Thin Ice Rivalry

Games We Play

June 17th, 2022

BAKUGO'S POV

"There's no fucking way," I groaned, watching Midoriya score his third goal of the game. He always manages a hat trick when he needs it the most. After I teased him for his stats at the beginning of the season, he kicked it into gear, shutting me up quickly.

We lost both games against them this season.

And now, I'm sitting with half of my team, watching what could be the final game of the season. They're playing their fifth game with Dallas. New York won the first one, Dallas won the second one, then New York came back and won the third and fourth. If New York wins this one, they win the cup.

We were so close. We lost in the conference finals against Dallas, who went on. If we had won, it would have been me on that ice right now. It isn't, and I have to sit here and watch that cocky bastard pull off a hat trick.

"Man, Midoriya's been on a role almost this entire season," Tetsutetsu said. "It would be nice if our own forwards could do that. It would be even better if our center could-" I smacked him with one of the throw pillows on my couch, shutting him up. If he wants to bash my playing, I'm going to bash his face.

I know this has been an off-season for me, and right now, I don't need any of my teammates to rub it in my face. There's been rumors of a trade and that's the last thing I want. I like Vegas, and I don't want to leave, even if I want to fight half of my team.

"Your stats weren't bad or anything. Midoriya's just the better player." I grabbed the same pillow and tossed it across the room, knocking my teammate in the head. His white hair spilled over to the red, and he groaned, reaching up to fix his half-and-half hairstyle.

He's not the better player, and fuck them for saying that he is. He's not a bad player, and sometimes, I struggle to keep up with his stats, but there are other times that I leave him in the dust. Usually, we're evenly matched, but this season, he's been destroying anyone who crossed his path to the cup. I have a new training schedule for the summer, but that doesn't help me now.

Neither does watching the timer run out on the clock and New York rush the ice because they just won the fucking cup.

I'm never going to live this down.

"Anyone surprised?" Tetsutetsu asked, bringing his beer to his lips.

"No," most of us said. Even if we made it to the Stanley, we weren't sure if we would be able to beat them again. We lost both games to them this year. They were on fire, and our goalie was like Swiss fucking cheese, letting everything in.

"Man, the media is going to eat you up, Bakugo," Testsutetsu said.

"Yeah, just keep adding salt to the wound," I groaned, walking to my kitchen and grabbing another beer.

Fuck New York.

Fuck Izuku Midoriya.

By the time I made it back to my living room, most everyone was getting ready to leave. "Thanks for letting us come over and watch the game," Tetsutetsu said. "But we don't care to stay and watch the celebration, and I think we all know who's getting the Conn Smythe trophy."

After they all left, I turned the lights off and plopped on my couch. I didn't want to watch the celebration, but I couldn't turn it off. I watched them all gather on the ice for the photo. I watched them lift that cup. I watched Midoriya win the Conn Smythe trophy.

He's so fucking smug.

"Fuck him." I grabbed the remote and turned the TV off, but it did not help. My home may now be silent, but the silence speaks volumes.