The Sweetness of a Careful Lie

[camshaft22]

Title: The Sweetness Of A Careful Lie
Author: camshaft22
Fandom: Hockey RPF
Pairing/characters: Marc Staal, Eric Staal, Jordan Staal, Jared Staal, Ryan Callahan, Sean Avery, Brian Boyle, Original Female Character, Original Male Character
Rating: R
Prompt: Any fandom, any character, Five lies s/he wouldn't have told if s/he'd been straight.

Warnings: N/A
Summary: Marc only lied to protect himself.

 

 

Lie Number 1- I don’t feel so good. Go out without me.

 

Marc Staal was many things. Defensemen, hockey player, born on a sod farm, the brother to Eric, Jordan, and Jared, the second of four and gay. He kept the last to himself, partially afraid they would take hockey away from him. Even if people were more accepting in Thunder Bay, he just didn’t think it would be a good idea. His family didn’t even know, but he figured his Mom might at least sort of suspect. Marc didn’t ask.

 

His team won tonight and everyone was in a happy mood except him. His boyfriend had dumped him because Marc didn’t want to come out of the closet, and if he didn’t want to come out, then Steve couldn't do it anymore. Marc got his point, but it wasn’t a good time. He showered, changed, and started grabbing his stuff when Cally came over to his stall and caught his attention.

 

“You want to come with us? We’re going to go clubbing, celebrate.” Ryan asked, grinning.

 

Marc looked at him and thinned his lips, hating that he was doing this a little but not up to spending the night trying to look like he was picking up without actually picking up. “I don’t feel so good. Go out without me,” Marc told him. “I think I might be coming down with a bug or something. I just want to sleep, man.”

 

Cally clapped him on the shoulder. “Good idea. Sleep it off, come back better. We’ll miss you tonight.”

 

“Thanks, Cally,” Marc told him as Callahan turned and went back to the ones actually going out. Marc picked up his bag and left.

 

Lie Number 2- I was busy.

 

Marc glanced over to Sean as they were seated in this restaurant he just ‘had to try.’ For a straight man, he sure as hell embodied the worst gay stereotypes ever. Marc felt a flare of guilt for thinking that. He knew that stereotypes were untrue and pretty much shit.

 

“How’s retirement?” Marc asked.

 

“Boring. But I would rather die than come back,” Sean told him as he looked over the menu.

 

“You are the most overdramatic son of a bitch that I’ve ever met,” Marc told him as the waitress came around. Marc ordered a beer and Sean got the same. They studied their menus for a few minutes and Marc felt Sean stare at him.

 

“Do you know what you’re getting?” Marc asked, trying to figure out if he wanted the steak or maybe something else for a change. He didn’t want to fuck his diet up.

 

“Yeah. Plus I’m going to get the biggest dessert they’ve got,” Sean replied.

 

Marc rolled his eyes. “You do that. You’re not working out as much anymore. You’ll get a gut, Sean.”

 

“Fuck you, ass,” Sean told him. “So, what happened with that person you were dating?”

 

Marc managed not to blush. “We broke up.”

 

“Why? From the way you were talking, she was fucking amazing,” Sean told him, frowning.

 

“I got busy. Hockey is... hockey. It takes everything and they couldn’t handle it,” Marc half lied. He had originally planned on coming out to Sean, introducing Steve to him, getting his support maybe... but Sean was a force of nature when he got a notion, and Marc didn’t want to be his project. Plus, he hadn’t even told his family, and they should probably be first. Then Steve got tired of hiding and things went sideways.

 

Sean frowned. “I’ll introduce you to Kelly. She’s pretty understanding of the lifestyle.”

 

“Thanks,” Marc told him, trying to figure out a way out of this one.

 

Lie Number 3- I hate this band.

 

Marc pasted on a smile as he met with Kelly. She was very nice, very sweet and attractive, sort of. Kelly would’ve been perfect if she were a guy. He needed to stop being a chicken shit, but it was easier to hide. Marc swallowed and forced himself to pay attention to the date.

 

“I’ve been looking forward to hearing this band,” Kelly told him, putting her dark hair behind her ears. “My friend says they’re really good.”

 

“Should be a lot of fun,” Marc told her, gesturing to the bartender. He ordered a whiskey sour and glanced over to see what she would like.

 

“A Cosmopolitan,” Kelly told the bartender and then grinned back at Marc. He returned the smile and relaxed a bit.

