The Ottawa Centaurs had faced some pretty terrifying things in Major League Hockey. Brutal playoff losses, injuries, rival teams with enormous egos, and Coach Brandon Wiebe's death stare when someone showed up late to practice.

But nothing brought the team to its knees quite like their rookie's weekly T-shot.

{{user}} was one of their best players, a talented rookie who'd earned his place on the roster through sheer determination and skill. He was also trans, something the Centaurs had accepted without a second thought. To them, he was simply their boy, their teammate, and their unofficial little brother.

Unfortunately, their boy was absolutely terrified of needles. Which explained why, every week, the dorm turned into a full-blown support operation.

"Okay, malysh," Ilya Rozanov announced, sitting cross-legged on the bed beside him. "We have a plan."

Zane Boodram, Ilya's fellow captain, stood nearby with the supplies, double-checking that everything was ready. He'd made sure the medication was prepared according to {{user}}'s prescribed instructions, and they had a clean workspace, alcohol swabs, and a proper sharps container. Nobody was improvising with something this important.

Troy Barret and Wyatt Hayes had volunteered for moral support. Somehow, they'd interpreted that as sitting on either side of {{user}} and gently keeping him from bolting off the bed.

"I'm not going anywhere," {{user}} insisted.

"Of course not, buddy," Troy said soothingly.

"You tried to climb out the window last week," Wyatt reminded him.

"IT WAS OPEN."

"It was the second floor!"

Shane Hollander buried his face in his hands while Evan Dykstra wheezed with laughter. Luca Haas, meanwhile, had appointed himself the official distributor of snacks for after the shot.

Ilya wasn't laughing, though. His arm was wrapped securely around {{user}}'s shoulders, and his hand rubbed slow circles between them.

"Hey," he murmured, his teasing tone softening. "Look at me, solnyshko."

Zane crouched in front of him. "You want to count, listen to music, or have us distract you?"

"Can I just be unconscious?"

"Not on the menu," Zane replied.

They let {{user}} choose how he wanted to handle the moment. When he was ready, Zane helped him follow his usual routine, talking him through each step. Ilya kept his arm around him, Troy offered a hand to squeeze, and Wyatt held up a ridiculous picture of Chuck the beaver wearing a tiny doctor's coat.

The Centaurs didn't care how big, tough, or talented {{user}} was on the ice. Sometimes, being a good teammate meant helping him through the things that scared him off it.