Page 34 of Full Body Hit, Part 1 (Alpha Omega Hockey #5)

Why was it so hard to just be…good?

He let the safety of his nest settle his uneven pulse, thoughts slowing. He fiddled with his phone, hand itching to call Aunix, even if just to hear his voice.

Maybe he didn’t deserve it, though. Maybe—

Chase flinched as his phone started ringing, stomach bursting with fireflies when he saw who was calling.

“Hey.”

“Hey, baby. Am I catching you at a bad time?” Aunix asked, and just hearing him talk had Chase melting, the sharp parts of him turning round and gooey.

“No. Was just thinking about you, actually.”

“Oh, yeah? Something nice I hope,” Aunix said, smile clear in the brightness of his voice.

“I don’t think I’ve ever thought a single bad thing about you,” Chase confessed.

There was a moment of silence. “That’s sweet. Sweeter than I deserve.”

Chase wrinkled his nose. “Nope. I decide what you deserve from me, and you get a whole lotta sweetness. Deal with it.”

Aunix snorted. “I mean, I guess I can deal with that.”

A comfortable pause settled over them. Chase could hear Aunix breathing softly, and he felt so close to him in that moment that it made the distance between them starker.

Which was a total oxymoron, but there he was.

“I was thinking about calling you, actually. Had kind of a shitty day and I didn’t really want to dump it on you.”

“Charlie…”

“I know, I know.”

“We talked about this. It’s not dumping, it’s sharing,” Aunix reminded him.

Chase sighed. “I know. It’s just… urgh .

My stupid coworker again. I get that I make mistakes.

I’m not denying it. It’s not like I don’t care .

But he’s always so harsh to me and no one else.

Like, I am trying so fucking hard. I’ve been in this job for three freaking months.

And I feel shitty for thinking I deserve to be treated more nicely—”

“Wait. Why do you feel shitty about that?” Aunix cut in.

“Well, because…I am making mistakes. And the mistakes affect the whole work team. It affects my coworker and his success. So. It’s not like I think I should never be held accountable for my actions…I just wish he were nicer.”

“Honey, listen to me. There is something vital about life you need to understand.”

“Yeah?”

“Some people are just assholes,” Aunix declared.

Chase snorted. “Okay, but—”

“No, listen. There are situations in which you can tie yourself in knots trying to understand the motivations of another person. Do they like you? Do they not like you? Why don’t they like you? Is it you? Is it something you did? It’s exhausting, and it’ll drive you crazy.”

Chase could very much empathise with that.

“But a lot of the times the answer is just…that guy is an asshole. That’s it.

If you weren’t trying, if you didn’t care—look.

I have a coworker, new like you, and the kid doesn’t give a single shit about anything.

Makes mistakes that affect everyone else and is completely and utterly unphased .

It’s fucking infuriating. But it’s not the mistakes that are the bad thing—those are normal in a new employee.

It’s the lack of care. And, baby…you care. ”

“I care so much,” Chase whined.

“There you go. So fucking ignore that stupid asshole. If he has gotten so far in his career without knowing how to teach new employees instead of making them feel like shit, then he’s the one who should be ashamed, not you.”

“Yeah,” Chase mumbled even as a stupid, stupid part of him recoiled from the idea of saying Auston was bad at his job.

That silly kid who had been a fan of Auston since he was a toddler was still somewhere inside Chase, ready to protect his idol.

“Yeah,” Chase repeated anyway because fuck Auston and his dumb face.

There was a moment of silence. “Feel better?”

“Yeah. Thank you, Daddy.”

“You’re welcome. Which is why you should always call me when you’re feeling low.”

Chase hummed happily. “Yeah, okay. Point made.”

“Good. Don’t forget it.”

Chase’s heart was big and warm. “Okay, Daddy. I won’t. How was your day, though?”

Chase closed his eyes and listened to Aunix talk about having problems at work, about being irritated at the coworker he’d mentioned before, but how he was better now that he was talking to Chase.

The topic trailed into lighter subjects—which movie they would watch next, what they were doing for Christmas.

Chase fiddled with the furry corner of his blanket. “Going to visit my mom, I guess. I have a few free days.”

“Ah. Is that going to be…?” Aunix trailed off.

“I mean, she’s my mom. And I know she stresses me out sometimes, but she really has sacrificed a lot to get me where I am. My, like, field is pretty specialised, so it takes a lot of extra training, you know? And she’s the one that got me that, so.”

“Yeah, no, I get it. Just wish you had a little more support, I guess. But we can talk and stuff during the holiday, huh? Don’t want you to hole yourself away.”

Chase smiled. “Okay. What are you doing?”

“The family is coming over to visit. Mom, Dad, sister, and my two nieces. Sister’s partner has to stay back home to work, which sucks.”

“Oh, damn, yeah, that’s a bummer. But it’s cool that you have family coming over. Do you guys have any special traditions?”

Aunix hummed. “Not anything unusual. We’re a pretty boring family, really.”

“That sounds nice, honestly. Christmas has always looked really fun on TV,” Chase mused.

“You don’t do the traditional stuff?”

“I mean…I’ll get my mom a present, and we’ll have a meal, but my mom isn’t close to her family, and I haven’t seen my dad’s family in a long time. I think my mom had a falling out with them as well, so…it’s just the two of us.”

“ Hmm . Well. We can plan on seeing some Christmas movies at the same time or something.”

Chase shook his head even though Aunix couldn’t see him. “No. You need to spend time with your family.”

“I don’t—”

“Sorry, Daddy, you’re not winning this one. We can do stuff before Christmas. It’s only gonna be a few days, anyway. It’ll be fine.”

An explosive sigh came from the other end of the line. “Fine. But then you have to let me send you all the presents I want.”

“Daddy…” Chase laughed.

“Sorry, baby. You’re not winning this one.”

Chase huffed at having his words thrown back at him. “Fine. But then I can send you something, too.”

“You really don’t have to—”

“No way, it’s Christmas! You’re getting a present whether you want it or not.”

“I’m feeling very oppressed right now,” Aunix complained.

“Oh, yeah. So oppressed.”

Aunix laughed, sound a deep, clear bell, filling Chase up with warmth until he couldn’t feel anything else.