 

“So, what do you do?” Marc asked as they grabbed their drinks and found a table.

 

“I’m in advertising. I work at Vogue,” she explained as Marc nodded.

 

“Is that how you met Sean? He’s always bragging about being an intern there,” Marc told her with a roll of his eyes.

 

“No, we actually met at a party. But yeah, I’ve definitely heard about it,” Kelly said with a giggle.

 

Marc chuckled, finding her interesting and fun. If he were straight, this would be much better. Luckily, he was saved from more small talk as the band took the stage.

 

They were good. Marc was really impressed. He looked at the lead singer and couldn’t help but check him out. He was good looking and actually talented. Marc glanced over to Kelly who was leaning closer, pressing their bodies together and making like she was going to kiss him.

 

He could not do this.

 

Marc dodged her as she tried to bring their lips closer and whispered in her ear. “I hate this band.”

 

“What?” Kelly asked, jerking back and looked at him, confused.

 

“I hate this band. I think I’m done,” Marc said with a shrug. “I should probably go anyway... we’re about to leave on a roadtrip.”

 

“Oh,” Kelly said as she still looked confused.

 

“Thanks for a nice night,” Marc told her as he settled the bill. “Are you-”

 

“I’m going to stay,” Kelly replied. “Maybe another time.”

 

“Maybe,” Marc lied as he left the bar and disappeared into the crowded streets.

 

Lie Number 4- I don’t know what you’re talking about.

 

Brian sat down on the cycle next to Marc and did a little wave to get his attention. Marc pulled his headphones off and raised an eyebrow as he slowed down slightly. “What’s up, Boyler?”

 

“Not much, just checking up on you. You’ve been keeping to yourself a lot lately,” Brian pointed out as he started cycling.

 

“Just that part of the season. I’m fine,” Marc said, upping his speed.

 

“Marc, are you sure? I get that. We’re in the grind and everything, but you’re not coming out anymore and just... we’re worried, man.”

 

Marc’s stomach dropped as Brian mentioned ‘coming out’ and he took a deep breath, hoping that his discomfort wasn’t noticed. “I’ve got a lot of stuff going on.”

 

“Do you need to talk?” Brian asked. “I mean, we could go get a beer, or maybe Cally could if it’s a Captain thing...”

 

Marc felt a rush of anger at the other man. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Is my game off or something?”

 

“Man, no, no,” Brian told him. “We’re buddies and you seem down. My mistake,” he said with a shrug.

 

Marc nodded. “Let me reassure you, ok? I’m fine, my family is fine, there’s nothing that’s distracting me and I’m a hundred percent.”

 

“Cool,” Brian told him.

 

“We can get some pizza later, since you’re so concerned,” Marc managed to tease him slightly. “We can carb load tonight before the game.”

 

Brian smiled and concentrated on his workout while Marc cooled off and got off the bike, trying to escape so he could get his game face on for later.

 

Lie Number 5- I’m going to be doing some stuff with friends.

 

Marc was going to do it. He was going to tell his parents. They would still love him; they still loved Eric and Jordy after the whole thing that happened in Marc’s sophomore year. (How the press never found out about that, still mystified him. Jared seemed to think that someone paid them off. Marc wasn’t sure.) They still loved Jared even though he seemed content to stay on the Hurricanes’ farm team and was lazy. Of course, Marc didn’t hold it against him either and neither did Jordy. Eric liked having something to nag about, so everyone won. So, this couldn’t be the worst thing he could bring to the table. (Actually, it could be, but Marc was being optimistic.)

 

He held the phone in his hands as he listened to it ring, having dialed his mother’s cellphone. Marc was going to do this. He was going to tell her.

 

Shit.

 

Maybe he should do it in person? Fuck. This was such a bad idea. His courage left him as he heard his mom pick up.

 

“Hello? Hi, Marc. How’s it going?”

 

“Hi, Mom,” Marc told her, feeling his heart pound. “It’s going good. Things are happening... we won last night. Boyler says it must’ve been the pizza from Suprema.”

 

His mom laughed and Marc smiled, leaning back on his couch. Yeah, better not to ruin her mood. It was just being polite.

 

“So, will you be home over the break? I was hoping to introduce you to Nicole,” his mom said, still determined to get Marc married.

 

He sighed silently. “No. I’m going to be doing some stuff with friends. Might not even leave the city.”

 

“Oh. Well, we’ll miss you,” she said as Marc felt bad for lying. “Did I tell you about what your father did last week?”

