Chapter Text
Getting his nose set in the trainer’s room sucked. He’d stopped bleeding, but the painkillers were going to take a moment to work, and in the meantime, Dex remembered why he hated breaking his nose. It made it hard to breathe, and it throbbed if he thought about it for too long. He just wanted the game to be over with, he wanted to not have all these complicated feelings for Nursey, he wanted to go back to his apartment and not deal with anything that was happening at the current moment.
Dex knew, okay? He wasn’t stupid, he’d seen the movies, he’d read the books. He knew there was supposed to be a moment - a clicking of things into place. A lightning strike. Some sudden realization of feelings, and decidedly not whatever was happening right now. Not wanting to go back to his apartment so he could relax and being so certain that Nursey would be reading in his preferred arm chair that he can see it. Not wanting to press a greeting kiss to Nursey’s curls like it’s something he’s done a million times. Not knowing that Nursey would grab his hand and press a kiss to the back of it in return. No, he wasn’t stupid.
Dex just wondered how he missed it for so long. They’d always been in each other’s orbit - that had been true since they became a D-pair. And there were days early on when they hated each other, and days when Dex could see a friendlier future stretching out before them. Days they connected on the ice, days Nursey talked Dex down from a comp-sci fueled rage, days Dex held Nursey’s hands until they stopped shaking. It almost felt like they were always going to find their way to each other. Dex wanted to slap himself the moment he thought it. He recognized he was in love fifteen minutes ago and suddenly he was a poet. He should really leave that to Nursey. Dex thought about the last few months and something else became obvious. He’s got his phone in his hand before he could think about it. The call connected and before anything else:
“You knew I was in love with him.” Silence on the other end. “You two have been setting us up!”
“Uh…” Chowder said. “To be fair, we didn’t have to do a lot of the work.”
“At any point in time, did you consider, maybe, telling us?” There’s a sigh on the other end of the line.
“We did try, dipshit.” It’s Farmer, and Dex didn’t even realize he was on speaker. “You insisted on being stupid.” Dex has no idea what she’s even -
oh
“I thought you meant as roommates!’ Dex recalled and reframed the conversation with the proper context. “Oh my god, I was an idiot.” Chowder and Farmer were laughing, but there was nothing mean in the sound. “Do you think he knows?” The laughter quieted, and Dex couldn't read anything from the new silence. “Nursey’s gotta know, right?”
“Nursey’s gotta know what?” The voice came from behind him, clear as a bell. Dex whirled around and almost slipped in his socks.
“Nursey! Thought you were in class.” Dex lowered the phone from his ear as Nursey arched a brow. “How long have you been standing there?” Nursey dropped his book bag at the side of Dex’s locker. Something about emergency contacts and player injury crossed Dex's brain as explanation for Nursey being allowed back to the locker room. He wasn't sure if that was why he was standing there, when by all accounts he should have been in class.
“Prof had a personal emergency. Figured I could surprise you.” Nursey put his hands in his pockets and gave Dex a once over. “Nice game, by the way.” Dex became acutely aware that he still hadn’t put a shirt on. He felt oddly vulnerable, even though he’s been partially clothed in a locker room with Nursey for four years straight. They lived together in various states of undress depending on the hour, or if they had been exercising. He pulled his undershirt on too fast and got his arm stuck in the sleeve. At least he hadn't bumped his face. Cheeks burning, he readjusted the fabric to Nursey’s low chuckle.
“Thanks.” Dex grabbed at his button up and had just slipped it on when Nursey cleared his throat.
“So, what was it that I was supposed to know?” Dex fumbled the button he was on, keeping his gaze firmly on his shirt. “Dex, you can’t just ignore me.” Dex drew his hands from his shirt and ran them through his hair. He tipped his head back to the ceiling and closed his eyes. The throbbing in his face took too much focus away from the mental gymnastics of hiding things from Nursey. Dex just didn't have the energy to lie, anymore.
“You weren’t supposed to hear that.” There was shuffling on Dex’s left, but Dex just put his head back down to focus on the last few buttons of his shirt. A dark hand entered his line of sight, pulling a thin blue tie from his locker. Nursey pulled at Dex’s shoulders until Dex was facing him, then slipped the loop of the tie over his head. Dex felt like he was about to swallow his tongue. He’d known, from living with Nursey, that the other man ran warm. Feeling it now, with Nursey’s slim fingers brushing along his collar, was maddening. Dex swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry, and Nursey’s fingers stilled. This was the moment, Dex realized.
