Moss wakes up with the lingering taste of alcohol in his mouth and an arm around his waist. He feels hot all over and a headache is forming from the hangover he's currently experiencing. Shifting from his position in the bed causes the hockey player next to him to wake up and immediately start groaning about his own hangover.
They sit there for a minute, unmoving as they brace themselves for the daunting task that is getting up in their current states of dishevelment.
"I'm never drinking with you again," Moss whispers, trying to hold down bile that is attempting to crawl its way up his throat.
Tye groans again, "I'm never drinking with you again. Fuck, my head- you're an enabler. I swear I was going to be done after the wine."
"Just because I order another drink doesn't mean you have to get one too," he argues halfheartedly.
"Whatever. Let me rinse off in the shower and down a bottle of water," Tye stands shakily. "I should be sobered up and ready to go after that."
While Tye is in the shower, Moss wonders if it was weird that they fell asleep next to each other. He's kind of new to the world of adult friendships so he can't decide whether or not it was an unusual thing for them to do.
Nevertheless, he puts his pants back on and sips at a bottle of gatorade from one of the vending machines outside their room. His headache is finally beginning to subside as they head to the car. However, it's not until Tye stops at a drive-thru to get them breakfast sandwiches and coffee that he starts to feel like a human again.
Moss feels content drinking his coffee in the passenger seat as they listen to another one of his playlists in a comfortable silence.
-
It's around 1:00 PM when they arrive back at Tye's house. Moss quickly heads to the guest room to shower and change out of his clothes while Tye checks his messages and any calls that he missed while they were out.
Moss is heading to the kitchen when Tye wraps up on his phone and announces that he's getting a real shower because he still feels gross after just rinsing off at the ski lodge.
Digging through Tye's refrigerator, he finds wrapped chicken that look like it has been thawing on a baking sheet. Moss takes it out of the fridge and begins seasoning and cooking it while preparing salads on the side. By the time Tye returns, the chicken just needs to be cut and placed on each salad.
"What smells so good in here?" He questions entering the kitchen.
"I was getting hungry again and you need to eat before you leave later so I made two chicken salads," Moss responds. He then looks down at what he prepared, "I think this should be okay for you to eat on a game day.... right?"
After assessing the contents of the salad, Tye smiles down at him, "This is a perfect pregame meal. Thanks, MoMo."
They decide to eat lunch at the counter so Moss settles down on one of the fancy, leather swivel stools next to Tye.
"What are your plans for the holidays?" Tye asks as they start eating.
Moss sighs, not wanting to think about the holidays and his family right now. Despite the dread that he feels at even just the mention of the subject, he responds, "My dad is Jewish and my mom is Catholic so we celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas. Thursday was actually the first day of Hanukkah so my parents have been sending picture updates of the menorah at their house everyday."
"Shane mentioned before that your family celebrates Hanukkah. I completely forgot about that, I'm so sorry. I could've done something for you when you got here," Tye looks guilty as he rambles on about his self-proclaimed terrible memory.
Moss cuts him off with a laugh, "It's fine. I don't expect you to have menorahs and scripture ready to recite just because I'm staying here for the weekend. Besides, we mainly celebrate Christmas anyways."
"Shane and Eli are supposed to fly into Detroit to stay at our parents house this year. They should be coming in on the 23rd and leaving on the 27th," he doublechecks the calendar on his phone to make sure that's correct.
"What about you? What's your family doing to celebrate?" He redirects the question at Tye who excitedly explains that his family will be staying at his house in Colorado this year. They plan on staying through the new year and catching both home games that the Boulders will play after Christmas.
They clean up their plates and the dirty dishes that Moss created when preparing their meal. Holiday talk continues as Moss then asks Tye what gifts a professional hockey player like himself receives for Christmas.
"Fake teeth and lots of deodorant," Tye jokes. "What about you? What did you ask for this year?"