 

“No,” Marc told her. “I don’t think you did,” he said as he settled in to listen.

 

The Truth- I’m gay. In fact, I’m the gayest dude to ever nance down the pike.

 

The season was over. His brothers went out a little before him, but ultimately, the Rangers also lost and left for their homes elsewhere. Marc went home to Thunder Bay and let its quiet soak into him a few days before his brothers came to bother him.

 

Marc was shaken awake by Eric, who was grinning too fucking wide for this early. “Ugh, fuck off, please,” he said, grabbing for the extra pillow to cover his head after Jordan pulled open the curtains. Jared smirked, taking a drink from his water bottle.

 

“C’mon, wake up! We want waffles,” Eric coaxed. “Tanya won’t fix them unless you’re there, Maaaaaaarc.”

 

“You fucking lie. You’re just using that as an excuse to bother me,” Marc muttered as he held the pillow over his head, fighting Eric, who seemed determined to pull it off.

 

“You’ve fucking moped enough, asshole,” Eric announced, pulling harder on the pillow. Marc let it go and laughed as Eric was forced to take a few steps back to regain his balance.

 

“Ugh, why the fuck did I get a house near you fucks?” Marc bitched as he got out of bed.

 

“Because we’re your brothers and your family is here,” Jordan pointed out unhelpfully. Playing with Eric all season had ruined him as far as Marc was concerned. Marc grabbed a change of clothes, then flipped him off and headed to get a shower. Waffles actually did sound pretty good. Tanya was really great at that. He needed to find a nice guy who could do that shit. Marc sighed as he put his clothes on the sink, stripped out of his pants, and turned the water on. As the water poured down on him, Marc scrubbed at his skin and took the razor, getting rid of his playoff beard, needing to start fresh. It was almost symbolic, shaving after so long. It was like resetting. Marc would use this time to rest, relax, and then get ready for a new season. Moping had helped, but this is was good.

 

He finished up and got out of his shower. Marc hummed a song as he dried off, dressing and brushing his teeth before coming back out to his bedroom. He went pale as he realized his brothers were sitting on his unmade bed, holding a gay porn magazine between them. One of his gay porn magazines.

 

Oh. Fuck.

 

“Marc?” Eric asked, his face flushed red as he noticed Marc standing there.

 

This was it. The moment of truth. He could lie, say it was a prank, or he could trust in his family. Marc thinned his lips, time slowing down to nothing as he opened his mouth.

 

“I’m gay, Eric,” Marc told him, the silence roaring in his ears. “I’m gay. In fact, I’m the gayest gay dude to ever nance down the pike,” He spat out quickly as he started to flush, not having meant to go that far but unable to stop himself.

 

“Oh. That’s nice,” Eric told him as he put down the magazine. “Have you met anyone?” he asked, taking this a lot better than Marc had always assumed.

 

Jordan looked at them and smirked as he bit his lip, trying not to laugh. Jared wasn’t as polite as he covered his mouth, laughing himself sick.

 

“Not recently,” Marc told him, deciding to just go along with it.

 

“Mmm. Well, there might be a few guys I know. Want me to set something up?” Eric asked.

 

Marc was speechless.

 

“You nance down pikes?” Jared asked, almost hysterical.

 

“What does that even mean?” Jordan asked, laughing with Jared. “Does anyone fucking use that as a term?”

 

“Someone did in my junior year,” Marc defended heatedly.

 

“They were a dumbass,” Jared pointed out helpfully.

 

“Point granted,” Marc agreed as Eric stood up and came toward him before Marc could react, forgetting how very fast his older brother could be when he had a notion to be. Eric hugged him close as Marc wrapped his arms around him.

 

“You could’ve told us, Marc. You’re my brother, I wouldn’t have been a jerkass,” Eric told him softly.

 

“I’m sorry. I just... I didn’t know how to say it,” Marc said.

 

Jordan and Jared joined them, each hugging Marc. “We still love you,” Jordan told him.

 

“We don’t care who you love, we were raised better than that,” Jared scolded gently.

 

Marc nodded and smiled. “I thought it was just better to keep it quiet. Hockey...”

 

“Yeah, we get it... but fuck ‘em. Besides, the NHL supports You Can Play. You’ve got nothing to hide anymore,” Eric pointed out, looking smug.

 

“I know,” Marc agreed. Eric was in his element.

 

They broke the hug as Marc’s stomach reminded them that there was the promise of waffles.

 

FIN