“Can I kiss you?” His voice sounded very unlike his own, hushed and shaky. Nursey’s fingers tightened on his collar.
“Yeah,” Nursey nodded, and he pulled Dex forward by a hand on his tie and then he was kissing Nursey.
He was kissing Nursey.
It was Nursey’s hand on his throat, Nursey’s hand in his hair. One of Dex’s hands was on Nursey’s waist, and his other hand had a death grip on his phone. Nursey’s two-day stubble burned against his cheeks, and his lips were slightly tacky. Dex had not imagined kissing Nursey before, had locked every almost what-if in the back of his head and never looked at them twice, but he thinks that nothing could beat the real thing. Dex’s brain couldn’t come up with how it feels when Nursey pulls away to rest his forehead on Dex’s, or the way it feels to be so close they share breath. Dex could stay in this moment for hours, probably, Nursey’s eyelashes brushing against his cheek. It's not until one of them moves wrong that Dex remembers he broke his nose not half an hour ago, and he breaks apart from Nursey with a hiss, only to rest his forehead against Nursey's.
Dex’s phone buzzed in his hand, and he had half a mind to ignore it until Nursey’s phone chimed from his pocket. Nursey pulled away first, but he left one hand on Dex’s neck. His thumb was brushing absentmindedly along Dex’s jaw, a back and forth that was thoroughly distracting. Nursey checked his messages and laughed.
“C says he hung up cause it sounded like we had it handled.” Dex can hear Nursey tapping a reply out on his phone, but Dex cou;dn’t stop staring at his face -- the slant of Nursey’s nose, the line of his jaw. Dex put his phone away so he could hold Nursey with both hands. He wass solid and warm. Dex didn’t know how to let go of him again. Dex felt so very present, conscious and aware of each breath, of every inch that separated him from Nursey.
“What do you think?” Dex’s voice was raspy, and Nursey’s gaze flitted to his lips before refocusing on his eyes. “Are we handling this?” Nursey’s smile came up smooth and slow across his face. He took a step closer to Dex, almost crowding him against his locker, and slid a hand down Dex’s side.
“Well, we should definitely talk about this,” Nursey said, his lips brushing against Dex’s throat, “But we’re handling it for right now.” Dex pulled Nursey closer, sliding a leg between both of Nursey’s, and used his hand to guide Nursey’s mouth to meet his own. After a few moments, Nursey pulled away again. “How insufferable do you think they’re gonna be now that we’re finally doing this?” Dex groaned, one of his hands fisted in the front of Nursey’s shirt.
“Unbearably insufferable.” Dex could practically hear the chirps now. Nursey laughed once, the sound trailing off. Dex looked into Nursey’s eyes, intensely green, and felt Nursey’s thumb start brushing along the freckles on Dex’s cheek. Dex got a little lost in the sensation- the softness of Nursey’s gaze, the curve of his jaw. This was a moment Dex felt like he could stay in forever.
The final buzzer sounded, and Dex flinched away from the untimely interruption, which caused his nose to flare in pain. There was a several second long feedback loop of pain-grimace-pain-grimace before Dex realized where they were and what was happening. The shock and sudden worry came too fast to quash, which didn’t even make sense because it wasn’t like Dex hadn’t already told the team he was gay. But, Dex supposed being gay in theory was different than being gay in the practice of kissing him best friend in the Kings’ locker room.
“I don’t want to sound like an asshole,” Dex started, “But you should probably go before everyone comes in here.” Nursey’s smile didn’t dim in the slightest, even as he rolled his eyes.
“I see how it is, Poindexter. You want to keep me all to yourself.” Dex pushed at Nursey’s shoulder, even as he kept him close with his other hand.
“I just feel like the team’s first time meeting you should not be right after I got my head out of my ass about my feelings.” Nursey’s hand came up to cup Dex’s cheek. Dex leaned into the touch.
“Hey, don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s not exactly like I was making the first move either.” Dex leaned in for another kiss, which Nursey obliged for a moment before he pulled away. “Seriously, though, I’m gonna go wait outside for you in the usual spot, okay?” Dex bit his lip, immediately regretting it for how it made his nose flare with heat.
“You could wait in the lobby with the WAGs, if you wanted. It’s not like they didn’t call you after I broke my nose anyway. They know who you are.” Nursey looked at Dex for a few moments before he nodded.
