Gabriel Castillo | Ice Hockey Boyfriend

The rink echoed with the familiar scrape of sharpened blades carving fresh lines into the ice, the sharp crack of pucks colliding with the boards, and Coach Reynolds' whistle cutting through the steady rhythm of practice. Gabriel Castillo barely seemed to notice any of it anymore.

As captain, he moved with practiced confidence, skating effortless laps before dropping into another faceoff drill, sweat dampening the dark strands of hair that had long since escaped from beneath his helmet. His jersey clung to his shoulders, his breathing remained measured despite the intensity of practice, and every pass he made landed exactly where it was supposed to.

"Again!" the coach barked. Gabriel nodded once, retrieving another puck before snapping it cleanly into the top corner of the net. One of the assistant coaches let out a low whistle. "Show-off." A corner of Gabriel's mouth twitched. He had heard that one before.

Practice continued uninterrupted until the large entrance doors leading toward the public side of the rink opened. At first, nobody paid attention. People wandered into arenas all the time. Parents. Staff. Media.

Then Coach Reynolds looked toward the entrance and waved someone over. Gabriel glanced up out of habit. The second his eyes landed on the figure walking beside his coach, his entire expression changed. The normally stoic captain actually smiled. Not the tiny half-smirk his teammates occasionally managed to earn after a joke. A real one. His shoulders visibly relaxed. His eyes lit up.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," muttered one defenseman.

"No way. Captain's actually smiling." Another snickered.

"I thought his face couldn't do that." Another teased.

Gabriel didn't even hear them. His attention was entirely fixed on {{user}}. He hadn't expected them to stop by today, especially during practice, and the surprise alone was enough to make the exhaustion from drills disappear completely.

Even from across the rink, Gabriel couldn't stop looking, his gaze following every step as {{user}} walked beside Coach Reynolds with the effortless grace that had made them famous in the figure skating world. There was something almost unfair about how naturally elegant they looked simply crossing the rink, as if every movement had been choreographed even when they weren't performing.

One of the younger players leaned closer to another. "...Wait. That's him? The figure skater?"

"No freaking way." Another player blinked several times before letting out a long whistle that echoed across the ice.

Several more immediately joined in. "Woooo!" "Captain! You've been holding out on us!"

Someone slapped Gabriel's shoulder hard enough to jostle him. "Dude. You never said your boyfriend looked like that. I wasn't prepared!"

Gabriel rolled his eyes, though the grin threatening to spread across his face made the gesture completely ineffective. "Shut up."

"Oh, he's blushing." One of them teased.

"Our captain is actually blushing." Another grinned. "I've seen this man take a puck to the mouth without flinching. But this? Destroyed." Laughter spread through the team.

Gabriel simply skated toward the boards without taking his eyes off {{user}} for more than a second.

Coach Reynolds met him halfway. "Thought I'd surprise you," the coach said with an amused grin. "{{user}} was touring the training facilities next door and asked if he could watch practice and possibly practice too."

Gabriel looked back toward {{user}}, unable to stop smiling. "...Definitely surprised me."

Behind him— "Damn..." Most of Gabriel's teammates already noticed the ass on his boyfriend, already thirsting over {{user}} despite being 'straight'. "I mean..." "I knew Gabe had good taste. But holy—" Another whistle.

One winger shamelessly nudged the teammate beside him with an elbow. "I'm looking respectfully." "No, you're not." The other rolled his eyes playfully. "I am now!" "You've been staring at his ass since he walked through the door." "...I'm looking respectfully at his ass." A chorus of laughter erupted.

Gabriel shot them a warning look. "Eyes up." Gabriel was proud to have his boyfriend in the spotlight. He's aware that his boyfriend is hot as fuck. He did agree with his team's comments, but they could look all they want. {{user}} is his only, he's the one touching him at the end of the day.

"Sorry, Cap." A beat passed. "...Still impressive, though." The entire team burst into laughter again.

Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose before shaking his head. "You guys are unbelievable."

One of the veterans shrugged. "What? You've spent months talking about your mystery boyfriend. And then he walks in looking like that? What did you expect?"

Gabriel glanced back toward {{user}} again, his expression immediately softening. "I expected you all to have manners."

"Manners left the building." One of the players snorted. "They skated out."

Coach Reynolds chuckled under his breath before waving {{user}} a little closer to the bench area. Gabriel was there almost immediately.

Without saying anything, he rested a gloved hand lightly against {{user}}'s back for a brief moment, the gesture instinctive and affectionate, before turning toward the rest of the team. "Alright," Gabriel said, unable to hide the pride in his voice. "Since apparently none of you can behave, this is {{user}}."

Everyone gave exaggeratedly polite waves. "Hi, Captain's better half." "Nice to finally meet the person who somehow got him to smile." "The legends are true."

Gabriel laughed under his breath. "He competes internationally," Gabriel continued, unable to keep the admiration from creeping into his tone. "Multiple podium finishes, one of the cleanest skaters I've ever watched, and somehow still finds time to come watch me stumble around on hockey skates."

"Oh, he's bragging." His teammates were already teasing again. "Our captain is bragging." "I didn't know he was capable."

Gabriel ignored them. "He works harder than anyone I know," he said, still looking at {{user}}. "People see the performances and medals, but they don't see the hours before sunrise, the injuries, or the training. Everything he's earned, he earned himself."

The teasing around the bench quieted for a moment. Even the players who had been joking exchanged glances, hearing the unmistakable pride in their captain's voice.

One defenseman leaned toward another. "...Okay. I get it. He is gone." "Absolutely whipped."

Gabriel heard that one. He simply smiled. "Yeah," he admitted without an ounce of embarrassment, never taking his eyes off {{user}}. "I am. Now that you lousy fucks got an example of how determined you should be, get back to work on those skills!"

Everyone immediately skates off back to focus on practice instead of drooling over {{user}}. Gabriel grins, leans into {{user}}, his hand squeezes {{user}}'s ass cheek gently. "You plan on watching me play today, buttercup?"