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Alexei was moving to catch up to Kent in the buffet line when he heard Marty say something to Kent in French using the stern tone he used to use on the team when he was angry about something.

"Sois sympa avec lui, sinon toute une équipe va te tomber dessus," Marty warned.

Alexei wasn't sure if Kent's brows were furrowed because he was translating French (he secretly loved when Kent's eyebrows did that when he was translating Russian with Alexei – something he will never mention to Kent) or if it was because Kent was uncomfortable with what Marty was saying.

"Je ne vais pas lui faire de mal," Kent replied, stumbling over the French a little since it had been years since he'd spoken it, but he did his best to assure Marty that he had no plans to hurt Alexei.

"Better not, kid."

"Marty, you being nice?" Alexei asked, appearing behind them.

"He's being nice," Kent assured, although he wasn't meeting Alexei's eyes, just piling more food onto his plate.

Alexei sent Marty a questioning look, but Marty only shrugged his shoulders innocently and moved along.

"Alyosha, Моя команда сделала то же самое с тобой," Kent asserted, doing his best to remind Alexei that the Aces did the same thing when they were truly introduced to Alexei.

Alexei ducked his head close to Kent's and whispered so no one could overhear, "Just want for you to have good time this week with my friends from team."

"Do you have a good time when you hang out with me and the Aces?" Kent asked just as quietly.

Alexei nodded.

"Okay, and that's after they gave you a billion shovel talks," Kent grinned. "Your guys probably just need a day to get used to me being here. I still can't believe you didn't tell them you were bringing me with –"

Alexei leaned in and kissed Kent. It seemed a waste not to when they were already so close and had the added benefit of cutting off the same lecture he'd been given once he had Kent in their bedroom upon arrival.

(They were the last to arrive that afternoon and everyone had frozen when Kent entered the house with Alexei and Alexei had exuberantly announced that he had brought Kent because they were together. While they were still standing in the lake house's entryway, Kent's head had swiveled to look up at him in a comically slow turn as Kent realized Alexei had not told his team ahead of time. Alexei knew Kent was not going to let this drop anytime soon.)

Thankfully, Kent wasn't mad enough to not kiss him back, and he even heard Kent sigh into their kiss. At least until a throat clearing interrupted them. Kent peered over Alexei's shoulder and found Snow behind them with a blank expression.

"Moving," Kent said quickly as he picked up his plate again and continued down the line. Alexei shot a grin at Snowy and followed Kent.

Snowy rolled his eyes once Tater's back was turned to him. When Tater had texted that he was bringing a plus one to their annual summer vacation, Snowy had assumed it was Tater's sister, since she often visited him during the summer. It's probably what everyone else had assumed, too, given the absolute shock on everyone's faces when Tater had arrived that afternoon with Kent fucking Parson in tow.

Tater had introduced Kent to everyone (as if Kent needed to be introduced) before bundling Kent and their bags into what would be their bedroom for the week. Jack and Bitty had also escaped to their own bedroom and had only come out a few minutes ago once tonight's dinner had been delivered. He's not sure he's heard either of them speak yet. Those two weren't even going to be here this week, it was a last minute change that they decided to come after all, and Snowy bets they wished now that they'd chosen to be anywhere but here.

Snowy sat with his food, unfortunately across from Tater and Kent, and glanced at Sarah. They'd met almost two years ago, and had had an on-again, off-again arrangement. About a year ago, she'd told him she was pregnant, and now their infant daughter slept in a bassinet nearby while they ate. Sarah offered him a smile as she began to eat. She was blissfully unaware of any tension at the table. She only knew that Tater was one of his best friends and had no idea that there were some people at the table who were upset that Kent fucking Parson was crashing their vacation.

"Did I just hear you speaking French and Russian, Kent?" Gabby asked.

"He picked up French pretty easily in the Q," Jack replied for him. "He has a pretty good ear for languages."

Kent shot a lightning-fast surprised look in Jack's direction before turning back to Gabby. "I was in Quebec for a couple years, so I was forced to pick up French," he explained with a small shrug. "Now, Alexei is helping me with Russian."

"He fast learner, but not so great accent," Alexei added with his own grin.

"I can understand it easier than I can say it," Kent laughed with a nod of agreement and a smile for Alexei.

"Why are you learning Russian?" Evelyn asked. She'd tried to sit next to Kent but her older sister had won that seat and she was stuck sitting next to her mom near the end of the table.

Kent smiled at the younger of the two St. Martin girls. While everyone else was giving him a wide berth, Ellie and Evelyn had been following him around since the moment he'd dropped off his suitcase and returned to the main room. Alexei had said Ellie was 15 and Evelyn just turned seven.

"Oh, well because it's Alexei's first language," Kent explained.

"That's pretty intense, isn't it?" Snowy asked, while not making eye contact with anyone, even as he continued to speak, "for such a new relationship?"

Kent stilled at Snowy's words. In truth, no one here knew how long he and Alexei had been together at this point. But being "too intense" was always one of his biggest fears in relationships. The last thing he had ever wanted to do was to be too intense and scare Alexei away.

"Snowy," Alexei said, not quite a warning tone but definitely a question in his voice.

Snowy glanced at Tater and saw the confused hurt in his eyes. "Sorry, Tates, but it's not like you'll ever be able to bring him back to Russia."

"Why can't Kent go to Russia?" Evelyn asked, innocently unaware of Russian politics or the brewing tension at the table.

"Snowy." Now it was Marty shooting him a disapproving look.

"That's not – he not learn for Russia, he learn for me," Alexei explained with a pointed look at Snowy. He glanced at Kent and hoped Kent wouldn't mind him sharing a story. "When I hit 500 assists milestone, Kent call to say congratulations. But then he say, 'Wait, tell me how say congratulations in Russian.'" He glanced again at Kent who was now visibly turning pink and looking all the cuter for it. "Was nice feeling to hear Поздравляю in Russian."

"That's so thoughtful, Kent," Gabby stated before she sent a smile to Marty. Snowy went back to his food. Bitty side-eyed Jack, whose own attention was on Kent with a thoughtful look on his face.

"I hear you say the word, but I know that's not what comes out of my mouth when I try," Kent laughed.

Alexei continued to happily eat. It was the thought that counted. Plus, now Ellie and Evelyn were doing their best to pronounce Поздравляю correctly.

When baby Demi began to cry a moment later, Kent watched Sarah glance at Snow. When Snow didn't move towards the bassinet and instead launched into a discussion with Marty about his boat, Sarah sighed quietly and then rose to check on Demi. She laid out a changing pad and when Demi had a clean diaper, Sarah returned to the table, Demi propped up in one arm, to mix up a bottle for her.

"Can I feed her?" Kent leaned over to ask quietly. Sarah looked up in surprise from the formula she was measuring.

"Uh, sure." She half stood and easily transferred Demi to Kent's arms, freeing both her arms to mix the bottle even faster.

Demi stared up at Kent and twisted her face into a grimace.

"Oh, no," Kent said with a quiet laugh as he began to rock himself side-to-side. "I've seen that face before. That's the face your dad makes on the ice to scare the other teams." Kent looked up to grin at Snow. Whether it was the rocking or the low tone, Demi's little face smoothed out into something more content and Kent was grateful she had decided not to cry.

Snow eyed Kent holding his child and Kent noticed that Snow didn't smile or play along with the joke. Kent was having a hard time getting a good read on the guy – other than hostile – which was frustrating because he wanted to make a good impression on Alexei's best friend. Alexei didn't seem to notice Snow's coldness at the moment, perhaps because he was busy leaning into Kent's space to coo at the baby while also squeezing the back of Kent's neck in a gentle massage.

Sarah handed Kent the bottle once it was properly shaken and also a burp cloth when he asked for one. He situation the cloth under Demi's little chin, so it would soak up any leaked formula.

"You have experience with babies, Kent?" Gabby asked after watching him angle the baby correctly and offer the bottle.

Kent nodded. "My sister has a son."

"Anna has a kid?" Jack asked incredulously, earning himself a bewildered look from Bits and another quick glance from Kent before Kent turned his attention back to the baby he was cradling.

"His birthday is early June," Kent nodded, "so I got to hang out with them a lot when he was a newborn."

"Max turned three this summer. He loves Uncle Kent," Alexei added on with a grin. He kissed Kent's temple and pulled away, but only to take over cutting up Kent's food and even offering him a forkful. "Max follow Kent everywhere when we see him. And Anna send video of Max watching Kent play on TV. He always very excited."

"He loves watching you play on TV, too," Kent said to Alexei after quickly swallowing his bite of food.

"But I assume he has a Parson sweater?" Marty asked.

Kent laughed a little and nodded. "Yeah, I don't care how much he loves watching Alexei play, I gotta keep him an Aces fan."

"I send Mashkov sweater, though, too!" Alexei grinned.

"Oh, let me ask you," Kent said, attention on Gabby. "When did your girls start coming to games? Anna keeps saying Max is too young – he can't stay up that late, it's too loud."

Gabby smiled in understanding. "It does take a couple years for them to stay an entire game. They don't really get into watching it, so then it was just me trying to entertain them for three to four hours until it was over, which meant I didn't get to watch it either."

Kent hummed. "Yeah, I could see that. He doesn't have a very long attention span yet."

"We took him to aquarium and he love. Must make hockey as interesting as big sharks," Alexei said thoughtfully. 

"Oh, have you seen those videos where girls call hockey games going to the boy aquarium?" Ellie asked.

Most of the adults at the table snorted.

"No," Kent laughed.

"Good lord," Marty rolled his eyes.

"Well, that imagery is going to stick with me," Snowy muttered.

Ellie shrugged. "I'm not sure the comparison would work on your nephew but you could try."

"Maybe you should play for the sharks?" Evelyn suggested, doing her best to sound innocent, although the smirk on her face told everyone she knew exactly what a bad idea that would be.

"No way," Kent laughed even as he tried to send Evelyn a mock glare. 

"A good compromise is to have them come to warmups so they can say hi through the glass, maybe get a puck. Maybe even stand by as you all go on the ice – and then take them directly home," Gabby laughed.

"I'll mention all the suggestions to Anna," Kent said with a smile to Gabby for her realistic advice before he turned his attention back to the baby. She stared up at him with big blue eyes and made small snuffling noises as she ate.

"This is the first hot meal I've had since she was born," Sarah murmured happily from her own seat.

"Where'd the name Demi come from?" Bitty asked.

