Chapter Text
The thing about winning the Stanley Cup is there is no respite. No rest afterwards.
“You want me to do what?”
Kent is very aware that he is whining like a child, but he is twenty eight years old, and he is still suffering a faint hangover from partying so much after winning the Aces third Stanley Cup.
Nadia is the Aces PR person, but Kent is pretty sure her job description is ‘wrangling grown ass men.’ She’s got a long-suffering expression on her face, the one that says she’s praying for strength, and he can’t really blame her. He’s sticking out his lower lip in a parody of a pout, and she nails him with a forceful look.
“Kent, we’ve been over this every time you guys win the cup. You need to do some PR appearances over the summer. I know you want to go sun yourself on a beach in a tourist trap destination somewhere, but you can do that either before or after you have done your PR stuff.”
Kent scowls at Nadia, but he nods. It’s the same dance they do after every Cup win. Kent whines, Nadia persuades, and Kent ends up loving whatever it is he has chosen. It’s familiar and fun. “What are my choices this year?”
Nadia taps at a tablet and holds it out to him. “There’s homeless shelters, children’s hospital visits, a mental health charity appearance, a couple of pet shelters, and a Peewee hockey team day.”
His reluctance earlier had been an act rather than actual reluctance, and he knows Nadia knows this because of the fond smile she gives him. This is who he is. He has always been generous. Sometimes too generous. His sister is getting her med school debt paid off by him. His mom has a new house with an actual yard for her gardening and a bigger kitchen for all the food she likes to cook. Kent has no second thoughts about whipping out his wallet and offering to pay for a stressed out mom’s groceries or a young college student’s tuition. It’s who he is.
Kent looks at the list, feeling overwhelmed. He has always wanted to help others, and he donates to a lot of charities every month. It’s ridiculous, but he feels like he’ll be letting people down if he only picks a couple from the list. “I’ll do everything.”
“Okay,” Nadia relents, taking the tablet back and tapping on the screen. “But this will take up a lot of time, Kent. You should probably cancel any vacations you had planned.”
Kent nods, and Nadia starts talking about health and safety and all the other boring stuff. He hadn’t actually planned on flying out anywhere. He would probably just have gone home to New York to his mom’s new house and lazed about all summer while working out and prepping for training camp.
“I’ll send you an email with a list of everything, okay?” Maybe Nadia senses that he’s tuned out of the conversation, because suddenly they are shaking hands and she is guiding him to the door of her office.
“Thanks Nadia.”
“You’re welcome, Kent.”
Las Vegas Aces @LasVegasAces
Upcoming ask/answer twitter session with alternate captain @RyanOlson. Any interest in further AMAs with some of the team?
Liz @LizWatchesHockey
Oh my god! Yes please @LasVegasAces @RosiePosie are you seeing this I cannot believe I’m stuck at work I want to scream!
Rose @RosiePosie
@LizWatchesHockey lowkey hoping for the Parse AMA of my dreams where he trolls the fuck out of everyone
ACES SECURE THIRD CUP BUT HAVE YET TO SECURE A DECENT GOALTENDING DUO
By Steven Redmond | The Hockey Association
The Las Vegas Aces secured their third Stanley Cup win in a decisive four game sweep over the Washington Capitals. The 2018 Stanley Cup Finals showed off the Aces’ signature flashy style, fast paced plays, and excellent puck handling.
But where were the goaltenders? Parker King, veteran goalie, has supposedly been teaching rookie goaltender Claude Leblanc all the ins and outs of the NHL, but Claude Leblanc’s dismal performance in the first game of the Stanley Cup finals goes to prove that perhaps King is not the best at being a veteran or a good teacher.
The first game of the Stanley Cup Finals was a struggle between the Aces and the Caps, as Leblanc allowed four goals over the first and second period. Thankfully, the Aces had plenty of scoring chances…
Read more at TheHockeyAssociation
The email Nadia sends is perfunctory and concise, with a list of dates and where Kent is supposed to be. The Peewee Hockey Team day comes first. Nadia has helpfully attached a few documents and linked Kent to the team’s website, and Kent spares a moment to set up a reminder to send Nadia a fruit basket for how helpful she is.
Kent reads some documents filled with statistics, and goes to the Vegas Scorpions’ website. It’s pretty neat, with little player bios and a photo gallery and schedule. It turns out his visit will take place over a training camp to prepare for the upcoming season.
