~ CHAPTER TWO ~
Olaf was the first one to wake up the following morning, letting out a deep sigh as he automatically tightened his grip on the body in his arms, pulling his lover closer to his side.
Guy mumbled, rubbing his cheek against Olaf's shoulder, but remained soundly asleep.
Gunnar on the other hand woke up, instinctively missing the warmth of Guy's body once it had been removed from his side. He blinked a couple of times, clearing the sleep from his eyes, before he focused on the image of his two lovers curled up together in front of him.
"Olaf?" he murmured softly as he caught sight of the blonde's expression. "What's wrong?"
"We go home today," Olaf responded sorrowfully. "We go home to Reykjavik, Iceland, he goes home to St Paul, Minnesota. Can we continue our relationship from so far apart?"
"Whas goin' on?" Guy mumbled sleepily, arching his back like a cat begging for a tummy rub and rubbing at his eyes as he woke reluctantly. "S'it time t' get up now?"
"Olaf and I have been thinking…"
"Dangerous…"
"After today ve vill be going home and there vill be many, many miles between us," Gunnar and Olaf sat up slowly as Gunnar talked, crossing their legs Indian style. Guy, frowning worriedly, moved to sit on top of the pillows as the other two faced him. "Ve…ve vant to know if you vant to try and keep vat ve have at the moment going ven ve are so far apart?"
Every single piece of improvement he had made on his English over the past few weeks seemed to have turned back as he grew more nervous, his W's all comings out as V's.
"…do you want to keep it going?"
"Yes," Gunnar said with a nod, his hair falling into his eyes as Guy looked to Olaf, "Yes."
"Then I would very much like to keep what we have going," Guy announced somewhat breathlessly as he offered them a shy smile. "We can stay in contact by phone and by email and even by snail mail. And we can visit of course, I'll get a weekend job so I can buy at ticket, you can share my room when you come to visit…if you want to come to visit that it…"
His voice trailed off as he realised just how much his mouth had run away with him.
"Of course ve vill visit!" Olaf cried out sincerely. "As often as ve can afford to!"
"Olaf and I plan to get an apartment of our own ven ve finish school. You vill always be velcome there," Gunnar explained softly, reaching out the run his knuckles along Guy's jaw gently. Guy leaned into the touch with a goofy smile on his face. "Now ve haf a little time before we must get up and go to our teams. How vould you like to spend that time?"
"Well I can think of one way I'd like to pass the time," Guy murmured, his smile becoming more flirtatious as he crawled across the bed, ending up in Olaf's lap. "If you're up for it…"
"I like the sound of that…"
Guy ended up being the last to arrive at the locker room due to the fact that his "playtime" with Gunnar and Olaf had gone on a little bit longer than they'd anticipated.
He was pretty sure that his lovers would be the last to arrive in their own locker room too.
His friends gave him a look as he ducked into the room and quickly began stripping out of his street clothes, especially the boys in his room. Out all-night and late to the locker room?
They all knew something was going on with him, what with him admitting that he'd been going on "dates" with someone but, quite understandably, they all thought that it was girl.
Last he'd heard Fulton and Portman were taking bets on which of the figure skaters it was.
In the end he had to avoid the subject of his night-time activities three times in the time it took him to change into his kit from three different people; Portman, Fulton and Connie.
Connie had been the hardest on to deal with.
"So…I hear you've got a girlfriend?"
"Um…"
"It's just…the boys said you've been staying out all night with some girl but they wouldn't say who so…who is she? Is it…it's not Julie, is it? Not that it's any of my business if it is…"
"You're right, it's not any of your business."
"…are you having sex?"
"What if I am?"
"Then why didn't we…why couldn't we…"
"I wasn't ready then…"
"But you are now?"
"Yes."
She'd looked away awkwardly and the two of them had continued to get ready in silence.
It was at this precise moment that the door swung open unexpectedly and Adam walked in carrying his duffel bag in one hand and his hockey stick in the other, calling out for Coach Bombay as he made his way into the room with a single-minded determination.
"I woke up and the pain was gone."
His announcement was accompanied with a demonstration, dropping his bag and holding out his stick in his previously injured arm and rotating it, first one way and then the other.
Not a single trace of pain showed in his face.
A loud cheer went around the locker room but Guy was watching Bombay.
His face had just fallen.
"Adam, I'm sorry but we already have a full roster."
They couldn't help it, the teams eyes went from Adam to Russ in an instant.
Their newest teammate sighed deeply, his eyes falling to the floor as he began to pull of his jersey, the jersey which he had been so proud of since putting it on for the first time.
Charlie reached out and stopped him before he could actually pull it off.
"He can have my spot," Charlie's voice was a little thick as he stepped forward, making his way over to Adam and Bombay. "If it's what I can do for the team, let me do it."
Reaching out Adam touched his shoulder in an almost apologetic thanks, receiving a comforting hand on his waist, of all places, in an obvious show of reassurance.
"Charlie," Bombay sounded almost proud as he smiled across at Charlie, reaching out to give his shoulder a squeeze. "I need you on the bench, coaching. Right there with me."
That got the biggest cheer yet.