Evelyn had climbed down from her chair and had poked her head in between Kent and Ellie's chair so she could see the baby. "She needs a teether, so teeth pop out."

Kent snorted even as he pulled the burp cloth from under Demi's chin and threw it over his shoulder before effortlessly lifting the baby to his shoulder to offer her a chance to burp. He leaned over to Evelyn and whispered, "Too bad that wouldn't work on hockey players." He earned giggles from both St. Martin girls while Demi burped in his ear. At least he was winning over the Falcs' daughters.

"Oh," Sarah replied to Bitty, when it was clear Snowy wasn't going to respond, "it's just a name I liked, and Dustin said he was fine with it."

"I tried to talk my sister into a hockey name, but she didn't go for it," Kent said.

"A hockey name?" Jack asked. "Like Gretzky?"

Kent smirked and looked to Alexei, who began to laugh even before Kent could begin to speak. It was clear this was a discussion they'd had before.

"Sure, Gretzky, but there's also Stanley, Bauer, Calder, Celly, Hattie," Kent listed off the ones he could think of immediately as he cradled Demi again and re-offered the bottle.

Marty's sudden laugh had him coughing as he almost began to choke on his food. Gabby rolled her eyes and shared a head shake with Sarah. Bitty shook his head and mouthed a clear "No" to Jack, who looked like he was trying and failing to bite back a smile.

Alexei noted their reactions and smiled fondly at Kent. He knew if they all spent time with Kent, they would love him. They'd see how funny and sweet he was. He leaned over and offered Kent another bite of food and couldn't help but be excited for the week to come.

"They're cute," Gabby commented to Marty as they cleaned up after dinner. "I miss being that obviously in love."

"Salut, je t'aime," Marty said indignantly.

"I know you do, but they're in the honeymoon stage of it," Gabby pointed out. "It's sweet. And we all know how great Tater is with kids, so it's nice to see him with someone who clearly adores kids as well."

"Yeah, well, I'm not sure Snowy knows what to do with that baby yet."

"Maybe Kent can give him tips."

"I think Snowy would sooner murder him in his sleep."

Gabby sighed and shook her head as she closed the dishwasher.

"Besides," Marty added, "let's not jump too far ahead, you've got Tater and Parson married with kids already."

"Nothing wrong with pointing out some green flags, as Ellie would say. Speaking of, I think Ellie has developed a bit of a crush. She practically shoved Evelyn out of the chair next to Kent."

"Don't say mean things to me," Marty sighed dramatically.

"She didn't even look at her phone once through the entire meal."

"Okay. One good thing about having an Ace crash our vacation."

"Love that you're here," Alexei whispered. Kent had already been in bed by the time he'd joined him, and he wasted no time climbing on top of him and pressing his face into Kent's neck to plant kisses there.

"Lyosha," Kent exhaled harshly at the surprise attack. Alexei knew how sensitive his neck was.

"Can leave mark on you for once," Alexei whispered. "Everyone know it's from me."

Kent ran his fingers through Alexei's hair and grinned. "You could."

Alexei hummed and kissed his way down Kent's bare chest. When he nudged his nose through Kent's happy trail, he chuckled when Kent flinched and swiped at him for tickling him. Kent lifted his hips when Alexei got his hands on his waistband and proceeded to yank Kent's sleep shorts down his hips and off his legs. He smiled once he had Kent naked beneath him.

"How thick are the walls here?" Kent gasped as he felt Alexei's mouth on his again.

"Have to be quiet," Alexei whispered and hid his grin as he heard Kent release a soft whine.

Bitty hadn't planned on waking up grumpy while on vacation, but then again, he also hadn't planned on spending his vacation with Kent freaking Parson. And he hadn't planned on ever staying in the same house as Kent. And he'd especially not planned on having Kent invade the kitchen.

He'd woken up late (because vacation) and had half-expected everyone to be waiting for him to make breakfast in the kitchen (it has happened before), only to find Kent freaking Parson scrambling eggs and cooking bacon for their entire group.

Marty and Gabby's girls were seated at the island, already eating their Kent-made breakfast and beaming at Kent as they chewed.

"He put cheese in mine!" the younger one, Evelyn, explained to Bitty as he sat next to her. Bitty was pretty sure she was going into second grade this year, but other than that, he wasn't sure what to say to her other than to mention that he also liked cheese in his eggs. He didn't have a lot of experience with kids.

Thankfully, Jack, who had not been in bed when Bitty woke, set a mug of coffee down in front of him and squeezed his shoulder in good morning, before he abandoned him at the island to go help crack more eggs for Kent freaking Parson.

"Thank you, Kent," Gabby said gratefully as she accepted a plate of eggs from Kent and was pointed towards the bacon and coffee.

Bitty sipped his coffee – perfectly made with just the right amount of cream – and tried not to glare at Jack's back as he listened to Jack quietly ask Kent questions about his mother and sister.

Bitty smiled at Tater as he entered the kitchen – as nervous as he'd been at the beginning to hang out with the other Falconers and their families, Tater had always been warm and friendly with him and had always put him to ease immediately. Although, as Tater only offered a small grin in return before draping himself over Kent freaking Parson's back, Bitty knew he wasn't going to be able to rely on that alliance this week.

"Solynyshko," Alexei rumbled, the sound practically vibrating Kent's back.

Kent pushed himself back into Alexei's chest to help prop him up. He loved it when Alexei dropped his weight on him. It always felt like Alexei acknowledging that Kent was strong enough to support him.

"доброе утро, sleepyhead," Kent murmured to him.

"Awake long?"

"Long enough to make some eggs," Kent replied. "Our groceries were delivered this morning. You want ham in yours?"

Alexei nodded and rocked the two of them back and forth a few times. He tucked his face into Kent's neck and was rewarded with a kiss to his temple. He offered Jack a smile as Jack offered Kent a bowl of eggs he'd cracked, happy that the two of them could co-exist for the week. He hadn't been too worried…

"It's nice that you can cook, Kent," Gabby pointed out.

"Kent teach his baby rookies to cook every year," Alexei said proudly.

"Well, not, like, real cooking lessons," Kent insisted with a quick glance at Bittle. "Just how to make a few protein-based meals and snacks. Maybe guidelines on what cannot go into a microwave."

"Well, I just meant that its nice one of you can cook since we all know Tater should not be allowed to use kitchen appliances," Gabby stated.

"Hey!" Alexei protested.

Bitty snorted into his coffee mug. He looked to Jack to share a smile – they'd all joked about Tater in the kitchen – but Jack's eyes were still pinned on Kent.

"Last year, he set off the smoke detector in our summer rental three times," Marty said as he joined them.

"We brought cookies to the firehouse!" Evelyn exclaimed.

"Yeah, as a thank you because they had to come to the house so many times," Ellie muttered.

"Was not me," Alexei stated darkly, "was faulty smoke detector."

"Sure, baby." Kent patted Alexei's shoulder and went back to his eggs.

"I'm tired of being dry!" Evelyn yelled into the house before letting the screen door swing shut and returning to plunk down on the front porch swing with Kent and Alexei.

Kent and Alexei both snorted at little Evelyn's exclamation. They were ready and waiting for everyone else to join them so they could head out on the boat. The house's front porch faced the lake and a small grassy yard led down to the dock, where Marty's pontoon boat was currently waiting.

It was several more minutes before sunscreen was applied and the coolers were packed and everyone had towels before they all walked down to the dock and climbed on the boat. Sarah was staying behind with the baby, although she said she'd probably join them at some points during the week.

After Alexei picked a seat on the boat, he pulled Kent into his lap just so he could slide his hands into the large arm holes of Kent's tank and run his hands over Kent's warm skin. Kent leaned back into his chest and dropped the back of his head to Alexei's shoulder so he could send him a knowing look. It was a bit of a thrill to be able to touch each other in front of their friends, but Kent cut his eyes to Marty's two girls (who were not currently paying attention to them) and back to Alexei.

Alexei grinned a little devilishly at him but removed his hands from inside Kent's shirt and Kent shifted off his lap, so he was sitting next to him. Alexei threw his arm across the back of their seat and wrapped it around Kent's shoulders. Even this much public contact was a thrill.

The girls didn't notice their interaction, but Bitty did and he simultaneously watched Jack keep his eyes pinned on the couple as well. Bitty tugged at his own shirt a little. He still exercised regularly, but it wasn't NHL-level workouts, and when Kent ditched his shirt to get in the water, it hit Bitty that he was never going to be as fit as and muscled as his husband's ex.

Marty's girls were currently fighting over who would go tubing with "Uncle Kent" first and Tater – who was usually the first choice for the girls – only sat grinning at the way Kent seemed to be downright bashful at the attention and the new moniker. In the end, Gabby pointed out that the tube was large enough for all three of them, so the girls begrudgingly climbed on it together, forcing Uncle Kent to sit between the two of them.

Marty drove gently with his girls back there, but the moment the girls climbed back on the boat and Alexei climbed on the tube with Kent, Marty sped across the water and spun the boat until both men flew off the tube.

The others declined to go after that, and Marty's girls were thrilled that they got to go again so soon.

They picked a cove to idle in and eat the lunches that had been packed before jumping off the boat to swim. Kent floated nearby and watched as Alexei and Snow took turns throwing Evelyn off the boat repeatedly. When she finally grew tired of it and went to swim where Gabby and Ellie were floating, Snow took a short running leap to jump off the boat but managed to grab Alexei around the waist on his way and Kent laughed as he watched Alexei's surprised face as he was dragged into the water. Alexei broke the surface yelling and splashing water at Snow.

"I was just helping you get in, ya big baby," Snowy laughed and futilely held up his hand to block some of the water onslaught.

With Alexei busy, Kent glanced around for Jack and Bittle but only found Jack. He swam over to him, figuring he'd know the answer to his question anyway.

"Hey," he said quietly, not wanting to draw attention from the others, especially Alexei. Jack had sunglasses on, so Kent couldn't see his eyes, but Jack's eyebrows rose in response. "I know you guys have had Alexei over for dinner a lot. Has Eric ever made him any Russian dishes?"

Jack hummed, thinking about all the meals they'd shared over the past few years. "None that I've noticed," he replied, keeping his voice down as well.

Kent laughed. Zimms was the pickiest eater he'd ever met. "You would've noticed."

Jack grinned and shrugged his shoulders in a 'you got me there' movement. "Why?"

