing Boston. Nicky was in the locker room by intermission, head leaned back and an ice pack over his face. Michael was standing beside him, fussing over him. He moved the ice pack and Sasha could see stitches underneath, bruises developing. Alex and Mike Green joined him too. Mike whistled. “He got you good.” He said appreciatively. He reached out to touch and Nicky batted at his hand. “Ok? No concussion?” Alex asked.“No concussion. I’m ok.” Nicky assured him. “Hurts?” Alex asked. “It’s ok.” Nicky repeated. Alex rolled his eyes. “Liar.” “They said the concussion screening was clear.” Michael said, his brow knit together with worry. “Are you good to play?” “Yeah.” Nicky nodded. Michael said something in Swedish and Nicky looked annoyed as he answered. Nicky scored in the third, maybe entirely out of spite; Sasha loved him for it. After the game, though, he was squinting and slow, slower than usual. His face was pale, which made the blooming bruises all the more vibrant as they spread from the bridge of his nose across his cheek. He’d probably have a black eye by morning. Alex was concerned. “Nicky, you come over? Have some soup?”“Uh, no….sorry.” Nicky managed. “Soup makes better.” Alex persisted. “He should probably come home.” Michael said, adding dryly, “the kids were asking if he moved away.” Nicky didn’t argue, even when Michael tugged a hat onto his head, parental concern sharp in his eyes. Alex watched them leave, frowning. “Do you think he’s lying?”“Nicky, maybe. Nylander, probably not. He wouldn’t let him play if he had a concussion.” Sasha assured him. Alex shoved his hands in his pockets. “I don’t like it.”Sasha squeezed his arm. “I know.”In the morning, Nicky still hadn’t answered any texts. When Alex suggested they bring lunch, Sasha immediately agreed. They showed up with Chinese food and Michael chuckled when he opened the door. “I wondered how long it would take you to be here.” “Nicky ok?” Alex asked as Michael let them in. “He’s not feeling good, but no concussion I promise. He’s downstairs.” Alex handed over the food and headed for the basement. Sasha wrinkled his nose. “Sorry for him.” He said, gesturing towards Alex. Michael just laughed, waving him on. Downstairs, Nicky’s bedroom door was open, the room only lit by a lamp. William and Alexander were on the couch playing video games in the family room, the volume turned down low. “Shh, they’re napping.” Alexander said. Sasha was going to ask, but he rounded the corner to see Nicky and Stephanie snuggled up on the bed, asleep, while Jackie was leafing through a book beside them. She held a finger to her lips. “Shhh.”Alex grinned, kneeling beside the bed. “You read, put them to sleep?”“Steffie naps with Nicky sometimes.” Jackie explained in hushed tones. “It’s ‘cause they’re both so sleepy.”“Nicky is sleepy.” Alex agreed. “Uh huh.” Jackie reached over and tugged Stephanie’s baby blanket up over her shoulders again. The toddler clutched it in her chubby hands and settled again. It was a sight too adorable for words and Sasha decided he was spoiled on cuteness for the rest of his life, especially when Nicky ducked his head and hid his face in Stephanie’s hair. “We bring food, you think they want lunch?” Alex asked softly. “Chinese food.” Sasha added. Jackie’s eyes widened. “Did you bring crab rangoons?” She asked in hushed tones. “Uh huh. Lots.” Sasha said. “Oh yes, thank you!” She said, dropping her books as she hurried upstairs. Her hasty departure woke Nicky, while Stephanie continued to snooze. Nicky blinked up at them for a moment before what he was seeing seemed to register. “Why…”“Brought food.” Alex said. “You didn’t text back.” ‘We worried’ went unsaid, but Sasha thought that was obvious. “Oh.” Nicky nodded slowly. “Sorry.”“You ok?” Alex asked again. “Yeah.” “Nicky…”“Just...just a headache.” Nicky forced a smile. “It’s ok.” Alex looked skeptical at that. “Ok. You eat, c’mon.” Upstairs, the Nylander feeding frenzy had begun. Nicky paused at the top of the stairs, looking bewildered. In Sasha’s arms, Stephanie grumbled at the bright lights and loud sounds, burrowing her face in against his chest. Sasha pressed a kiss to the top of her head and rubbed her back in reassurance. Michael handed Nicky a plate but the blond only picked at his food. “Does your head still hurt?” Michael asked in undertones. “Uh huh.” Nicky nodded, closing his eyes and leaning his head in his hand. He looked too pale in the warm light. He toyed with his food, a piece of chicken falling from his chopsticks. “Well, try eating.” “You sure no concussion?” Alex asked. “Just a headache.” Nicky repeated. Michael seemed to sense the developing communication lapse. “It’s a migraine, he gets them sometimes.” “Migraine?” Sasha repeated. “Headache.” Nicky translated. “With the...with the lights.”“Makes him sick, lights and noises hurt.” Michael explained. “It’s not a concussion. But I think getting hit like that triggered it.” “Maybe.” Nicky looked down, shrugging. Alex relaxed a bit and lunch continued. “You want us to leave?” Alex asked afterwards. Nicky shrugged. “If you want.”“You want?” Sasha asked. Nicky shrugged, looking at his feet. “It’s...I’m a little...boring today.” Alex grinned. “Always boring, like you anyways.”Nicky snorted at that. “Whatever,” he said, trying not to smile. “We stay.” Sasha said. “TV?”“Yeah, ok.”They ended up piled on Nicky’s bed, watching mindless cable shows. Nicky was having a hard time staying awake, yawning and rubbing his eyes. Sasha scooted a bit closer and Nicky relaxed against him, falling asleep quickly.On Nicky’s other side, Alex was reading something on his phone, frowning at it. Finally he passed it to Sasha. “I didn’t know migraines were so bad, I guess.” He said. “My aunt used to get them, I just thought it was like a regular headache.”Sasha scrolled through the Wikipedia article Alex had presented him with. Nausea, vomiting, flashing auras, sensitivity to light...it sounded terrible. “Poor Kolya.” He murmured. “Yeah.” Alex nodded. Misery of the migraine aside, Nicky was back to normal the next day by the time they were boarding their flight. Back to normal in that he stole Alex’s hat as they boarded the plane, which prompted Alex to wrestle him to get it back, which lead to both of them tumbling into the row of seats. Nicky giggled as Alex yanked the hat off his head, sitting on top of him. Sasha rolled his eyes and sat down in an row by himself across from them. Nicky was trying to squirm out from under Alex but he lacked the muscle mass; they needed to get Nicky to bulk up over the summer, Sasha decided. Nicky pinched the back of Alex’s arm and the Russian yelped, startling enough that Nicky toppled him off. “Alright, hands to yourselves, children.” Chris Clark said, smiling to himself. “Stop flirting.”Alex rolled his eyes but Nicky went scarlet. Sasha hoped no one else noticed except Alex. Before they took off, Nicky settled in the seat beside Sasha. Sasha bumped their elbows together and Nicky smiled at him, dimples in his cheeks. Sasha had the fleeting urge to kiss him. At the hotel, Nicky and Mike were both trailing behind Alex and Sasha, Mike telling them about the new video game he’d brought with him. He stopped when Alex opened the door. “Oh, shit, they fucked up your room.” Mike said. Instead of two beds, there was one king sized one.Sasha might murder Mike himself if he ruined his chance to sleep in a decent sized bed on the road. “Eh, not bad.” Alex said dismissively. “Big bed, that’s all.” “You don’t...you don’t mind?” Nicky asked carefully. Alex snorted. “Sasha maybe mind. I take blankets.” Sasha rolled his eyes. “And snore. Because nose is bad.” Mike nodded. “I can ask the hotel if you want. If it’s a language thing.”Alex laughed. “No, no. Too much fuss, no. It’s ok. Two nights, we be fine.”“Alright.” Mike shrugged. “Nicky, if they messed up our room, I’m not sleeping with you.” Nicky laughed, but it looked halfhearted. He glanced at Sasha, looking away when he caught his eye. Nicky and Mike dropped their bags in their room (which apparently had the appropriate amount of beds) and returned to play video games. Sasha thought the game was stupid. He couldn’t even remember the title. He was supposed to be shooting...someone. Maybe Alex. Or maybe Alex was on his team. Or maybe they didn’t have teams? Or they were all the same team? Teams were a thing, possibly. Nicky was even less interested, especially after he killed his player by failing to disarm a bomb. “This is lame.” He said; sometimes, it was obvious he learned English from the Nylander boys. “You’re only saying that because you already died.” Mike said without looking away from the screen. Nicky huffed, discarding the controller in favor of grabbing the KitKat bar he’d gotten from the hotel vending machine. He split a piece off and glanced at Sasha. “Chocolate?” He offered. Sasha smiled. “Thanks.”“Not gonna share with me?” Mike teased. “You’re a jerk.” Nicky grumbled, still smiling a bit. “Whatever, you’re a jerk.” Mike retorted. Sasha was out of the game next, after intentionally killing his character. He dug an old deck of cards from his bag. “Play?” He offered Nicky. Nicky grinned. “Sure.” They ended up playing Rummy; Sasha was glad Nicky already knew the rules, because trying to translate it to English would’ve been more trouble than it was worth. They went out for dinner, finding a burger joint not far from the hotel, and then returned later to watch movies. Nicky fell asleep next to Sasha, his head leaning against his arm. Mike smiles at his roomie fondly. “He’s a mess. C’mon, Nick.” “He’s ok.” Sasha said, but he couldn’t really fight it too much. Mike laughed. “You already have to share a bed with Ovi. C’mon, Nick. Time for bed.”“Fuck you.” Nicky mumbled, barely opening his eyes. Sasha didn’t sleep well that night, lying awake thinking about having Alex and Nicky in bed with him. After morning skate, Nicky and Alex lingered on the ice, with Mike joining in to play keep away. Sasha leaned up against the boards to watch a while, until Nicky skated up to him. “Hi.” Sasha said. Nicky smiled at him. “Hey.” He leaned against the boards beside him, breathing heavily. Sasha looped his arm through Nicky’s, grinning at him when Nicky glanced at him. Together, they watched as keep away devolved into Mike and Alex tussling mid-ice, puck forgotten. Alex had more energy than Sasha could imagine. “Who...who you think wins?” Nicky asked, nodding towards them. Sasha cocked his head thoughtfully, considering it. “Sanya.” He decided. He glanced sideways at Nicky. “He likes to...likes to play rough.” Nicky was already red, but his color intensified and Sasha squeezed his arm reassuringly. “Oh. Ok.”“You like that?” Sasha asked mildly, biting back a grin as Nicky did a double take. “I- what?”Sasha decided to go easy on him. “When we play, He is always...rough, you know.” “Right. Right.” Nicky said, fidgeting with his stick and looking down at his toes. “I, uh, gotta shower.” He said, slipping away. Alex laughed when Sasha told him how he’d scared the rookie away so quickly. The road trip was like any other; a different hotel every few days, a series of buses and planes, stolen kisses and private moments when they could get them. Sasha hated sleeping in hotels. The only thing interesting was that Mike apparently had a girl back home and Nicky kept slipping away to give him privacy while he called her. “He...I don’t know.” Nicky shrugged. “Texts so much, calls.”“Hopefully she likes him.” Alex laughed. “Not too clingy.”“Clingy?” Nicky asked. Alex nodded. “Yeah, you know...too much. Too close.”“Needy?” Nicky asked, starting to smirk. “Like you?” Nicky was nowhere near fluent in English, but he always knew just what to say to rile Alex up. Alex pulled him to the bed and tickled him, cackling as Nicky yelped and tried to pull away. Helpfully, Sasha watched from the other bed, eating popcorn. After Nicky was too worn out to struggle anymore but Alex was still holding him down, Sasha spoke up. “You think clingy or...or phone sex?” He asked, turning the conversation back to where it started. Nicky sputtered, sitting up as Alex started to laugh and let him go. “What?!”“Phone sex.” Alex repeated. “You know, you say-““I know, I just-“ Nicky shook his head. Sasha had a lot of favorite things about Nicky, but the way his cheeks flooded with color at the slightest provocation was high on his list. “You know?” Alex teased, raising his eyebrows. “You do that, have someone in Sweden?”“No, fuck off.” Nicky said, arms crossed. “Or here? Mike’s friend?” “No- I- No-“ Nicky stammered. “Be nice.” Sasha said, giving Alex a meaningful look. Alex rolled his eyes. “I’m very nice. Most nice.” He protested for show. Sasha chuckled at him. “Uh huh.” Sasha decided to spare Nicky. “TV?” He offered, holding up the remote. “You pick?”Alex accepted the remote and they settled in to watch Friends, a small token of apology to Nicky.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

