So, in honor of hockey season starting, this is one of the things I have been working on for longer than I am willing to admit.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia and, while the team Matthew and Al are on is made up, I do not own any of the other NHL, KHL, etc teams brought up in this. Or any other recognizable entities.

Warnings: Hockey, cussing, romantic pairings, Matthew and Al are not related, a lot of characters (but no featured OCs), human names and nicknames, and I am gloss over certain things in reality (like sports agents and how preseason works.)

Chapter 1

Matthew is supposed to be watching Finding Nemo (Alfred's pick) and relaxing before the start of training camp. Alfred is already half asleep next to him. Matthew can't relax yet hockey isn't what occupies his mind for once, at least, not directly. His mind replays conversations he and Alfred brought up but never finished. "You sure you want to do this?"

"This?" Alfred asks, his eyes half-open.

"The 'tell everyone we're together thing.'"

"Oh." Alfred blinks a few times, trying to wake up. "Yep."

"What if the league kicks us out, Al?"

"Like they could get away with that." Alfred snorts. "You're on track to be the league's golden boy."

Matthew bites his lip. "That doesn't guarantee anything…especially not for you. You're not on the team just yet. At least technically."

"I can end up in the AHL whether we come out or not. We'll have awkward moments sure, but no one is going to lynch us for being gay.

"I am more worried not playing in the NHL than that." Matthew smiles wryly.

"We're too good! They'd be idiots to can us. You were just made captain. And our contracts should protect us, right?" Alfred leans against Matthew. He wraps one arm around Matthew's shoulders and his free hand trails over his belly. Matthew squirms from the light tickling. "Mattie, would you rather get an ulcer from just training and games or along with the fear of us being discovered?"

Matthew grabs Alfred's hand and rests it on his thigh. "And what about our team? Can you imagine saying, 'hey, we're in a relationship' randomly?"

"Well, Timo kind of guessed—"

Matthew flinches. Matthew and Alfred never lie about not being in a relationship, they are just careful about avoiding any mention of dating each other. Timo having a "talk" Alfred about his "crush" on Matthew still freaks Matthew out; he can't figure out where Alfred might have slipped.

"—so Ber knows, too. Cause they share everything. Even that little purse dog. Hannah-Tomato or something." Alfred tugs back experimentally. Matthew pushes back on the couch, holding Alfred's other arm between himself and the couch.

Alfred grins. Matthew braces himself for a 'surprise' tackle but Alfred's expression softens into a smile. Matthew is helpless to do anything but smile back. If for nothing else, Matthew has fallen for that smile and that smile is responsible for some of the more, ah, questionable things Matthew had done in the last year and a half. "That's what, a little less than one-tenth of the team? And you are ignoring the staff, future teammates, and I don't know…everyone else in the NHL."

Alfred pauses, trying to remember the conversation. "The team is what's important! It's one-sixth if you count us! And Coach's grandson is a few steps from flaming and Coach has nothing but praises to say about the kid. He has a thing for Luddy, too."

"Coach Rome and Ludwig?" Matthew is pretty sure his brain has just died.

Alfred laughs in surprise. "Coach? Who knows? I was talking about his grandson, the nice one."

Matthew raises an eyebrow. "And you know this how?"

"You honestly haven't noticed? Why do you think he's always bringing us food after a practice? He stares and stutters at Luddy. It's obvious."

"I suppose it is if you've noticed it."

"Meanie! What does that say about you?"

"That I actually focus during practice? I'm kidding! Don't hit me!" Matthew holds up his hands in defense. "Though if you are noticing stuff like that, I probably should talk to coach about setting up harder drills, eh?"

Alfred grins suddenly.

Matthew is confused. Drills are a necessary evil. Alfred has no reason to smile—

Oh. His hands are free.

Shit.

Alfred moves first, shoving Matthew off the couch before he can grab Al again. Matthew readies himself on the floor for a pounce but Alfred just stretches out on his side, taking up the whole couch.

"I think everything would go all right. With the team, you know?" Alfred says. "There has to be a first time for everything."

