~~~~~~~~~~

*2 Years later...

~~~~~~~~~~

"Mr Jones?! Mr Jones?!"

Adrian was wiping off the sweat on his head as he turned towards the reporters and flashing lights that were capturing his attention.

Stepping closer towards them, Adrian smiled politely as he gestured for the first reporter to talk to him.

"Carolynne Tanning, Sports Network. First of all I would like to congratulate you on your first victory as a part of the Penguins. How does it feel to win your first game."

Adrian laughed as the adrenaline was still flowing through his body. "Excuse my language, but it's fucking amazing! I couldn't have done it without my team of course, and Coach Taylor has always been our rock."

With more people calling out his name, Adrian pointed to the older man dressed in a grey suit.

"Bob Harfood, representative for the National Men's Hockey League. You've been identified by many other reporters and journalists as a rising star in the industry. With your team's first win in a major league under your belt, do you have any advice to younger stars who hope to be in your place someday?"

Adrian paused as the spotlight was still on him, making him think of an appropriate answer that others could eventually look up to. "Actually my teammate Jetson gave me some advice a few years ago that stuck with me ever since. It was all about keeping dedication to the sport I loved with a passion, and having a support system that would help me everyday."

Seeing Jetson walk past them all in the locker room, Adrian smiled back at him and waved.

"Jaxon Heathers, journalist for Out Magazine. Rumour has it that you are a LGBT+ person. With claims of you being in a homosexual relationship, can you care to comment on your lifestyle?"

Adrian stood proud as he smiled back at the journalist. "Yes, I am gay and in a loving relationship with another man."

Writing it down in his notepad, the journalist spoke again. "Jaxon Heathers again, journalist for Out Magazine. Now that you've confirmed the rumours, you're bound to gain quite a fan base not only for your skills, but as a LGBT+ person who has made a name for themselves. Could you please comment on what it's like being gay, and how it's been since you joined the team?"

Nodding his head, Adrian took his time to think of a diligent response. "I'm just being true to who I am, and I'm not ashamed to stand proud as a gay man. Ever since I joined the team, everyone has been supportive since I never hid the fact that I am gay. And as my career begins to rise, I hope that people look up to me one day for not just being 'the gay hockey player', but just as 'a hockey player that is also gay'.

Adrian chuckled a little when he heard a round of applause from some of his teammates and the reporters. He scratched the back of his neck as he stood slightly awkwardly.

Looking at the crowd of reporters that were still trying to get his attention, Adrian grinned stupidly at a particular person who held a microphone right in front of his face.

"Adam Hanes, local sports analysis, commentator and best friend. Where's your fiancé?"

Adrian pushed aside his shirt slightly so he could grab the ring that was tied to a chain around his neck. Holding it in his hand, Adrian admired the wedding band that showed their commitment towards each other.

"Somewhere in the locker room, I think?" Adrian answered as he saw Adam wear a mischievous grin, still teasing him about his relationship for so many years.

Adrian laughed again when he realised Jaxon Heathers wanted to ask another question. "Last one from you..." Adrian joked as everyone laughed.

"You said that your fiancé might be in the room, is he a player also? And one more question after that, how do you make it all work?"

Enthusiastically nodding his head, Adrian was looking for the brown haired pretty boy that captured his heart many years ago.

"Not only do I get the pleasure to play with my fiancé every day, but I also get to spend the rest of my life with him. We always manage to make it work no matter what, and the years we've spent together have been, undoubtedly, the best years of my life. And that's why we're getting married."

More questions were flooding in as everyone wanted to get more information about Adrian and his relationship. The questions stopped when a person escorted Adrian away from the reporters, giving them privacy in the locker room.

"You are such a dork..."

Brody instantly smiled as he celebrated their team's victory by passionately kissing his fiancé , holding Adrian in place as they spotted their lips together.

Adrian stopped Brody from pulling away by pushing him against the lockers gently, ignoring the wolf whistles from their teammates as the eager kissing continued.

"That's one way to celebrate our team's victory..."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Leaving the locker room, Adrian felt ecstatic when he had some fans waiting for him outside. The younger kids were eager to take a photo with Adrian, and ask him to sign several items that they will keep as precious memorabilia.

After receiving several tokens of appreciation from the parents, Adrian dropped everything he was holding when he saw his own mom.

"You're back!" Adrian yelled as he jogged forward to her.

Embracing her son in a tight and loving hug, Sally then took a hold of Adrian's face so she could study it. "Sorry I haven't been to your games lately, but that's what happens when you travel the world."

When Adrian first heard that his mom and his aunt were travelling the world for the whole year, a part of him was devastated that she wouldn't be able to be around as much anymore.

But Adrian knew that it would be selfish to not let her continue exploring her own life. And with Brody's wisdom and presence by his side, Adrian let his mom fly the nest which they called home.

"I didn't know you would be back!"

With one more squeeze, Sally let go as she escorted him out of the hallway. "I had to make it to your first game. And as much as I would love to see more, we're going to Thailand in a couple of days. So, I wanted to spend what time I had left here with you and my future son in law."

Adrian covered his ears when Sally began squealing loudly and at an extremely high pitch. She was just as excited to find out about the engagement like everyone else, but it was impossible for anyone else to be as happy as Adrian was when Brody popped the question.