Kent remembers his own Peewee hockey days. It had been some of the most fun hockey he had ever played. Although he’s used to fan reactions by now, he wonders how the boys on the team are going to react to his appearance. He may be a hockey player with an eye watering amount of money, but he is still human. He still worries about ordering his favourite drinks from Starbucks without stuttering. Twenty or so twelve year old boys obsessed with hockey should be easy enough for him to talk to, but he knows that’s not guaranteed.
Kent Parson @KentParson90
@RyanOlsen hey hang on why do you get to do the q+a answer thing?
Ryan Olsen @RyanOlsen
@KentParson90 bro it was an option with the pr department lmao we all know who the favourite is @NadiaAcesPR
Nadia Somerfield @NadiaAcesPR
@RyanOlsen @KentParson90 Confirming nothing!
Kent Parson @KentParson90
@RyanOlsen @NadiaAcesPR what if I hold my own impromptu q+a answer session on twitter?
Nadia Somerfield @NadiaAcesPR
@KentParson90 @RyanOlsen No.
Gabriel López isn’t a patient man. His mama used to joke that he had arrived two weeks early, because he was too impatient to wait for his due date. The same lack of patience had endured him all the way through school, his Peewee hockey teams, high school, his juniors teams, and college.
The point is, Kent Parson of the Las Vegas Aces is late to the Vegas Scorpions training camp day. As Head Coach, Gabriel faces nineteen confused faces who all want to know where Kent Parson is, when he’ll be there, and whether he’s going to skate with them.
Gritting his teeth, Gabriel responds as patiently as he can, even though he knows that the second Kent Parson finally makes an appearance, he’s going to corner him and tell him exactly how the world does not revolve around him. He can’t hit pause on the day to accommodate Parson.
“Cob, Gibbers, Coop, let’s try out that play we talked about.” His assistant coaches are casting him sympathetic looks as he gestures for the three boys to skate forward.
“Coach, Kent Parson-” Gibbers starts to speak, his big mournful eyes fixed on Gabriel.
“Gibbers, Parson will be here when he gets here. I don’t know when that will be. All I know is that he is to arrive at any point throughout practice today,” Gabriel interrupts firmly but gently.
When Gibbers, Coop, and Cob all nod obediently, he goes back to the bench to get the whiteboard. But he makes an odd movement, and he has to bite back his instinctive gasp as a low dull pain spreads through him. He shifts his weight to take it off his right leg as he skates. He is furious with himself. Gabriel can’t show weakness around the Scorpions. He adores teaching them, loves that he can still skate on ice, but when he looks at their bright faces and wide eyes, all he can see is himself, before his dreams were cruelly snatched away from him.
It is when he is talking the three boys through a complicated play that he hears several gasps echo around the rink, and then the muttering starts. He knows without looking up that Kent Parson has entered the rink. Gabriel takes a deep breath, but doesn’t look up, not until he is sure that the boys have a good grasp on what he is trying to teach them. Once he dismisses them to try out the play, he finally looks up.
Parson is leaning on the boards, carrying two heavy hockey bags. He is wearing a pastel green backwards snapback, and he is clearly grinning as he watches the boys skate and run drills.
Gabriel feels anger rush through him, but he squashes it down neatly, compacting it away until it barely bothers him. Then he skates across the ice towards Parson. The boys behind him have all come to a stop and are unashamedly staring. He turns once, to fix them all with a glare, blows his whistle and yells, “What are you all looking at? Skate, get a move on!”
His words scatter the boys into running drills. Thank god.
Gabriel turns back to Parson and finds him staring at him, open-mouthed in shock.
Clare McKinley @ClareMcKinley2
@LasVegasAces do you have any pregame rituals? #AskOlsen
Las Vegas Aces @LasVegasAces
@ClareMcKinley2 Yes! I eat chicken pasta (mama’s recipe) do a few games of pregame soccer with the boys, drink my favourite coffee, and do some pranks on the boys ;) -Olsen
Kent Parson @KentParson90
<@LasVegasAces OLSEN I KNEW IT you were the one that put shaving cream in my helmet wtf bro I thought I was your friend :( #Rude #MindTheHair
Rose @RosiePosie
<@LasVegasAces @KentParson90 omg this is hilarious, do you happen to have any pictures, Olsen? #AskOlsen
Las Vegas Aces @LasVegasAces
@RosiePosie @KentParson90 Ask and ye shall receive! -Olsen
[[Attached image of Kent Parson, looking very grumpy and sullen as he tries to fix his hair, which is covered in shaving cream]]
acesgurl
I cannot believe this even has to be said, but I am legitimately horrified at the number of people on this hell site who think it is okay to send their fanfic to real hockey players! Do not do this. It is an unbelievable invasion of privacy, not to mention gross and rude.