Checking his kit one final time Guy stepped out ono the ice, following the rest of his team as they settled into their usual warm up routine. As surreptitiously as he could he glanced towards the other end of the rink, his eyes searching out the familiar figures of his lovers and a brilliant smile appeared on his face as he caught them doing exactly the same thing.
Once they were finished warming up the team head over to their bench where Bombay was waiting for them, encouraging them to gather around him in a circle and put their hands in. Sharing cheerful grins the team obeyed, laying their hands on top of each at the exact same time that the Iceland team formed their own huddle on the other side of the clear barrier.
"Heads high, stand tall, fly straight…" Bombay chanted, smiling around at his team. "USA…"
"ALL THE WAY!"
The crowd responded to their synchronised voices by cheering wildly, almost completely drowning out their opponent's cry of "IIIIIICELAND!" and then it was time for the starting line-up to take their places on the ice. Guy chanced a glance across at his lovers as he took his place, the three of them sharing an encouraging smile before settling into game mode.
It was a brutal first period in more ways than one.
Coach Stansson was using his player's bigger size to their full advantage, encouraging them to be as violent and brutal as the game would allow and as such Guy and his friends were taking agonizing hits and falls almost constantly all over the ice, some of which really hurt.
One in particular hurt him more than any other, Olaf checking him into the boards with enough force to drive the air out of his lungs. The emotional pain he felt was no less painful, his brain reminding him of their agreement not to treat each other any differently.
It was shortly after that that the Iceland team managed to score the first goal of the game, one of their players actually tripping Goldberg in order to get themselves an empty net.
It was Olaf who sneered down at Goldberg's prone form,
"Hey, too slow big boy!"
Guy looked away, ashamed for his lover.
Gunnar was looking away too.
It was just like last time; Olaf was getting too far into Stansson's way of playing.
Mean.
He was so focused on his boyfriend that he nearly jumped a mile when Bombay's voice assaulted his hearing, not having noticed the Coach moving to stand beside him,
"Line change!"
A hand grabbed his shoulder.
"Guy, Jesse, Russ," Coach Bombay murmured down at the three of them. "You ready?"
"Yeah."
Contrary to his response Russ sure as hell didn't sound ready.
"Get out there."
Unfortunately for them changing the line-up didn't seem to make a blind bit of difference.
Russ managed to get hold of the puck at one point but he lost it just as quickly, missing his chance to even the score between the two teams. Shortly after that Adam was sent on, managing to get hold of puck only for something truly unbelievable to happen…
"Olaf…" Guy breathed in shock as he watched Olaf deliberately target Adam's bad wrist, coming to an abrupt halt beside Gunnar who appeared to be in a similar state of shock.
They shared a brief glance before they moved apart, heading for their respective teams.
"Hey, Ref, why don't you call something for crying out loud?" Bombay demanded angrily as Guy skated past the team bench, gesturing towards Olaf. "He almost took his arm off!"
In the end Olaf was led over to the penalty box by the harassed looking referee.
"That'll be two minutes son."
"Two minutes?" Olaf sneered loudly, offering the ref a smirk. "Well worth it."
"Get in the box you big goon!" Ken, of all people, snapped at Olaf as he passed the penalty box. Guy couldn't blame him. He'd known that Olaf got way too into a game, or more specifically in Stansson's way of playing a game but deliberately going after an earlier injury?
That just wasn't on.
Apparently Gunnar thought so too if his look of disgust was anything to go by.
Guy followed Adam to the bench and watched Coach helped the injured skater to a seat as he took his own, taking a drink of water from one of the many water bottles. Bombay took Adam's helmet off for him as the boy took off his glove, staring down at the injured wrist.
"I'm ok," Adam announced a little breathlessly.
He seemed as surprised as everyone else that he hadn't been injured a second time.
"You sure?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. He just hit the pad," Adam tried to reassure them, his voice as firm as he could make it. Bombay looked like he didn't believe him and with good reason. "Really."
Adding his voice to the cacophony of voices expressing their concern for their friend and teammate Guy only quietened down when Bombay spoke up once more after a long pause.
"Way to hang in there Adam, great playing."
Much to everyone's disappointment the game continued to go from bad to worse for Team USA. Dwayne lost the puck due to his idiotic showmanship and Iceland made a break for it but Luis, the only player who was anywhere near fast enough to catch them, tripped over his own skates, sending him crashing into the player just as the puck glided into the net.
"Show me the Flying V!" Bombay called out in desperation, obviously hoping that one of their tried and tested plays would succeed in breaking through the Iceland's line. "Let's go!"
It didn't work.
The Flying V was completely destroyed and the Vikings scored again.
It was a relief to every single member of Team USA when the buzzer went off, signalling the end of the period. It was even more of a relief to be able to rest and regroup in the privacy of their changing room, guzzling water and debating tactics in an effort to raise their spirits.
Stepping out onto the ice for the second time it quickly became painfully obvious that Olaf was still very much stuck in his "Coach Stansson approved" game mentality, taking out as many players as could with several barely legal moves which somehow got past the referee.
Averman attempted to use his usual tactic of chatting his opponent to death but as the opponent in question was Gunnar it came as no surprise to Guy when it didn't work.
Then it was the Bash Brothers turn to take on their rivals.
"Party!"
And party they did.
Guy watched from the bench with an eager smile on his face as they took out player after player, as they bumped their chests together, as they behaved just like themselves.