"I would love that." Adrian told her as they left the building together.

"Don't forget us!" Ashley shouted as she made her way out of the car.

With her stomach the size of a watermelon, Adam hugged her sides as they walked towards Adrian and Sally.

"Ashley! Look how big you've gotten!" Sally squealed as she gently put her hands on Ashley's belly.

Smiling with the group, Ashley reached for Adam's hand and grabbed it. "Not long now until our baby boy joins the world."

"You should be putting your feet up!" Sally motherly scolded. "Come on, you should be taking it easy in your condition."

Adam agreed as he pointed out they were all meant to be meeting up to have a family dinner right about now. "Let's eat already. She's eating for 2, and my son is already eating like a champ!"

Ashley looked around and saw that Brody wasn't with them. "Where is he?"

As if he heard his name being called, Adrian got a text message from Brody himself. Reading it in private, he smiled when he saw a destination that Brody texted him.

"We'll meet you guys back at my mom's house, Brody wants me to meet him somewhere first." Adrian told them all.

Kissing his mom goodbye, Adrian waved at them as they were all driving away from him. Now alone, Adrian grabbed his belongings and headed towards the destination.

~~~~~~~~~~

Adrian became nostalgic as he walked back into Craftswood Academy. Going through the hallway, he passed by his own locker that was given a different coat of paint. The displays on the wall still looked the same, but the trophy case was now full of awards and photos of the different generations of Ravens.

Following Brody's plans to meet him at the stadium, Adrian looked on as the spotlight in the stadium pointed over his fiancé, who was standing in the middle of the ice rink.

A goofy grin was displayed on Brody's face as he stepped closer towards him. Meeting him halfway, Adrian walked towards Brody until they were both on the ice together.

"Why we meeting here?" Adrian laughed as their legs were wobbly from their sneakers slipping along the ice.

Grabbing a hold of Adrian's hand, Brody twirled him around so he was now hugging him from behind. "Tonight we won our first game together, and because it's so special I thought we could also go back to where it all began."

Adrian looked at the wall from where he stood after first seeing Brody. At the time he didn't understand what he was feeling, but there was a pull that was unknowingly drawing him to his future husband. Adrian didn't know, but his biggest rival would eventually become his greatest ally in life.

"I couldn't take my eyes off you..." Adrian whispered as he felt his waist get tightened by Brody's grip. "I first saw you, and I thought you were this pretty boy that was way too handsome and charming."

Brody chuckled as he kissed the side of Adrian's neck. "And I saw you as this cute and sexy guy, who made me laugh when he ran into the wall like a dork."

Adrian playfully jabbed Brody in the sides, whose response was to laugh even harder at his fiancé. "Remind me, why am I even marrying you?"

Brody span Adrian around so they were now facing each other. Resting his arms against his shoulder, Brody leaned forward to rest his head against Adrian's head.

"Because you're crazy for me, like I am for you."

After a quick peck on the cheek, "I mean that's what you said in the interview earlier, right? That was a part of your wedding vows wasn't it?" Brody joked.

"Oh please, my wedding vows will knock your socks off." Adrian answered back with the competitive nature accidentally bursting through.

Adrian knew exactly what he was going to say to Brody on their wedding day. He felt it for a very long time, and he couldn't wait to say it out loud in front of his friends and family, to love this man for the rest of his life.

"We have 2 weeks until we get married, you want to back out yet?" Adrian teased.

Brody's smile was bursting through his face as he shook his head. "I knew I was going to marry you ever since I first saw you in a suit. After everything that happened between us back then and now, I vowed to myself that you would be wearing a suit when I stand next to you at the alter..."

Closing the distance between them, Adrian leaned in to capture Brody's lips in a sensational and passionate kiss, that made their knees weak as they buckled under the emotional weight of standing in front of the person they were going to marry.

With a involuntary moan coming out from Brody, time was non-existent as they got lost within each other's loving embrace.

They only broke apart when the smile on Adrian's face made it too difficult to continue kissing. "Nope, not finished yet..." Brody whispered as he pulled Adrian back for another gentle and affectionate kiss.

Dragging his lips away from his fiancé, Adrian laughed it off as he then moved to stand by Brody's side. "Let's go home first, Ollie's waiting for us to pick him up. And then we can see everyone at my mom's after."

Nodding his head, "Lead the way, future, Mr Jones-Sinclair..."

With their hands now clasped together, the golden ring on their fingers clinked as they lovingly walked back home, ready to conquer their future together.

From rivals, to friends and lovers, to teammates and fiancé, Adrian and Brody were ready to spend the rest of their lives together - surrounded by the people they cherished the most in their personal happily ever after...

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Author's Note: And that's a wrap folks! The story has come to an end, and I can now officially change this story's status to complete.

I hope the ending was satisfying enough for everyone - they were always going to have a happy ending. There was only so much I could wrap up, and I'm personally happy with how this has all ended.

I'm planning to start a new story tomorrow, but there will be no connections or spin-offs to this one because I thought it ended perfectly enough that it didn't need anything else extra.

I hope you all will give it a chance when it comes out, and I will post a link with more details and descriptions as another chapter from this story when the first chapter is up.

With this story now being finished, thank you all for reading my story! I hope you liked it, and I hope to see you all in my next one.

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