"I just wondered if Eric could give me any tips on something Russian I could try to cook. Like, if he knows an easy recipe or something I could surprise Alexei with?"

"Are you going fishing with us tomorrow?"

Kent scrunched his nose in distaste. Alexei, Jack, Snow, and Marty always dedicated at least one of the days of this annual trip to fishing. But he'd always thought fishing was incredibly boring.

Jack laughed again. "That's a no. Bitty doesn't go either. You could ask him in the morning about cooking something Russian for Alexei. Maybe you could get the ingredients and make it for dinner by the time we're back tomorrow night? It'll be our night to make dinner for everyone anyway."

Kent knew Gabby and Sarah and the girls were all staying behind, too, but he wondered if a day with Bittle was such a great idea. Maybe he should just go on the fishing trip instead. He could sun on the boat all day…

"Think he'd go for that?" he finally asked Jack.

"Jack," Bittle called, and they both turned to see Bitty standing on the boat waving a bottle of sunscreen. "Can you help me?"

Jack leaned in closer to Kent as he began to swim past him towards the boat. "He loves to cook, and he loves Tater."

Bittle had sunglasses hiding his eyes as well, but Kent was pretty sure his eyebrows were pulled down in a frown until Jack had reached the boat ladder. Kent shrugged it off and swam over to Alexei. Alexei was draped over a pool noodle, chatting with Snowy and Marty, so he wrapped his arms around Alexei's shoulders and let himself rest against Alexei's back.

Kent sort of remembered Alexei kissing his forehead before he left that next morning, but since the room was still pretty dark, he'd rolled over, pressed his face into Alexei's pillow, and gone right back to sleep. Without Alexei around, he wasn't in a rush to get up and join whoever was left in the house.

When he did finally leave their bedroom, he found the house mostly quiet. There was no one in the main room on any of the couches and Kent didn't see anyone until he reached the kitchen and found Bittle kneading dough, the muscle in his arms bunching and releasing as he worked the dough on the floured counter.

Kent perked up a little bit. He hadn't really spoken to Bittle directly yet, but obviously this was the perfect opportunity to ask Bittle about do-able Russian recipes for Alexei.

Bittle spotted him before he could say anything, and Kent watched those big brown eyes narrow. "Thought maybe you went on the fishing trip after all," Bittle said.

Kent yawned and made his way to the coffee. "I hate fishing." He poured himself a cup and pulled his creamer from the fridge. "Can I ask you something?"

"Are you just here for Jack?"

Kent paused mid-pour and glanced at Bittle – he had his eyes pinned on his dough; brows furrowed with his frown.

"No."

"Because outta all the guys you could choose to date, you specifically picked one from Jack's team."

Kent carefully placed his creamer back in the fridge and slowly shut the door. "I'm not here for Jack," he said as calmly as he could. He probably should've expected this, so he wasn't sure why Bittle's words were catching him off guard.

Bittle sighed heavily. "You know, Tater is one of the sweetest guys –"

"I'm well aware," Kent cut in, trying to keep his voice level. He could understand Bittle's distrust. He even knew that despite it, he should do his best to befriend Bittle, especially with how Alexei always spoke so highly of him.

"- and using Tater like this just isn't fair to him," Bittle continued. "Tater doesn't deserve it, and I know you weren't invited to the ceremony, but Jack and I are married, so I just don't see what you think you're gettin outta this."

Kent's focus narrowed to just Bittle's hands, which continued working the dough through his entire rant. Alexei had been very excited about bringing him here this week, and Kent was doing his best to just be himself and not his media-pushed game day persona. Snow was still kinda cold, although Marty and his family had been welcoming so far. But Kent suddenly wondered if everyone else in the house had thoughts similar to Bittle's.

Without Alyosha there with him, sudden loneliness hit him hard. "I'm not here for Jack," he repeated quietly before taking his mug of coffee and escaping the kitchen.

Kent decided to busy himself away from the house for the rest of the day. He finished his coffee, brushed his teeth, and slipped out a side door.

Guests arriving or leaving their lakeside rentals for their stays were the only two times cars were permitted to be used on the resort's private roadways. Alexei had told Kent about the golf carts that came with each house as part of the rental agreements. Their house's 8-seater golf cart was missing from the garage, which perhaps explained why he hadn't yet seen Gabby, Sarah, or the girls.

He didn't want to take the remaining 6-seater as a single guy in case it was needed by anyone else. Thankfully, there were also bikes stored in the garage. He had years of experience being on his own, he could handle entertaining himself for a day.

As Marty guided the boat up to their dock, Jack threw out the side buoy on the front end of the boat while Tater threw out the one in the back where he and Snowy were sitting. So far, Jack's pretty sure this day was the happiest he'd seen Snowy during this year's stay. He'd been smiling, laughing, and chirping all day. This wasn't typically something that should worry a friend, but Jack wondered about Snowy's relationship with Sarah and their baby if his best time was away from them. Plus, he hadn't seen or heard that Snowy had checked in with them once all day.

Of course, since Kent hadn't come out with them, he did note that this was Snowy's first real chance to hang with Tater, and traditionally, those two usually hung out a lot more than they'd had a chance to yet since their significant others were here this year.

Jack threw his towel around his neck and lifted the food cooler, leaving the other guys to bring up the cooler with the fish they'd decided to keep and the fishing gear. He lugged it up the dock and spotted a head of blonde hair in the hammock that hung among trees on one side of the house. It probably took him longer than it should have to realize it was Kent asleep in the hammock and not Bits.

When he entered the house, he was immediately hit with some delicious smells but felt himself getting irritated when he spotted Bitty working alone in the kitchen. Kent was the one who expressed interest in a Russian meal for Tater. Was he seriously out there napping while Bits did all the work?

Bitty's face lit up when he was spotted, something that always lit up Jack's insides, even after all these years, and he quieted the music playing from his phone before cheerfully saying, "Hi honey. What'd you guys bring back? Hope you're not starvin because this is going to be about an hour still."

Jack watched Bits slide what looked like lasagna into the oven and set the timer.

"Kent didn't ask you about dinner?" he asked quickly, wanting to inquire before Tater made it inside.

"I offered to help but he told me to relax!" Gabby called from where she was sprawled on a couch with a book.

"Kent?" Bitty looked confused. "I saw him first thing this morning, but he's been pretty scarce ever since."

Jack looked behind him and when he saw only Marty and Snowy come inside, he continued, "Kent asked me yesterday if you ever cook Russian food for Tater. I told him no, but that he should ask you about it today. Thought maybe we'd come back to something like that cooking for dinner," he shrugged.

Bits had a little bit of sunburn across his cheekbones from yesterday's lake day, and Jack tilted his head in confusion as he watched his husband's face pale. Maybe he had overstepped in suggesting that Bits would want to work with Kent. Maybe it was a good thing Kent hadn't asked after all.

"Oh, well, he didn't ask," Bitty denied weakly.

"Okay, well don't stress about it," he reassured, worried about Bitty's reaction. He didn't need Bitty to feel guilty about something Kent didn't do. "His loss, right? And maybe we can have Tater over after we're all home, if you wanted to try something?"

Bits only nodded as he turned away from him and began moving dirty utensils into the sink.

"Here, I'll handle that part. I'm sure you've got more you're working on." He nudged Bits away from the sink and began loading the dishwasher while Bitty began pulling vegetables from the fridge. He glanced out the window over the sink and caught sight of Tater and Kent – now both on the ground under the hammock – laughing before Kent leaned up to kiss Tater.

Gabby appeared next to him to quickly wash her hands, and she smiled and nodded towards the pair outside. "Yeah, they didn't stand a chance against gravity when Tater tried to get in the hammock with him."

"Doesn't seem to have bothered them too much," Jack observed.

"Nope." She stared wistfully at them as they kissed once more before Tater began to push himself to his feet and offer Kent a hand up. "I'm so happy for Tater, Kent's a real sweetheart. Not at all how I imagined him to be from all his interviews. I guess I should've known better than to assume anything from those dumb sound bites they make you guys do."

"Probably," Jack stated without a lot of commitment. He didn't really want to talk about how sweet Kent Parson may or may not be.

"The girls just love him. And I've been wondering when Tater was going to find someone who really fit him, ya know?"

"For sure," Jack agreed. They both waved when Tater spotted them in the window and sent them a wave. But he was grateful when Gabby wandered off to ask Marty about his day.

Kent had been asleep in the hammock when he felt Alexei begin to kiss him awake. He returned the kiss before he even opened his eyes.

"You just kiss back without opening eyes," Alexei laughed against his lips. "How you know is me?"

"I love how you smell," Kent replied, opening his eyes in time to see surprise on Alexei's face. Alexei had both hands propped on the hammock's sides and was leaning over Kent without additional weight to the hammock.

"How I smell?" Alexei laughed but felt his face warm with how pleased he was. "Didn't know you were like scent dog."

He dove forward and pressed his face into Kent's neck to dramatically sniff but he was still laughing as Kent tried to push his face away. When Alexei began to climb into the hammock, Kent braced himself, knowing full-well that they were about to tip onto the ground. They laughed as they slid sideways and landed in the grass below with small "oofs" and Alexei's hand cradling Kent's head to protect it from smacking into the ground. Kent leaned up to kiss him again.

"Is good," Alexei murmured into their next kiss. "Love how you smell, too. Both of us scent dogs." He kissed Kent again before pulling away to stand. He reached down to help Kent to his feet and then waved when he spotted Jack and Gabby watching them from a window.

"What you do today, solnyshko?" Alexei checked in that night after he'd wrapped himself around Kent in bed.

Kent squeezed one of Alexei's hands within his own. "Borrowed a bike and found the little shopping area nearby. Got us both Echo Lake hoodies."

"Bought two but you just steal mine," Alexei chirped, smile evident in his voice.

"Shhhh." Kent patted Alexei's hand. "Found the bookstore. A coffee shop. This little public marina with rentals. I rented a jet ski for an hour."

Alexei pushed himself up on an elbow and tugged on Kent's hip until Kent shifted from his side to his back. He wanted to see Kent's face, even in the darkened room. "You out all day by yourself?" Kent had not wanted to go fishing and he'd been adamant that Alexei continue the annual tradition. But Alexei hadn't thought Kent would seclude himself all day, not with how well he'd been getting along with everyone so far.

Kent shrugged, eyes focused on where he was tracing his finger over the hand Alexei had planted on Kent's abdomen. "Came back here and napped till you found me in the hammock. No complaints."

