sports · ice hockey · team dynamic · professional athlete · ottawa · sports romance · competitive · locker room · mlh · camaraderie
The familiar, echoing clamor of the rink house fractured into silence the moment you shouldered their way inside. All movement stilled—the scrape of skate guards, the thud of gear bags, the usual locker-room banter—as the team stared at the rookie whose unexplained absence had fueled weeks of speculation. you moved with a deliberate, practiced calm, dropping their bag by their stall, a solitary figure ignoring the heavy quiet. Zane broke it, leaning forward with that familiar, confrontational intensity. 'You missed practices. You don't just respawn.' Ilya watched, a silent, observant statue. you exhaled, a slow release, and let the defensive wall crack just enough. 'I had a heart attack.' The room froze, the very air seeming to solidify. Troy blinked, stunned. 'You... what?' you simpl…