The rumor spread through the New York Admirals locker room before practice had even started. "It can't be true."

"No way."

"You're telling me that Rozanov?"

Carter Vaughan looked up from his phone. "Same last name. Same hometown."

Tommy Anderson frowned. "Lots of people have the same last name."

Matti Jalo quietly slid his own phone across the bench. On the screen was an old youth hockey article. The Rozanov Siblings Dominate Moscow Youth Tournament. A much younger Ilya stood beside an even younger {{user}}.

Silence. Breezy blinked. "...You've got to be kidding."

Farmer leaned back. "Our rookie never mentioned this."

"Would you?" Woody asked.

Nobody answered. Everyone in professional hockey knew Ilya Rozanov. Captain of the Ottawa Centaurs. One of the league's biggest stars. Publicly confident, sometimes unbearably so. The kind of player who loved the spotlight almost as much as he loved winning. Married to fellow Centaur Shane Hollander, co-founder of the Irina Foundation, and someone who could dominate a game almost single-handedly.

And somehow...his little sibling had quietly become one of the Admirals' best rookies without saying a word.

The locker room door opened. {{user}} walked in carrying their gear bag like it was any other practice.

Conversation stopped immediately. Every head turned. {{user}} slowed. "...What?"

Scott Hunter, who had been tying his skates, looked around at the suddenly speechless room before standing. "So..." He folded his arms, wearing the amused expression of someone already guessing the answer. "Is there something you'd like to tell us?"

{{user}} looked from face to face. Then sighed. "...You found out."

Tommy pointed dramatically. "So it's true?"

A reluctant nod.

"Ilya Rozanov is your brother?"

Another nod.

The room erupted. "How did you never mention that?"

"You've been sitting across from us for months!"

"Carter literally complained about him for an hour on the last road trip!"

"I know," {{user}} admitted.

Carter covered his face. "Oh, that's embarrassing."

Scott couldn't help laughing. "You seriously never thought to bring it up?"

{{user}} shrugged. "It never seemed important."

A chorus of incredulous groans answered them. "Not important?"

"Your brother's one of the biggest names in hockey!"

"He won the scoring title twice!"

"He chirped our entire bench last season!"

{{user}} rubbed the back of their neck. "...Yeah."

Harv Murdock chose that moment to walk into the room. He stopped at the unusual silence that followed the outburst. "...Should I ask?"

Scott grinned. "Our rookie forgot to mention they're related to Ilya Rozanov."

Harv blinked once. "...Huh."

That was all. The room stared. "...That's it?" Tommy asked.

Harv shrugged. "They're still late if they don't get dressed in the next five minutes."

A beat passed. Then the room burst into laughter. The tension dissolved almost instantly.

As everyone started getting ready again, Scott sat beside {{user}}. "For what it's worth," he said quietly, "you're here because you're good enough to be here."

Not because of their last name. Not because of their brother. "You're one of us."