Chapter Text
Stephen should have never given Joseph a key to his apartment.
The fact that he has the nerve to invite himself in and wake Stephen up before 7am on a rare day off? Horrible.
The fact that it’s to force him to go out and exercise first thing in the morning? Absolutely criminal.
“It’s good for you.” Joseph says flatly as he stands outside Stephen’s bedroom while the other man gets dressed.
“So is sleep!” Stephen argues back as he emerges, zipping up his hoodie. “Why do we have to go running at 6:30 in the morning on a Sunday?”
“You need to work on your endurance.”
“You need to work on your people skills.”
“Shut up, let’s go.”
Stephen will admit, the mornings in Florida, even during that weird limbo period between winter and spring, are MUCH more forgiving than the cold ass Canadian weather he’s used to dealing with. The fact that he lives walking distance from a beach? A beach on the actual ocean? The sunrise painting the sky in shades of orange and yellow Stephen didn’t know existed in nature? It’s almost nice enough to make him forget how early it is.
Almost.
This beach does have a pedestrian path winding through it, which is much nicer than running through the sand. Much easier, too.
“Pick up the pace, Stills, or I’m making you run through the sand.” Joseph orders.
Stephen really should stop forgetting how demanding Joseph can get during training and practice. Even if he means well by it, Stephen has never been the agility type. He’s a heavy hitting defenseman for a reason, not some light footed winger.
“My grandma could wipe the floor with you in a race, and she’s been dead for a decade now.”
“Isn-isn’t that a little cliche?” Stephen huffs out. “Dead relative can do that better than you?”
“It’s fine, she was a bitch, anyway. She did NOT like it the first time I brought a boyfriend home to meet the family.”
“You deal with a lot of homophobia from your family?” Stephen asks as he finally manages to catch up to Joseph.
“Other than her? One or two. Parents were fine, which was what mattered most. Everyone else just sort of minds their business.”
“Hey, about the way I found out, a few weeks back-” Stephen starts. Joseph shakes his head in reply.
“Don’t worry about it. You were gonna find out eventually.”
“You aren’t scared, telling everyone? With the whole team knowing? They could break it to the media, spread it all over the league. Doesn’t shit like that keep you up at night?”
“It did at first.” Joseph pauses, takes a breath and he slows his pace down to a jog. “But at a certain point I stopped giving a fuck. Whether I bang men or women doesn’t change the fact I’m damn good at hockey.”
Stephen hums thoughtfully. “You do play a good game of hockey.”
“And once I whip your tired ass into shape, think of how well you’ll play, too.” Joseph teases, barely bothering to hide his smirk this time.
“You fucking suck, do you know that?” Stephen exhales hard as they come to a stop. He closes his eyes and breathes in a few times, takes in the salty ocean air. Time almost seems to stop.
When he opens his eyes, he is not expecting to see Joseph pulling his hoodie over his head.
“What are you doing?” Stephen cocks an eyebrow.
“Ocean’s right there. Swimming is fantastic exercise.”
Stephen rolls his eyes with a scoff as Joseph folds his hoodie before setting down on the sand.
“Oh, you’re being serious.”
“Did I look like I was joking?” Joseph asks as he kicks off his shoes and bends over to pull off his socks. He tucks them into his sneakers, hits the pair of shoes together to shake off the sand and sets them on top of the folded hoodie.
“Fucking fine.” Stephen groans and he unzips his hoodie. He debates dropping haphazardly into the sand, but opts to follow Joseph’s lead and folds it, placing it next to the other man’s. He takes off his own sneakers and kicks them next to his hoodie.
When Stephen looks up from arranging his own things in a vague pile, he is face to face with the bare stomach of one Joseph Zimmermann. Nevermind shirtless, Stephen has seen this man FULLY naked in a locker room countless times, but something about watching him strip off his t-shirt feels different this time.
Stephen can’t describe it.
Okay, that’s not true. He can probably describe it if he was given enough time, but in this instant? Words do not form to express the feeling that flashes to life in his mind.
“You coming or what?” Joseph snaps Stephen back to reality. Now shirtless, having folded and neatly added his t-shirt to his clothes pile, Joseph stares at Stephen expectantly.
“Not the first time you’ve asked a man that, I assume?” Stephen can’t help but joke as he pulls off his own shirt and tosses it on top of his folded hoodie.
