Two Being One
Chapter One: Perfect Timing
Hayden grabbed the warm pot of brewed coffee and poured it into his thermal cup. Closing the lid, he picked up his keys and his sports bag that sat waiting and walked out to his car to meet the cold, crisp December morning air. Once in his car he sighed. Christmas Day and he chose to spend his day practicing on the rink. But what other choice did he have? Christmas was just another day for him–nothing out of the ordinary. He had no one to spend it with since all his buddies were out celebrating with their own families. And the only person he'd probably spend it with, was still in Vermont trying to find his lost girl. So much for a holiday.
The Denver roads were all bare except for a few stray people who had no one to spend the holiday with, like him. But he liked the change of scenery. It was quiet and serene; something you'd never have in a busy populous city.
It was ten degrees outside, but in the rink there really wasn't much difference. Only by five degrees or so. He dropped his bag on a bleacher and took a seat, scanning the ice. It was so cold, you could almost see the swirls of air hovering a few inches above the ice. Hayden removed his gloves to laced up his skates, but immediately put them back on.
He needed to warm up first. So he took to the ice. He pushed open the door and stepped onto the ice.
He practically grew up with ice skates. Forget them shoes; he had not much use for them. As soon as he could walk, Hayden had been on ice. It was tradition in his family that by the age of five they would have been taught how to ice skate properly. By ten, they were just as good as the pros, whether it was hockey or ice dancing.
Left, right. Left, right. His skates moved fluidly as it was a natural feeling, to balance on ice. It was an instinct that became part of him, like breathing or the beat of his heart. No voluntary movement or thought needed.
Hayden did several laps around the rink before grabbing his hockey equipment. Weaving a pattern on the ice, then he shots, he scores. Of course, seeing as there was no goalie to block his shot. One after the other he made the shot. It'd be more fun if someone was with him. Or to play against him.
He thought back to last year.
About that same time exactly a year ago, he and Austin had been up in the Rockies. They had a few days off from the hockey life, so they had decided to spend their Christmas in the mountains. They had gone skiing, snowboarding, and hiking in the snow (which was not the best and brightest idea) but it had been the best Christmas Hayden and Austin had in the span of a few years. They had planned to return the following year if not for the events that had taken place.
Speaking of Austin, Hayden rolled his eyes. That guy... running off in the hopes of true love. As if. Hayden had no beliefs of such whimsy delights. It would just take the focus out of his daily life. Out of his game. Out of hockey.
And he didn't want to take that chance.
It had been more than an hour since he'd started and he was already soaked through his sweater. He took it off leaving him in his shirt. He grabbed his thermos and took several gulps of hot coffee. That hit the spot.
Suddenly he heard the familiar flip of a switch and saw a light coming from the locker rooms. Surely no one else had come since to practice. It was closed off to the public. Unless it was one of his teammates... which is highly unlikely. He dropped his hockey stick and crept to the locker rooms. But there was no slam of a locker. Hayden softly padded across the room.
He passed most of the lockers to the coaches' offices. So it was one of the coaches. The head coach in fact. Only his office had a light spilling from the crack. So Hayden wasn't the only one who had skipped the Christmas festivities.
"Hey Coach Ma-" Hayden stopped just as he was about to knock.
"What are you talking about?!" Mason Heaton yelled into the speaker of his phone as he frantically trashed his desk looking for the file. "I don't see that stinking file! Are you sure you left it here?" He groaned in frustration. His boss was such a pain in the ass sometimes.
Actually his boss, or the owner of the Colorado Avalanche, was his high school best friend. And the perks were that he could yell at his boss without him getting fired.
"Fine, fine. I'll find it and give it to you later." Mason sighed. This on top of coaching a battalion of boys to play hockey. Where was his life headed? "And about Austin... yeah... about what we discussed..."
Hayden stopped in his tracks. What about Austin? He was about to leave and go back, when he heard Austin's name. He leaned closer to the door to listen in.
"Yeah... I know you're my best friend and all but Austin?... No, he is the best player in the league. We can't Stan, we can't."
Hayden's mouth dropped.
"I'll talk to you later. Yeah... bye."
It was time to leave. Hayden got up and rushed back to the rink. How'd he even manage to run in ice skates. It was a wonder he'll figure out later. He unlaced his skating shoes and shoved them back into his bag. He ran onto the ice with his regular boots and grabbed the pucks and his hockey stick. And just as he was about to leave the rink...
"Hayden!"
Damn. So close to escaping. He turned around to face his head coach. He smiled and waved. "Hi Mr. Heaton. Merry Christmas!"
"Ah, Merry Christmas to you too. Why were in the morning? On Christmas?"
Hayden shrugged and played it off cool. "Just came to practice."
"On Christmas?" his coach repeated. "It's time for family and friends. It's the holidays son!"
His family situation was... a bit complicated. "My family's out of town, and I really didn't want to fly out and meet them. Plus there's no one to spend my holidays with. It's just me sir." He grimly smiled. It was true.
"Well, come along then! You'll be spending Christmas at my house," the coach invited.
Hayden shook his head. "Oh no, sir, I don't want to impose. It's not really a big deal anyway."
"Never mind, lad. You're coming with me. Just ignore my mom. She can be... a bit difficult to talk to." Mason laughed at his own joke. "Anyway, it's just a lunch. And maybe a few drinks later with my brothers."