February marked one year that Alex and Sasha had been together in a real adult relationship with actual communication; if he was counting from the first drunken, fumbling hookup and subsequent angst it was probably almost two. He didn’t expect Alex to forget about it but he also didn’t expect Alex to make a big deal about it. In retrospect...he should have expected this. “Did you leave flowers for anyone else?” Sasha asked curiously, trying not to smile too much. Alex gave him a look, as though he’d just now realized that this might be excessive. “You think it’s too much?”It was, of course it was. What was Sasha supposed to due with dozens of roses? They were leaving for a road trip in two days and they’d definitely all be dead by the time they got back. But it was also such an Alex thing to do that he couldn’t tell him that. “It’s very sweet.” Sasha said, hugging him and kissing him. “I’m glad I didn’t get you flowers though.” Alex chuckled, kissing Sasha’s cheek and leaving his nose pressed against his temple, almost like he was hiding. Alex like this- sweet and a little emotionally exposed- was like honey for Sasha. “I got you something too.” Sasha whispered. “You you want it?”“Yeah.” Alex agreed, grinning. It wasn’t as grand a gesture as bouquets of flowers, but Sasha was proud of himself. He handed Alex a small box, watching as his eyes went from curious to soft as he opened it. “Oh, Sasha...it’s perfect, I love it.” Alex assured him, lifting it up and putting it on over his head. The long chain settled against his neck and the pendant at the bottom rested just against his sternum. Alex ran his fingers over it, smiling. There was an eagle and the date they’d started officially seeing each other, written out in Cyrillic so it wasn’t immediately obvious what it symbolized. Alex wore it under his jersey that night, playing with the chain afterwards during his postgame interviews. Sasha had forgotten about the flowers until they returned to the apartment with Mike and Nicky. “Woah. Where’d you guys get these?” Mike asked. Nicky glanced from Sasha to Alex, biting his lip, but he didn’t say anything. Alex shrugged, embarrassed maybe; Alex was rarely speechless. “Uh, giving for...for gift? How you say?” Sasha lied; he felt a little proud of himself that he’d learned the language well enough to deceive. “Donating?” Mike offered. “Yes, donating. To hospital.”“Oh, cool. That’s a neat idea.” Mike nodded. Alex relaxed, grinning at Sasha. They were halfway through eating when Nicky started sneezing. He’d been fine after the game, as far as Sasha knew, but his eyes had gone bloodshot and he kept sniffling. “Sick?” Sasha asked. “Uh, no.” Nicky turned away to sneeze again, coughing into his elbow. “You sure? You look terrible.” Mike said, frowning with concern. “It’s, uh, the- the flowers.” He sneezed twice. “They make me...this.” “You’re allergic?” Mike guessed. Sasha wondered if Mike ever felt like he was playing a never ending game of 20 questions. “Allergic?” Nicky repeated. “Flowers make you sneeze and stuff.”“Yeah.” He stifled a cough. “Sorry.” “Sorry, Nicky. Didn’t know flowers try to kill you.” Alex apologized, patting his shoulder. “S’ok.” He said, rubbing at his nose with his sleeve. “Hold on.” Sasha said, disappearing to root through the bathroom cabinet until he dug out a small bottle of allergy medicine. He tossed it to Nicky when he came back to the living room and instead of the blond catching it, it bounced off his nose. Sasha covered his mouth, unable to hide a startled laugh. “Sorry, Kolya.” Nicky picked up the bottle slowly, turning it in his hand. “How...how many?” He showed it to Mike. “Two.” Mike said, translating the English; probably smart, Sasha decided. Nicky swallowed the pills and they decided to leave to get ice cream and spare themselves having to listen to Nicky sneeze and sniffle more. Sasha climbed into the backseat with the blond, smiling apologetically at him. “Sorry for...sorry for flowers and sneezing.” Nicky grinned, eyes heavy. “S’ok. Not too bad.” After ice cream, they drove Nicky back home. The blond almost fell asleep in the backseat, eyes closed except when someone talked to him; he hadn’t even finished his ice cream. “What’d you do to him?” Michael asked, frowning as he opened the door. “Nicklas, are you sick?”“Not sick.” Nicky mumbled. “Flowers.”“Flowers?” Michael asked incredulously, pressing a hand to Nicky’s forehead. The blond didn’t pull away or even complain. “Alex and Sasha have flowers they’re donating to the hospital, like...for an early Valentine’s thing.” Mike explained. “We didn’t know he was allergic. He took some benadryl.” Michael chuckled, carding his fingers through Nicky’s hair. “Oh, you get into more trouble than my actual kids.” He said fondly. Nicky mumbled something that might’ve been an apology or maybe just nonsense. “Well, you boys should help him downstairs. Hopefully you didn’t have big plans for him tonight.” Most of the Nylander children were asleep, except the oldest two. “What happened to him?” William asked, abandoning his video game and following them into Nicky’s room. “He’s just tired.”William snorted. “He’s always tired. He sleeps more than Dani and she’s actually a baby.” He poked Nicky’s cheek. Mike rolled his eyes and gently pushed him aside. “Yeah, maybe two benadryl was too much.” Nicky groaned and slumped over onto his pillow. “Willy, get out. He doesn’t need you messing with him.”William took a half step back, worrying at his lip. “Is he ok?” He asked softly. Then he asked Nicky something in Swedish. Nicky mumbled a response, patting the bed beside him. William clambered up quickly, wrapping Nicky in a hug. “You’re a doofus.” He said. “You too.” Nicky said, a sleepy grin on his face. Mike’s phone buzzed and he glanced at it. “Courtney wants to hang out. You guys want me to drive you home?” Mike offered. Sasha didn’t want that, but he couldn’t tell Mike. “Yeah, sure.” Alex agreed. Sasha looked back over his shoulder as they left, smiling at the sight of William making sure Nicky got under the blankets, even as he complained about it under his breath. They did take the flowers to the hospital the next day, and then carefully cleaned the apartment and opened a few windows to let in fresh air. Nicky was fine the next day, or he appeared that way when Sasha and Alex dropped by and found him playing street hockey in the cul de sac with the Nylander kids and a few others. D.C had milder winters than Siberia for sure, it was almost 50° and Nicky was wearing shorts. A couple kids stopped and looked slack-jawed as they got out of the car; it was still novel to Sasha that people recognized him away from the rink. Alexander Nylander didn’t waste anytime. “I call dibs on Sasha!” He shouted, scurrying over to hug him. Sasha laughed and hugged him tight. “You winning?” Sasha asked. “No. Nicky was supposed to be my goalie but he sucks.” Alexander explained. Sasha laughed harder and Nicky gave a sheepish grin. “Make Ovi goalie.” He suggested. Alex was onboard with the plan and he was a wonderfully terrible goaltender, looking like he was trying as hard as he could to stop the kids from scoring but still letting the puck get through. Nicky snagged the ball away from Sasha and Sasha immediately went to get it back. It was more intimate than playing on ice, there were no bulky jerseys or pads between them, no helmets or face shields. Just Nicky, his body solid as Sasha tried to fight for control. They tripped, either over each other’s feet or sticks, and he took Nicky down in a heap with him. “Sasha won his first fight!” Alex cheered from his goal. The kids were a little quieter, maybe because they were better acquainted with the stinging pain of a skinned knee. “Are you ok?” William asked, standing over them. “Ok.” Nicky said, wincing as he started to move.“Yeah, ok.” Sasha pushed himself up. He’d ripped his sweats and they’d landed in a puddle of melting snow and slush. His hands stung. William wrinkled his nose. “I think you need bandaids.” He said. Nicky got up slowly and William’s eyes widened. “You definitely need bandaids.” Nicky had two skinned knees, blood dripping down his shin from one. He winced, brushing debris from his wounds. “Sorry.” He said to Sasha, his face sour. “It’s ok. Not so bad. Better than...than hockey on ice.” He said, ineloquently trying to explain that he’d obviously sustained worse injuries playing hockey. Alex appeared behind them, frowning over their minor injuries. “Can’t take you anywhere.” He teased playfully, nudging Sasha. “I have pants, if you want.” Nicky offered as they followed William and Alexander inside. Sasha’s shoes squelched with water. “And socks.”“Yeah, maybe good.” Sasha agreed. Inside, Jackie went wide-eyed at the sight of them and insisted on helping put on bandaids. Sasha ended up with a couple Barbie bandaids on his knee and Nicky a few Disney ones; neither of them resisted. Sasha followed Nicky downstairs, cold and wet clothes clinging to him uncomfortably, the ripped leg of his sweatpants pulled up to keep his bandaids dry. Alex pulled the door shut and Nicky dug out a couple pairs of sweatpants and shirts. Nicky was quick to take off his wet clothes and change, back turned to the others. Sasha hadn’t been shy about changing in a long time, but it nagged at him that Nicky was. He’d never met a bashful hockey player, not since he was playing as a kid. “Nice ankles.” Alex teased; Sasha had a couple inches on Nicky, and it showed in his borrowed sweats. Nicky was pink. “Sorry.”Sasha shook his head. “Ok. It’s...dry. So, much better.” He promised. Nicky nodded, cheeks bright and looking uncomfortable. “Ping pong?” He suggested. Nicky’s shoulders relaxed and he nodded. “Yeah, sure.” A few days later, they left for the road trip from hell. One of Sasha’s least favorite things was how, no matter what, the flu or some other illness would sweep through a hockey team every season. He especially hated it when it lined up with a road trip. Alex was among the first group to get sick, apparently the price to pay for being social. He missed the first game of the trip entirely, staying at the hotel. “You better win for me.” Alex said, hoarse and coughing. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes glassy as he lay curled up in bed; it was unsettling seeing him so still. “We’ll try.” Sasha assured him, pushing his hair back and kissing his forehead. “Take more Tylenol.” He murmured, Alex’s skin burning too hot under his lips. Alex nodded even as his eyes closed. “Ok.”Sasha set the medicine and a bottle of Gatorade beside the bed, kissing him once more before he left. Sasha brought back a puck for him, sneaking it from one of the trainers afterwards and smuggling it in his coat pocket. Alex was asleep, sprawled across the bed with the covers half-kicked off. His shirt was soaked in sweat and Sasha could tell from across the room that his fever had finally broken. Sasha gently encouraged him to the other bed, tugging his wet shirt off and covering him with a light blanket. “D’you win?” Alex murmured. Sasha nodded. “Yeah.” He smoothed the sheets out. “I brought you a puck.”Alex laughed, which quickly turned into a coughing fit. “Yeah? Good.” Sasha changed into a pair of sweatpants and crawled into bed, falling asleep easily with an arm slung over Alex’s waist. In the morning, he awoke with a headache and feeling exhausted. Alex was snoring beside him and he shoved at him to make him stop. His eyes felt heavy and he couldn’t bring himself to get out of bed. He fell back asleep. The next time he woke up someone was pounding on the door and Alex was stumbling over to open it. “Hey, the bus is leaving in, like, 10 minutes.” Mike said. “Oh, you guys look like shit.” He laughed, covering his mouth. “Fuck you.” Sasha rasped, rubbing at his eyes. “What?”Mike schooled his expression from amused to serious. “The bus is leaving in 10 minutes. C’mon, I’ll help you pack.”Sasha felt like his muscles had been replaced with lead. His arms and legs were heavy and his head ached. Mike threw some clothes at him and he slowly got dressed, not-so-accidentally snagging Alex’s jacket from their mutual pile of shed clothes. He liked looking down and seeing the 8 just above his heart almost as much as he liked seeing his number on Alex. If anyone noticed, he’d blame it on their rushed morning, but no one would probably say anything. Michael Nylander raised his eyebrows as the three of them boarded the bus a minute before the scheduled departure time. “Feeling better?” He asked Alex, uncharacteristically gentle in tone; usually he only sounded like that with his kids, or maybe Nicky. Alex shrugged. “Less shitty.” He said, turning to cough into his elbow. “Still gross.” Michael glanced at Sasha. “You sick too?” He guessed. Sasha shook his head. “I’m ok.” He didn’t feel that bad, definitely didn’t sound as bad as Alex had, and more importantly he wouldn’t want to tell anyone if he was sick in the first place. Michael looked skeptical. “Uh huh.” When they reached their destination that night, Sasha was undeniably ill. He was freezing, which he was pretty sure meant he had a fever, and he’d started coughing. He...he didn’t usually miss home. He’d been away a long time, he was old enough that even if he didn’t play hockey he’d probably be moved out by now. But...being sick always made him feel more misplaced than usual. Having a fever made English that much more foreign, made everything uncomfortable. “You ok?” Nicky asked as they waited in the hotel lobby for key cards to be distributed. “Yeah.” Sasha nodded, closing his eyes. Nicky stayed quiet. “No.” Sasha admitted. When he opened his eyes Nicky was looking at him with concern. The blond reached out a tentative hand, maybe to pat his shoulder, maybe to feel how feverish he was, but he dropped it at the last second. “Sorry.” He murmured. Sasha nodded, not sure what else to say. Nicky looked nervous but Sasha couldn’t do much about that; he could barely keep himself upright. Between Nicky and Alex, Sasha didn’t have to carry his bags to the room, which he greatly appreciated. He collapsed into bed and groaned. “Here, drugs.” Alex said, helping him sit up just enough to swallow some pills. “So stubborn.” He muttered. He kissed the top of Sasha’s head, something he probably didn’t even think about, acting out of habit. Except…Except Nicky was still in the room. Even Nicky, who was as oblivious as the average hockey player, had to realize that kisses were something more intimate than just teammates, just friends. Alex stiffened immediately after, seemingly realizing that he’d slipped up. “I, uh, night.” Nicky said awkwardly, red-faced as he backpedaled out of the room. “Fuck.” Alex exhaled as the door shut firmly. “Sorry.” He hugged Sasha close, rubbing a hand over his arm. “Shit.”“S’ok.” Sasha said. “It’s...it was bound to happen sometime.” They’d been treading a fine line since they’d first hooked up, and even more so for the last year. They’d always been one step away from someone finding out. “You think he’ll tell anyone?” Alex asked. It took a Herculean effort for Sasha to open his eyes. Alex’s face was pinched, his mouth drawn in a thin line. He looked scared, even as he tried to hide it. “No, he wouldn’t say anything.” They could get in trouble, in Russia. If anyone found out, they might never play for their country again. Their families...Sasha hoped they would be accepting, but he didn’t think they would. If Nicky told anyone of consequence, if the word got out...Sasha didn’t know what would happen. “Should we say something?” Alex asked. Alex didn’t get nervous, didn’t get scared, but in that moment he was. “He won’t say anything.” Sasha said, trying to sound certain. It was undermined somewhat by how hoarse his voice sounded, but Alex’s shoulders relaxed. Sasha slept for ten straight hours, which would be amazing if he hadn’t woken up feeling even worse. He made it as far as the dining room before anyone said anything. Alex was still congested and coughing, even if his fever had broken, so he could be forgiven for not noticing. As far as everyone else, no one else really cared. Sasha was prickly enough that no one had ever really tried to bring him under their wing. Michael Nylander apparently decided Sasha now fell into his purview. “You aren’t going to try to practice, are you?” He asked, an eyebrow arched. Sasha shrugged. Michael sighed, shaking his head. “You need to go back to bed- after you eat.” He decided. Sasha wrinkled his nose as the idea. “Even just oatmeal.” “I’m ok.” Sasha mumbled, stifling a cough. Michael shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.” He reached out to check for a fever before Sasha could even flinch; he did have six kids, he was probably used to Sasha’s sort of reluctance. “Yeah, no, you’re burning up. Did you take any medicine?”Sasha shook his head. “No.” Not yet. He wasn’t a masochist he just- the thought of swallowing anything seemed terrible. Michael gently guided him to sit at the table, stilling him with a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll be right back. Nicky, don’t let him leave.” He said, only half joking. Sasha looked up at Nicky, who looked as wide-eyed and bewildered as he had when he first joined the team. Sasha sighed internally; they’d made so much progress with him and now he was clammed up again. Nicky didn’t say anything, moving the food on his plate around without really eating any of it. Michael returned with juice, oatmeal, and Advil. “Here, it’ll help.” Sasha didn’t need or want people to make a fuss over him. He could take care of himself, had been for a long time. That didn’t mean it wasn’t nice when someone did. He didn’t particularly like Nyles; they’d had enough misunderstandings on and off the ice to make their relationship tenuous at best. Maybe he was coming around because of Nicky. Or maybe Sasha was, because he was learning English, because he was hanging out with the team more...Sasha was too sick for introspection. “Thank you.” He croaked. Michael smiled, shaking his head. “No problem.” He sighed. “This happens every year, on every team, it seems.”“No one...no one good at wash hands.” Sasha said slowly. Michael laughed. “Or maybe from everyone stealing water bottles.” Michael caught sight of Alex. “Are you going to skate?” He asked. Alex sat down beside Sasha. “I don’t know, maybe? Feel...not so shitty as yesterday.” Michael frowned. “You should rest too.” He decided. “Not my papa, Nyles.” Alex teased. Michael rolled his eyes. “Rest this morning, see if you can skate tonight.” Alex shrugged, but Sasha could tell he was considering it. “Maybe.” He finally agreed reluctantly. Michael turned his attention to Nicky. “Are you sure you’re ok? You’ve been quiet.”“I’m ok.” Nicky promised, mostly to his plate. “Very convincing. Where’s Greenie?” “He...he...how do you say-“ he ended in something Swedish. Michael wrinkled his nose. “Alright. You should sleep in my room, I don’t want you getting sick.”Nicky shrugged and didn’t argue. Sasha didn’t know what to make of that. Alex played that night; Greenie didn’t, showing up at Sasha’s door with cough drops and blankets from his room. “I don’t wanna watch by myself.” He said. Sasha let him in; misery loves company, after all. They watched the entire first period in companionable silence. “You have...you have girlfriend?” Sasha finally asked, coughing. Mike looked up from his phone. “I- yeah. Courtney. Did Nick say something?”Sasha nodded. “Said you talk lots. To her.”“Oh, yeah.” Mike laughed roughly, his voice throaty and painful sounding. “Usually I just wait until he falls asleep.” Sasha nodded slowly and they lapsed into silence. The Capitals lost in a shutout and Sasha watched it helplessly from his bed. He hated watching games he should be in, he hated being able to see the hole he should be filling on the ice. Maybe he wouldn’t have made a difference, but he would rather play in a losing game than watch one. Mike seemed to be of the same mindset. “Well, that fucking sucked.” He decided. “I’m gonna go to bed before Nick gets back. He’s gonna be pissy.” Nicky had been called for a bullshit minor penalty that led to a goal. They’d showed him glowering in the penalty box and Sasha ached a bit more to be there. Sasha meant to stay awake, but he must’ve dozed off. He woke up with a start as Alex came in. “Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you.” Alex said, a guilty look on his face. “Come to bed.” Sasha pulled the covers back for him.
“I should shower.”
Sasha shook his head. “Sanya…” He whined; he couldn’t help it. His head hurt, his chest hurt, he felt like shit. He was in a hotel room in a country that still felt so foreign sometimes, even after so many years and he just wanted...he wanted something solid. Alex was solid. “Ok, ok.” Alex kicked off his pants and took off his shirt, laying down beside him. “Thanks.” Sasha mumbled, closing his eyes. Alex wrapped an arm around his waist, slotting himself in behind him and kissing the back of his head.
“I love you.”