Moss hasn't asked for presents since he was a kid. Last year, he asked for furniture and appliances since he had just moved into his apartment and couldn't afford much more than the rent itself.
"I don't really need anything this year. I told my family that they can get me Boulders stuff since I still don't have any merch to wear to games," he eventually replies.
Tye looks surprised by this, "Your brothers haven't sent you, like, a jersey or sweatshirt yet?"
Moss shakes his head no, "They haven't had the time to send anything my way and I don't want to bug them about it right now."
"Give me a minute," Tye says before jogging upstairs. He soon returns with a white, XL Colorado Boulders sweatshirt with Martel and the number eight printed on the back in burgundy.
Tye hands it to him, red cheeks flaring once again.
"Wow. Thanks, Tye," Moss puts it on over the black t-shirt he's wearing. The material is incredibly soft and warms a chill that he didn't even know he had.
"No problem. I send stuff to family and friends a lot so I have extra Boulders stuff just lying around. Let me know if you need anything else after Christmas. I can get you t-shirts, hats, jerseys-" Tye rambles for a bit while Moss smiles up at him.
An alarm suddenly goes off on Tye's phone.
"I have to take my pre-game nap and then I'm gonna head out around five o'clock," he says. "Are you sure you don't want to go to the game tonight?"
Stuffing his hands into the big front pocket of the sweatshirt, Moss responds, "Yeah. I'm sorry, but I think I'd feel more comfortable just staying here this time."
"No problem. Well, I'm gonna head up to my room then...." Tye stares at him for a second before making his exit.
Moss offers a small wave in his direction and calls out as Tye walks up the stairs, "Don't let the bed bugs bite!"
-
After his nap, Tye changes into his game day suit and peacoat. Moss wishes him good luck and watches as the Mercedes exits the driveway.
It's odd being in Tye's house by himself, but he also feels relaxed in the peace and quiet that it offers.
He watches the pre-game show while lounging lazily on the cozy couch in the living room. The analysts are discussing the Boulders last game, which they lost, and listens to their suggestions on what the team can do to improve their performance tonight.
His brothers are brought up one too many times during the pre-game show, so he turns down the volume and scrolls on TikTok until the game begins.
The Boulders are down 2-0 going into the second period when Landry gets one back for the good guys, making the score 2-1. After that, nothing exciting happens in the second period besides an almost-fight between two goons from each team that is quickly broken up by the refs before it has the chance to escalate.
Moss lets out an excited shout of triumph in the empty house when Tye evens the game up midway through the third period. Eli was temporarily moved up to the first pairing with Tye as an experiment while another defenseman is out on injured reserve which subsequently earns him an assist on the goal.
The clock is ticking down on the final minute of the game and things are looking like they are going to overtime. That is, until Tye and the first line left-winger, Barrette, suddenly have an odd-man rush. They pass the puck back and forth until Barrette passes one last time and Tye crashes the net to score with eleven seconds left in regulation.
Tye gets on one knee and glides on the ice while pointing at the camera and smacking his chest. Moss is caught off guard by this considering he's never seen him celly after a goal before, but laughs at the replay of the game-winning celebration being shown.
Moss continues to lay on the couch while watching the post-game interviews and analysis. Tye is, unsurprisingly, deemed the number one star of the game and Moss tries to stay awake to watch his interview, but drifts off halfway into it.
-
His eyes blink open a couple times as he feels himself get lifted off of the couch. He momentarily panics before remembering where he is and realizes that it's just Tye picking him up from where he was sleeping.
"Good game. Why're you carrying me though?" He slurs tiredly.
"Thanks, MoMo. You were dead asleep when I got home, so I figured I'd get you to bed before I head upstairs," Tye whispers back.
Deciding against fighting the situation, Moss lets out a breath and settles his head back against Tye's chest. He's gently deposited under the covers of the guest bed and tucked in before hearing the door close, indicating that Tye has exited the room.
What a good friend.