#in which Gabby speaks #hockey talk #I keep getting flashbacks to the Parse fic debacle omg
45 notes
acesgurl
I cannot believe this even has to be said, but I am legitimately horrified at the number of people on this hell site who think it is okay to send their fanfic to real hockey players! Do not do this. It is an unbelievable invasion of privacy, not to mention gross and rude.
carrosby
Gabby, thank you for this. I think there is nothing more horrifying than sending players links to fics that depict them having explicit sex with their teammate/best friend etc.
The same goes for sending wives/friends/family links to fic. We aren’t telling y’all to stop writing fic. We just want to stop this habit of linking real actual hockey players to explicit fic.
And yeah, that parse fic debacle was so odd and scary.
#important #hockey shit #parse fic debacle
68 notes
carrosby
chicagohawwkey asked:
Hey, new hockey fan here. What was the parse fic debacle? I’ve heard it mentioned around tumblr
Alright peeps, let’s talk about what was surely the summer from hell.
In 2014, there were two writers who collaborated on an amazing Kent Parson fic. It was basically a fic in which Kent gained a whole bunch of happiness, several cats, and fell in love with the guy who ran a cat sitting service. It was a WIP, over 100K in word count, and it was just stunning. Excellent writing, pacing, characterisation. This was the fic that people talked about all the time. Little references to it popped up all over tumblr, people were making edits and fan art for the fic. It was very well known.
Because we can’t have nice things, one person tweeted a link of the fic to Kent. And then a wannabe hockey blogger also retweeted this. Eventually the link went viral. The fic writers quickly locked their fic to AO3, but it was too late. Kent had already read some of the fic.
Kent tweeted that he was flattered about the fic and obviously hoped that would be the end of it. The amazing fic writers gained a lot of readership but missed two consecutive updates. Understandable, as they were probably having second thoughts about continuing.
But every time Kent tweeted after that, his comments and mentions would be filled with people linking him to their fic. Self-insert reader fic, hate sex fic, team gang bangs - they were linking it all to him. Even if Kent tweeted about food or his cat, there would be about 500 comments linking him to fic.
Kent went radio silent for three weeks. Things died down a bit but then all those fic writers turned on the two lovely fic writers who wrote the 100k cute fic. Their tumblrs were filled with hate mail, rude comments were left on their AO3 works etc.
Luckily for those of us who wanted to see that amazing Kent fic finished, the two writers uploaded the rest of the fic then moderated the rest of the comments. But after about a month, they clearly couldn’t handle it anymore and deleted the whole thing and shut down their ask boxes on tumblr.
Basically, this whole thing was a mess. It’s a warning to never send fic to players or anyone associated with them. Lock your fic down on AO3, moderate comments, and do not feed the trolls.
#parse fic debacle #this whole thing was a fucking mess omg #why are people like this #hockey shit #this is why we can’t have nice things
125 notes
Kent is stunned. He’s aware that he’s leaning over the boards like an idiot, but he feels like he just got rocked by a huge hit. This is Gabriel López. The Gabriel López. The one whose career Kent had followed in Juniors. The one who set records that not even he or Zimms could break.
“López,” Kent says heavily, because he also remembers being told that Gabriel stopped playing hockey after a horrific car accident. He can’t stop his eyes from roving over Gabriel, looking for any sign of injury, which is stupid because any kind of accident would’ve taken place over ten years ago, and he’s wearing his coaching outfit of a tracksuit with the Scorpions logo.
“Parson, welcome to the Vegas Scorpions’ Training Camp,” Gabriel speaks through gritted teeth. “Do you have any gear with you? Skates?”