“I love you too.”
Sasha didn’t feel better in the morning, but he also didn’t feel worse. He spent the day cursing air travel and trying to not let his Advil wear off. He was starting to hate the west coast. Sasha missed the second game of the trip but was in for the third, even though it sucked. It had been a few days since the kiss and Nicky hadn’t said anything. After the game, Sasha caught a glimpse of the blond watching him and Alex. They weren’t doing anything, not really; Alex was teasing Sasha about how deep his voice sounded from being sick, that was all. He’d only touched his arm once or twice. “Hey, you guys want burgers or something?” Mike asked, looking up from his phone. “I’m starving.”“Sure.” Alex agreed. “Ok.” Sasha said. Mike poked Nicky to get his attention. “Nick. Burgers?” Nicky shrugged. “Not hungry.” He mumbled, looking down at his shoes. “I’ll buy you a shake, c’mon.” Mike said. Nicky didn’t argue and he was drug along reluctantly. He was nearly silent, picking at the fries that Mike set in front of him and lazily stirring his shake with the straw more than he actually drank it. Alex was overcompensating for the sudden awkwardness by trying to joke more, careful to keep from sitting too close to Sasha. Sasha appreciated that they’d put Nicky in an uncomfortable spot, and that hadn’t been their intention, but it had just been a kiss to the top of his head; it wasn’t like he walked in on them fucking. Unless...if Nicky did like Alex, realizing he was with Sasha would be upsetting. Sasha’s stomach sunk at the thought. Alex’s rookie was nothing but trouble, he decided. “What’s wrong with you?” Mike finally asked during an unsettling pause in conversation. He nudged Nicky to make him look up. “Are you sick?”“Jus’ tired.” Nicky mumbled, tugging his sleeves down over his hands. “You sure?” Mike prodded. “You’re being weird- weirder than usual.” His smile faltered when Nicky didn’t laugh. “Nicky…”“I just- I’m go to bed.” He decided, slipping out of the booth. “Hey, Nicky, c’mon.” Mike said to his quickly retreating roommate. “What the fuck.” He grumbled. Sasha and Alex exchanged a nervous look but Mike didn’t press them for any information. “I don’t think I had that much teenage angst as a rookie.” Mike decided, rolling his eyes. “Angst?” Alex asked, cocking his head. “Like...lots of emotions and feelings, you know?” Sasha nodded slowly, though he didn’t really understand. Sasha tried to put Nicky out of his mind, but it was hard to do when they were still traveling together. Maybe Nicky felt his crush was unreciprocated, maybe Nicky hated the idea of them being together for different reasons. Sasha wasn’t sure he could handle knowing the truth yet. The day before their final road game, the coaching staff decided to put Nicky back on the top line, shuffling the line up because of players out with illness. They ran drills until Sasha felt like his legs would turn to jello- his fever had broken a few days ago but he was still worn down and exhausted. He was seriously considering heading to the bench when Nicky knelt beside him, one knee buckling awkwardly. “Nicky?” Sasha asked. “Kolya?” Alex’s eyes snapped up, wrinkling his forehead. “Nicky?”“M’ok.” Nicky mumbled, eyes closed. He was bowed forward, flushed deep red and drenched in sweat. “Hey, let’s go bench, ok?” Alex said, trying to urge him up. “N’m’ok.” “Help me get him up.” Alex said, pressing his lips together. Nicky leaned on them heavily, barely able to get his legs under him as they pulled him to his skates. He collapsed onto the bench, head resting against the boards. He took a deep gulp of air and started coughing, a deep hacking sound that made Sasha feel inexplicably guilty. Michael Nylander came over to help translate, pulling Nicky into a protective hug. Nicky didn’t protest, leaning into his side heavily and not even attempting to answer questions in English. Practice continued, though Sasha couldn’t focus anymore. He wanted to say something to Nicky, but what? Nicky was either disgusted or heartbroken and Sasha couldn’t do anything about either of those. Sasha was almost scared to actually know. He felt foolish for thinking Nicky might’ve wanted both of them; it seemed impossible now. It went without saying that Nicky couldn’t play that night. As much as everything was awkward between them, Sasha missed him, as a line mate and as a friend. After the game, Sasha trailed after Mike back to their rooms. “You wanna make sure he’s ok? I need to call Courtney.” He held up his phone. “Ok.” Sasha nodded. Nicky blinked up at him with glassy eyes as he entered the room, a pillow hugged to his chest. The TV was off and the room was lit by a single lamp. Sasha sat down on the edge of Mike’s bed. “You ok?” He asked. “Sick.” Nicky said quietly. “Sorry.”“S’ok.” He murmured, eyes closing. “You watch game?”“No.”“We win.” He pulled a puck from his pocket. “Scored for you.” Sasha’s heart was pounding in his ears as he tried to keep his hands steady. “Thanks.” Nicky said, managing a thin smile and accepting the puck from him. “Yeah. Sanya and me, we miss you.” He said. Nicky blinked at him. “On ice.” Sasha clarified, flushing. “And...and just miss you.” He admitted quietly, trying for once to be brave. “Oh...I…” Nicky coughed. “Sorry.”“You sleep, ok? Feel better.” Sasha left quickly. In the morning, Sasha didn’t see Nicky until he got on the bus with Alex and found the blond sitting in a seat by himself. Sasha could see the outline of a puck in his hand, both pulled inside the sleeve of his hoody. “Hey.” Alex said, sitting across from him. “Better?”Nicky shrugged. “No.” He admitted hoarsely, barely louder than a whisper. “Sorry.” Alex patted his shoulder and Nicky leaned into the touch, just a bit. Just enough that Sasha was fairly certain he didn’t imagine it. Maybe he wouldn’t hate them. They were supposed to have practice the day after they got back, but the coaching staff decided to cancel it out of pity; the flight home was filled with coughing and sneezing. It meant everyone could rest, but it also meant they had Valentine’s Day entirely free. Alex and Sasha has plans to celebrate Valentine’s Day, which was why Alex had three fingers inside Sasha when his phone rang. Sasha groaned. “You’re not going to answer that.” Alex gave him a devilish grin. “Why? You can be quiet.” He teased. He answered the phone. “Hey, Greenie.”Sasha closed his eyes. “I hate you.” He whispered. Alex twisted his fingers and Sasha bit back a moan. He was so- he’d been close, before Alex decided to flex his exhibitionist streak. “Lunch?” Alex said, glancing at Sasha. “Yeah, sure. Who’s going?” “Fuck them, fuck me.” Sasha protested softly, shifting his hips. Alex chuckled at that. “You don’t have plans with Courtney?” He asked, seemingly in no hurry to hang up. Sasha squirmed, gasping slightly as Alex’s fingertips found his prostate. “Sanya, Sanya, come on.” Alex was still listening to whatever Mike was saying. “Ok, we meet you there.” He said. “Hi Nicky!” Sasha bit his lip. “You’re my least favorite person.”“I’m your most favorite.” Alex teased. “Sasha, say hi to Nicky.” He said, holding up the phone. Sasha covered his mouth with his hand, trying to stay quiet as Alex continued to work his fingers into him. “Sorry, he’s busy.” Alex laughed. “See you soon.” “Oh my god, I hate you.” Sasha whined. “Just fuck me already, come on.” Alex finally obliged, sliding his cock into him in one motion. Sasha managed to grab him by the arms and, catching him off balance, flip him onto his back with Sasha straddling him. Alex looked surprised by it, but Sasha was stronger than he looked. Sasha ground down into him, finally getting what he wanted. “Fuck, you’re a menace.” He groaned, jacking himself as he fucked Alex’s cock. “Fuck.”“You like it.” Alex said, smirking. “You like when it’s a little bit risky, when someone might catch us.” And that was true, but Sasha still reserved the right to bitch about it anyway. Riding Alex, he came almost embarrassingly quickly, cum shooting across his stomach. Alex gave him a moment to collect himself and then toppled him, fucking him and biting kisses along his neck. He came after a few minutes, panting just below Sasha’s ear. “I told Mike and Nicky we would meet them for lunch.” Alex said, lifting his head enough to kiss his cheek. “I heard.” Sasha grumbled, eyes closed. He could feel Alex’s cheek rise in a smile. “Didn’t know if you were listening.”“What, like I was busy? No, I didn’t have anything better to do.” He teased. Alex laughed and propped himself up enough to give him a proper kiss. Alex was a menace, but he was Sasha’s menace. They were only 5 minutes late to lunch, which was impressive any day. Mike looked up from his phone and grinned at them. “Hey, you made it. We just got here.” He said, sliding a menu over to them. Alex sat next to Mike, forcing Sasha to sit beside Nicky. The blond smiled at him, bags under his eyes and still looking a bit pale. “Feel better?” Sasha asked. Nicky shrugged and looked down. “A little, yeah.”“I thought some sushi would be good for him.” Mike said, grinning. “Courtney can’t do lunch.” Nicky muttered. Sasha looked up in time to see Mike flush pink. “She had some work stuff come up.” He explained. “I’m taking her out for dinner.” Alex grinned. “So, we do lunch date with you?”“Yeah, unfortunately.” Mike laughed. “I just figured, since we didn’t have practice.”“Don’t need excuse for sushi.” Alex agreed quickly. Alex was proficient at chopsticks and Sasha was not. Sasha was at a disadvantage; just like he’d be better at English if he’d learned it young, he was not introduced to chopsticks early enough to be good at them. Fortunately, neither was Nicky. “You guys are embarrassing.” Mike teased. “Here, like this. Hold it a bit further up.”Sasha attempted to copy him and dropped his sushi roll. Nicky sighed and abandoned his chopsticks all together, using his fingers to pick up his piece and pop it in his mouth. Alex was grinning widely, looking amused. “They have forks?” He suggested. Nicky groaned and hung his head a bit, resting it in his hand. Mike nudged his foot under the table. “Alright, we won’t make fun. I know I drug you out of the house against your will.” He said, almost gently. Sasha glanced at Nicky again, taking in the way he was flushed and his hesitant expression. “Try...try this way.” He held up his chopsticks. It wasn’t pretty, but it was mostly working for him. Nicky tried, but it still wasn’t quite right. Sasha gently moved his fingers into place. “There.”It was moderately successful, enough that Nicky could eat, though the red never left his cheeks. Afterwards, Mike was looking at his phone. “Hey, Courtney got out of work early. Could you guys give Nick a ride home?” Alex nodded. “Sure.” He agreed. Sasha was pretty sure the awkwardness of it didn’t hit Alex until it was actually just the three of them, for the first time since the kiss. Nicky climbed into the backseat of Alex’s car and didn’t say anything on the drive back to the Nylander house. “Plans for Valentine’s Day, Nicky?” Alex asked, trying to keep up some amount of normality. “No.” He looked out the window. “Do you...do you guys? Have plans, I mean?”Alex glanced at Sasha, who could only shrug. His breath was caught in his throat and he wasn’t sure what to say. “Lots of chocolates.” Alex laughed awkwardly. “I don’t know.” Nicky didn’t move when they pulled into the driveway. “I...but you’re…aren’t you- never mind.”He started to undo his buckle. “We’re together.” Sasha blurted out. “Please don’t tell. Please.”“I-I won’t.” Nicky promised. “I won’t.” His eyes were wide, his face cast in a serious expression, even as bewilderment was starting to creep in. Alex relaxed. “Thank you.” “It’s- it’s ok.” Nicky said, still leaving hastily. Alex glanced at Sasha and drove them straight to the store, so they could buy Valentine’s chocolates. “He didn’t seem upset.” Sasha said quietly. “Didn’t seem very happy either.” Alex pointed out, a bag of chocolates in his arms. “Maybe he’s upset you’re not single.” Sasha said, only half-teasing. Alex rolled his eyes. “I think he likes you.” He countered. “How do we tell him...how do we let him know we’d be open, you know, to him being with us?”It wasn’t really an appropriate conversation to be having in the candy aisle of a CVS, but there they were. “I don’t know.” Sasha admitted. Alex sighed and grabbed another two bags of chocolates. They ate their spoils on the couch that night, Alex leaning against Sasha’s side and being uncharacteristically still. Sasha squeezed his hand and kept him close, savoring the comfort of having him so near, even though neither of them knew what to do about Nicky. At least they had each other. The next day, they took the remnants of their chocolate feast to the Nylander house. Michael opened the door, eyeing the bags. “Do you boys have enough there?” He asked, shaking his head. “Nicky’s downstairs. I’m not sure if he’s still sick or if he’s...well, it’s good you’re here. I think he’s bored when the kids are at school.” Nicky was sprawled on the couch downstairs, looking half asleep as he watched the tv, something in Swedish playing on screen. “Hey.” Alex said, pausing at the bottom of the steps. “Brought chocolate.” “KitKats.” Sasha added, grinning when Nicky sat up a bit. “KitKats?”