“See you out there, then.” Nursey kissed Dex on the temple, picked up his bag, and left the locker room. Dex had just enough time to take a few calming breaths before the hallway into the locker room echoed with cheers.
“Dex! Oh, you missed it, but we crushed the fucker that hit you!” Chaser came up to him and grabbed him by the chin. He turned Dex’s face this way and that to inspect Charlie’s work. Chaser must have been satisfied by the gentle swelling and slight bruising, because he let Dex go without comment. “He won’t be holding a stick for a few weeks, that’s for sure.” Chaser turned to the room at large, his voice back to shouting. “Not that he needs to! The Devils don’t have shit on the Kings!” All of Dex’s teammates went wild, even as some of them made their way to the showers.
“Dex!” Mickey was careful when he slung an arm around Dex’s shoulders. “Coach says you get to head home because of the injury, even if reporters want to hear you talk shit about Grassi for the play.” Dex jabbed Mickey in his unprotected stomach. “Hey, man!”
“Yeah, I bet you were the one to get the payback. You’ll have to let the bloodhounds know I’m just seething about the check.” Mickey laughed, and gave Dex a noogie before he left to go shower. Chaser was still hanging around, and Dex had just about finished gathering all his things when his captain came over to check in on him again.
“Hey, man, I just want to double check that you’re good. I’m sure it looked worse than it was, but that’s still your blood on the boards.” Dex let out a sigh.
“I mean, it hurts, you know? But I’ll go back to my place, ice it, pop some more Advil, take it easy for the rest of the weekend. Charlie wants to see me in three days to make sure it’s all healing up correctly, but they don’t think I’ll be back to exercise for a week.” Chaser nodded, even though Dex thought a week was a little long for a broken nose.
“Yeah, I mean, it would be bad if you came back to everything with a compromised airway, you know? Did Charlie say anything about corrective surgery? It’s still a bit crooked.” Dex had to clench his fingers around his bag so that he didn’t bring a hand up to cover his face. “I mean, it’s kinda hot in that rugged lumberjack way, so it totally works for you, but I know some guys flip out over stuff like that.” Dex raised an unimpressed eyebrow.
“What about me says that I’m one of those guys?” Chaser laughed, but Dex continued in his deadpan. “No, please, tell me so I can change it.” Chaser clapped his hand on Dex’s shoulder.
“I’m just happy you’re okay, man, that’s all.” Dex smiled, and Chaser smiled back. “You take it easy, okay? I gotta go wrangle all the other troublemakers before someone else breaks something.” Dex nodded, stepping back to pick up the rest of his things. “Text me if you need anything!” With that, Chaser was gone, down the hall to the team showers, and Dex was left alone in the locker room.
He left, making his way slowly to the lobby where significant others of the players were allowed to wait until their partners came out of the locker room and media spaces. Nursey was standing there, talking to Maggie, and he turned when Dex came through the door. Dex stood there in the open doorway for half a second before he made a beeline for Nursey.
“Hey.” He rested his forehead on Nursey’s shoulder, and Nursey dropped a kiss on the crown of his head. Dex sighed. Nursey’s shoulder was so comfortable. “Hey, Maggie. How are you doing?” When Dex turned to Mickey’s wife, she was smiling.
“Oh, I’m doing just fine, Dex.” Her hand patted her belly. “Little Benjamin isn’t due for another six weeks, and his nursey is all done, so everything is just fine.” Dex straightened.
“Yeah, Mickey had said. And I know you guys went to the ER a few weeks ago- everything okay there?” Maggie put her hand on Dex’s arm and laughed.
“Ha, yeah, he was just parked right over my kidney and kept kicking, so it was pretty uncomfortable. But he moved out of the way eventually, and hasn’t gone back since, so I’ll take it.” Dex chuckled at Maggie’s levity. He remembered how freaked out the couple had been when Maggie’s pregnancy test had finally come back positive. Such great strides in only a few months.
“Well, that’s good. Mickey hasn’t brought anything up since then, so I’m happy things are going so well for you.” Maggie squeezed Dex’s arm before she let go.
“Thanks, Dex. That means a lot.” Maggie looked past Dex to the entranceway. “Oh, speak of the devil. You two head on out before you end up staying for hours listening to him talk.” Maggie raised her hands in a shooing motion towards Dex and Nursey before she raised a hand to wave to her husband.
“Take care, Maggie.” Dex said. He and Nursey started to make their way to the exit when Nursey reached for his hand. Dex reached back, and Nursey laced their fingers together as he shouldered open the door.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go home.”