Kent wants to say something, but there’s a flash of something crossing Gabriel’s face that makes him bite his tongue. Instead, he nods and is pointed in the direction of the locker room. Kent’s mind is swimming with confusion. Gabriel López is here, coaching a Peewee team. It doesn’t seem possible. Kent only fumbles with his gear a handful of times, and he quickly laces up his skates, eager to get on the ice and see Gabriel again.
He leaves the locker room and skates out onto the ice, watching as Gabriel talks to the kids clustered around him.
“Mr. Parson has agreed to spend some time with us here at our training camp. However, we all remember the rules, correct?”
“No hitting, Coach!” A boy with the reddest hair Kent has ever seen declares gleefully.
“Yes, Fish. As usual, no hitting, no fighting, no disrespect,” Gabriel smiles briefly at the boy before turning to look at Kent. “Mr. Parson, the ice is yours.”
Kent was not expecting this, but he skates forward anyway, finding himself surrounded by a lot of upturned expectant faces.
“Uh. Hi,” Kent starts and there’s a little giggle breaking free from the crowd. That somehow makes him feel better. “I’m really excited to be here, guys. I’ll be helping out your coaches and running drills with you.”
There’s absolute silence. Kent does not shift his weight, doesn’t flinch or panic. Instead, he waits out the silence, fighting the urge to worry that he may have accidentally said the wrong thing.
“Can you teach us that move that Smithy, you and Tommy did during Game 3 of the Finals? When Smithy scored that goal in the first period?” A tiny boy with big brown eyes and a wide smile asks him, breaking the silence.
“Oh, yes please!”
“Can we learn that, Coach?”
“This is gonna be awesome!”
The ensuing onslaught of enthusiastic voices makes Kent laugh and raise his hands, a grin on his face as he thinks about his answer.
“As long as your coaches are okay with it.”
As one, the cluster of boys turn hopeful smiles to the coaching staff, who share bemused glances before nodding.
Kent does flinch at the excited screams the boys let out.
Gabriel feels as though his whole world has been knocked off-kilter. He had known that Parson was going to be here, of course, as a PR marketing strategy. But it’s entirely different to actually see him on the ice, talking to the boys and demonstration moves.
Parson as a coach feels wrong. Yet somehow, he’s handing out advice and teaching the boys as though he’s been doing it for years. It is an odd and uncomfortable sight.
Gabriel finds himself watching Parson as he skates over, expecting to see fatigue, grumpiness, or annoyance all over his face. Instead, he finds a wide gorgeous smile that makes something twist in his stomach, and he has to look away quickly.
“They have so much energy, don’t they?” Parson sounds deeply amused as he stands beside Gabriel, watching the boys run the drill Kent just showed them.
Gabriel turns his gaze back to the boys, who are running the drill a little unsteadily, sneaking satisfied and pleased looks at Kent every time they finish.
Kent gives Gabriel another wide unabashed grin, and then skates back over, clapping his hands and gesturing the boys over so he can talk them through another drill.
Gabriel feels the twist in his stomach warm, feeling hot and out of place all of a sudden.
Fuck.
Afterwards, when Kent has given every boy an Aces t-shirt and snapback, and waved them off to confused but excited parents, he finds himself at a loss. Because now Gabriel is studying him with wary eyes.
“Uh. Do you wanna get dinner?” Kent blurts out the question and almost immediately flinches back, because goddammit, if Gabriel says no then how’s he going to save face? He just wants to sit and talk to Gabriel, but if Gabriel says no he’s going to look like an idiot.
His panicked thoughts are cut off by Gabriel’s nod.
“Yes. How about the place around the corner?”
Kent does not know the place around the corner, but he nods anyway. Gabriel’s brief smile makes his smile back automatically, because Gabriel has also clearly realised that Kent doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
“Come on, I’ll drive.” Gabriel walks past the rink, the lights dimmed now, heading for the doors. And Kent- well, he’s helpless to do anything but follow.
He throws his gear bags back into his Jeep before climbing into Gabriel’s car.
“Look, Gabriel-”
“Kent, let’s just wait until we have burgers in front of us. Please.”
Kent falls silent, then nods. His heart is still thudding almost uncomfortably, because a very attractive man is driving him to get dinner, but it is not a date.
“Okay but I gotta ask. What the hell kind of nickname is Fish?”
Gabriel glances at him and breaks into genuine laughter, and the sound is perfect and makes his entire face light up.
Kent can’t do anything else but join in.