Wooseok had never felt so useless before. Here he was, sitting in the spectator’s area of the ice hockey stadium, forced to watch his team play without him. He would have given anything to be on the ice with them. Luckily, they seemed to be doing well enough without him.  

The last five minutes were running right now and his team was leading with three points. The Bats weren’t exactly the weakest team they’d ever encountered – they also weren’t the fairest. Dongyeol got body checked by an opponent even though the puck was long gone. Wooseok jumped to his feet, his ankle completely forgotten, when his boyfriend crashed into the boards. The player was sent to the penalty box and Dongyeol seemed unhurt but it still made Wooseok angry.

In the end his team won against the Bats and Wooseok was the first back at the changing room to welcome and congratulate them. He gave Dongyeol a long hug before his boyfriend even had a chance to catch his breath. “Are you okay?” he questioned. Dongyeol grinned and waved off. “Yeah, I’m fine, don’t worry”, he answered. Wooseok stayed next to him when he faced the rest of his team.

“You did well, guys! I’m proud of you!” he announced. Kogyeol grinned at him. “You better be there with us the next time!” he said. Wooseok laughed. “You bet, I will!” he promised.

~

“Shouldn’t you be sitting down?” Dongyeol asked his boyfriend once they were back at his place. Wooseok carried two cans of coke from the kitchen to the living room where the couple was planning to get comfy on the couch. “I can already walk again! It doesn’t hurt anymore...stop treating me like a pregnant woman!” Wooseok whined. Dongyeol laughed at the image that formed inside his head at the older’s words.

He focused his eyes on the TV that was playing a random music show as Wooseok sat down next to him after putting the two cans on the glass table. “I’m really proud of you”, Wooseok said into his ear. Dongyeol chuckled. “I didn’t do that much”, he argued. “You contributed to our win, that’s why you deserve a reward”, Wooseok told him.

Dongyeol looked at him, ready to make a cheeky suggestion as to what that reward could be but Wooseok beat him to it by smashing their lips together, using the younger’s surprised gasp to slide his tongue into his mouth. Dongyeol’s hands came to a rest on Wooseok’s waist before he pulled him onto his lap.

The younger fumbled with the hem of Wooseok’s shirt, pushing it up to his collar bones. Wooseok raised his arms so his boyfriend could get it off before immediately reconnecting their lips. Dongyeol softly nibbled on Wooseok’s bottom lip, earning himself a small groan in response. He pulled back and looked up at his boyfriend, taking in his still half-closed eyes and his bare torso. “Get up”, he demanded. Wooseok got off the younger’s lap but before he could ask Dongyeol if he wanted to stop, he was dragged upstairs by his hand...

~

“Hwanhee, can I talk to you before we go inside?” Dongyeol called out to his best friend in front of the Gangnam ice hockey stadium the next day.

Hwanhee stopped in his tracks and turned to look at his best friend. “Sure…”, he said. They moved a few feet away from the main entrance.

“You're avoiding me”, Dongyeol began. It wasn't a question, but a fact. Hwanhee opened his mouth to deny the accusation but the younger raised his hand to stop him from answering.

“Don't speak when you're just going to lie to me. What's going on?” Hwanhee sighed. “Can we not do this now?” he asked. “I want to know why you're avoiding me!” “I'm not…I…just…I have a lot on my plate right now”, Hwanhee stammered.

“Like pacing around in front of gay bars?” Dongyeol questioned. Hwanhee's eyes widened and he stared at the younger like a deer in the headlights. “Gyujin saw you...and it’s no big deal but if that’s the reason you’re distancing yourself from me-” “It’s nothing! He didn’t see me inside the bar, now did he? I told you a million times before that I’m ing straight! I didn’t know that walking around in front of bars was such a crime now!” Hwanhee interrupted the younger.

“I told you, it isn’t! I’m just trying to figure out why you’re...like this with me!” Dongyeol replied. Hwanhee rolled his eyes. “Maybe not everything is about you, Dongyeol!” he fired back and walked past the younger to enter the stadium. Dongyeol was left speechless. Why was Hwanhee so mad at him? What did he ‘have on his plate’ that caused him to distance himself from him?

He sighed, figuring that he should probably head inside as well. The tension between him and his best friend was taking its toll on him, though. They had been close for 12 years and now? Hwanhee was mad at Dongyeol for something he didn’t even know he did wrong.

“You okay?” Wooseok asked when Dongyeol took a seat next to him. The younger nodded half-heartedly, knowing that Wooseok probably didn’t believe him but for now he didn’t care. He’d been running his mind, trying to find a reason for Hwanhee’s behavior but everything he came up with was ridiculous.

The game started shortly after but Dongyeol barely paid attention. It seemed like the Steels were doing pretty well, though. He felt Wooseok’s occasional worried glances on him but he pretended to focus on the game, even though he had no clue what was going on, right now.

The Steels did end up winning; something Kogyeol wasn’t too happy about. And the team left the stadium again once most of the people had cleared out. The group was just walking across the parking lot when a snarling voice spoke up to their left.

“Well, well, well...if it isn’t the U10T loser team.” Dongyeol looked over to where the voice came from. Choi Suwon was leaning against a fancy BMW sports car, looking way too sure of himself. A few of his teammates were there, too, laughing at their captain’s remark.

“Ah, my lovely brother-to-be is here as well”, he added, smirking at Kogyeol. Dongyeol noticed how Jinwook was trying his best to appear as small as possible and Kogyeol just looked downright angry.