And boy did they have the crowd behind them.
Goldberg received a huge cheer when he managed to stop the next attack on his net.
It was at this point in the game that Charlie proposed a crazy new style of play.
Gone was the familiar "thinking outside the box" thinking that Bombay had encouraged them to embrace, now it was time for Charlie's "thinking in a whole different universe."
Just like he'd been instructed to by his friends Ken got hold of the puck, launching it across the ice towards Fulton before he set about using his figure skating skills to distract the Iceland defence line as he launched himself over the top of them with practised ease.
Grinning from ear to ear Fulton passed the puck back to Ken who ducked around the stunned defenceman before using his credible hockey skills to send the puck passed the equally stunned goalie and into the back of the neck, the buzzer sounding instantly.
"What d'you think of that?" he challenged the frustrated goalie. "Pretty sweet huh?"
Throwing down his stick the goalie tried to grab hold of Ken but the younger boy darted out of his way smirking as he proceeded to pull the move that Russ' brother had taught him during their friendly game of street hockey, adding in a few punches for good measure.
It was as impressive as the goal itself had been.
"What are you doing out there?" Stansson's angry voice pulled his attention away from Ken's moment of glory. He turned his head, frowning as he saw both Gunnar and Olaf wince as their coach physically dragged them down onto the bench by their shoulders. "Wake up!"
Ken was sent to the penalty box for "unsportsmanlike behaviour" which unfortunately had the side effect of setting the Bash Brothers off. They worked together, taunting the Iceland team as they skated past their bench, smacking the tops of their helmets as they passed.
To say the Icelanders were pissed was an understatement but…well…they deserved it.
Soon enough they were in the box too, cheering wildly and climbing the walls alongside Ken.
"Olaf!"
Guy glanced across just in time to see his lover jump to his feet, standing perfectly still even as Stansson grabbed his helmet and screamed at him, punctuating each word by dragging Olaf's head around in a move which would have been termed abusive had Bombay ever dreamed of doing something like that to one of his players before shoving him onto the ice.
Anyone could see the way he had zeroed his focus in on Connie as she stepped onto the ice.
Before he could even think of warning her Charlie moved, gently grabbing hold of her arm.
"Connie, be careful out there, they're gunning for you."
Unfortunately for them Connie was notorious for not taking warning as seriously as she should and shrugged off his hand, glancing back at them over her shoulder.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine."
She wasn't fine.
Olaf took her out moments after the puck was dropped and laughed down at her.
It was painful to sit there and watch his lover become the same monstrous stranger he had unwillingly transformed into the last time they had played under the orders of his Coach.
And then the game reached a whole new layer of crazy.
Connie intercepted the puck but got stuck trying to get it off the boards, trying to free it with both her stick and the blades of her skates but nothing worked. Laughing loud enough for everyone to hear Olaf made a showing of lining himself up before starting towards her at such a speed that he really would have done her serious harm had Dwayne not interceded.
Their resident cowboy grabbed the length of tightly woven rope he kept with him as a good luck charm, hopped out onto the ice without even putting on his helmet and proceeded to lasso Olaf just as he had lassoed all of them in training although with Olaf he pulled the rope tight, stopping the older teen in his track moments before he crashed into Connie.
Chuckling softly Guy watched as Olaf was pulled backwards, landing on his back with a thud before letting out a startled cry as Dwayne used the rope to pull him back across the ice.
"Get up there!" Dwayne shouted, his accent thickening if that was at all possible as he pulled Olaf up to feet, his arms still trapped to his sides by the rope which was still wound tightly around his chest. "Where I come from we treat ladies with respect!"
"Thank you, Dwayne," Connie smiled across at her boyfriend as she abandoned the puck by the boards in favour of moving to face off against Olaf. "But I'm no lady, I'm a Duck!"
The crowd let out a small cheer when she reached out and shoved Olaf as hard as she could, sending the much larger teen falling back onto the ice once more just as the referee arrived to lead Dwayne over to the penalty box, taking hold of the southern teen by the arm.
Dwayne laughed happily, looking over his shoulder at Connie as he was led away.
"Way to go, you little filly!"
If the smile that she sent his way as she obeyed Bombay's order for her to return to the bench was anything to go by then there was a pretty good chance that 'little filly' was her pet name and Guy shuddered as, unbidden, his mind wondered if he called her that during…
Ew. No, not going there. Definitely not going there.
"I'll get you!" Olaf cried out angrily, struggling to get back to his feet and follow her but the length of rope kept tripping him. Eventually Gunnar went over, taking pity on him and helped him out of the rope just as Guy stepped onto the ice. "I'll get you, you filthy little…"
"Olaf, calm down love," he murmured quietly, squeezing his lover's elbow. Guy skated past them on purpose, meeting their gazes quickly. The second period ended soon after and the two teams retired to their changing rooms for a much needed and well-deserved breather.
As soon as he reached the locker room Guy grabbed one of the clean towels, wiping the sweat from his face and neck as he took his seat in front of the locker he'd used that day.
"You all enjoy that?" Bombay asked as she strode into the changing room, looking around at the team who were either guzzling water or wiping themselves down like Guy. The response he received was loud and cheerful, everyone still hyped up from Dwayne's moment of ridiculous glory and Ken's spirited attack on the tough looking goalie. "Ok, well, so did they. Because they're still three points up and we're one period away from defeat."
