Cat Groupie And Fanfic Addict

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Progress.

This is inspired by a post by @troy-barrett-love I don’t know if I’m ever gonna fully write this fic but I need to get the thoughts out of my head. If anyone else wants to steal this pls do.

So as we all know Curtis is a pos with a significantly younger wife. It’s really not a crazy leap to imagine him having a basically replacement kid with her after Troy comes out and he realizes Troy is a “failure”. Now in my head this kid is a boy for the ultimate angst of it all (Curtis getting his do over in this new son). I’ve been calling this kid Curtis Jr. or CJ for short, idk it just feels like it fits. Then timeline wise I’m setting this about 13-14 years post Role Model, Troy is freshly retired, he and Harris are childfree, instead they just have animals.

Okay now that I’ve set the scene a bit. Troy just finished his final season, he’s starting at settle into things when he gets a call from a Vancouver area code. It’s a social worker calling about Troy’s little brother, he’s been removed from their father’s custody (dealer’s choice on why). And first of all Troy is freaking the fuck out this all because what the fuck??????? He has a brother????? There’s a huge scramble to prepare a room for CJ and since it’s a move between provinces and a pretty significant move at that they’re also communicating with a social worker in Ottawa specifically to make sure everyone is acceptable. Then when Troy and Harris finally meet CJ he’s basically just what Troy was like in the beginning of Role Model but worse. Because I imagine that Curtis decided that what went wrong with Troy was that he didn’t exert enough control over Troy, so he’s going to fix that mistake with CJ. So CJ has internalized just as much bullshit at 13 as Troy did at 25.

Maybe CJ is taken because Curtis decides that he was too soft on Troy and the abuse isn’t just emotional. But CJ doesn’t know any different—his mom is almost as bad as Curtis in the selfish-person-that-shouldn’t-have-kids department, so he had no refuge the way that Troy did.

But let’s think about Troy 15 years in the future from Role Model. He’s been captain of the centaurs, has been lauded as being a positive change in the hockey world with his philanthropic work (not just the Irina Foundation but also continuing his work with organizations that support and advocate for victims of SA). He and Harris are child free but they billet the occasional rookie and have at least two fosters at any given time. He has at least one pride themed tattoo, he and Harris have various bumper stickers that are all positive/pride adjacent. He’s been in therapy for over a decade and has the tools to live the type of life he wants to—Curtis no longer factors into any of his decision making, until he really, really does.

And god, CJ is such a shit and Troy doesn’t know how to handle it. CJ is a dick to everyone, but especially Troy and especially Harris. It’s worse with Harris bc he’s still as loud and proud as ever—there’s no mistaking him as anything other than a gay man, whereas Troy fits more of the “Curtis approved” mould.

I have so many questions! Does CJ play hockey? Let’s say yes, but he’s never had the innate talent that Troy has. He’s a hard worker, he’s a good player, but he’s nothing special. So what if Troy didn’t know he has a while ass sibling, while CJ grew up in Troy’s shadow, always measured up against his successes and his failures. Held to a higher standard but also never able to match up. So he holds a lot of resentment for Troy, and now he has to live with him???

"Yuna," he says, shifting his elbows on the table to point at it. "What is this on his hand? Was broken?"

Shane's head snaps up from across the table, where he's pretending that Photo Album Time is very boring to him and not worth paying attention to. He hasn't scrolled on the article he's pretending to read for over five minutes.

"I never broke a bone as a kid," he says, brows furrowed. "Not until U13, when that fucking kid from Guelph--"

Yuna and Shane both inhale quickly through their noses in what Ilya has learned to recognize as a moderative measure, lest they start yelling about something that everyone else on Earth has forgotten about.

"No," Yuna says, once her face looks a little less intense. "No, it wasn't broken. It was this...contraption that the dentist gave us to correct his thumb-sucking. He was so mad about it, we only put it on him a few times."

"Oh, Jesus," Shane mutters, eyes going back to his phone.

"Aw," Ilya says. "Poor baby Shane." He taps his finger against one little red cheek and laughs. "You really do look so mad, sweetheart. How did you make him stop?"

"Hmm...you know, I don't remember," Yuna sighs, tilting her head. "I guess he just stopped by himself eventually. Do you remember, Shane?"

"No," Shane says, shortly.

"Of course, that didn't get rid of the oral fixation," Yuna sighs, adjusting her reading glasses as she flips the page. "The things you used to chew on, Shane. Pens and straws and--"

"Mom," Shane snaps, while Ilya vibrates beside him. "Can we not?"

"I was afraid to give him popsicles because I thought he would gnaw on the sticks until he got a splinter in his stomach."

"Mom!"

"Well, honey, it's true! And you did outgrow it eventually, so it's not as if you have to be embarrassed."

"Oh, you did?" Ilya says, shoulders shaking. "You outgrew the, uh, oral fixation?"

"Stop," Shane hisses.

"Mm. Excuse me." Ilya stands from the table and sweeps out onto the back porch, though the sliding door does nothing to prevent the sound of his guffaws from floating back into the kitchen.

"You know," Yuna says, "I'm just going to assume that this is some kind of language barrier thing--"