“I could hide your body in the ocean right now and they’d never find it.” Joseph narrows his eyes, lets the threat linger for just long enough that Stephen knows he’s just fucking around. At least, he THINKS Joseph is just fucking around.
“Okay, fine, but you’re buying me breakfast after this.”
After swimming laps for a while, a quick stop at Stephen’s apartment to take turns showering and to change, easily done since the two are the same clothing size, the pair find themselves at a small cafe a few blocks from Stephen’s place, one that he found on a morning jog a week or two back and has become a regular at since.
“What were you listening to back at my place?” Stephen asks after taking a sip of coffee. “Sounded familiar.”
“Just a band I’ve liked for a while.”
“Well who is it, dude? Don’t leave me hanging!”
“The Clash at Demonhead. I’m sure you’ve heard OF them, at least.”
“Oh yeah? I didn’t know you were a fan of theirs.”
“They’re…one of my favorite bands at the moment, actually.” Joseph seems almost, reluctant, to share something like this, like he’s not used to being asked about himself or his interests.
“Of course I know them, dude! Actually, and you probably won’t believe this, I KNOW them.”
“You what?” Joseph’s face goes dead serious, and Stephen is momentarily worried he said something wrong.
“Yeah! Envy and I have been friends for years! She even dated my stupid friend Scott when we were in college!”
“Don’t you lie to me, Stephen Stills.”
“100% legit. I have pictures of us together in a photo album back at my place…or maybe it’s at my parents’ place? Her, me and Scott were even in a band for a little bit, but I didn’t have enough time to play with them AND play hockey, and let’s be honest, I was never meant to be a musician.”
“Not when you can skate like that, no.”
“Anyway, I focused on hockey, Envy and Scott broke up, she went off to form The Clash, I got drafted into the NHL.”
“And your other friend, Scott?”
“Oh, he kinda sucks. I think he works, maybe? He had a job last year, but I don’t know if he still works there…or at all.”
“So you’re for real friends with Envy? What about the others?” Stephen has never seen Joseph so intently focused on and interested in something that isn’t hockey. It’s actually pretty endearing.
It’s really cute.
“Huh?” The word slips out of Stephen’s mouth in response to his own thought.
“The rest of the band?” Joseph elaborates, thinking Stephen was confused by his question.
“Oh, Todd and Lynette? I’ve met them a few times, but we’re definitely not friends. They’re okay, but Todd is-”
“Pretty fucking hot.”
“I was going to say that he’s a pretty boy tool who thinks he can use his good looks and vegan diet, plus the fact that he’s in a famous band, to get women to do what he wants, but I guess his conventionally attractive looks do aid in that.”
“Lot of NHL players that are the same way.”
“Not us, though.”
“Definitely not me.” Joseph offers so nonchalantly that Stephen can’t help but laugh.
“Don’t look at me, either. I’ve never been a ladies man. I was with Julie since college, and even before that, I only went on a few dates with a few girls.”
“So about The Clash at Demonhead.” Joseph quickly changes the subject back.
“What about them?”
“How much of an in do you have?”
“Oh, so you want to use me to get you tickets to one of their shows?”
“Well, if you're offering."
“How can I say no to that handsome bearded face?” Stephen laughs.
“The beard hasn’t stopped people before.”
“Well it’s working on me. In fact, I may or may not already have some tickets to one of their shows here in a couple weeks.”
“Have you already offered to take anyone?”
“Well, I was torn between asking Cooper and Lucas. I don’t know HOW I could possibly pick one and break the other’s heart. Unless, that is, you wanted to help make the choice easy and come with me, instead?”
“Are you being serious right now?”
“Why would I offer and not be serious about it?”
“Revenge for the early morning runs I keep forcing you to do?”
“Joseph, a month and a half ago I walked into the locker room and we nearly tore each other apart, and now YOU are asking ME if we can hang out and go to a concert together. Even if we’ve become a well oiled machine on the ice, I’ve been hunting for a way for us to squash the beef and be friends off the ice.”
“I thought me showing up to your little hockey watch parties every week was enough of a sign for you to figure out that I was over it.”
“Oh, well in that case, I guess you don’t want to go to the concert with me.”
“Stephen, you absolute piece of shit. I can’t stand your fucking guts. Now take me to see The Clash at Demonhead with you.”
Joseph looks at Stephen in earnest, and Stephen nearly chokes out laughing.
“Fine, you win, I can’t say no to your rugged good looks and the fact that you’re a famous NHL player, I’ll do what you want!”