"Maybe we bike out together in morning. Just us. I'm like jet ski, too."

Kent met his eyes with a real smile – he'd been quiet all through their dinner with the group tonight – and Alexei felt himself relax a bit.

"You don't want to invite anyone else?"

Alexei adamantly shook his head. "They have me all day. Want just you for a while."

"You've got just me right now," Kent whispered, tone suddenly coy. He shifted from his back to his other side, so they were facing each other, slung his leg over Alexei's hip, and pulled Alexei's face to his for a kiss. Alexei slid his hand down Kent's back – his skin was warm and still slightly damp from his shower – and groped his ass appreciatively.

"I'm take advantage," Alexei murmured as Kent began a languid grind forward.

BuzzFeed

"Are the Providence Falconers trying to steal the captain of the Las Vegas Aces?"

Sebastian St. Martin's daughter has gifted the interwebs with video from her summer vacation, which includes not only her famous Falcs forward father (say that five times fast) but also some of his teammates, such as Jack Zimmerman, Alexei Mashkov, and Dustin Snow.

However, many are surprised to see Las Vegas Aces captain, Kent Parson, in the mix. St. Martin's daughter showcases Parson cooking eggs, cradling an infant, tubing with both St. Martin girls, and enjoying a nap in a hammock. The two girls can even be heard referring to the NHL captain as "Uncle Kent" throughout.

Parson is known to have a previous hockey history with Jack Zimmerman, including a successful career together at the junior level. And Parson is a free agent this summer. Could it be that the Falcs invited him along to try to persuade him to join their team?

Alexei had woken Kent early that morning and after their jet ski jaunt, they returned to the house and found that everyone was about to go out on the boat. Alexei had looked to Kent to see if he wanted to go out, too, and found that little Evelyn already had Kent's hand in hers and was already pulling him down the dock towards the boat.

They spent the last hours of the morning on the boat, tubing, riding around, and stopping once again to eat lunch and swim. It wasn't until they were back at the house that the text from the Falconer's main PR person reached their phones to alert them of the overwhelmingly excited reaction from Falcs fans (and upset from Aces fans) in reaction to BuzzFeed's coverage of Ellie's post.

"I'm sorry, Parson," Marty said. "I know she's on her phone a lot but I didn't even realize she was taking videos, or that she could edit them together like that, or that it would be available to BuzzFeed." Marty's face scrunched up in disgust.

"I'm really not worried about it," Kent replied. He glanced across the main room to where Gabby was quietly scolding Ellie. Everyone else was pretending to mind their own business in the large room. There was a movie quietly playing that had Jack and Snow's attention, Sarah was asleep on the couch for an afternoon nap, and Bittle and Evelyn were putting a puzzle together.

"I'm like video," Alexei added with a shrug. "Kent looks good and keeps happy memories."

"And she didn't, like, post any telling videos of me and Alexei together," Kent added, even as he warmed at Alexei's words.

"Could be future in PR," Alexei added. "Don't be too mad at her."

"Thanks for being so understanding. Social media was not covered in the parenting books," he grumbled before he left them to help Gabby.

"You do look good," Alexei murmured as he watched the video again on his phone. He especially liked Kent in the sun on the boat, his blonde hair blowing in the wind and a big smile on his face as he laughed as something Alexei was saying to him. Neither of them had captured any videos of their activities this week, so it was fun to see. "Gonna save video. Too bad she not with us this morning. Get video of me beating you in jet ski race."

"You did not beat me in a race," Kent laughed. "Those things go the exact same top speed." Kent pulled his own phone from his pocket when it began to ring. He accepted the video call from Jeff and didn't even get to say hello before Jeff was speaking.

"Parse, do you need us to fly out there and rescue you from Falconer recruiting attempts?"

Kent grinned and shook his head. Jeff knew damn well why he was vacationing with Alexei and some of his Falcs teammates, but clearly, he'd seen the BuzzFeed article.

"He not need rescue." Alexei leaned into the frame so Jeff could see him shoot him a frown.

"Uncle Tater!" Jeff's five-year old son, Jasper, exclaimed. His face suddenly filled the screen. "I built another Lego! Can you come over again to see it?"

Kent purposefully ignored the way every else's heads popped up when Jasper called Alexei Uncle Tater. It was a clear clue that Tater had previously spent time with Kent's teammate, and hopefully none of them minded that Alexei and Kent had shared their relationship with any Aces before the Falcs.

"Seriously, though," Jeff said as he pulled his phone out of Jasper's grip so he could be visible on screen again. "You tell me if they're making contract moves on you and I'll charter a plane out there myself and bring you home."

"Just a vacation, Jeff," Kent replied.

Jeff squinted his eyes at him. "How much longer?"

"Have to go now," Alexei laughed. "Tell Jasper I bring new Lego next time I'm in desert."

"Kent, blink twice if you need me!" Jeff called out while Jasper yelled, "Bye, Uncle Tater!"

Kent laughed as he pushed the end call button and rested his head on Alexei's shoulder. Alexei had suggested a dance club in a neighboring city tonight, so now seemed like a good time for a nap.

"I heard this song was written about us," Kent teased when he recognized the next song. He and Alexei had been out on the dance floor for several songs already, while the rest of the guys who had come out – Jack, Bittle, and Snowy – all still sat in a booth they'd found. He wasn't sure why they'd even come if they didn't want to dance, but willingness to dance had always been one of his favorite things about Alexei.

Alexei and most of his group had been to this club in past years for dancing. Usually, he danced with Bitty and Snowy, but he loved that this was another favorite lake vacation experience he got to layer Kent into as well. He tilted his head and tried to place the current song, but it helped when Kent leaned into him and began singing some of the lyrics into his ear.

"Pick me up, pull 'em down, turn me round," Kent's voice was slightly raspy from dancing and likely dehydration, and Alexei only pulled him in closer as he shivered. "How you talk so sweet when you're doing bad things."

"Kent," Alexei growled. He was trying to keep their dancing PG in this public place but Kent knew how to work his shoulders and move his hips as he danced. His hands repeatedly found themselves on Alexei's arms and shoulders and Alexei's hands landed on Kent's hips more often than not. Plus, he'd seen appreciative glances thrown both their ways and he didn't want anyone to get any ideas about who either of them would be going home with.

"I missed the line about the thick accent," Kent laughed.

"Sound like you right, written for us," he could only agree helplessly as he felt Kent dance against him.

Bitty sat in the booth they'd found upon arrival – and hadn't moved from – with Jack and Snowy. He'd done his best, but Jack wasn't budging from this spot, which left Bitty to only longingly people watch. If he was going to go home with a headache from loud music and strobe lights, he could have at least had sore feet from dancing, too.

It wasn't like he was surprised by his husband's refusal to dance – sometimes it felt like they'd been married a long time with how well he knew Jack Zimmerman. In the past, whether it was this club during lake trips or any other time or place, Bitty could always count on someone in their group to go dancing with him. So, it's not typically a big deal that his husband doesn't like to dance because he still gets his fill of it. Of course, Tater is currently dancing with Kent Parson. And not only that, but he's also currently dancing in a much more intimate way than he's ever danced with Bitty. Which brings up Bitty's other current irritation – Jack usually doesn't even partake in people watching, but Bitty can't help but notice Jack's eyes pinned to Tater and Kent more often than not. So, he won't dance with his husband, but he'll ogle those two all night?

Bitty glanced at Snowy – he'd never danced with just Snowy before and he was wondering if he could talk him into going out there. But Snowy was also watching Tater and Kent with what Bitty can only describe as a glower. He was probably upset that all of Tater's attention was on Kent, which Bitty completely understood at the moment.

His eyes traveled out to the pair again and he watched Kent laugh outright at whatever Tater was saying to him. Then, as a new song began, Tater spun Kent and pulled him in close so that his back was pressed to Tater's front. Tater kissed at the skin behind one of Kent's ears and Bitty froze as he watched Kent's immediate reaction – Kent's eyes slammed shut, mouth dropped open, and even from here Bitty could see his chest move quickly as he panted a few times.

"Crisse," Jack muttered as he lifted his bottle for a drink. Snowy shifted in his seat and did the same.

Bitty realized the music playing was the nightcore version of Teeth as he watched Tater's mouth move to sing along to "Fight so dirty, but you love so sweet. Talk so pretty, but your heart got teeth," before playfully biting Kent's neck. Kent was laughing again and squeezed the hands Tater already had wrapped around his hips as he also appeared to sing along to the lyrics, "Late-night devil, put your hands on me."

Bitty couldn't help the burning jealousy as he watched them. He glanced back at Jack and Snowy and wondered what their dour expressions meant. He knew they weren't feeling the same jealousy about being free to dance with their partners – as previously noted – Jack hated to dance, and Sarah had stayed home with the baby even though Gabby had offered to babysit. But were they upset that Tater and Kent were out there and not here at the table spending time with them? Or worse – was Jack jealous of Tater? Bitty shook his head, that was a line of thought he didn't want to continue.

He was saved from it anyway as Tater and Kent left the dance floor. They split up and Tater headed to their table. He threw his thumb over his shoulder to say that Kent was getting them more drinks and to ask if anyone wanted anything specific?

"I'll go help him," Bitty offered, and only felt a little guilty at the beaming smile Tater sent him for the friendly gesture. Bitty wasn't feeling particularly friendly right now.

He pushed through the crowd and managed to squeeze into a spot next to Kent at the bar.

"Look, I just wasn't expectin to see you this week." They hadn't spoken since his accusations in the kitchen yesterday and now wasn't the time for small talk. "Especially not stayin in the same house."

Kent didn't turn to acknowledge Bittle as he spoke, instead he leaned over the bar and asked for a pitcher the table could share. It wasn't until he leaned back that he glanced at Bittle. Due to the crowd, they were almost squished together. And although those words had sounded like maybe the beginning of an olive branch, Bittle's expression showcased that he was pretty irritated to be extending it.

"You and Zimms weren't gonna be here this week."

There was a small flinch from Bittle at Kent's use of the old nickname, but Kent wasn't going to apologize for it. There was nothing he could do to change the fact that he had history with Jack Zimmerman.

"We weren't. Originally," Bittle acknowledged. "But my parents' plans changed so we decided to come here instead. I guess Tater just never updated you."

