“I'm twenty-two and making league minimum while living with my grandfather and trying to keep my baby brother from being forced into surgeries he doesn't want,” Finn corrected, but his tone stayed light. “Different trajectories, Cap.”
I poured him coffee and handed it over, watching him take a sip and make a face.
“This is terrible,” he said.
“It's functional.”
“It tastes like punishment.” He set the mug down and pulled out his phone. “I'm ordering you a proper espresso machine. Consider it a thank you for letting us crash your recovery safe house.”
“Don't do that.”
“Too late, already ordered.” He grinned at me, and I realized with some surprise that I actually liked having him here.
Jamie had moved on from drum talk to showing Soren a video on his tablet, both of them bent over the screen with matching expressions of concentration. Soren's hand rested on Jamie's shoulder, casual and affectionate, and the kid leaned into the touch without thinking about it.
“He really loves Soren,” I said quietly, and Finn nodded.
“Yeah. Soren's the first adult outside of family who's treated Jamie like he's exactly right the way he is. No pity, no fixing, just—teaching him music because he's good at it and wants to learn.” Finn's voice had gone soft in a way I'd never heard before. “That matters more than you'd think.”
“I think I'm starting to get that.”
Finn looked at me, really looked at me, and I could see him putting pieces together in real time. “You're good for him too, you know. Soren. He seems steadier when you're around.”
I didn't know what to say to that, so I didn't say anything. Just watched Soren laugh at whatever Jamie was showing him and felt the weight of how much I wanted to keep this—the house full of people who cared about him, the sound of his laugh echoing off the windows, the proof that he was alive and recovering and not disappearing into the dark.
Finn glanced over at the couch where Soren and Jamie were still absorbed in the tablet, then back at me. His voice dropped lower, casual but pointed. “So are you guys, like—together? Boyfriends?”
For a second I just stood there like an idiot because I'd somehow forgotten that I had a team. People who would need to know. People who'd probably already started wondering why their captain had been acting weird for weeks.
But then I remembered who those people were. Cole and Tate and Dmitri and the rest of them—guys who'd skated next to me for years, who'd seen me at my worst and still showed up. They'd be fine with it. More than fine, probably. Supportive as hell because that's who they were.
“Yeah,” I said, meeting Finn's eyes. “We are.”
Finn's grin was immediate and shit-eating. “Holy fuck. Captain Kincaid has a boyfriend. Jace must be so proud. All that emotional availability finally rubbing off on you.”
“Fuck off,” I said, but I was smiling despite myself.
“No, seriously. Did he give you a handbook? 'How to Have Feelings for Dummies'? Because you were emotionally constipated as hell last season and now look at you. Holding hands, bringing your guy to your secret ocean house, probably writing poetry about his eyes or some shit.”
“I don't write poetry.”
“Yet. Give it time.” Finn took a sip of his terrible coffee and made another face. “But real talk, Cap? I'm glad. You deserve this. And Soren's good people.”
The sincerity underneath the chirping hit harder than I expected, and I had to look away for a second. “Thanks.”
“When are you planning to tell the team?” Finn asked, his voice still low enough that Soren and Jamie couldn't hear. “Because you know someone's going to notice eventually. Probably Tate. He notices everything.”
“Soon,” I said. “I hope.”
“Yeah? You ready for that?”
“Getting there.” I glanced back at Soren, watched him sign something that made Jamie dissolve into silent laughter. “I'm working on it.”
“Good.” Finn clapped me on the shoulder. “And when you do tell them, I want to be there so I can watch Cole lose his shit. He's going to be so fucking smug about calling it.”
“He didn't call anything.”
“He absolutely did. Two weeks ago in the locker room he said you were acting weird in a 'Rook's got a person' kind of way. I told him he was full of shit, but apparently he was right.” Finn shook his head. “I owe him twenty bucks now.”