“All for you.” Alex said, tossing him the bag. Nicky looked at it suspiciously and then at them. “I’m not- I won’t say. I’m sorry, I didn’t- didn’t try to know.” He fumbled.Sasha wished, for the millionth time, they didn’t have the great obstacle of foreign language between them. “Sorry didn’t say before.” He admitted quietly. “It’s just...scared, didn’t know if you’d...be mad.”“Mad?”“Back home, we’d be in lots of trouble.” Alex explained, flopping down a beanbag chair. “So, makes us nervous, even here.”“Oh. No, I...not mad.” But not ok, either, Sasha supplied mentally. “Why...why are you here?” Nicky asked softly, looking down at his KitKat bar that he’d yet to unwrap. Sasha looked at Alex, hoping he could be the one to say something. Sasha felt vulnerable and exposed even being there, let alone trying to verbalize why. “Didn’t want you to be bored. Nyles says you miss kids when they go school.” Alex teased. Nicky nodded, but it wasn’t really an answer and it definitely wasn’t what he wanted to hear. “And...like to hang out with you.”Nicky went pink, taking a bite of his chocolate to avoid saying anything. Sasha sat on the loveseat, though he’d probably normally have sat next to Nicky. Nicky paused the movie he’d been watching and changed the TV back to cable, pausing when he found an episode of Friends on. Alex chuckled. “Why? Why you like this show so much?” He teased. “It’s the worst.”“Because you always don’t like it.” Nicky admitted with a sly grin. Sasha laughed, tension releasing in his chest and everything felt normal for a minute. Nicky looked pleased with himself, confident in a way that had started to become a distant memory. “I like.” Sasha said, though he really didn’t care; it was more fun to get under Alex’s skin. “Both of you, terrible.” Alex decided, still smiling broadly. They had morning skate the next day and then a game that evening. Nicky was back to smiling and looking generally happy, though he was still careful around Sasha and Alex. Sasha wasn’t sure what it meant, if it meant anything at all, but he was relieved that things were more or less normal. That night, they won. They won and Alex got a hat trick off assists from Nicky and Sasha. The game was actually sold out and the arena was loud in the best way. Sometimes, the absurdity of Sasha’s life became clear to him. How ridiculous, how lucky, that he played his favorite game for a living? How wonderful that thousands of people came to watch, came to scream, when Alex found the back of the net. Alex launched himself into Sasha’s arms as the goal horn went off and Sasha couldn’t imagine loving him more. Alex was screaming and laughing and shaking him and Sasha could only laugh in return. Nicky and their other teammates joined them, hugging and shouting as hats rained down on the ice. Sasha felt overwhelmed by all of it, by everything that was welling up in his chest. He buried his face against Alex in another hug, trying to breathe. Alex didn’t say anything, squeezing the back of Sasha’s neck before starting towards the bench, keeping him close.They went out afterwards, and then back to their apartment, teammates in tow. Alex played music, the lights were low, and Sasha was pretty sure that was Brooks on the couch making out with someone. Mike proposed they play poker, Courtney gave a devilish smile and turned it into strip poker, and that was how Sasha found himself down to his jeans and seriously regretting underestimating Nicky. “Alex hates clothes, lose on purpose.” Sasha joked, smiling wider when Alex cackled, delighted by his foreign language joke, or maybe just laughing because it was true. “I didn’t know you were such a card shark, Nicky.” Mike teased. Nicky cocked his head, glancing at Sasha. Sasha shrugged; he had no idea what that meant either. “Didn’t know you were so good at cards.” Mike added helpfully. “Maybe you just suck.” Nicky grinned. Courtney giggled. “He has no poker face.” She agreed. A couple shots later, Nicky finally had to take off his jacket, which revealed he was still wearing two shirts underneath. Mike groaned. “Seriously? That’s not fair.” Nicky blushed, or maybe it was the booze. But he kept looking at Alex and Sasha, so maybe it wasn’t. The game ended abruptly when Alex lost another hand and stood up to take off his underwear. “Nope, I think we’re good.” Mike said while Courtney laughed and looked away. “Nicky wins. Ovi, you suck at this.” Alex was grinning, hands on his waist band. Sasha wished, not for the first time, that he had a fraction of Alex’s confidence. He glanced sideways and Nicky was looking at Alex, his lips pink and wet from being bitten. Nicky looked down when he realized he’d been caught staring and quickly retreated while mumbling excuses about needing another drink. Nicky was there even after everyone left, under the guise of helping clean up. “Do you...do you want me go home?” He asked slowly. Alex had never put his shirt back on. “No, you stay.” He said easily. “Extra bed, all you.”Nicky nodded, not looking up. “You’re sure?” He asked softly. Alex smiled at him brightly. “Very sure. Like you here.” He promised.Nicky nodded, biting back a smile. “Ok.”It was nice knowing they weren’t trying to keep something hidden from Nicky anymore and they could be themselves, at least in the privacy of their apartment.Nicky slept late, as per usual. “Go wake him up, I’m almost done with breakfast.” Alex said, frowning as he constructed an omelette.
“Should we let him sleep?”
“He’ll be cranky if he’s hungry.” Alex countered.
“Maybe he’s hungover.”
Alex snorted. “He’s 19, he doesn’t get hangovers yet.” Alex looked up at him and gave him a mischievous smile. “He’s not old like you.”“Fuck you.” Sasha grumbled, stalking back to the second bedroom with a headache. He pushed the door open slowly. Nicky was hugging a pillow to his chest, almost buried under the blankets. “Kolya.” Sasha said gently. “Kolya, food.” Nicky groaned and pressed his face into the pillow, so only some bleached-out curls were showing. Sasha sat on the edge of the bed. “Sanya makes...the thing with eggs and ham and cheese.” Nicky looked up, making a questioning sound. Sasha sighed, trying to think of the word. “I don’t know, you...you fold eggs?”“Fold eggs…?” Nicky repeated slowly. “Tastes good.” Sasha promised. “C’mon, up.” Nicky closed his eyes, shaking his head as he burrowed his face into the pillow again. “Kolya…”Nicky sighed and tipped his head back to look up at him, eyes startlingly green in the morning light. “Do you...is it ok with you...for me to be here?” Nicky asked softly. “I can-““It’s ok. Like it. Like you.” Sasha flushed but kept talking. “It’s- it’s good, yeah?”“Yeah.” Nicky nodded slowly, chewing at his bottom lip thoughtfully. Sasha squeezed his shoulder. “C’mon, food.” They had breakfast and returned Nicky to the Nylander house, surprised to find the kids home from school. “Why are you here?” Nicky asked William, pretending he wasn’t pleased to see him. “Because it’s gonna snow and they cancelled school! We have a snow day! And mom says we’ll probably have one tomorrow too!” He jumped from the couch onto Nicky, the blond letting out an ‘ooaf’ when he caught him. “Snow day with no snow?” Alex asked, raising his eyebrows. “It will snow, it’s just not here yet.” William explained. Michael Nylander shook his head. “Sasha, did your school cancel class for snow?”Sasha laughed and shook his head. “No, no never.” He paused to think about his words. “When it’s...when it’s very cold, negative 50, the...the little kids don’t do school.” He explained. “Negative 50?!” William said, eyes wide and appalled. “Never cancel school in Moscow.” Alex agreed. “Never?” Jackie asked. “Never.” Alex repeated. “Probably never in Sweden too.” “Papa, is that true?” Jackie asked, tugging at her father’s sleeve. “No snow days when I was little.” He said, picking her up. “Probably none for Nicky either.”“No, I never...always have school. We did…” he trailed off into Swedish, looking for a translation. “Skis?!” Jackie asked. “Yes, took skis to get to school. When I was little, Kris took me in a sled.” He explained. “Kris is your big brother?” Jackie asked. Nicky nodded. She sighed dramatically. “I wish my big brothers were nice to me.” She lamented. Sasha covered his mouth to keep from laughing and Michael rolled his eyes, kissing the top of her head. “You’re silly.” He said to her softly. “Since you guys didn’t get snow days, do you wanna do snow day stuff with us?” Alexander asked. “We can go sledding and make snowmen and have a snowball fight.” Sasha glanced at Michael, who nodded. “Ok. You show us snow day.” The boys cheered happily and Jackie clapped her hands. First, they had to wait for snow though. William and Nicky organized a ping-pong tournament; they had a long-standing rivalry, which both of them took far too seriously. When the snow did start, it fell fast. The kids wasted no time donning their winter coats and snowsuits. Alex and Sasha raided Nicky’s closet for extra layers, hats, and gloves. There was a park down the street and once a couple inches had accumulated, the kids grabbed their sleds and led the way. Playing in the snow wasn’t something Sasha thought of as particularly special; snow had been ever-present for half the year, after all. But, being with the Nylander kids reminded him of his childhood, the snow forts and snowball fights. He was still being nostalgic when Alex got him square in the chest with a snowball, covering his mouth with a glove to conceal his laughter. Sasha countered with his own and soon they had an all-out snowball battle battle being waged in the park.They played in the park for hours, taking turns riding the sled with the younger kids and racing the older two. When it started to get dark, Nicky settled Stephanie on his hip. “Time to go home.” He decided. “C’mon, it’s still snowing.” William whined. “It’s dark. Time for dinner.” Nicky countered. “You’re not in charge of me.” William said, crossing his arms. Nicky rolled his eyes. “Fine. Stay here, I don’t care.” He looked at Alexander and Jackie. “You want hot chocolate?” He offered. Alexander, who had looked tempted to side with his older brother, nodded slowly. “With marshmallows?” He asked. “Sure.” He agreed easily. Alex pulled Alexander on the sled and Sasha gave Jackie a piggyback ride. “You gonna leave him?” Sasha asked softly. Nicky shook his head. “No, but...he always does this.”“He’s a brat.” Jackie piped up. “Be nice.” Nicky chided. “Nicky?” William called, hustling up the hill with his sled. “Nicky?”“Coming now?” Nicky asked, turning around. William hurried to catch up with them, hugging Nicky tight. “Were you really gonna leave me?” He asked, voice muffled in Nicky’s coat. Nicky sighed, shaking his head and pushing William’s bangs back under his hat. “No, won’t leave you.” He promised. The kids (and Nicky) were worn out when they got back. “You can stay, if...if the roads are bad.” Nicky offered quietly to Alex and Sasha. Sasha glanced at Alex. The roads weren’t that bad, but it was tempting. “Nyles won’t mind?” Alex asked. “Nyles won’t mind.” Michael said, coming up behind them to collect wet gear to throw in the dryer. “What’s two more kids?” He teased. They had pasta for dinner and Camilla put Sasha and Alex to work making the salad while Nicky and Jackie set the table. Sasha didn’t grow up in a big family, but he loved the warm, loving feeling that pervaded the house. Dinner was loud, with everyone talking over each other, but Sasha found he could mostly keep track of the conversations around him.After dishes had been washed and everything cleaned up, school was officially cancelled for the next day and the kids’ joy was contagious. The couch downstairs pulled out into a bed and the kids rounded up pillows from around the house to construct a pillow fort. Alexander selected a cartoon movie to put on and they settled in to watch. Alex threw an arm around Sasha, pulling him close. Jackie snuggled up against Sasha’s chest. Nicky was beside him, arms just barely brushing together. William was on his other side, whispering to Nicky in Swedish. By the end of the movie Sasha, Alex, and William were the only ones awake. “He snores.” William said, poking Nicky’s cheek. “You snore.” Alex teased. William shook his head. “Nuh uh!” He laughed, grinning. “Are you guys spending the night?”“Yeah.” Alex nodded. “Cool. Mom doesn’t think the couch is comfy, but it’s actually really comfy.” He informed them. “Good.”“Shhh.” Nicky mumbled, barely opening his eyes. “G’sleep.”“It’s not even that late.” William countered. Nicky groaned, rolling away from him and burying his face in against Sasha’s side. Sasha patted his shoulder gently, leaving his hand there. William yawned and rubbed at his eyes. “You wanna take your little sister and brother to bed?” Alex suggested. William nodded. “Yeah, ok.” Carefully, he woke the others up and a sleepy herd of Nylanders made their way upstairs. “Kolya, bed?” Sasha whispered softly. Nicky grumbled and shook his head. “Ca’ I stay here?” He slurred, not opening his eyes. “You sure?” Alex asked. Nicky nodded, eyes still closed. “Ok. Sleep, Kolya.” Nicky fell asleep with a small smile tugging at his lips. Sasha couldn’t fall asleep for a while, but snuggled in between Alex and Nicky, he knew there were worse ways to spend the night.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