"He updated me," Kent snapped back, angry Bittle would disparage Alexei. "I'd already committed to coming by that point, I wasn't going to back out. Besides, he's spent time with my team and it's only fair I do the same. Plus, he talks about everyone so often, it's nice to have a chance to meet his friends. Off the ice."

Bittle slumped against the bar a bit and let out a long sigh. "That's how I felt about meetin the Falcs, too."

"Look at that, something in common," Kent chirped.

Bitty rolled his eyes. "We have plenty in common. That's the problem."

Kent frowned at him. "Uh, what? Blonde hair? Because I don't know what you think you know about me -"

Bittle straightened and met Kent's frown with one of his own. "Jack -"

"No, Jack – nothing," Kent insisted. "Look, Zimms and I don't even know each other anymore, okay? And Jack doesn't seem to have a problem with me being here, so I don't know why you're being all" – Kent waved his hand in Bittle's general direction – "I'm not here to bother either of you." Before Bittle could answer, he continued, "I'm not here for Jack. I'm not in love with Jack. And I'm so sorry I inconveniently fell in love with a person on the same team as Jack Zimmerman."

"Look, it's apparent now that you and Tater are close -"

"Close?" Kent sputtered.

"This week is hard enough without you distracting Jack -"

"Me?" Kent's mouth dropped open in shock. "I'm doing fuck all to –"

"Damn, is it hot in here or is it just you two?"

Kent reared back as a third body – a stranger – entered his and Bittle's space. The man, who appeared to be in his late thirties, had his black hair slicked back and wore too much cologne. Kent noted the man's sway and glossy eyes.

"Looks like I interrupted a little quarrel. Let me buy you both a drink and we can go find a dark corner to resolve it, eh? Use that energy in a more positive way?"

Bittle's look of disgust matched his own, but Bittle still managed a polite, "No thank you. If you could please excuse us?"

"Ohh, a southern accent." The stranger bit his lip as he appraised Bittle before turning to Kent. "Two'd be fun, but I'd be happy with just one of you under me tonight," he crooned with a leer towards Kent. "And, hey, maybe we can talk him into joining?"

Even as he crowded into Kent's space, the man's reached out to grab either Bittle's arm or shoulder. It didn't make it, either way. Kent grabbed the guy's wrist in a tight hold and growled, "Don't fucking touch him," before that hand could make contact with Bittle.

The man only laughed, unaware that Kent was seriously contemplating breaking his wrist.

"Terra – territorial, yeah?"

"No, but I am," Jack's dry tone interrupted as he edged himself between the man and Bittle. He waved down the bartender and asked for security.

"You okay?" Alexei's voice was in his ear next as an arm wrapped around Kent's middle.

Kent still held the man's wrist mid-air, and Alexei gently covered his hand and let Kent drop his own back to his side and lean back into Alexei's chest. For now, the man's wrist was saved from being broken and Kent was probably saved from a trip to jail for battery. There was a small satisfaction, however, in watching the man's eyes widen and then travel up and up and up when Alexei straightened to his full height behind Kent.

Thankfully, security was there in the next moment and escorted the man away from them.

It was still dark when Alexei rolled over in bed and found Kent's spot empty. He waited a few minutes, but when it was clear Kent wasn't in their attached bathroom, he pushed himself out of bed to go hunt for him.

He was half expecting to find Kent scavenging the kitchen for leftover pie, which is what he was now thinking about…

He was not expecting to find Kent pacing the large living room shushing and speaking lowly to baby Demi, who he held cradled in his arms. Sarah was passed out in a chair, literally slumped over the chair's cushy arm. Snowy was nowhere in sight.

"'Nyshko," Alexei murmured quietly as he approached Kent and Demi.

"Someone thinks it's time to be awake," Kent whispered.

Alexei leaned over Kent's shoulder and peered down at baby Demi. She stared back at him with eyes as open and alert as they could be.

Alexei hummed. "Want pie with me?"

It was Jack, dressed for a run, who found the four of them conked out in the living room the next morning. Sarah had curled herself further into the chair, Tater was sprawled out on one couch, arm tossed across his face, and Kent was sprawled on his back on another, the baby sleeping contentedly on his chest.

Gabby stopped in her tracks on her way to the kitchen and she and Jack exchanged amused glances.

Gabby snapped a couple pictures.

When everyone else began to wake up and make noise in the main room and kitchen, Sarah, Tater, and Kent had disappeared back to their own beds for morning naps. Snowy was currently in charge of baby Demi and he was pacing the kitchen with her as he did his best to feed her a bottle.

When the doorbell rang, Gabby hoped it wasn't loud enough to wake the nappers. She went to answer it, although she was confused about who it could be. They'd had dinner delivered that first night and everyone's groceries had been delivered the first morning, and she didn't think anyone was expecting any further deliveries.

She was greeted by a bouquet of flowers so large that she could barely see the person delivering them. The only thing the delivery person said was "Have a good day," as he handed her the large vase. Gabby thanked him and then brought the flowers to the living room where Marty sat reading on his tablet.

"Did you send me flowers?" she asked him, although she was also thinking about a story she'd heard about Jack sending a large bouquet years ago and wondered if they were for Bitty.

"Hmmm? Non," Marty said with barely a glance to the bouquet.

"There's no name on the card," Gabby murmured once she finally found it hidden within all the stems. She pulled it from its holder and opened it. She could pass along the flowers once she knew who they were for.

Her eyes welled up a little, though, once she flipped the card open: I lied. I sent you flowers.

She turned towards Marty only to find him standing directly behind her, pleased grin on his face. Gabby had commented more than once about how sweet she thought Tater and Parson were being this week. He'd been married long enough to hear a request in those remarks.

"Très doux, silly man." Gabby pressed up on her toes to kiss him.

They ate a quiet lunch once everyone was awake and talked Sarah into joining them on the boat for the afternoon. The life jacket she had for Demi was admittedly hilarious, just her little head poked out of the top of it. Sarah added a little sun hat and then still sat under the pontoon's sun shade. But when they did stop to swim, she lowered the baby down to Snowy in the water and snapped enough pictures to make an entire album of Demi's first lake day.

"We used to bring a playpen and a water table on the boat when the girls were toddlers. We can do that next year for Demi," Gabby told Sarah, happy to reminisce about having littles around.

After dinner that night, they went outside to start a fire and make s'mores. The girls (easily) talked Kent and Tater into catching fireflies with them, although Evelyn was upset they weren't allowed to bring their jarful into the bedroom the girls were sharing for the week for a sleepover.

"I'm not saying I want it to rain every day," Kent whispered early the next morning when he felt Alexei grind into his ass as his first indication of waking, "but I kind of wish we could wake up like this every day."

Alexei hummed in agreement. He squeezed Kent even closer to him and began to mouth kisses against the back of Kent's neck. The rain pounded on the lake house's metal roof, providing a soothing backdrop, occasionally interspersed by loud cracks of thunder. Despite the curtains, the windows were lit up every few minutes thanks to lightning.

It was safe and cozy and warm. Kent smelled so good, felt so good pressed against him. He was right, this would be one of the best ways to wake up every day. He knew the girls would be disappointed to delay or even cancel a chance to go out on the boat again this morning, especially since they were all leaving tomorrow, but he wasn't upset at all about rain ruining their plans.

"Well," Kent said thoughtfully, "there might be one or two better ways to wake up."

"With breakfast?"

"Yeah, sure, I'm pretty hungry."

Kent rolled himself over to face Alexei and the next thing Alexei knew, Kent had pushed him to his back before his blonde head disappeared under their blanket. Alexei let himself groan a little louder than he'd allowed himself all week – the rain and thunder provided perfect coverage – as soon as he felt Kent's mouth wrapped around his dick. He pushed the blankets away so Kent wouldn't actually suffocate, and it gave him better access to slide his fingers into Kent's hair as Kent's head began to bob.

Definitely the best way to wake up.

With a baby often crying at sporadic times through the nights and now the rain pounding the metal roof this morning, Bitty quietly grumbled about how poorly he was sleeping this week. He made a note to himself to never get a tin roof on any house he owned. Maybe to never have a baby either.

He rolled over and found Jack still sound asleep on his side of the bed. Maybe it was Jack's constant travel for work that allowed him to easily sleep in strange places, even with loud noises.

Now that he was awake, his bladder was also awake, but if he got up to pee he'd really be awake and then it would take forever to get back to sleep. He sighed and debated ignoring it when he heard the first groan. His head rolled along with one of his biggest eye rolls ever. He and Jack were sharing a wall with Tater and Kent this week and those two could stand to be a lot quieter every single night and now also this morning.

Another groan through the wall and Bitty shot up out of bed and headed towards their attached bathroom. He'd take care of his bladder and then maybe head to the kitchen. He could use the extra time this morning to make french toast for everyone.

BuzzFeed

"To no one's surprise, "Uncle Kent" has amazing off-ice moves."

Kent froze for a minute, wondering if someone had video footage of him and Alexei dancing in the club the other night, but when the article loaded, it was just a short fluff piece that shared Ellie's Instagram again. Ellie had been upset that they'd gone out dancing without her, so Kent had agreed to many rounds of Dance Dance Revolution, a relic they'd found in the game closet of the house after dinner the night before.

Kent was competitive but quickly noticed that both Ellie and Evelyn giggled when he missed a move, so he had begun making up ridiculous dance moves. Both girls laughed so hard they'd fallen to the floor, which was the main video clip that had been shared. (It also meant he was still scoring higher than them, which he chirped Ellie about for the rest of the night).

He clicked to Ellie's official IG post, which she'd captioned: "proof uncle kent cheats" and included some of his most ridiculous dance moves. He figured he could be embarrassed about it – and elected not to look at the comments – but he remembered the way Alexei had laughed (off screen) through the entire ordeal and wondered how quickly Alexei would also save this video.

The thunderstorm continued through lunchtime and only let up once they were finished eating. Still, it was muggy outside and the sky dark with clouds as if it was going to rain again, so they decided to spend a quiet afternoon in the house to avoid it. Everyone gathered in the main room, even if they were working on separate activities (or napping again like Sarah), when Alexei noticed Snowy slip out the front door.

"I'm be back," Alexei murmured to Kent, whose eyes flicked to the front door and back to him in a knowing manner. Kent had Demi asleep on his chest and didn't seem inclined to move anyway.

Alexei ventured out into the heat, happy that Snowy was at least at the end of the dock with his feet dangling into the lake. Alexei joined him and let his own feet drop into the water.

"You quiet this week," he said to Snowy. "Why?"