And there went the good mood of the team as the heavy thoughts settled in.
It was Jesse who responded first from where he had just stripped off his hockey jersey,
"Well if we can't beat them we might as well keep our pride."
"Jesse, that's not pride," Bombay sighed deeply, looking around at each member of the team, his expression torn. "Sure when Dwayne roped that big oaf part of me cheered."
Guy flinched, ducking to hide his expression as he fought from defending his boyfriend despite the other teen's despicable behaviour on the ice. Only one person called him on his flinch and that was Connie who had taken the seat beside him but he brushed off her silent concern by gesturing at the cut he had received to his left eyebrow during a nasty scuffle.
She responded by grabbing one of the little first aid kits scattered around the room, opening it up and retrieving an antiseptic wipe which she used to wipe away the drying blood.
"But guys I've been there, I know how you feel. I wanted to cream that jerk that busted my knee when I played in the minors. And I really, really wanted to go after Stansson for that cheap shot," Bombay continued, his gaze flickering to where Connie was now using a strip of microporous surgical tape to temporarily close the wound. He offered her a nod of approval before continuing with his speech. "But you know what? My knee will heal. But if I become someone I'm not, if I sink to their level…then I've lost more than my knee. You understand?"
"Yeah…"
"We're not goons, we're not bullies. No matter what people say or do we have to be ourselves," Bombay concluded, pausing to point towards Portman. "You, who are you?"
Like he didn't already know…
"Dean Portman."
"From where?"
"Chicago, Illinois."
"You?"
It took Guy a moment to realise that Bombay had gestured towards him this time.
"Guy Germaine."
"From where?"
"Er-"
It was slightly worrying that he genuinely had to think about where he was from, his hand reaching up to push against the edges of the tape on his eye as he finally formed his answer.
"St Paul, Minnesota."
Bombay's hand moved so that he was pointing to Jesse.
"You?"
"Jesse Hall from Minneapolis, Minnesota."
Next Bombay gestured towards Julie who had yet to set foot on the ice in a single game.
"Who are you?"
"Julie Gaffney from Bangor, Maine."
Bombay pointed at Luis who, unlike all those before him, stood up as he answered.
"Luis Mendoza, Miami, Florida."
And that started it, Bombay didn't even have to point at them anymore, the remaining players volunteering the information eagerly and jumped to their feet when they did so. Guy, along with all of the others who had offered up their answers before now, stood when their friends did and purely by accident Guy found himself standing when Connie answered.
"Greg Goldberg, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania."
"Les Averman, Brooklyn Park, Minnesota."
"Fulton Reed, Still Water, Minnesota."
"Russ Tyler, South Central, Los Angeles."
"Charlie Conway, Minneapolis, Minnesota."
"Ken Wu, San Francisco, California."
"Connie Monroe, Minneapolis, Minnesota."
"Adam Banks, Edina, Minnesota."
"Dwayne Robertson, Austin, Texas."
That was it, all the players in the team had spoken but it didn't end there. Miss McKay, the plucky young woman who had begun these games as nothing more than their tutor but was ending them as one of their assistant coaches and most loyal confidantes stepped forwards.
"Michelle McKay, Duluth, Minnesota."
Coach Bombay's shot her a thankful smile before grinning broadly towards his loyal team.
"And I'm Gordon Bombay, Minneapolis, Minnesota."
Unsurprisingly the teams response to this final statement, Guy's included, was to break out into rapturous applause punctuated with wild cheers much to their coaches approval.
"We're Team USA, gathered from all across America," he announced once the cheering had calmed down somewhat. "And we're going to stick together. D'you know why?"
A deep voice answered before any of the players could even try to come up with an answer, drawing all of their attention to the grey hair man who had come all this way to help them.
"Because we are Ducks," Jan stated from where he was stood. "And Ducks fly together."
"That's right, Jan," Coach Bombay agreed brightly, offering the kind-hearted man who had helped him to regain his senses when he'd lost himself to the spectacle and the fame a smile over his shoulder. "And just when you think they're about to break apart…"
Guy and his fellow teammates needed no prompting to finish their coach's sentence.
"Ducks fly together!"
"And when the wind blows hard and the sky is black?"
This time it was McKay who spoke up, moving to join Bombay and Jan whilst offering the team a smile which no doubt would have made most of the boy's heart thump wildly. He was pretty sure it would have done the same to him too, once upon a time, but the only smiles that made his heart jump or his stomach clench were Gunnar and Olaf's.
"Ducks fly together!"
"And when the roosters are crowing and the cows are spinning circles in the pasture?" Dwayne asked eagerly, looking around at his friends and teammates who made confused noises and looked at him strangely. Connie blushed at her boyfriend's strange tendencies.
"Ok…" Bombay laughed, waving his hands to get the team to join in,
"Ducks fly together!"
"And when everyone says it can't be done," Bombay finished seriously. "Ducks fly together."
Evidently Bombay had reached the point of his pep talk, and he was right. Everyone was saying it couldn't be done. Everyone said we'd never be able to beat the un-beatable team.