Matthew stares up at him. Alfred is taking this much more seriously than when he had mentioned outing themselves at the end of last season. Matthew wants to take this as a joke; only Al would think about admitting to being in a relationship while playing in the same league and on the same team.

Except…

Matthew imagines being able to claim Alfred as his boyfriend. (Boyfriend seems so childish but how could he deny Alfred when the other blond had shyly asked, "You're my boyfriend, right?" after they made out the first time?) He wants to go on dates that didn't involve just video games or bars or the millions of other casual things they do with their teammates. The more daring part of him-Matthew completely blames his father for this-wants to kiss Alfred after the end of every game, win or lose.

Matthew can't shake fear though. He loves hockey. He lives for it and has kept his mouth shut about his bisexuality. He shaped his life plans around the idea of being a pro hockey player and part of that meant sticking to girls.

Then he met Jones on the ice and Alfred after the game, less than a year before he got drafted in the NHL. Matthew still had every intention of sticking to his plan—no matter how much Alfred's smile made him want something more than just hockey when just hockey had been all he ever dreamed about—right up until Alfred nervously introduced his friends, his roommate Toris…and Toris's skirt-wearing boyfriend Feliks. His plans shattered when Alfred casually mentioned he use to date Toris.

Matthew nearly had a heart attack. Alfred, handsome and with infectious smiles, was available. He had almost ruined everything that night by trying to drink up some liquid courage to damn everything and ask Alfred out.

Alfred had taken Matthew's sudden drinking and silence as disgust. Only Toris being amazingly nice and keeping Feliks from kicking Matthew in the balls with his pointy heels did Matthew manage to set things straight and ask Alfred out on a date.

Matthew sometimes wonders if he still would have asked Alfred out if had he known the relationship was going on two years, that they would end up on the same NHL team, and that there would be several almost discoveries that would lead to Alfred wanting to out themselves preemptively.

He can't really complain. He has a hot, adorably sweet boyfriend who loves hockey. Alfred doesn't get pissed off about long practices and traveling for games like his past girlfriends—Alfred only whines when hockey means getting up early—and Matthew loves playing with someone he cares about (and someone who happens to be a great winger.)

"We don't have to, if you don't want to." Alfred stares down at him. His bright blue eyes were questioning but not judging.

"I want to say to the world, 'hey, this is my boyfriend' but we're in the NHL." Matthew tries to put as much emotion into that acronym, willing Alfred to understand the years he spent of hoping and trying to be the best to get to this point. "And the Olympics are this year."

"Then we won't." Alfred lies down on the couch, looking up at the ceiling to hide his face.

Matthew sighs. "What have your brothers said about it?"

"Well, Liam wasn't aware I wasn't out. Connor says I shouldn't worry. Peter thinks I should do a press conference in a Superman costume-"

"I will kill you."

"-Patrick says he'll beat the shit out of whoever gives me trouble...at least, that's what I think he said, his accent got a bit too strong at the end. Efan wanted to know if that meant I'd be staying with you for Christmas." Alfred pauses and looks at Matthew. "Think Francis will mind?"

Matthew blinks. He has yet to spend a Christmas with Alfred because the holiday season—short as the break is for hockey players—means Matthew would be on a plane to Quebec and Alfred to somehow house his six brothers in their small apartment. "With the way you compliment his cooking? I think Papa will try to keep you."

Alfred laughs until the sound trails off awkwardly.

Silence.

Matthew realizes something is missing. Alfred has named only fiveof his brothers. He hasn't mentioned the one brother Matthew had actually met. With dread, Matthew asks, "And Arthur?"

Alfred looks away and rubs the back of his head.

Matthew groans. Arthur Kirkland happens to be the only person who had threatened Matthew's life that was not a pissed off fan of another team. And no matter what Alfred says about his brother always 'saying silly things like that', Matthew is pretty sure Arthur means every word. "Should I being looking over my shoulder?"

"He's not that bad!" Alfred pouts. "The conversation was just...confusing and he's been irritable since he stopped drinking and he writes for a living! Of course he has a huge imagination."