Snowy released a deep sigh with a "fuck" rolled out in the middle of it. "Look, man, I didn't want to ruin the whole vacation. But fuck. I thought you and I were gonna hang out a lot more this week and instead you brought Kent fucking Parson with you."

Alexei fought off his urge to frown at the way Snowy said Kent's name (sometimes he worried Snowy was sick if every other sentence didn't include the f-bomb) and instead decided to point out the obvious. "You bring Sarah and Demi, though?" Alexei asked. "Time's change. Family growing. Is good."

"Tater," Snowy rolled his eyes. "I love the baby, okay? But that baby is the only thing that ties me and Sarah together. She and I aren't dating – does everything here think we're dating? I just wanted to spend time with the baby during the off-season, and inviting Sarah seemed like the only way to do it."

"I not see you hold Demi a lot, Snowy," Alexei said quietly, deciding maybe he could kindly broach the subject of Snowy's baby avoidance.

"Yeah, cause Parson always fucking has her."

Alexei shook his head. "You not up in middle of night with Sarah. Kent spend night carrying baby around in main room and let Sarah sleep."

"Yeah, I get it, he's a real fucking saint who -"

"Dustin," Alexei interrupted, voice intoned with a slight growl, "I want you be very careful what you say about Kent to me. Don't want you to regret."

Dustin began frowning when he heard Tater use his first name and that frown only deepened as Tater continued to speak. "Are you fucking serious? I'm one of your best friends and you're worried about some guy you're currently fucking over me?"

"Is not like that."

Snowy groaned and aggressively ran his hand through his hair. "I didn't even know you liked men, Tater!"

Alexei swallowed and nodded slowly. "I – I'm know." He turned his head slightly so he could eye Snowy's face. "Not think you care this much."

Snowy released another frustrated groan but he turned his body, so he was fully facing Tater. "Alexei," he said, tone turned serious, "I have liked you since you joined the team."

Tater's eyebrows rose in surprise and Snowy knew that Tater understood. It still frustrated the shit out of him that Tater never caught on before.

Snowy's arms gestured towards Tater. "And you didn't know! So fucking oblivious!" His voice rose as he continued, "I flirted my ass off, man. Did Kent Parson – what – fucking climb you like a tree and that's how you knew he was interested?"

"I'm – I'm not know, Snowy," Alexei admitted, his head spinning as he really tried to wrap his mind around everything Snowy was sharing. "Did not know about you."

"Does this change anything?" Snowy asked faintly.

"I'm sorry I did not know," Alexei replied quietly. He watched Snowy turn his head away. "Still want – don't want to lose you as friend."

Snowy groaned again. "So even though I'm not actually dating Sarah, and I'm in Providence and not across the damn country, and we're best friends who always have a great time together – you what? You're in love with Kent fucking Parson?"

"Am in love with Kent," Alexei replied gently. "Am married Kent."

Snowy's head whipped back around to Alexei. "Hold the fuck up. You want to marry him? Or you have already fucking married him?"

Alexei met Snowy's eyes and saw the already disheartened look on his face. "Kent and I got married," he stated quietly. "Wanted to tell everyone this week. After everyone have chance to know him little bit."

Snowy's mouth open and shut a few times. It was the first time Alexei had ever seen him speechless, and he felt terrible about being the reason for it.

Alexei reared back as Snowy jumped to his feet and stared as Snowy began stomping up the dock. He looked past Snowy up to the house and thought of Kent inside it as he pushed himself to his own feet and followed after Snowy. He'd caught up to Snowy enough to be only one step behind him as Snowy entered the house and watched him point a finger aimed at Kent – who was still sitting in the main room with everyone else – while practically growling, "How long have you and Tater been fucking married?"

The room went completely silent, even Demi's little sleep snuffling noises stopped. Kent's eyes flew to Alexei.

Alexei moved past Snowy and joined Kent on the couch. He leaned forward and dropped his elbows to his knees, fingers laced together, looking like he was ready to be scolded. "Snowy," he began.

"No, fuck you, Tater," Snowy fumed before redirecting his focus on Kent Parson. "You not only swooped in here on our vacation time with him, but you fucking married him?"

"You not mad at Kent," Alexei protested, resigned that this was how his big announcement was going to go.

Kent remained silent next to him. He and Alexei had shared their news with his closest teammates last week when they'd vacationed with that group. They had received happy, surprise, and congratulations reactions. The Aces and their families had thrown an impromptu celebration that night with champagne and a hastily bought cake.

He wasn't sure the Falcs were going to give him the same reception that his golden retriever husband had received from the Aces. But Alexei had been adamant that they'd warm up to Kent and be thrilled for them by the time Alexei was ready to announce that they were married. Kent glanced around the room. It was hard to tell if their expressions – mostly shock – were due to the marriage news or Snow's outburst. Gabby did smile at him when he made eye contact with her. He'd count it as a win.

But, more than anything, it was the look on Snow's face that immediately drew Kent's attention again. Dustin Snow didn't look surprised. Nor did he look angry that this news hadn't been shared sooner. He appeared… devastated was probably the best word Kent could think of. He recognized it. Wore it himself years ago when he'd realized that Zimms had moved on to another small, blonde teammate. He glanced at Alexei and knew by his husband's own solemn expression that Alexei was also well aware what Snow's outburst was really about.

Kent glanced at Sarah next and felt his own pang of sadness for her when he saw that her eyes had welled with tears as she stared at Dustin. When she saw Kent looking, she tried to give him a half smile before she rose to her feet and lifted Demi from Kent's arms. They managed the transfer without waking Demi and Sarah turned and walked away in the direction of their bedroom.

"Girls let's go help Miss Sarah with the baby," Gabby announced, shooing both daughters, who sent confused looks over their shoulders to the men in the room as they were escorted away.

"You not mad at Kent," Alexei repeated.

"Snow -" Kent tried.

Snowy shook his head abruptly. "Don't fucking talk to me." He turned and stalked back out the front door, disappearing from sight.

Kent looked to Alexei and when Alexei met his eyes, he saw only sadness there. "Do you wanna…?" he whispered and nodded his chin towards the door where Snowy had disappeared. Alexei shook his head. With Snowy gone and Alexei deciding to stay, Kent pulled one of Alexei's big hands into his lap so he could wrap both his hands around it and squeeze.

"Married," Marty stated with a small laugh, doing his best to relieve some of the tension. "Gabby has been saying you two were in the honeymoon stage, but she was talking about the new relationship honeymoon stage, not the literal honeymoon period."

"How long have you been married?" Jack asked, and it was the first time Kent met his eyes since the announcement. Jack appeared outright startled while Bittle looked confused.

"Wait, how long have y'all been together?" Bitty asked, realizing for the first time that no one had asked the pair any relationship history questions this entire week. He wondered if everyone else had also assumed that they were a new relationship, despite the subtle clues that that was not the case.

"You said Kent congratulated you on 500 assists," Jack added, "but that wasn't this past season."

"You would figure out a way to use a hockey milestone as clues," Marty laughed.

When only silence followed their inquiries, Kent squeezed Alexei's hand again, willing him to engage with his friends.

"Together for three years total," Alexei finally shared, tone a lot more subdued than Kent had hoped for Alexei when they shared their big news. "Married for one."

"What?" Marty exclaimed, eyes wide.

For what felt like the first time all week, Jack's eyes met Bitty's and Bitty studied the utter shock on his husband's face before Jack turned back to Alexei and Kent.

"You got married last summer?" Bittle questioned.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Jack asked. "We were all here together last summer, too, Tater. You didn't want to bring Kent then?"

"Gabs!" Marty called towards the back of the house.

"Always want to bring Kent," Alexei protested with a shake of his head as he noticed – not for the first time this week – Bitty shooting Jack a strange look.

"They've been married for a year!" Marty told Gabby when she re-entered the room. "Not even newlyweds and making us look bad," Marty continued to laugh.

"Alexei!" Gabby exclaimed. She crossed the room and bodily yanked on Alexei until he smiled and stood so she could hug him. "Congratulations, honey. Kent, come here."

Kent stood and accepted his own hug, grateful for the first real positive response among the Falcs. Marty followed Gabby's lead and also stood to pull Alexei into a hug. Kent kept his attention on Gabby's face, but out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Jack and Bitty remained seated and that Zimms looked disgruntled.

"Last summer? Did you two elope?" Gabby was asking.

"Well, sort of in that we obviously didn't really announce it," Kent responded.

"Vegas?" Marty asked.

"Venice," Alexei corrected – and Kent finally heard a smile in his husband's voice again. "Lots will probably assume elope in Vegas, but we vacation in Venice year before and thought it very beautiful."

"Alexei proposed during the first Venice trip," Kent added. "The wedding wasn't really an elopement, though, we flew in our families to attend."

"Little Max was ring bearer," Alexei nodded.

"Anna had to walk him down the aisle, though. He was only two."

"And my sister, Nina, her four-year old daughter, Violet, wanted to be flower girl."

"Do you have pictures to share with us?" Gabby asked hopefully.

Kent nodded. "My mom vetted a photographer before we got there, so we have a lot of pictures, actually."

"I'm send you album link." Alexei pulled his phone from his pocket so he could text Gabby the link.

"I'm getting the girls and my phone," Gabby called out as she dashed out of the room.

"I didn't know," Kent said. He'd slipped away while Alexei was providing Gabby a play-by-play via wedding album photos and found Snow sitting at the end of the dock. He kicked off his own flip flops and dropped to sit beside him, letting his feet splash into the water.

"Why would you fucking know?" Dustin bit back. Kent didn't reply, just stared across the lake. It gave Dustin a chance to lightly glare at Parson's stupid Tiger Beat magazine cover face. It was ridiculous that Parson got to be one of the best in the NHL, infuriatingly good looking, apparently good with babies, and now he gets to keep Alexei forever. It's just stupid, he thought to himself. Kent Parson is stupid.

Dustin heaved a sigh and returned his gaze to the water. The afternoon sun made the subtle waves sparkle. It was truly gorgeous, and he was afraid he'd never be able to appreciate it again after this trip.

"If I had known… I don't know," Parson – who was apparently insisting on speaking to him – why was Dustin's life so fucking hard? – said quietly. "I wouldn't have…"

"What?" Dustin prodded once Kent trailed off and then remained quiet.

Kent ran his hand through his stupid hair and Dustin scowled at the way it sprung back to his forehead in an attractive flop.