They were finally winning, though Sasha feared it would be too little too late. Maybe that pressure was what they needed; or maybe it took months for them to really click. Nicky was finally a permanent fixture on their line and Sasha was thrilled the coaching staff stopped shuffling the line-up. Nicky was better than Sasha had hoped for, finding him and Alex from anywhere on the ice. Alex was on-pace for over 60 goals and Sasha had no doubt he could get there. Off the ice, Nicky was back to being loose and a bit mischievous, finding ways to annoy Alex, which inevitably lead to Alex trying to get revenge. It wasn’t a prank war, so to speak. More...it was mostly flirtation. Alex would interrupt Nicky’s interviews and Nicky would smile at him fondly. Nicky would tease Alex until he tussled him to the floor. It wasn’t so different than school children who couldn’t keep their hands to themselves. Nicky found excuses to sit beside Sasha, at team meals, on the bus, on the bench; he sat close now, like he wasn’t afraid of him anymore. Sasha looped his arm through Nicky’s at practice while they waited to take their turn at a drill. Nicky never failed to blush, much to Sasha’s delight. Sasha found himself thinking about kissing Nicky. His lips looked soft, his hair looked like Sasha could easily twist it around his fingers. He imagined how Nicky would go with it easily, how he’d melt into the touch. He jerked off in the shower thinking about how Nicky would look with Alex kissing him. “I want Thai food.” Nicky said, sitting on the bench beside Sasha to tie his shoes after practice. Sasha smirked. “Good for you.”Nicky glared at him, biting the inside of his mouth to keep from smiling. God, if Sasha didn’t have such a hopeless crush-“Do you want Thai food?” Nicky asked in a long-suffering tone. Sasha considered it. “Sure.” He decided; like Sasha needed an excuse to go out and eat noodles. “Thai food?” Alex asked. “Love Thai food.” They ordered take-away, which was good because then there were no expectations of chopstick usage or table manners in general. Nicky could fit an impressive amount of food in his mouth and Sasha was only human, so of course he noticed. Alex tried to goad them into playing video games and Nicky eventually gave in, cursing under his breath every time Alex killed him. Sasha half-watched, half read a book. Finally, Nicky gave up, refusing another rematch. “This is stupid.” He decided, shaking his head. Alex ruffled his hair and Nicky scowled at him, ducking away from his hand. “Just because you lose always…” he teased. Nicky yawned and scooted towards the end of the couch. “S’boring.” Alex rolled his eyes. “You’re boring.” Sasha sighed and set his book down. “Both of you, boring.” Alex smiled at Sasha. “And you, you’re so exciting. Reading book, not going out, don’t like people…”“Like some people.” Sasha said. “Like Nicky. Like Greenie.”“And me?” Alex asked. “Eh, you’re ok.” He said, not able to stop from smiling. Alex laughed and threw his arm around Sasha, pressing a loud kiss to his cheek.When Sasha looked back, Nicky was blushing and was pointedly not looking at them. Sasha sighed a bit, fighting the urge to roll his eyes; it was a just a kiss. Part of him was tempted to kiss Nicky, just to break the tension, but he knew he wouldn’t. Something impulsive and possibly ruinous was much more Alex’s style. On the road, Alex cajoled everyone into going out and Mike set a platter of shots on the table directly in front of Nicky. “You don’t have to drink.” He said, his tone growing gently teasing. “I know you can’t hold your liquor.”Sasha was drinking vodka, because he was Russian, and he wasn’t doing shots (because he wasn’t an idiot). Alex was always game for them though, throwing back a couple easily. Nicky tried to match his effortlessness, but ruined it after coughing on the second one. Even Mike was a bit red faced, so he couldn’t make fun. Sasha considered warning them not to try to outdrink a Russian, but maybe it was a lesson best learnt through experience.After a couple shots, it was easy to get Nicky on the dance floor. Sasha liked clubs. There was something anonymous about the close press of bodies, the way it was hard to see in the strobing lights and hard to hear over the music. He liked dancing, liked the excuse to be close to Alex. Alex was a flailing, happy mess on the dance floor and Sasha had known him too long to really be embarrassed about it at this point. Sasha watched Alex try to teach Nicky how to dance, an arm around his waist. Nicky was laughing too hard to follow instructions, his blond hair catching the colors of the flashing lights. Alex was laughing too and it was hard to tell who was holding the other up. Alex demonstrated a dance move and Nicky shook his head, dissolving into a fit of giggles. Sasha joined them, slipping in behind Alex. “Sanya is terrible teacher.” He said over the din of the music. “Terrible!” Alex laughed and looped an arm around him, hugging him tight. “I’m best.” He bragged, winking at Nicky. “Are you better? At- at dancing?” Nicky asked, cheeks flushing. “More better than Sanya.” Sasha promised. “Here, I show you.” Maybe it was the booze, maybe it was the dark of the club, but Sasha felt he could be a bit braver than normal. Or maybe it was the way Nicky was watching him. He pulled Nicky a bit closer and the blond went easily. Nicky was a bit apprehensive, too reserved, at first. “Look, he’s so bad.” Sasha said, nodding towards Alex. “He’s doing that, no one looks at you, promise.” “You like my dancing.” Alex protested. Sasha did, but Sasha had been gone on Alex a long time. He looked back at Nicky, catching the blond staring at him. Their faces were close enough Sasha could lean in and kiss him. He watched as Nicky’s eyes flicked down to Sasha’s lips and then back up. When Nicky took a half-step back, he didn’t stop him. Afterwards, they returned back to the hotel. Nicky tugged on Sasha’s sleeve. “Can I- can I stay with you? Greenie’s...talking to his girlfriend.” He said, his cheeks going faintly pink. Alex laughed and Sasha nodded. “Yeah, ok.” Nicky collapsed into the unmade bed and closed his eyes, looking moments from falling asleep; not that Sasha was jealous, of course not. That didn’t mean it didn’t delight Sasha, just a little bit, when the pair of sweatpants he lobbed at Nicky landed on his head. “Oh, thanks.” Nicky mumbled, clumsily changing into the borrowed clothes. “No problem.” Nicky sat on the edge of the bed afterwards, looking at Sasha and Alex’s bed. Sasha could ask him if he wanted to sleep with them, but he really couldn’t. Whatever was going on, whatever Nicky understood, everything still felt tentative and new and he couldn’t risk it. It was too easy to misspeak still, too easy to be misunderstood, even if there was no misunderstanding the look on Nicky’s face when Alex pressed a casual kiss to Sasha’s cheek. Maybe Sasha couldn’t say anything, but Alex always could. “Sasha, maybe Nicky sleeps with you. Bet he likes to cuddle.” Alex teased, watching as Nicky predictably blushed. So, Alex could tease about it, because Alex joked about everything. If Sasha invited Nicky to their bed...it would be too sincere“Doesn’t snore so much.” Sasha retorted, grinning. Alex laughed, always happy when he got to engage in playful banter. “Snores little bit.” “Maybe...maybe you break nose again, it fixes it?” Nicky suggested, pulling his feet up underneath him. Alex turned the TV on and scrolled through channels until he found Friends. Nicky perked up, leaning against his headboard. “Nicky, come sit here, just to watch.” Alex decided. “Looks uncomfortable.” The TV was directly in front of their bed. It was a bad angle for Nicky. That still wasn’t why Alex was asking. Sasha scooted over and Nicky settled in beside him. “Thanks.” He mumbled, hugging his pillow to his chest. Alex threw an arm over Sasha, pulling him close. He wasn’t completely still; with his other hand, he was playing a game on his phone, tongue sticking out in concentration. Nicky was close and he managed to edge closer, until they were touching. Nicky was warm, even through his long sleeve shirt. Nicky fell asleep easily and Alex smiled fondly at him, reaching out a hand to brush his hair back off his forehead. ”He’s cute.” Alex murmured.“Yeah.” Sasha agreed. ”You think he likes us?”

