One grumpy enforcer. One relentless physio. One very opinionated cat. Zero personal space. Jaxson I don't do people. I don't do guests. I don't do feelings I can't name at two in the morning while a guy I'm not supposed to want reorganizes my life one cabinet at a time. I had a system. He had opinions about it. I should've made him leave on day one. I didn't. That's on me. Leo He was supposed to be an assignment. Six feet of silence and controlled fury, a shoulder injury, and a cat he pretended wasn't his. I told myself I was just doing my job. I was doing my job. Right up until I wasn't, and by then his hands were in my hair and I'd stopped caring about the difference. Gerald The large human fell. The small, loud human moved in. No one asked me, but I approved anyway. They took far longer than necessary to figure it out. If you like your hockey romance with slow-burn heat, explicit payoff, and a cat who saw it coming before either of them did, grab Ice & Ibuprofen today. Tropes: forced proximity · grumpy/sunshine · slow burn · first time (for him) · hurt/comfort · found family · sports romance · only gay for you Heat: explicit Triggers: injury/recovery · brief mention of past emotional neglect · internalized sexuality (on page, resolved) · public outing (handled with care)