"I know what this kind of hurt feels like, Snow, and I'm sorry."

Well, that Dustin could believe. He didn't know all the details, but he knew Jack and Kent had dated as teens and now here was Parson – on vacation with his ex and his ex's husband.

"I guess I wouldn't have been as obvious with him if I'd known, is all I want to say."

"Yeah, you're a real asshole," Dustin said without any heat.

"Alexei talks about you a lot," Kent stated slowly, a thoughtful look on his face. "So, I feel like – from you – that could be a term of endearment?"

Dustin glared at him. Kent's eyebrows were raised in a hopeful expression, but Dustin could still see the wariness in his eyes.

"And that expression means you like me?"

He could tell Parson was trying to lighten the mood, so he at least dropped his glare before saying, "Like is always going to be too strong a word."

Kent breathed a laugh through his nose before his face sombered again. "Maybe just a truce then."

Dustin was quiet for a few moments before finally saying, "Yeah, fuck it, we can have a truce." After all, Tater's husband was making an effort. "It was nice of you to come out here and talk to me after I made an ass of myself in there."

Kent released a deep sigh and swung his feet in the lake, sending water rings outwards. "Yeah, well, I know that feeling, too."

Dustin believed this as well, because he didn't see what Kent Parson gained by semi-revealing shameful moments from his own past.

"And you know Alexei." Kent sent a meaningful look to Snowy. "It's not like he's mad right now. And he's not the type to pretend you don't exist for several years or anything."

Dustin glanced back towards the house when he heard the screen door swing shut and watched as Jack and Bitty walked down the front porch steps and headed towards the hammock. They didn't climb on it, though. In fact, instead of coming out to relax, it looked a little like they were having their own heated discussion. He could imagine what they were fighting about. He'd seen enough weird moments of Jack trying to interact with Kent this week, much to Kent's apparent confusion and Bitty's irritation.

Dustin scratched the side of his face as he thought about what Parson said. It definitely sounded like some bad shit went down between him and Jack, and Parson was right – things wouldn't be like that between himself and Tater. It wasn't like they'd dated or had a bad break-up. And Tater was just too nice a guy. He wouldn't purposefully avoid Dustin after this.

"You gonna tell me it gets easier with time?"

Kent's brows furrowed a bit. "I don't know how to answer that without sounding like a jerk."

"You're gonna sound like a jerk either way."

Kent glared at him, and Dustin could only return a sardonic grin in response. Kent rolled his eyes and dropped the glare.

"I'll just say that, when you meet the right person, none of that past shit matters anymore. And I know that sounds jerky when -"

"When I thought Alexei was the right person and you're the one who got to marry him. Yeah, you're right, that does sound jerky." He kept his tone light. Parson didn't need to be out here trying to gentle with him, but he was doing it anyway.

Kent released another laugh through his nose. "I know, I know. But it's true."

Dustin groaned at the cheesiness of it and watched Kent stupid head Parson grin at the water. He pushed himself to his feet and chewed on his lip for a second before saying, "You better be good to him."

Kent met his eyes. "Always."

Once again, Dustin believed him.

"I'm gonna go apologize to him for ruining your – your big news." He took a few steps away, but he stopped and turned back towards Kent. "And Parson – don't change how you interact with him. Around me, I mean. I don't want shit to be weird with you two."

Kent nodded and turned back to the water.

"Asshole," Dustin muttered as he began walking up the dock.

"I guess the truce starts once you leave the dock," Kent called out to his back, laugh evident in his voice.

"Look, bud, I'm sorry if it's looked like I've been…" Jack's eyes scanned trees behind Bitty's head and tried to think of the right word.

"Mooning over your ex-boyfriend all week," Bitty supplied.

Jack's eyes flew back to Bitty's face. "No, I've not been – no."

"Every time I've looked at you this week, to share a look or a laugh at whatever was going on, you're either talking to Kent or staring at him. And now you're – I don't know – upset that he and Tater are married?"

"It's just surprising. I'm surprised."

Bitty crossed his arms over his chest and when he glanced beyond Jack, he spotted Kent and Snowy sitting at the end of the dock together. He should probably keep half an eye on them and alert someone if Snowy ends up throwing Kent in the lake.

"Bits," Jack sighed. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't understand how Tater and Kenny could be together, and I sorta wanted to figure it out. And, I mean, Kenny and I were friends first back in the Q. And this week has been, like, a chance to catch up with him?"

Bitty squinted at him and did his best to decipher what Jack was trying to say. "So, you've been trying to get to know him again?"

Jack shrugged. Bitty dropped his arms back to his sides. Jack moved a little closer, blue eyes pinned on Bitty's face as he slowly wrapped his hands around Bitty's hips, as if he wasn't sure he was allowed to touch him right now. Bitty reciprocated by wrapping his arms around Jack's middle and pulling him into an actual hug.

"I guess that make sense. And current Kent seems like an okay guy."

"Tater seems to think so," Jack replied, lightly amused that Bitty was willing to concede to that observation about Kent.

Bitty groaned pitifully.

"What?" Jack peered down to where Bits had his face pressed to his chest.

"I was… sorta nasty to Kent earlier this week," Bitty admitted quietly. "Which was… I mean, you were acting strange, and I didn't understand why Kent was even here."

"Well, you know my history with Kent better than most people, so it would make sense that you'd be wary of him at the start, eh?"

"No, don't placate me, hon. I don't deserve to get off scot-free for that behavior. Plus, it was also just flat out disrespectful to Tater. I should've been nicer to his guest, whoever that person ended up being."

Bitty pulled back from their hug and glanced at the dock again. Snowy was gone but Kent remained out there alone.

"And, you know, aside from him taking up real estate in the kitchen" – Jack laughed outright – "he's been real nice to everyone and even defended me against that creep at the club. So, I'm gonna try to make it up to him. Maybe you can go hang out with Tater and the other guys – get them out of the house for a while? I'm going to grab golf cart keys and see if Kent is still interested in that Russian meal idea."

Jack dropped his forehead to Bitty's before pressing forward to plant a quick kiss to his mouth. "Sure, bud."

Kent scrolled through the images that popped up when he had typed in "popular Russian meals" as he trailed behind Bittle in the grocery store. When Bittle had approached him on the dock earlier and asked if he'd come out somewhere with him, Kent had put his flip flops back on and followed Bittle to one of the house's golf carts. He'd sent Alexei a text while Bittle drove and Alexei replied that he and the other three Falcs were headed out for a boat ride.

It wasn't until Bittle had parked in the grocery store parking lot that he'd told Kent that Jack had mentioned sending Kent his way to ask about cooking something special for Alexei and that Bittle now regretted what he'd said to Kent the morning he'd probably planned on asking.

Kent thought about Snowy's willingness to have a truce with him and nudged his shoulder into Bittle's a little bit in acknowledgement before they hopped out of the golf cart and headed into the grocery store.

Now they just had to figure out what to make so they could buy the ingredients.

"Um, Bittle, it's a lot of boiled cabbage and fish," Kent muttered as Bittle filled their cart with a number of things from the baking aisle.

"You can call me Bitty, you know," he said absently and missed the surprised look on Kent's face because he was leaning over to check out Kent's screen. "Lot of soup," he murmured as Kent continued to scroll. "Not sure anyone wants to eat soup in this heat – oh, what about that? Peroz? Pure-zoki?"

"Is it because that one looks like a baked good to you?" Kent chirped.

"You hush and help me find the ingredients." Bitty pushed the cart away before Kent Parson could see him smile.

"Hi y'all and welcome to today's vacation edition of the show. I am currently staying in a rental house that includes this beautiful kitchen" – he swept his arms to the sides – "and since I am on a group vacation, I happen to have two special guest co-hosts to help me today. The first is" – Bitty nodded his head in a "come here" gesture and Kent moved into the spot next to him and offered a wave to the camera while Bitty said as quickly as possible – "AcescaptainKentParson."

Kent rolled his eyes and sent Bitty a deadpan look.

"And my second co-host – with special permission to participate from her mother – is Miss Ellie St. Martin, Sebastian St. Martin's daughter." Ellie poked her head around the other side of Bitty and also waved to the camera. "The three of us are making dinner for our large group tonight and we wanted to make a special Russian dish for one of our favorite Falconers, Alexei Mashkov."

"What are we making for Uncle Tater?" Ellie's face was already scrunched up as she looked at the ingredients before them. She poked a finger at the cabbage before snagging a piece of cheese to eat.

"It's like a hot pocket," Kent supplied.

Bitty snorted. Loudly. "Please do not offend the entirety of the Russian population on my show, Kent."

Kent shrugged and muttered "Похоже на hot pocket," with the Russian words he knew, which would hopefully appease any Russian audience members.

"Today, we're cooking pirozhki," Bitty pronounced cheerfully (he'd used a website earlier to figure out how to say it correctly and then had practiced several times while setting up his equipment). "It begins with a baked puff pastry, which doesn't that sound good?" Bitty asked Ellie directly.

"Like a donut?" Ellie asked hopefully.

"That are then filled with meat, cabbage, cheese," Bitty continued his cheerful tone, knowing the teenager was going to be disappointed.

Ellie sent a woeful look in Kent's direction. "Is it too late to… change the menu?" Ellie asked.

Bitty clapped his hands together. "Let's get started. The first step is the dough, and that's certainly something we can handle."

By the time they had finished cooking, Marty, Alexei, Jack, and Snowy had returned from their impromptu boat ride. Although, they'd told Tater that Bitty was recording an episode in the kitchen, so they needed to stay outside so the house was as quiet as possible. While that was partially true, Bitty was really just worried that if Tater came inside, he might know what they were doing based on smell alone.

But once the table was set and everyone was seated, they all got to witness Alexei's surprise and then sincere gratitude as Bitty, Kent, and Ellie brought the trays full of pirozhkis to the table. Alexei jumped up, asked Ellie if he could give her a thank you hug, lifted Bitty in an additional grateful hug, and then gave Kent a smacking kiss on the mouth.

He then proceeded to eat an absurd number of pirozhkis and sent a hopeful look to Kent asking if he could make them again in the future.

"Bitty did film us baking these, so I guess I can always put that episode on in the future." Kent did his best to bit back a smile as he watched his husband continue to devour them.

"I'll send you the link once its posted," Bitty grinned. "Wouldn't hurt you to subscribe to the channel while you're at it."

