Page 41 of Just a Footnote

“And ruin my street cred as a bad boy? I think not.”

Skye laughs loudly. She shakes her head fondly, making Aiden bite back a smile. “Bad boys don’t say that, you know?”

Aiden sends her a smirk. “This one does.”

The team scores another goal while they talk. They’re still behind but Aiden feels the energy in the room change. Two minutes remain in the game but they’ll be national champions if AU can hold the other team off. Skye jumps to her feet with the rest of the crowd, and Aiden helplessly follows.

Palms sweating, heart racing, he realizes he wants this for Liam as much as Skye wants it for Ollie. He wants Liam to have this win just as much as he wants Archer to have it too. When did Liam’s happiness start to mean as much to him as Archer’s? When has he ever really cared for someone's happiness?

The entire crowd roars when the buzzer goes off. Aiden watches with his heart in his throat as Archer slumps against the net in relief. Miles joins him a moment later, holding him despite his padding, and whispers in his ear. Aiden looks away, biting his lip to keep from smiling, searching Liam’s shape out on the ice. He’s hard to find among all the light blue and white jerseys. The bodies on the ice part so that Aiden can see him.

Tears of joy stream down Liam’s sweaty face. Aiden’s breath catches in his lungs when Liam seems to search him out in the crowd. All the air in the arena evaporates, maybe just out of Aiden’s lungs, when their eyes meet. The way Liam looks at him,like they’ve just shared something special, makes Aiden feel outside of his body.

“Oh wow,” Skye whispers from beside him.

Aiden clears his throat. “We’ve been friends this entire time.”

“Yeah…that’s not how a friend looks at another friend. You’re not getting away with that lie with me.”

“It’s nothing,” Aiden lies, his voice not remotely convincing.

“Sure.” Skye laughs mockingly. “Tell yourself that.”

They stand for an indeterminate amount of time, watching the team celebrate on the ice. The people around them leave, but they stay, basking in the glory of the moment. As the team ushers off the ice a while later, they leave too, heading down to the locker room.

Skye starts to wander into the locker room, but pauses right outside the door, aiming a confused look back at Aiden. “Aren’t you coming in?”

“I usually wait outside,” Aiden carefully points out.

“Not today.” Skye shakes her head, then crosses over to Aiden and pulls him along by the wrist. “You’re coming into the locker room today.”

Aiden steels himself against it. The noise reaches them before they even push through the door. Shouts of joy and raucous celebration rent through the air. Aiden spots Archer, a warm grin on his face, with his arm slung around Miles' shoulders. None of them have showered yet, they’re still just basking in the win moments before.

“Guess you had a right to be cocky,” Aiden teases with a smirk once he stands in front of Archer.

Archer grins, eyes crinkled at the corners. “National champions!”

“Proud of you, Arch.” Aiden pushes Archer’s shoulderlightly, choked by emotion, watching as Archer’s eyes soften at the rarely used nickname.

“Are you proud of me too?” Miles asks, teasing to lighten the moment.

“What was up with that fight?” Aiden asks to avoid the question.

Miles and Archer share a look as if wondering how much to say.

“One of the other players used a slur,” Miles says softly, eyes looking anywhere but Aiden.

“That’s common, yes?” Aiden asks.

Aiden’s confused, although hockey has come a far way, he isn’t stupid to believe there’s no homophobia on the ice anymore. He knows that it’ll still be an uphill battle for Archer and Miles when they go to the NHL. Although there are out athletes in the league, it doesn’t mean that everyone stopped being little shits about it. But there are rarely fights from their team about it. They prefer to let it roll off their back and fuel them towards a win.

“Yeah, it’s over. Liam just didn’t like it.” Aiden tilts his head toward Liam at the other side of the room.

Aiden knows he shouldn’t look, but he does anyway. He glances behind him to see Liam standing shirtless, nose swollen, blood caked around it, and a bruise starting to form on his right pec. As if sensing Aiden’s gaze, Liam’s eyes lifts to meet his own. Liam smiles brightly, shakes his head sheepishly, then quickly looks away.

“Well, what’s the celebration plan?”

Miles snorts. “First on my list is a shower. I think interviews are happening at some point. I don’t think we’re really celebrating until we get home.”

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