"Now new Ducks and old Ducks must unite ender a new banner," Jan spoke up, smiling broadly as he reached down to unzip coat. "And I thought perhaps something like this."
As they stepped out onto the ice in their new uniforms, so completely and utterly different to the ones they had been wearing for the first two periods of the games, the crowd reacted with outcries of surprise and approval as they realised exactly what had happened.
The Mighty Ducks were back.
Of course Stansson was not happy, he could be seen arguing with the referee, his hand gestures big and angry. Guy searched for Gunnar and Olaf with his eyes and when he found them both of them gave discreet thumbs up while tugging on their own black jerseys.
He couldn't help chuckling to himself as he joined his friends skating round the ice as a quick warm-up before the final period. Their opponent's best players liked their new jerseys.
"Come on in Ducks!" Bombay called out, gesturing for them to gather around their team bench. "The referee's just explained that there's no rule about changing uniforms and surprise, surprise Stansson is pissed. He thought he had a way to win the match early."
The team chuckled at that.
"Now, everyone's hands in," Bombay instructed. "Quack! Quack! Quack!…"
"…Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack! Gooooo Ducks!"
Oh, yes, the Mighty Ducks were definitely back!
The Iceland teams generic cheer of 'Iceland!' had absolutely nothing on theirs, especially not when it had to compete with the crowds impromptu rendition of "We Will Quack You!" which he hadn't heard since they'd won the Peewee Championships back home.
Focusing on the game he mentally cheered as they won the face off but then he found himself in the thick of it, Ken passing the puck his way. Looking quickly he found only Connie open and so he willingly passed it to his ex-girlfriend and cheered as she managed to score.
He wasn't the only one who cheered, either, but who could really blame them?
Their opponents get hold of the puck and no matter how hard the Duck's worked they couldn't stop them from making it across the ice and taking a shot at the Duck's goal.
Only there was Goldberg, pulling off a spectacular dive in order to stop them scoring.
It was brilliant but unfortunately the next time they got a chance to score again they succeeded, Gunnar using his considerable skills to get past all of their defences and deliver the puck to the back of the net. Their supporters, what little there were, went wild over it.
Having yielded another goal it was decided that it was time for them to implement another one of the utterly insane plays Charlie had spent his time coming up with. Just like their earlier play utilising Ken's figure skating skills this latest play shouldn't have worked.
And yet it did…
Adam successfully passed the puck to Dwayne, the cowboy instantly launching it up into the air with enough force that it landed in exactly where it was meant to directly in front of the stunned Iceland goalie which meant that, even though Adam was tripped up before he managed to get to it, it bounced in of its own accord after passing between the goalies legs.
"Impressive…"
Smiling after Gunnar who had cut him off in a move which had appeared mean but had in fact been an excuse to get close enough to his younger boyfriend so as to be heard over the celebrating crowd Guy fought to school his expression into a neutral expression before returning to his position as the referee called for the game to continue.
After their goal the game got rougher, a lot rougher.
He was thankful that neither of his lovers were on the ice when he finally managed to get hold of the puck and ducked behind the back of their own net in a desperate attempt to avoid the worst of the Icelanders bearing down on his position with murder in mind.
It didn't work.
He was just starting to look for someone to pass the puck to when one of the many Icelanders reached him, ducking down so as to drive his shoulder into Guy's stomach. A grunt of pain burst out of his mouth as his body was launched involuntarily into the air, flipping over the larger player before crashing down onto the ice with back breaking force.
"Ugh!"
Oh…
That had hurt…
It took him a long moment to recover from the painful incident, during which time Luis had managed to dart forwards and snatch the puck away from the Iceland player who had hit Guy before taking off towards the opposite end of the rink at a terrifying speed.
Clutching a hand to his aching stomach Guy watched in horror, anticipating the violent crash which usually accompanied the other boy's attempts to score only to be completely and utterly surprised by the impressive halt that Luis pulled off, spraying ice all over the goalie.
"I stopped!"
None of them could blame Luis for looking so shocked by his own achievement.
Bombay laughed loudly before calling out,
"Put it in, Luis!"
Responding instinctively Luis did just that and the audience went completely wild, the cheering becoming almost hysterical as the stunned teen was mobbed by his teammates.
Guy was relieved when Bombay called him off so that Russ could take his place, his body aching more than he would have liked following his run it with the Iceland player. He sat with an arm wrapped around his stomach and watched as Russ, within moments of stepping out onto the ice, was pinned by three of their opponents. A smirking Olaf was one of them.
"Time out! Time out!" Bombay called out loudly, making the well-known 'T' signal with his hands. He then went on to gesture for everyone on the ice, Goldberg included, to gather around the bench where Guy and all of the others were waiting. "Listen up, this is what I want to do. I want someone, anyone, to get the puck and I want you to get it to Goldberg."
"Me coach?" Goldberg asked, understandably confused.
"Technically," Bombay chuckled. "Russ, think you can stand being goalie for a few minutes."
Offering them a grin Bombay chuckled once more when the two loud mouths of the team hurriedly obeyed his instructions to swap jerseys, pads and sticks while their giggling teammates huddled around them, pretending that Bombay was still explaining something to them in order to hide the unusual move currently being pulled by their team.