Matthew avoids mentioning that, from Alfred's stories, Arthur had been just as irritable long before he quit drinking. 'Irritability' is one issue of a long list of things about Arthur that makes Matthew wonder just how he had gotten custody of Alfred and now Peter. Then again, Matthew had thought Arthur was very polite if a bit standoffish up until Alfred had left them alone for five minutes. Arthur could be disturbingly descriptive when deciding randomly to talk about medieval torture devices the moment Al left the room.

"Artie said he wouldn't walk me down the aisle and I wasn't sure where he was going with that because my first thought was groceries but then Patrick said he would if I wore a nice dress. I tried telling him I that I am gay, not a cross-dresser. They started fighting and hung up. Or broke the phone. It's kind of hard to tell."

Matthew laughs. "Dress, huh? I'll have to tell that to Angelique."

"Don't you dare! Your sister is scary."

"She wouldn't really do anything." Angelique is the sweet one in his family. Papa is the one Alfred should be worried about but as long as Francis cooks for him, Alfred would think the world of the Frenchman.

"I won't take that chance. Tell her and I'll..."

"You have nothing." Matthew smirks.

"Oh, so you don't mind me telling her about the time you stole her eye liner in high school?"

Matthew's jaw drops. "How do you know about that? I only wore it for a little while and I didn't tell anyone."

"Papa Francis loves me!"

"He knows? Oh god..."

"He has photographic proof." Alfred waggles his eyebrows, which makes him look disturbingly like Francis. "Oh, and having been around Feliks enough, I can tell you guyliner is so not your thing."

Matthew puts his hand over his face and peaks through his fingers. "It was a phase."

"A phase that made you look like a raccoon." Alfred cups his hands around his eyes, mimicking circles.

"At least I don't wear Superman underwear."

This time, Alfred rolls off the couch and lands on Matthew. They both scramble to pin each other down but Alfred has the advantage of surprise and manages to stay on top. He rests his forearms on either side of Matthew's head, holding his own head barely an inch above Matthew.

"You love me and you think my Superman boxers are sexy. Admit it."

A sarcastic reply is on Matthew's lips but Alfred is smiling again. Matthew awkwardly tilts his head up, hitting their glasses together, and kisses Alfred.

They could argue another day.

Thank you for reading! I appreciate comments and critiques :)

Just for some help tracking:

-Matthew Williams (Canada), #13, Las Vegas Aces Captain, Forward

-Alfred F. Jones (America), #50, Las Vegas Aces, Forward

-Timo Väinämöinen(Finland), #31, Starting Goaltender of Las Vegas Aces

-Rome aka Marcus Aurelius(Roman Empire), Las Vegas Aces Coach, former Philadelphia Flyers and Ottawa Senators defenseman,

-Ber or Berry aka Berwald Oxenstjärna (Sweden), #45, Alternate Captain of the Las Vegas Aces, defensemen, traded from the Detroit Red Wings (kudos if you can guess why that team)

-Luddy (among other nicknames) aka Ludwig Beilschmidt (Germany), #5, Alternate Captain of Las Vegas Aces, forward

-Francis Bonnefoy (France), Matthew's father

-Angelique Williams-Bonnefoy (Seychelles), Matthew's (adoptive) sister

-Arthur Kirkland (England), Alfred's half-brother and, when Al was a kid, legal guardian. Efan (Wales), Liam (Scotland), Connor (Northern Ireland), Patrick (Ireland), and Peter (Sealand) are the other Kirkland brothers.

-Las Vegas Aces is a made up team. I had too many issues when trying to place them on a real NHL team that I made up my own (I have issues as a fan, okay?). You can look at it as a) Aces was added to the NHL (along with the Nordiques to balance out the conferences), b) where the Thrashers eventually end up and renamed…oops, I wrote this before Winnipeg, c) whatever pleases you. And this would create a division with the California teams and Las Vegas Aces…I'm ignoring the shifting this would cause.

A great thanks to mylittlepuppet (lj) who looks over this for me even while busy at college. And to my best friend, who puts up with my really random questions/thoughts. Both are awesome and everyone needs friends who you can ask questions like "Do you think this nation would be a forward or defenseman?" and ones that start with "so you're drunk in Calgary…"

And I apologize for this inconvenience: the title and summary are subject to change.