“Yeah, I think so.” Alex nodded. “But, I don’t know if he’ll do anything, you know?”

“Yeah, me neither.” Sasha nodded. To be fair to Nicky, Sasha didn’t know how to do that either. He knew what to do when he liked someone, he’d known how to act with Alex, to make himself clear.

If he was in Nicky’s shoes, if he was interested in joining an established relationship...it would be hard. Even if Nicky wasn’t as innocent as he looked, he was still only 20.

They decided not to wake Nicky and make him move.

Alex fell asleep easily enough and Sasha stayed awake, staring at the ceiling and worrying about everything.

Eventually, beside him, Nicky stirred. Sasha dimmed his booklight, smiling apologetically when Nicky squinted. “Wha’time s’it?” He mumbled, barely able to keep his eyes open.

“Late.”

“Oh, ‘kay.” Nicky nodded, sleepily accepting the answer. “Sorry. Do you want- should I move?” Nicky was looking at him, only a slim sliver of green surrounding his pupils.

In another world, Sasha could kiss him. But, it seemed wrong with Alex asleep.

“You can stay.” Sasha said. “Like you. Like...it’s nice.”

“Oh. I like...I like you- it too. I like…”

“Sleep, Nicky.” Sasha said, before Nicky further explored the possibility of death by blushing.

“Ok.” Nicky nodded, letting his eyes close.

Sasha read another chapter and then finally tucked the book under his pillow and laid down, eyes worn out, but maybe not actually tired.

When he woke in the morning, the shower was running and someone was snuggled up against him. Sasha had an arm thrown over them, the body warm next to his.

Warm, but not on the side Alex had been on.

Sasha opened his eyes and saw a mess of blond hair. He could get up, but that sounded unappealing. He closed his eyes again, wishfully imagining actually falling back asleep like that.

He might’ve dozed, he realized when he opened his eyes again. Alex was half-dressed, a goofy smile on his face when Sasha looked at him. “You and Nicky sleep well?” he teased.

“I think Nicky always sleeps well.”

Nicky stirred, maybe at their voices, or maybe he’d picked out his name.

“Good morning!” Alex said cheerfully.

“Morning.” Nicky echoed, not lifting his face.

“Gonna get up?” Alex teased. “Next year you can’t be so sleepy.”

Nicky grumbled something that sounded like it would’ve been insulting if either of them spoke Swedish.

It was easy to find an excuse for Nicky to stay in their room the next night, and the one after that. The third night, they didn’t even make an excuse for it, Alex just patted the bed and Nicky settled in beside him.

“He’s so warm and snuggly.” Alex murmured, running his fingers through Nicky’s hair.

“Mhm.” Sasha nodded. “And he doesn’t move all over in his sleep. Unlike you.”

Alex chuckled. “Can’t stay still all night.” He adjusted Nicky so he was more comfortably leaning against his chest. In his sleep, Nicky gave a contented sigh and snuggled closer. “You think he wants to be with us?”

“He sleeps in our bed.” Sasha said. “I don’t think he’s so dumb he hasn’t figured this out.”

“Just a little dumb?” Alex said with a raise of an eyebrow. Sasha pressed his lips together and looked back at the Swede to keep from giggling.

“All hockey players are a little dumb.” He said, trying to sound sage.

“True.” Alex allowed.

So, Nicky was a constant in their lives. It was natural, uncomplicated for him to be there. It felt right, like a space had always existed for him to occupy, like he was a missing puzzle piece they’d found after putting everything else together.