Guy found himself back on the ice for this strange play, successfully winning the puck from his opponent in the initial face-off, and after realising that there was no way he could get the puck to "Goldberg" he chose instead to pass it across to Luis. It turned out this was a good decision as only seconds later he was knocked down hard by one of the Icelanders.
Thankfully Luis managed to get the puck across to "Goldberg" who had skated forwards away from the net, a wave of confused murmurs spreading throughout the crowd. Of course these confused murmurs transforming into wild cheering as "Goldberg" removed his helmet, revealing who had really taken to the ice for their latest attempt at a goal.
Averman hurriedly passed his stick to the undercover sharp shooter and before the Icelanders could react shot his now legendary knuckle puck straight into the opposite goal.
The buzzer signalling the end of the period sounded almost immediately after the goal was recognised and it wasn't just the crowd that went wild, the Duck's did as well.
They had done it!
They had come from behind to tie the game meaning only one thing – a shootout.
"Ok, Ducks, we have a chance to win here," Coach Bombay told them seriously as they gathered around their team bench, looking around at each of their eager faces. Everyone wants to be given a shot but only five of them would be given the opportunity to defeat their rivals. "I've chosen the five of you that were best at scoring consistently in training."
It couldn't have been easy for him to make such an important choice in so little time.
"Jesse," he finally announced his first choice, looking towards one of the most outspoken members of their team who nodded in acknowledgement, his expression serious. "Guy."
Guy jumped a little in surprise when he heard his name come out of his Coaches mouth.
"Yeah, coach?" he asked automatically, realising seconds later that it was a stupid thing to do as his friends laughed, nudging him in the side as they rolled their eyes towards him.
"You're up second."
"Oh…" Guy mumbled, frowning as he looked over towards his lovers and saw Stansson shouting at his team whilst pointing out five of them, Gunnar and Olaf included. "Ok…"
"Dwayne, you're third. Fulton, fourth," Bombay continued in his much gentler manner, nodding towards both of the boys in question. "And Adam, you're last. Do us proud Ducks."
The knowledge that he was up second left him a nervous wreck for the duration of Jesse's triumphant moment on the ice, his friend celebrating loudly as he returned to the bench while the first of the Iceland players took his place on the centre line facing Goldberg.
"Fantastic effort, Jesse!" Bombay congratulated him as he returned. "You're up next, Guy."
Unfortunately for them Number 74, Scheving, successfully managed to get the puck past Goldberg's defence with an admittedly impressive move leaving them tied at one all.
All too soon it was his turn to take to the ice.
Trying to ignore the pressure being put on him by the crowd and by his team he prepared for his shot, choosing to skate up to the puck instead of kicking it like Jesse had before him.
He also decided to go for a simple shot instead of something fancier to impress the scouts.
What did it matter to him if the scouts liked him?
In the end it came down to luck. Keeping his eyes focused on the puck he dragged it across the ice before launching it towards the goal, coming to a halt as the goalie tried and failed to catch it with his glove. The buzzer sounded. The board recording the score changed.
He'd done it.
Literally sagging with relief he made his way back towards the team bench, smiling around at his friends as they cheered and hugged him, some of them patting him on the back.
The second Iceland player, a monster of a young man whose name was Briem according to his shirt, took his shot whilst Guy was pulling of his helmet and miraculously he failed to score, Goldberg's save causing just as much cheering as Jesse and Guy's goals had.
Sadly Dwayne's attempt at scoring, following some of his usual fancy puck/foot/stick work which at that point was more annoying than impressive, was thwarted by the Iceland goalie.
Olaf skated out next for Iceland and Guy found himself torn between his loyalty for his team and the love he felt for his boyfriend, knowing how important it was for the older boy to impress the scouts so as to get into Reykjavik University like he and Gunner wanted to.
Half of him wanted Olaf to score and the other half wanted him to miss.
In the end he closed his eyes, turning his head away from the action and didn't watch.
His team-mates unhappy grown was enough to let him know that Olaf had been successful in his attempt to score even before the buzzer had gone off confirming it once and for all.
Fulton was up next. This meant they had a one in four chance of getting ahead of the Iceland team, both teams currently having two goals to their name in the final shootout.
He lined up his shot and Guy couldn't blame the Iceland goalie for looking a little nervous.
After all who wanted to face up against one of Fulton's slap-shots but to give the goalie his dues he stood there, he didn't flinch away to the point that the puck actually struck him in the centre of his forehead, knocking him onto his back with the puck falling into the goal.
He'd done it. They were ahead again.
Now they just needed to stay that way…
And so when Stefan, the owner of the number five jersey for the Iceland Team, managed to get the puck past Goldberg and into the back of the net there was a huge sigh of disappointment even as the Iceland supporters let out a cheer as they equalised the score.
"Come on, Adam," Charlie muttered from his spot behind Guy as they watched their friend nervously making his way out onto the ice, rotating his wrist slowly before him with his stick held tightly in his hand before finally gliding to a halt. "You can do it. I know you can do it."
Adam took a deep breath before beginning his attack and Guy found himself holding his breath alongside everyone else as he watched his friend launch the puck towards the goal.
Fingers were crossed.
Silent prayers were issued.
A triumphant roar spread throughout the crowd as the puck sail past the goalies glove, hitting the back of the net before falling to the ice with a triumphant thud. Adam's handsome face was split with a broad grin as he hurried to join his friends on their bench.