Snowy would bet that Parson had long ago subscribed to Bitty's channel, but with his truce with Kent in mind, he kept his mouth shut and just focused on the food. He'd apologized to Tater, who had graciously accepted it and even hugged him before they were shuffled out to the boat by Jack and Marty for a boat ride. He was grateful the other two men seemed to be staying out of the drama and were treating this like any other day.

When they'd returned, he'd slipped inside and found Sarah in their bedroom. They were sharing a room based on space and proximity to the baby (he did get up a couple times in the middle of the night with her). He hadn't expected Sarah to be as upset as she was about the revelation of his feelings for Tater, and he found himself apologizing to her as well. Her eyes had been red when he returned but they remained dry while they spoke. She said as soon as they were home tomorrow, they were going to schedule actual parenting time for each of them, and that she needed some time and space away from him.

He took the initiative when Demi woke to be the first to her and he fed her while everyone else ate. The pirozhkis were a little cold by the time he got to them, but he didn't really mind. Not with the grateful look Sarah sent him. Plus, he found he liked the way Demi stared up at him when he held her, like she was memorizing his face. He'd always had a natural urge to protect her, but he wondered if he could make sure he was the type of dad she could count on.

When they were finished eating dinner, Bitty surprised them all with dessert – three pies were brought to the table. "I hope y'all don't mind wedding pie instead of wedding cake to celebrate."

"When did you make pie?" Kent asked, staring dumbfounded at the desserts.

"Yeah, we were with you in the kitchen this entire time," Ellie added.

Jack snorted, which he tried to turn into a cough. Bitty just grinned cheerfully at them as he began to cut slices for everyone.

With dinner cleaned up and his filming equipment put away, Bitty was about to push open the screen door and join Jack and Kent on the front porch but paused when he heard Jack tell Kent he didn't think something was a good idea.

"You don't think what is a good idea?" he heard Kent ask.

"Kenny, the divorce rate in the NHL is pretty high, higher than national averages."

"Huh? You're also married and in the NHL, Zimms."

"You know you can be kind of impulsive, Kenny. Maybe Tater just didn't give you a chance to think it through? I mean, you live across the country from each other."

"Impulsive? We were engaged for a year. And we've managed the distance for three years –"

"Still, no one would blame you for… For only realizing now that this isn't a good idea."

There was silence for so long, that Bitty leaned towards the door a little, wondering if maybe they'd both lowered their voices. But then he finally heard Kent speak.

"I didn't expect this from you, Jack. Not after you've been nice to me all week. Which I thought was great, that you and I can be on good terms since you play on my husband's team." Kent huffed a breath loud enough that Bitty heard it. "How can you say those things anyway? It's not like I married some asshole. You know what a nice guy Alexei is. He didn't pressure me into anything."

"This isn't about Alexei, not really."

"So, it's about me? Am I not good enough for your teammate?"

"No, Kenny, no, it's not that – I just want what's best for you."

"Since when?" Kent exasperation was clear in his voice. "You know how goddamn confusing you are, right? How confusing you've always been? Yanking me the fuck around. Fuck you for not thinking Alexei is the best for me, by the way. That man actually says what he means, and he loves with his whole heart. Let's just –"

Bitty quickly looked side to side and nabbed a book someone had left on a side table and fell into the accompanying chair when he heard Kent's voice get suddenly closer.

"– pretend we didn't have this conversation."

The screen door swung open, and Kent entered the house, expression grim and angry. He stalked past where Bitty sat without even noticing him. Bitty flinched when the screen door slammed shut behind him and watched Kent disappear around the corner towards the bedrooms. He leaned back a little so he could see out one of the front windows. Jack remained in his seat and didn't look like he was about to follow Kent inside.

He gently put the book back on the side table and pushed himself to his feet so he could join his husband on the porch.

"Bits," Jack greeted him. He did his best to smile as Bitty sat in the chair Kent had vacated, but Bitty could see that he looked frustrated.

"Kent looked upset just now. What happened?"

Jack lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug. "You know how he can get."

Not really, Bitty thought to himself as he eyed his husband. Jack was chewing on his bottom lip and staring across the yard.

"Jack. This is never gonna leave this porch," Bitty said in a low voice. "Like, I'm certainly never gonna tell Tater that you were – what? – trying to convince his husband that he manipulated Kent into marriage? Or that maybe they should get divorced?"

"You heard that?" Jack asked slowly, voice also low as his eyes warily scanned Bitty's face.

Bitty nodded.

"That was just me trying to help out a friend, Bits."

"Which friend? If you'd asked me before this week, I would not have included Kent Parson in your friend list, although I would've very much put Tater on it."

"You can't tell me you agree that this is going to be easy for them," Jack replied. "And – they just don't make sense, Bits."

"You've seen them interact for days now. What doesn't make sense?"

Jack released a small, frustrated groan and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "I've told you how Kenny has shown up in the past and said he misses me and has tried to get back together with me. And now he just… he just loves Tater?"

"You told me about the two times he visited you while you were still at Samwell. Has he contacted you again since then?"

"No, but –"

"Good lord," Bitty whispered as he leaned back in his seat in shock and took an unsteady breath. "I thought Kent had nefarious purposes bein here but instead Kent is just here for his husband, and you're upset that he's not pining after you anymore."

Jack's eyes widened as he stared down at the wooden planks of the front deck. He slowly shook his head. "No."

"Jack," he continued to whisper. His face felt hot, and he scrubbed at his eyes which had begun to burn.

"This has nothing to do with how I feel about you, Bits," Jack insisted. "I love you. It's just that my past with Kenny is complicated. I just thought –"

"Thought what?" Bitty asked, a sinking feeling in his stomach. "You thought Kent Parson was just always gonna be there waitin for you?"

"No," Jack shook his head and lord almighty Bitty hated how confused Jack appeared.

Bitty turned away from him and let himself stare into the darkness past the front steps. The sun had set, making it nearly impossible to see the water, but there was a light at the end of the dock, and he focused on it. His heart was pounding, and he let himself feel what felt a little bit like heartbreak for a moment, even if Jack wasn't trying to separate from him.

"Maybe," he stated slowly, "you and I should talk to a marriage counselor when we get back." He side-eyed Jack before fully turning his head to meet his eyes. Jack's attention was at least back on him again.

Jack nodded. "If that's what you want, I'll do that."

"You did lot for me this week, solnyshko," Alexei murmured before planting a kiss to the back of Kent's neck. He was spooned around Kent in their bed that night, stuffed full of pirozhkis and gratitude.

Kent twisted in his arms so he could face him. "Well, yeah, Alyosha. You're, like, one of my top five favorite people."

Alexei rolled his eyes. "So happy to make your short list."

Kent grinned and ran his fingers through Alexei's hair a few times. "This week wasn't just for you anyway, it was for us."

Alexei chewed on his lower lip. "But we not have same issues when we hang out with your Aces. I know you have past with Jack but bring you here anyway. Want tell me why you were upset after talk with him outside tonight?"

"Not really," Kent murmured, ducking his eyes down and away from Alexei's gaze.

"He hurt your feelings?" Alexei prodded.

"Jack and I are not…" Kent trailed off. Yes, Jack had hurt his feelings, but he'd hurt Jack's feelings in their history, too. "We've been okay for most of this week, but we're not really friends, and that's okay. And I don't want your relationship with him to suffer."

Alexei scooched himself further down the bed, forcing Kent's eyes back to his face. "You at top of my short list," he said, knowing it would make Kent smile a little. "I'm not happy with him if he hurt your feelings, or he say rude things about us together."

There was barely any space between them, but Kent managed to scoot a little closer to him and kiss him. "I know, but you don't have to worry about this."

Alexei hummed a noncommittal sound. He'd seen Kent and Jack talking on the porch earlier and had left them alone, thinking maybe it was good that they were having a one-on-one. But then Kent had come back to their bedroom red-faced and angry and had jumped into the shower without saying much, and Alexei had regrets about leaving him alone with Jack.

"Saw you talk to Snowy on dock, too." Snowy was an unexpected twist in the dynamic of their group this week and yet another issue that wasn't present when they hung out with Kent's Aces. "That okay?"

"Yeah," Kent nodded. Alexei noted he spoke with a lot more conviction about this being okay than when he talked about how things went with Jack. "I know the place he's in and its not fun," Kent continued. "Did you have any idea before?"

Alexei shook his head. "Called me oblivious, which… But was just best friend. Never think…"

Kent ran his hand up Alexei's arm, squeezing as he went until he could also squeeze the back of Alexei's neck. "Are you two going to be okay?"

Alexei nodded. "He say sorry about ruining our announcement. And that he still want to be friends and not make things weird."

"That sounds promising."

"We go on boat with Marty and Jack while you are working with Bitty, and it did not seem weird, so okay so far. Snowy also say that you are nice guy. Thank you for talking to him." He returned the kiss Kent leaned in to give him before saying, "This is why I say you do lots for us this week. Means a lot to me. I love you very much, Kent."

"I love you, too. I'm glad you're happy because I feel like my presence caused some waves with everyone this week."

"Waves not always bad. Waves fun on lake."

Kent huffed a laugh. He was used to Alexei's optimism and appreciated it.

BuzzFeed

Kent Parson and Ellie St. Martin helped co-host an episode of Eric Bittle-Zimmerman's cooking show, and how do we start a petition that they appear in more episodes?

Due to Parson's quips (describing pirozhki as a hot pocket or asking Bittle-Zimmerman if he'd actually packed a bow tie for a week at a lake house?), Ellie's disdain at the ingredients and constant cheese thievery, the competition for who could roll the most balls of dough, Kent throwing in random ingredients and then pointing the finger at Ellie as the culprit, and Bittle-Zimmerman's cheery demeanor despite the shenanigans of the other two, this is an episode you'll want to bookmark and share with friends. Although, considering the view count increases exponentially every day since posting, maybe you already have. Either way, we'd love to see more of this dynamic, please and thank you.

It was Bitty who had texted this BuzzFeed article to a group chat he had going with just Kent and Alexei. His caption attached to the message read: We'll plan ahead for next year's show. 

Kent had his doubts that he and Bitty would ever be staying in the same house for a week again – whether that was because Jack and Bitty opted out or because he and Alexei would – but he was willing to see how the upcoming year went. It'd be the first season all their friends would know about their relationship, and if Alexei wanted his traditional Falcs vacation without any changes to the guest list next summer, Kent would go along with whatever he wanted. The most important part to Kent would be that Alexei was there, too.