Sasha wasn’t sure how things would progress. He wanted Nicky to set the pace, physically. He could tell he was interested; Alex wasn’t shy about kissing Sasha, and Nicky wasn’t subtle about watching.

They’d decided it would be best to let Nicky make the first move. Privately, Sasha thought it was more likely Alex would kiss him first, just because he’d grown impatient.

In the meantime, they made the playoffs and Sasha felt he could finally breathe. Making the playoffs meant a clean slate, they weren’t trying to claw their way back. He knew the biggest challenge lie ahead still, but after the season they'd had, even making the playoffs seemed like an accomplishment worth celebrating.

And celebrate they did. Alex and Sasha hosted a party, with pizzas and a hefty supply of liquor.

Sasha slipped away sometime after midnight, just for a moment to himself. The patio was empty, though the weather was finally warm.

Nicky followed. “You ok?” He asked, hands shoved deep in his pockets.

Sasha smiled at him. “Yeah, just...loud.” He admitted.

“Yeah.” Nicky nodded.

“It’s good for team, everyone together, having fun...just loud.”

Nicky was facing him, standing close, just out of view of the patio doors. The porch light was behind him and it illuminated his hair like a halo. “Yeah.” He repeated, tongue darting out to wet his lips; Sasha wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t been staring at them.

Nicky glanced down, fidgeting with his sleeves nervously.

Sasha wanted so badly to still his hands and kiss him. Nicky would look beautiful pressed up against the wall.

Just as Nicky shifted ever-so-slightly closer, the door opened and someone stumbled out, retching loudly into the bushes.

Nicky’s nose wrinkled and he looked up in time to see Courtney standing in the doorway. “You need help with him?” Nicky asked, with a teasing smile.

Courtney laughed. “Can you just help me get him to the car? I think we’re done for tonight.”

“M’fine.” Mike protested, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. “Totally fine.”

“Uh huh.” Nicky said, with heavy skepticism. “Home. And Gatorade.”

“Fuck you.” Mike muttered, letting Nicky steer him back inside.

“No thanks.” Nicky retorted, which made Courtney laugh. She gave Sasha an apologetic smile as she pulled the door closed again.

Sasha closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall, exhaling heavily. Maybe some other time then.

At the end of the season, they had a few days before the first round started. Sasha felt worn out; he ached, he hadn’t been sleeping well. Turning off his brain at the end of the day was difficult and it felt like he had too many things to worry about.

They went out to lunch with Nicky and then went shopping. Alex bought a new speaker system and insisted it would be easy to install.

Nicky settled on the couch with Sasha, a couple beers on the coffee table, watching Alex try and fail to set up the new speakers. Sasha had a book in his hand that he’d stopped reading in favor of watching Alex’s shirt ride up as he leaned over to look at the back of the TV. When he turned his head, Nicky wasn’t looking at Alex- he was looking at Sasha.

The blond turned pink immediately and ducked his head. Sasha reeled him in against his chest, book forgotten. “You think he makes this work?” He asked, gesturing at Alex and his electronic catastrophe.

“Maybe.” Nicky said, with an air of sincerity like he was actually considering the question. “If he reads the...the instructions.” He stumbled, a little, over the word.

“Don’t need instructions.” Alex grumbled.

Nicky hid his laughter by tucking his face in along Sasha’s neck. Sasha carded his fingers through his hair and felt Nicky start to relax. Nicky lifted his head to blink at him, green eyes mesmerizing up close.

Sasha had been kissed plenty of times. In fact, Alex had kissed him in the hall when they’d gotten home. His lip still stung a bit where Alex had nipped at it.

The point was, Sasha knew what the moment before a kiss felt like. Nicky’s lips this close to his, his breathing temporarily stilled, it felt like standing at the top of a cliff over a deep lake. It felt like a moment of keen anticipation, a moment that lasted longer than reality.

Nicky’s eyes closed and his lips were soft against Sasha’s. He was warm and a bit heavy against him.

He pulled back after a moment, studying Sasha carefully. “Is this ok?” He asked, his voice a bit husky all of the sudden.

Sasha nodded wordlessly. He was vaguely aware that Alex was watching as he grabbed the front of Nicky’s hoody and pulled him closer, finally, finally getting to kiss him.

Sasha liked kissing; he considered himself something of a connoisseur of it. Nicky was soft, and warm. He was careful, almost timid, as though he feared he’d be rebuked. Sasha tried to assuage him of that concern, slipping his tongue into his mouth. Nicky’s lips parted easily and he melted into Sasha’s touch.

When the pulled apart, Nicky’s pupils were wide, ringed with a thin strip of green. His cheeks were flushed, his hair tangled from Sasha’s hands. On the other side of the room, Alex had stopped working entirely. He was watching them with a grin on his face.

“Don’t have to stop.” He said, bordering on lewd. “Like to watch too.”

Sasha pet Nicky’s hair, smiling at him as he looked down, looking a bit embarrassed. “Ignore him.” He said, tilting Nicky’s chin up and kissing him again. “He’s dumb.”

Nicky breathed a gentle laugh against Sasha’s mouth, one hand holding Sasha’s hip.

Nicky might not have had as much experience kissing, but he was a quick study. Sasha felt Alex come closer, and then felt Nicky’s body go tense as Alex sucked a hickey onto his neck. Alex bit down on the overly sensitive skin and Nicky gasped quietly.

Sasha slipped a hand under Nicky’s shirt, his skin smooth under his hand. “Is this ok?” He asked between kisses.

“Yeah. Yes.” Nicky said, voice sounding a bit strained. Sasha watched as Alex pulled Nicky’s hair and the blond went with the motion easily, his mouth falling open.

Alex kissed him, open-mouthed and all-encompassing. Sasha watched; Nicky was half on top of him, one hand still clinging to him like a lifeline. Sasha hadn’t seen Alex kiss other people much; he liked how he looked, powerful yet tender. One big hand cupped Nicky’s face, rubbing his thumb back and forth across his cheek.

When Alex pulled away to catch his breath, he rested his forehead against Nicky’s, smiling at him. “You like this?” He asked.

“Yeah.” Nicky said.

“With both?” He gestured at Sasha.

Nicky flushed even more. “Yeah. Is that ok?” He asked.

“Yeah.” Sasha kissed him, tasting the lingering hint of Alex’s beer deep in his mouth. “Perfect.”

“You do this before?” Alex asked, kissing Nicky’s neck.

“Yeah.”

Sasha raised an eyebrow at him. “Yeah?”

“Only- ah. Only once.” He stammered as Alex’s teeth grazed his skin.

Sasha nodded. “You want?”

“Yes. Please.” Nicky’s voice was a bit shaken, maybe from nerves or maybe from the way they were touching him.

“Bed.” Sasha decided. “Couch, too small.”

Sasha caught Alex by the wrist just outside the bedroom and kissed him. He didn’t need to ask Alex if he was ok with this, they’d been talking about it for months. He didn’t need to ask, but…

“You want to do this?” He asked. Nicky was on the edge of the bed, watching them, valiantly trying to ignore the erection straining against the front of his sweats.

Alex chuckled. “Yeah. You good?”

“I’m the best.” Sasha teased.

“English?” Nicky asked.

Alex laughed, ruffling Nicky’s hair. “So impatient.” He teased. “You like to watch?” He kissed Sasha again, slipping his hand into the back of his pants to grab his ass.

Sasha laughed and pushed him back towards the bed. “Kiss Nicky.” He decided.

Alex did, because Alex could follow instructions sometimes. He kissed him and Sasha slipped in behind Nicky, wrapping his arm around him and slowly working his hand under his waistband.

Nicky shivered when Sasha got a hand on him, jacking him off. His cock was leaking already, Sasha noted with satisfaction. Sasha rolled his hips, closing his eyes in relief as he finally found friction. Nicky moaned softly into Alex’s mouth.

Sasha jerked him off slowly, not enough to get him off, as he watched Alex kiss him. Nicky’s hands- patient and skillful on the ice- fumbled trying to push Alex’s shorts down. Alex groaned appreciatively when Nicky finally wrapped a hand around his cock. “Fuck, Nicky…” He said in his ear.

“Take off your shirt.” Sasha decided. “Both of you.”

Alex eagerly complied and then helped Nicky take his off too. Sasha took his off and shucked his pants too, for good measure.

He’d seen Nicky naked before, of course. He hadn’t seen Nicky naked like this, when he could run his fingers over him, when he could kiss him all over.

Alex pulled back from kissing the blond, a hand coming up to touch his cheek. “What d’you want?” He asked.

“I- I don’t know. Anything.” Nicky closed his eyes when Sasha sucked on his earlobe, biting back a quiet sound.

“I finger you?” Alex offered.

“Fuck- yeah. Yes. That- that sounds good.”

Alex swatted at Sasha’s arm. “Stop distract him, can’t think you do that.” He teased.

“He likes it.” Sasha said, even as he stilled his hand. “Ok?”

“Yeah.” Nicky nodded.

“Good.” Sasha nodded. “Roll over.” He said, gently urging Nicky onto his back.

Alex worked one finger into Nicky until the blond was flushed halfway down his chest and squirming. Sasha kissed him, one of Nicky’s hands clumsily wrapping around Sasha’s cock.

Nicky broke the kiss when Alex got a second finger in him, gasping. Alex paused, rubbing a hand up and down his thigh. “S’okay.” He murmured.

Two fingers went easily to three and then Nicky was whimpering. “Nicky?” Sasha asked. The blond didn’t respond. “Nicky?”

Alex looked up, stilling his hand. “You ok?”

“It’s- ah, it’s- it’s-” He stammered, eyes shut tight.

“Too much?” Sasha asked, voice pitched low.

“I- no, it’s-“

“Nicky.”

He somehow went more red. “Sorry- yeah. It’s- yeah.”

“It’s ok. Don’t have to do that right now.” Alex assured him. “Lots of other fun stuff to do.”

Alex scooted up the bed to kiss Nicky again and Sasha started to stroke his cock. It only took another minute before Nicky came with quiet moan. Alex kissed him through it, hands tangled in his hair.

Nicky looked overwhelmed; Sasha imagined it was hard to hook up staying with the Nylander family and it had probably been a long time since Nicky was involved with anyone besides his hands.

Sasha gently pushed Alex into position and shifted down the bed, sitting on Alex’s legs. He licked up the underside of his cock, grinning at the strangled noise Alex made before swallowing him down. Above him, Nicky was still kissing Alex, breaking to watch Sasha work his cock in his mouth.

“You like...watch?” Alex teased, panting.

“Yeah.”

“Yeah. Sasha’s so beautiful, yeah?” Alex said, twirling his fingers in Sasha’s hair.

“Yeah.” Nicky whispered.

When Alex finally came, Sasha swallowed and let Alex pull him up into his arms. He’d been hard for so long and he was going to explode if someone didn’t get their hands on him.

Nicky obliged, his grip a bit hesitant but then quickly gaining confidence as Sasha buried his face in Nicky’s shoulder, shuddering all over.

While Nicky was jacking him off, Alex reached around and rolled his balls in his hand and Sasha- Sasha had not been expecting that. Sasha was trying to get used to what an extra pair of hands could mean.

He came all at once, biting Nicky’s shoulder.

Alex, unsurprisingly, was the first to move. He disappeared into the bathroom and returned with a washcloth, cleaning them both up gently.

Nicky shivered at the touch of the wet cloth, still overly sensitive.

Sasha kissed him and Nicky melted into it. “You like that?” Sasha asked.