All they had to do now was stop Gunnar from scoring and they'd won the game.
Keeping his glance as discreet as possible Guy looked over towards where the third member of his unusual relationship was preparing to step onto the ice, his coach barring his way with a hand placed in the centre of Gunnar's chest. He couldn't hear what Stansson was saying to his star player due to the noise of the crowd, not to mention the distance and sheet of glass between them but there was no doubt in his mind that it was anything but supportive.
"Julie," Bombay called out softly, drawing Guy's attention back to the people around him as Julie turned to look at their coach. "You've got the fast glove. I know this kids move."
Guy bristled on his boyfriend's behalf at hearing him being called 'this kid' but managed to refrain from pointing out the fact that he deserved to be known by his name, Gunnar.
"Triple deke, glove side," Bombay explained simply. "Anticipate it and you got him."
Julie frowned.
"What if he goes stick side?"
"He's fancy. He'll go glove. Don't hesitate," he ordered her, smiling as she nodded seriously. Julie hadn't been given the chance to show the world what she could do until now and there was no way she'd be giving this moment anything but her best. "Let's go!"
Guy watched, biting his thumbnail nervously, as Julie skated out to replace Goldberg in front of the net while Gunnar waited impatiently on centre ice, chuckling softly to himself.
Did he think she couldn't do it because she was a girl?
Guy felt a little anger swell inside of him at that thought but it was quickly replaced with the more likely thought that Gunnar was probably nervous and was trying to hide his nerves.
Turning his head he looked across at Olaf who met his gaze for a long moment, the fire fading rapidly from the older teen's eyes now that his part in the game was over and Stansson had stopped pressuring him, before they turned their attention back to Gunnar.
Julie wasn't the only one counting his dekes as he finally made his move towards the goal.
One…
Two…
Three…
He shot the puck towards the goal…
Julie's glove came up and, much to everyone's shock, the buzzer remained silent.
With a simple move she flipped the puck out of her glove onto the ice, confirming once and for all that Gunnar Stahl had not scored and that the United States of America had won.
As one the crowd went completely insane.
"We did it!" Connie screamed beside him as their friends and teammates began rushing out to join Julie on the ice, throwing her arms around him. "I can't believe it! We've won!"
Turning away from him she threw herself towards her boyfriend, kissing him soundly on the lips as Guy jumped the barrier and skated out to join the chaotic celebrations on centre ice.
Julie was quickly swept up into an enthusiastic hug which devolved into little more than a team bundle which Guy purposely kept out of, looking over at his lovers instead. Stansson was literally screaming in Gunnar's face, obviously blaming him and him alone for the fact that they'd lost the game, but Gunnar visibly squared his shoulders and stood up to him.
Turning his back on his seething coach Gunnar looked across towards Guy, offering him a smile before miming shaking hands as he and Olaf led their team out onto the ice.
"Guys!" he called out to his friends over his shoulder. "They want to shake hands."
Ever the good sports the Ducks hastily formed a long line, mimicking their downtrodden opponents, and Guy heard the frantic clicking of the various reporter's cameras as the two lines moved along so that they were all able to shake hands, one after the other.
When Guy finally reached Gunnar he pretended to stumble and fell against the taller teen.
"An hour's time, your locker room?"
"We'll be there."
Guy paused at the door to the Iceland locker room, suddenly wanting to just leg it and not have to deal with the emotional goodbyes. But he couldn't do that to them and so, taking a painfully deep breathe, he pushed open the door and stepped inside the familiar room.
"Guy…" Olaf breathed loudly as he crossed the room and then Guy found himself pressed back against the wall by his lover's body as the taller teen all but devoured his mouth.
Guy moaned, his hands fisting in his lovers blond hair as a thigh was pushed up between his legs. They kissed passionately for a few moments, hands roaming freely, Guy grinding his body against the muscled thigh until all of a sudden the body in front of him disappeared.
He would have fallen to the floor had it not been for Gunnar, the person who had gently pulled Olaf out of the way, pressing his body against Guy's and stealing his own kiss.
"I don't want to go…" Guy mumbled against Gunnar's lips. "I don't…"
"No talking now," Gunnar ordered softly, his strong hands lifting Guy up and encouraging Guy to wrap his legs around his waist. It reminded him so strongly of their first wonderful time together that his breath seized in his chest and tears welled up in his eyes.
He really didn't want to go home!
"No thinking either," Olaf ordered as Gunnar carried Guy over to where they had made up a bed of freshly laundered towels. He'd obviously seen Guy's face. "For now…just feel..."
Olaf helped Gunnar lay him down on the towels and then they were striping his clothes off gently, kissing his soft skin as they exposed it. They batted his hands away when he tried to remove their clothes, sending him looks that clearly told him to wait even though they said nothing. Soon Guy was naked and Gunnar's mouth trailed kissed down the centre of his chest, down his stomach until the plump lips wrapped themselves around his erection.
"Oh God!" Guy gasped as he always did, his back arching on the towels, his hands grabbing for something, anything to hold onto. Olaf chuckled and took Guys hands in his own whilst stealing the younger teens lips in an even more passionate kiss than before, bringing more moans from the younger teen as he struggled to pull his hands free. "S'not fair…"
"Vat's not fair?" Olaf asked as stole another kiss.
