Unsportsmanlike Conduct

Freezing the Puck

The Boulders lose game two the next day.

Shane and Eli look particularly terrible considering they are both missing passes and causing turnovers the entire time. Anyone watching can see how visibly frustrated Shane is when he's out on the ice. At one point, he causes a turnover that leads to a goal against which ends up being the game winner for Houston. When the third period comes to a close, Moss watches as the camera pans to Shane smashing his stick against the bench until it snaps in half. His brother then proceeds to stomp off to the locker room ahead of everyone else.

Even Tye's play is different from his usual controlled and skillful style. He manages to register more hits in this game alone than he has in any regular season or playoff game that he's ever played in. The TV analysts seem to find this to be particularly fascinating as they pull up his hits and PIM statistics while replaying a nasty boarding penalty called on him.

Moss is glad that he chose to watch the game from the comfort of Tye's house rather than braving the sponsor suite again. He feels as if all of the energy has been sucked out of him after the lunch fiasco with his brothers.

The morning after the loss is quiet as Moss and Tye spend time together before the team has to fly to Houston for the next two games of the series. Tye has been coddling Moss for the last three days, but Moss can't find it in himself to be annoyed. He appreciates his boyfriend attempting to cheer him up after the clear disapproval they had received from Shane regarding their relationship.

As Moss wept into his chest in the aftermath of their lunch, Tye had taken his phone and muted the Kettler family members as well as their group chat. He was extremely tempted to block their numbers entirely, but knew that would probably be taking things too far in the eyes of his kindhearted boyfriend. Muting their numbers had partially succeeded in alleviating some of the anxiety that Moss has been feeling over the last couple of days.

Unfortunately, there is still a faraway look in Moss' eyes that worries Tye. He continues to speak gently to the fragile man, hoping to bring him back to earth from wherever his mind has wandered off to. "You don't owe anyone anything," he assures him. "You were the mature one for being upfront about our relationship. They both know that you didn't have bad intentions with coming out—they're just being childish."

They cuddle all morning, but Tye eventually has to leave to meet the team at the airport. Before heading out, he promises Moss that he'll FaceTime him as soon as he gets to the hotel. Moss is laying in bed with the covers practically up to his chin staring at Tye with the most desolate-looking eyes that Tye has ever seen, making him even more concerned. Leaning over the bed, he brushes Moss' curls off his forehead so he can pepper it with kisses. "I promise I'll FaceTime as much as I can while I'm there. You're gonna get sick of me with how much I call you," he whispers softly.

"I'll miss you. Get two quick wins," Moss tries to joke back, but it falls flat with the discernible sadness in his voice. Tye looks like he's seriously considering not leaving. "Of course, sweetheart," his tone makes him sound as if it pains him to speak, "The sooner we kick Houston's ass, the sooner I get to see you again." After their lengthy goodbye, Tye forces himself to finally leave for the airport.

When he hears the garage door shut, signaling that Tye has officially left, Moss feels an intense ache in his chest. This new sensation is even more powerful than what has been paining him over the last couple of days. He suddenly feels exposed and vulnerable without Tye here.

An anxiety-filled half hour later, Moss hears the doorbell ringing and rapid knocking coming from the front door. He pulls himself out of bed and makes his way to the front entrance to see who is interrupting his sulking. Opening the door, he sees Shane standing there. His brother has his hands in his front sweatshirt pocket instead of stretched out banging at the door and ringing the bell like he had been doing for the last minute or so.

Moss instinctively lessens the gap of the door, ready to shut and lock it if he needs to. Shane scoffs at this and pushes his way into the entryway of Tye's house. Moss feels like a deer in headlights and his heart is racing like crazy as he stares up at his little brother who has a look of apparent irritation on his face.

"Your boy isn't here?" Shane asks, looking around as if Tye would suddenly appear.

 Moss crosses his shaky arms over his stomach protectively. "He left for the airport a little bit ago."

"I'll keep this short then," Shane says haughtily. "Now isn't the time for you to go on a sexuality journey slutting yourself out to my teammates." Feeling his body go numb, Moss tries to mentally prepare himself for whatever nauseating sentiments are about to leave his brother's mouth.

"I've never had anything against Marty, but he's been a massive asshole since the other day. This whole situation is ridiculous—your one month relationship is not more important than our playoff run right now. I need you to have the biggest fucking reality check. You live in a different state and have your little nine-to-five to keep you busy. Marty is constantly traveling and has a schedule that you'll never be able to keep up with."

Shane's voice steadily begins to raise in volume as he continues to rant.

"And—since you want to be a WAG so fucking bad—you should know that a lot of NHLers cheat on their girls when we're out of town. I'm sure he has contacts in most of the cities we travel to. He was never gonna be a permanent part of your life and none of this is worth the trouble you're stirring up with the team."

Moss flinches at the harsh words.

"Now—we just played our worst game of the entire year because of what you did to the team dynamic. The only way you can fix your fuck up is if you end it with Marty and leave us all the fuck alone."

Feeling as if he's having an out of body experience, Moss is left speechless and doesn't know how to respond. He isn't crying, but his hands are shaking.

Shane gazes at him with cold eyes. "I used to look up to you. It's crazy how much of a fucking loser you turned into when you couldn't handle me and Eli's success. I hope you do the right thing for once so we have a chance at winning the first round like we were always meant to." He has one foot out the door as he delivers the last sentence. After sizing Moss up and shaking his head in disdain, he slams the door shut with finality and eventually speeds off in his sports car.

Moss stands in the entryway trembling for an inordinate amount of time before pulling out his phone and booking a ticket from Denver to Detroit. He then schedules an Uber to pick him up in three hours and mechanically packs his bags. In his zombie-like state, he decides to leave behind his Martel jersey and other clothing items that he stole from his soon-to-be-ex.

He officially feels as empty as his bags.

As he boards the plane later that evening, he sees an incoming FaceTime call light up his phone. He declines the call and proceeds to copy and paste one of the messages he wrote out in his notes app and sends it to Tye.

To: Tye>:) <3

Heading back to Detroit. I think we should take a break so you can focus on playoffs.

Tye's read receipt shows that he saw the message and three dots appear on the screen, signaling that he is typing.

Moss shuts down his phone and closes his eyes as he waits for the plane to take off.