“Yeah.” Nicky nodded. “I’m sorry-“

“Shh, don’t. It’s ok. Sometimes, something’s too much. It’s ok.” Alex interrupted breezily. Alex tossed Nicky’s cloths to him.

Even after Nicky dressed, he still looked dazed. Alex was already itching to go work on his speakers, but Sasha didn’t have the energy to get up. He looped an arm around Nicky and snuggled up to him.

“Aw, so cute together.” Alex smiled. He bent down and kissed each of their foreheads. “Gonna go fix TV.”

After he left, Nicky cleared his throat. “Is he always…”

“Yeah.”

“Oh. Ok.” Nicky yawned.

Sasha pulled the blankets up and it didn’t take long for Nicky to doze off. Sasha stretched and grabbed his book from the nightstand.

He’d gotten through an entire chapter before Alex came back, still shirtless.

“Is Nicky ok?” Alex asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Yeah, I think so. Just- probably a bit too overwhelming.”

Alex frowned, looking down. “Sorry.”

“I didn’t think about it either.” Sasha admitted. He hadn’t considered that it might be too much too quickly, that they could be overwhelming. He felt a bit guilty.

“Next time we’ll go slower.” Alex decided.

“Stop talking about me.” Nicky murmured, barely opening his eyes.

Sasha snorted and kissed the top of his head. “You learn Russian?” He teased.

“I know my name.” Nicky said, with a sly smile.

Alex laughed, flopping down beside Nicky. “We teach you Russian.” He offered, grinning when Nicky shook his head. “You ok?” He asked.

Nicky looked down, embarrassed. “I’m ok, I’m sorry-“

“Shh.” Alex shushed him, tipping his chin up and kissing him. “Next time, we go slower, that’s all. It’s...a lot to...to...jump in with, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Nicky nodded.

“You like this though? Us?”

Nicky went pink. “I- yeah.”

“You want to be with us? Like date, the three of us.”

“Is that ok?”

“Better than ok.” Alex promised. “Sasha had crush on you a long time.” He teased.

Sasha rolled his eyes but Nicky was looking at him curiously. “Thought you were cute. But, I’m bad at knowing, think Sanya is cute too.”

Nicky giggled as Alex swatted at Sasha’s arm.

“I thought...I don’t know. Liked both of you but thought…”

“It works, I think. Three people is good.” Alex decided firmly.

Nicky spent the night, snuggled up in bed between Alex and Sasha. Nicky was the first to sleep and the last to wake up, so it made the most sense for him to be in the middle.

Nicky was as snuggly as Sasha had imagined. Sasha still couldn’t sleep easily, Nicky couldn’t fix that, but being awake wasn’t as much a hardship when he spent the time combing his fingers through Nicky’s hair as he played on his phone and waited to be able to sleep.

They won the first game of the playoffs, but quickly lost the next three.

The atmosphere in the locker room was tense after the second loss and almost unbearable after the third. They weren’t heading back to D.C until morning and Sasha wasn’t sure if he wanted to drink, get fucked, or curl up in a ball and try to stop thinking about hockey.

Maybe all three.

Nicky was still a bit awkward with them, unsure like anyone at the start of a new relationship as he learned to navigate the new dynamic. They’d gotten to know him over the season and had become close, but going from friends to romantically involved was different.

The added stress of a new relationship on top of the same old problems on the ice didn’t help. Still, Sasha felt things were improving, even if their hockey looked dismal.

When Sasha finished dressing, he realized neither Nicky or Alex were in the locker room, but their bags were still in their stalls, so they weren’t on the buses yet.

He double-checked the showers before wandering into the bathrooms.

Alex looked up. “Hey.” He said softly. He was sitting on the floor outside a stall, Nicky’s stocking feet visible underneath the wall. “Headache.” He explained.

Sasha nodded. “Medicine?” He asked.

Nicky mumbled something and Alex shook his head. “Just bed, I think.” Alex translated.

If Nicky was cuddly normally, that was nothing compared to when he was sick. As soon as they reached the hotel, he buried his face in Sasha’s chest and held onto him tightly.

Sasha kissed the top of his head. “Sorry you feel bad.” He murmured.

“Me too.” Nicky whispered.

Sasha kissed him again, smiling at Alex when he sat down beside them. “Poor Nicky.” Alex cooed. “What makes the headaches?”

“I don’t know...sometimes...sometimes stress.” Nicky admitted slowly.

Sasha held him closer. “Stress about hockey?” He guessed.

“I don’t know, maybe.” Nicky hedged, sounding unwilling, or at least reluctant, to talk about it.

Alex stretched out behind him, running his hand up and down his arm. “It’ll be ok. Next year, we’re gonna be even better.”

“Ok.” Nicky agreed weakly, closing his eyes and relaxing between them. “Sorry.”

“Why?” Alex asked.

Nicky shrugged. “S’not...not what I wanted to do tonight.” He admitted as color slowly filled his cheeks.

A quiet laugh rumbled in Alex’s chest and he smiled. “Lots of time for that when you feel better.” He promised. “Sleep, Nicky.”

“M’not tired.” He mumbled, even as he fell asleep.

In the morning, Nicky seemed better, more or less. It was hard to tell; Sasha woke up to Alex kissing Nicky. “Start without me?” Sasha teased.

“Didn’t want to bother you.” Alex said lightly, even as his eyes flicked across Sasha’s face, searching for evidence of sleeplessness.

“I’m ok.” Sasha assured him. He slid his hand under Nicky’s shirt, tracing his fingers over the flat plane of his stomach until he found Alex’s hand, bumping their fingers together.

Nicky squirmed a bit, and Sasha realized Alex’s other hand was down his sweats. The sight of them both worked up made blood rush to his cock.

“Can I- can I blow you?” Nicky asked.

“Yeah.” Sasha nodded. He scooted closer to Alex as Nicky moved down the bed.

Nicky wasted no time in swallowing Sasha’s cock eagerly. He closed his eyes, turning his head to let Alex kiss him. He fumbled and managed to tug Alex’s shorts down, finding that he wasn’t wearing anything underneath. Alex had a preternatural aversion to clothes.

Nicky wasn’t the best at giving head that Sasha had ever had, but enthusiasm went a long way. Soon, he established a solid rhythm, working his hand and his mouth in harmony.

With his free hand, he curled his fingers in Nicky’s hair and gently tugged. Nicky’s mouth opened a bit more and he moaned, the rumble of it going through Sasha like lightning.

When Sasha was close, he tapped Nicky’s shoulder. “Gonna cum.” He warned.

Nicky didn’t lift his head, and Sasha groaned when he realized Nicky intended to keep going. Alex kissed him through his orgasm and after a moment to catch his breath, he tugged Nicky up into his arms.

Nicky kissed Sasha and then Alex wanted a turn. Alex licked the taste of Sasha out of the blond’s mouth and Sasha shivered. Sasha loves to watch Alex and Nicky together, reaching down to cup Nicky through his pants.

Alex came next, into Nicky’s hand; Sasha hadn’t even realized he was touching him.

Alex tugged Nicky’s pants halfway down his thighs and jerked him off fervently, until Nicky gasped and buried his face in the crook of Alex’s neck.

Sasha stretched to grab the tissues and gently cleaned Nicky up, rubbing his arm when the younger man shivered.

Facing elimination, they managed to claw their way back and win. It was a hard fought game and Sasha was exhausted. He didn’t know how they could do it again, he couldn’t imagine having the energy to get into the next round, let alone to win the cup.

Alex was optimistic, at least in the locker room, but the best he could do at home was to not say anything about it at all. Alex had taken to cooking, calling his mother at odd times and diligently writing out recipes.

Sasha would never argue with cookies, but he wasn’t sure it was the healthiest of coping mechanisms. But what did Sasha know? He was a chronic insomniac who couldn’t get a decent night's sleep two nights straight. Nicky had worked himself up to the point of giving himself a migraine; maybe they all needed help.

Sasha knew, in his gut, that they weren’t going passed the first round.

That didn’t make it sting any less when they finally lost.

They’d worked so hard, was the thing. They’d put everything, every last ounce, into the game and nothing went their way.

Alex was radiating abject misery, even as he tried to put on a brave face for the press and talk about the next season and rebuilding and...Sasha wasn’t sure. Sasha’s eyes were wet, his ears felt like they were stuffed with cotton. His English was improved enough that he managed to stumble through his own press without a translator. It might’ve been his first interview by himself, but that was lost in the cloud of heavy disappointment hanging over the locker room.

Across the way, Nicky had managed to escape interviews and he was quickly shoving his gear into his bag.

Sasha wanted to say something, but what? They’d lost, they were going home, they were-

Going home.

Nicky was biting back tears, probably from frustration, but…

Sasha had the luxury of knowing he could spend the off-season being comforted by (and comforting) Alex.

He followed Nicky to the showers.

“You come to Russia?” He asked, voice mostly covered by the sound of running water.

Nicky looked up, shrugging. “Do you- is that ok?”

Sasha wanted to kick himself. “Yeah, of course. Yes. It’s...this isn’t...this isn’t nothing, yeah? You, me, Alex, it’s...we love you.” Nicky looked a bit stunned. “You don’t have to say too.” Sasha assured him. “Just want you to know.”

Nicky nodded, pressing his lips together. “Thank you.” He said, voice husky.

Sasha wanted to kiss him, but couldn’t. He couldn’t even touch him. He wasn’t sure if it would make Nicky feel better, or just make himself feel better. Maybe both.

At home, Alex disappeared into the kitchen to find a distraction. Nicky folded himself up into the corner of the couch, taking up as little room as possible. Sasha sat on the other end.

Only ten minutes later he realized neither of them had even turned the TV on.

He found the remote and turned on the first nature show he stumbled upon, watching something about sharks.

Halfway through, Alex returned with a plate of cookies and a few glasses of milk. He distributed the glasses to Nicky and Sasha before settling in between them.

No one talked. No one mentioned the diet plan; fuck the diet plan. Sasha hated how failure felt, he hated how his insides felt molten and there was nothing he could do about it.

Finally, Nicky broke the silence. “You want me to go with you this summer?” He asked, looking up.

Alex looked surprised that someone spoke. “Of course. Want us together.”

Nicky nodded slowly. Maybe he’d thought that he was just a way for Sasha and Alex to spice up their relationship, maybe he thought he didn’t get to part of the real heart of the romance.

Sasha didn’t know how to talk about feeling and emotions, and it wasn’t just the language barrier. It wasn’t just that English was cumbersome and unwieldy. Even in Russian, it was hard to say what he wanted, what he felt.

Emotions were strong and amorphous things that he didn’t fully understand. He couldn’t articulate them any better than he could explain the funtioning of the galaxy.

He still wanted to try.

“I was with Sanya, and it was good. But then, meet you and it’s...like you’re supposed to be with us too. Like….”

“Like you belong with us.” Alex added. “You and me and Sasha. Three of us, all...all together.”

Nicky looked shy. “Even though...even-“

“Yeah.” Alex interrupted. “Wanna take you home, you meet my mama. Show you Moscow. Maybe Sasha show you Siberia. I don’t know, not so much to see.”

Sasha laughed and smacked his arm. “Fuck you, lots to see.” He said. “Maybe Nicky takes us to Sweden.”

“That would be- you want to go to Sweden?” Nicky asked.

“Want to be with you.” Alex said.

Nicky relaxed a bit, unclenching a bit. “Oh. I-I want that too.”

“Good.” Alex nodded. “Good. Gonna be a good summer.”