"You two…are wearing…way too many…clothes!" Guy groaned, pulling his hands free with a little more force than was necessary. He pulled roughly at Olaf's shirt, ripping a few of the buttons off and making Olaf groan against his lips. Olaf liked it a little rough. Gunnar smiled as he continued to work on his lover, his eyes on Olaf as Guy roughly pulled off his clothes, only breaking their kiss when necessary. "Much better…oh God…so much better…"
"But Gunnar's still…still vearing clothes," Olaf pointed out breathlessly, pressing little kisses across Guys chest as the American teen lay down once more. However that comment had him frowning, however, and leaning up on his elbows so he could call down to his lover,
"You're right…Gunnar! Why are you wearing so many clothes?"
A playful grin spread out on Guy's face that was matched by the one on Gunnar's face as the bigger teen back away from the two on the towels and began to strip, ever so slowly…
But once he was naked everything sped up, the three of them coming together in a rush of pleasure and pain and emotion and sweat. Curled around each other, pressing kisses to shoulders and necks the three of them caught their breath, holding on tight to each other.
All three were thinking the same thing, how were they going to survive the on-coming separation? Guy took a deep breath, pressing his face into Gunnar's neck as the tears began to fall, tears he'd been fighting back since the game had ended so long ago.
"Don't cry, elskan…" Gunnar murmured, his own voice trembling suspiciously as he gently tilted Guy's face up to him so that he could kiss the tears away. "It vill be ok." (sweetheart)
Guy shook his head and pressed his face back into Gunnar's neck, more tears falling, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably. Olaf became a human blanket then, kissing the back of Guy's neck while Gunnar stroked Guys still slightly damp and deliciously soft hair.
"Sorry…" Guy mumbled after a little while, leaning back out of their embrace so as to look up at the two of them, wiping away the last of his tears. "What time do you leave?"
"1am," Olaf answered softly as he stroked the warm skin of Guy's back, drawing random pictures with his fingertips. It sent a shiver running up and down his spine. "Vat about you?"
"8pm."
Reaching across to their pile of clothes Gunnar picked up his watch.
"Forty-five minutes," he said quietly, "Haf you packed already?"
"Yeah. Shoved everything into my bag after I got changed just now," Guy answered, biting his lower lip as even more tears fell from his red-rimmed eyes. "I don't want to go home…"
"Neither do ve but you know ve must," Gunnar murmured, wiping away the fresh tears. "You haf your school and ve haf ours and then trials for the Reykjavik team. All planned."
"Stupid school…" Guy muttered petulantly. "Stupid plans…"
"I know," Gunnar sighed deeply, stroking Guy's cheek gently. "But once everything has calmed down and ve able too ve vill something out that makes us all much happier."
Guy nodded, wiping at his own cheeks now and muttering angrily to himself,
"God look at me, crying like a girl."
"So are ve," Olaf pointed out, chuckling softly as he indicated the tear tracks on his own cheeks and the redness around Gunnar's. "Ve are going to miss you."
"And anyvay, it's not girly to cry," Gunnar countered, using both hands to cup Guy's jaw.
"Is."
"Not."
"Is."
"Not."
"Is. Is. I-"
Gunnar kissed the now smiling Guy to shut him up, using his body to press Guy back against Olaf's strong chest while Olaf's hands crept around to rest on Guy's taught stomach.
"Did you write down your address and phone number down for us, elskan?" Gunnar enquired softly when he finally broke the kiss only to find himself held in place by Olaf's firm grip when he tried to pull away, forcing him to continue pressing Guy in between them.
Gunnar kept one hand cupping Guy's jawline while he moved his other hand to grip Olaf's muscular buttock, giving the mound of flesh a gentle squeeze. Olaf moaned his approval.
"Yeah…" Guy breathed out his answered as a certain part of his body ended up pressed firmly against a certain part of Gunnar's body. "Oh...please…once more for the road?"
"Huh?"
"It's just a saying," Guy explained, his cheeks flushing. "I don't know where it comes from…"
"Oh…" Olaf mumbled. "Does it mean 'Let's haf sex again?'"
"In this instance, yes…"
"Good. Once more for the road!"
"I love you, both of you…" Guy murmured to his lovers after the three of them had finished dressing. "Write to me. Don't call - think of the phone bill. Just write to me when you can."
"Let us vorry about that," Olaf ordered firmly, leaving down to kiss Guy again. "I love you."
"As do I," Olaf pulled Guy into another kiss with him. "I love you."
Guy needed to leave but he really didn't want to.
He'd already technically left it too late to make it to the coach on time, giving his friends plenty of ammunition with which to tease him with as they'd all know what he was late.
"So…I guess this is goodbye then…"
"No. Not goodbye," Gunnar countered firmly. "Only…see you soon."
Guy beamed at the pair of them, reaching out and taking one of their hands in his.
"See you soon."
A/N Ok, this has had some MAJOR editing done to make it flow better with some bits being moved around, some bits being taken out and many bits corrected. The next chapter might take me a little while as I'm adding pretty much the entire third movie in as I decided to skip most of it for some reason when I originally wrote this story all those years ago. Comments & Suggestions are very much welcome. X