Hayden hesitated. "Um..."
"Oh come on! Everyone's waiting!"
He sighed. Oh well. Better than being by himself the whole day. "Okay, sir. Just this once."
"Now you're talking!" His coach put an arm around his shoulders and led him out.
Austin stared at the text from Hayden. No, that can't be true. Not when everything had been going along just fine. He'd planned to leave in a week and go back to Colorado and straighten everything out. Ally hadn't know of his plans yet, but she'd find out eventually.
"Cheers!" Elliot yelled holding up this third glass of wine. Who knew a lawyer could drink so much? Trish laughed and went along with him, but holding up her fourth glass. Man they could hold their liquor. He looked around him - at his best friends and his fiancée. It'd been such a perfect day.
And still there was also another text from his parents. Just as his problems had cleared up, more piled on top.
They really had the best timing in the world. And on top of it all, it was Christmas Day!
A few hours later, after a drunk Trish and Elliot had been escorted out by Brady and Dallas to Ally's apartment down the hall where the four would crash, and Dez and Cassidy had gone to their rooms, Austin and Ally were left on the living room sofa.
"Merry Christmas Als," he said, as he raised his glass of sparkling cider.
She smiled. "This truly has been the greatest Christmas. Really Austin." She sighed and lean against his chest, staring at the flickering fire. "It appears to be all one cheesy, perfect dream, but I know it's reality. It is for real, right?"
"Ally," he laughed. "Don't worry. If it wasn't real, I'd be dreaming along side you." His phone buzzed again, but he chose to ignore it. "I can't wait for our life together my future Mrs. Moon."
Ally giggled. "Stop it Austin." But she'd noticed him over dinner. He hadn't played up to his full holiday spunk. Something was wrong and she could feel lit. She'd know Austin for years to know when something was up. "But seriously Austin, what's bothering you?"
She knew him too well. "It's nothing Ally." But it was nothing she could or should be bothered with. It was his life, his problems. "Nothing for you to worry about. I promise." Ally looked at him. She didn't believe one word of it, but didn't press any further. And Austin appreciated the space.
"Just promise me," Ally started.
"Promise what?"
"We'll be married one day Austin-" she looked down at her engagement ring "-and one day these secrets must stop." Austin bit his lip. "One day I'll be your wife, and then one day, and from that day on, your problems will be my problems and vice versa. You'll have to tell me eventually. Or you know I'll find out, in due time," she finished.
She really did know him too well. But that was his Ally.
"Don't worry," he promised. "I'll tell you one day. You'll be the one I'll confide in. But for now..." He sighed.
As did Ally. "I know, I know."
"You're the best." He kissed her gently on the lips before tickling her.
"Austin!" she shrieked, pulling away. "You're so dead!"
Outside, dusk was starting to fall on Christmas day. It was a beautiful Miami sunset. Most of the houses were lit up with lights and décor for the holidays and people running up and down the stairs after cousins and aunts and uncles. But one house on that block, remained dark and sullen. Ten years ago, it was the center of the night, now... a gloomy house with just one light in the kitchen.
"Mike!" A worried Mimi Moon was frantically pacing the kitchen floor. "What are we going to do Mike?"
Mike Moon sighed and took his glasses off and placed them on the kitchen counter. He ran his hands through his hair, a habit Austin also had adopted when he was stressed too, and looked at his wife. "Mimi, please, calm down."
"Calm down?!" She was now fraught. "How the hell can I calm down?!" She twiddled with her fingers, walking back and forth, and again. "Oh... why'd I have to bother Austin? And for Heaven's sake it's Christmas! Oh... why'd I..."
"Damn it Mimi," he muttered before slamming his hands on the hardwood table. "CALM DOWN!" He took a deep breath. "I told you we'd figure this out."
Normally this would shut her right up. Not this time. This time it was different. Mimi spun on her heels and faced her husband. "Calm down?! Calm down?! YOU expect ME to calm down?! Mike! Don't you get it?!"
He stood his ground. "Shut up woman."
This flabbergasted Mimi Moon. Her husband never had the reason and never did speak to her in such vulgar terms. She stood stock still, watching his every move. Mike sat back down on the stood and looked down at the counter. "I'm... sorry."
Tears dotted the rims of her eyes, daring to fall. "I'm... I'm sorry too. It's just... all these troubles... I'm sorry Mike."
"I'm sorry it ruined our Christmas," he said. "I... I'm a horrible husband. I'm sorry."
"No, you're not. And it's still Christmas. Why don't I prepare us a wonderful dinner and we'll forget all about it?" Mimi suggested.
"But..." Mike could not forget about all his troubles. Christmas dinner was the furthest thing in his mind. It took up his attention and worry 99.9% of the time. Sometimes he wished... he wished... No, none of those thoughts. "Okay," he nodded, feigning a smile.
Mimi clapped her hands. "Perfect! I'll set it up all."
He nodded and headed to the couch to catch some screen time. Yes, perfect. He rolled his eyes. Sometimes she was a bit oblivious to his problems, but that was a plus, 90% of the time.
A/N: Six months... actually about five months seeing as Xmas is at the end of the month. Anyways, summer's here and so is the sequel. I kinda left you off with a cliffhanger and still I kept you guys in the dark, which is the point. Anyway, I'll catch ya later.
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