Chapter 19 Faceoff for Forever #2
Children pressed against the glass, hoping for one more wave from their heroes.
The commissioner stepped onto the carpet rolled across center ice while arena staff prepared the championship presentation.
Everything moved quickly.
Everything felt unreal.
Mason’s eyes searched the crowd almost automatically.
They found Noah.
Standing only a few yards away, surrounded by teammates, Noah looked exactly the same as he had on the first day of training camp.
Calm.
Steady.
The difference was in his smile.
Mason had never seen him smile that freely before.
No caution.
No hesitation.
Only happiness.
Noah looked up.
Their eyes met.
The entire arena disappeared again.
Someone announced the captain’s name over the loudspeakers.
Another wave of applause followed.
The championship trophy appeared beneath bright spotlights, polished until every camera flash reflected from its surface.
Players lined up one by one to receive congratulations.
When the captain finally lifted the trophy overhead, the building shook beneath another deafening roar.
It passed from player to player.
Veterans who had spent fifteen seasons chasing this moment.
Young rookies experiencing it for the first time.
Equipment managers.
Assistant coaches.
Everyone who had sacrificed for the season.
Eventually, the captain stopped in front of Noah.
“You earned this.”
Noah accepted the trophy carefully.
He looked down at it for several seconds before lifting it high above his head.
The crowd erupted again.
Mason applauded harder than anyone.
Not because Noah was his boyfriend.
Because Noah deserved every second of this moment.
After another round of photographs, Noah carried the trophy toward him.
“I think it’s your turn.”
Mason accepted it with trembling hands.
The silver felt surprisingly heavy.
Years of history rested inside that weight.
Champions whose names had inspired him as a child.
Dreams that had once seemed impossible.
He lifted it slowly.
The roar from the fans washed over him like a wave.
Instead of looking toward the cameras, he looked toward Noah.
Standing only a few feet away.
Smiling proudly.
As though the trophy mattered less than seeing Mason happy.
A thought settled quietly inside Mason’s mind.
Not sudden.
Not dramatic.
Simply undeniable.
He didn’t want this to become another memory where Noah had to stand at a distance.
He didn’t want to celebrate the greatest day of his life while pretending the most important person in it was only another teammate.
He had spent months convincing himself there would always be a better time.
After the playoffs.
After the season.
After another conversation.
After another excuse.
Standing beneath championship banners with thousands of people cheering around him, he finally understood something.
If love still had to wait until conditions were perfect...
It would wait forever.
The thought brought remarkable peace.
He lowered the trophy carefully and handed it back to the captain.
Then, instead of following the line of celebrating players toward another television interview, Mason walked in a different direction.
Toward Noah.
Noah noticed immediately.
His smile faded into quiet curiosity.
Everything okay?
Mason nodded.
Better than okay.
He stopped only inches away.
Around them, teammates continued celebrating.
Television cameras followed the movement naturally, assuming another congratulatory embrace between two players who had become one of the league’s best partnerships.
Mason looked directly into Noah’s eyes.
“I’ve spent too much of my life worrying.”
Noah searched his face.
“Mason...”
“I know.”
Mason smiled softly.
“This probably isn’t the plan.”
“No.”
“It definitely isn’t.”
A nervous laugh escaped both of them.
The world around them continued roaring.
Yet somehow the moment felt strangely private.
“I told you once...”
Mason said quietly.
“...that I didn’t want to hide forever.”
“You did.”
“I’m done.”
Noah’s breath caught.
“You don’t have to—"
“I know exactly what I have to do.”
For the first time since they had fallen in love, Mason wasn’t thinking about headlines.
Or social media.
Or opinions.
He thought only about the man standing in front of him.
The man who had taught him that honesty wasn’t something to fear.
The man who had patiently waited while Mason found the courage to become himself.
Slowly, Mason reached for Noah’s hand.
He didn’t rush.
He didn’t hesitate.
He simply intertwined their fingers in full view of everyone.
Noah looked down briefly before looking back up.
His eyes shimmered with emotion.
Mason smiled.
“No more hiding.”
Then he gently closed the distance between them.
Their kiss wasn’t dramatic.
It wasn’t meant to shock anyone.
It was tender.
Unhurried.
The kind of kiss shared by two people who had finally reached the end of a long journey.
For one heartbeat...
The arena seemed to pause.
Nearby conversations faded.
Several teammates blinked in surprise.
A television camera remained fixed on them.
Mason slowly pulled back, keeping his forehead resting lightly against Noah’s.
Whatever happened next...
He had no regrets.
Then someone started clapping.
Tyler.
“About time!”
The shout echoed loudly enough for half the team to hear.
Liam burst into laughter before joining the applause.
“I knew it!”
“I absolutely called this months ago!”
Ben Gallagher shook his head with a huge grin.
“I was joking in that hallway!”
“You two really were dating.”
Another player laughed.
“You owe me fifty bucks.”
“What?”
“I lost the bet.”
“When did there become a bet?”
“Don’t ask.”
Within seconds, applause spread through the entire team.
Players surrounded Mason and Noah, pulling them into hugs, laughing, cheering, and talking all at once.
Coach Morrison eventually worked his way through the crowd.
For a brief second, Mason wondered if the older man might be upset.
Instead, Coach smiled the same proud smile he’d worn while lifting the championship trophy.
“You know...”
He folded his arms.
“...your chemistry makes a lot more sense now.”
Laughter erupted again.
The captain stepped forward next.
“You idiots.”
Mason blinked.
“What?”
“You could’ve told us.”
Noah smiled sheepishly.
“We weren’t ready.”
“I know.”
The captain wrapped both of them in a hug.
“But I’m glad you are now.”
One by one, teammates offered congratulations.
Not because Mason had scored the championship-winning goal.
Not because Noah had made the play that created it.
Because they had trusted the people who had become their family.
Across the arena, Mason spotted familiar faces in the stands.
His parents.
Noah’s brother.
Emily.
Tyler’s family.
Hundreds of fans still cheering while waving Thunderhawks flags.
Some had seen the kiss.
Some hadn’t.
The cameras certainly had.
For the first time in his life, that truth didn’t terrify him.
It felt liberating.
Mason reached into his equipment bag and found the worn black puck Noah had trusted him with before the game.
He placed it carefully back into Noah’s hand.
“A promise is a promise.”
Noah looked down at it before smiling.
“You returned it.”
Mason nodded.
“I told you I would.”
He looked around at the celebration unfolding around them before meeting Noah’s eyes once more.
“Champions.”
Noah closed his fingers around the puck.
“Champions.”
Then, without worrying who might be watching, they walked together toward their celebrating teammates, hand in hand, no longer carrying the weight of a secret.
For the first time since that flooded apartment had forced two hockey players beneath the same roof, they were exactly who they wanted to be.
Together.
Openly.
Forever.
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