Coach Bombay slammed the door to their locker room shut, immediately silencing the half of the group who was celebrating the win. The other half was huddled around a pale looking Julie to see if she was going to be alright.

"Well we got the win," Gordon began and then raised his voice, "but what happened out there!? Portman you deliberately cross-checked that guy right into your own goalie! There was no reason for that, the game was over. That's not the way the Ducks play hockey!"

"I know, I'm sorry coach," Dean quickly stated, "it was intense out there and bodies needed to be cleared, I was doing my job."

"You need to pay more attention to your surroundings," he advised with a stern gaze then rounded on the rest of his team, "what happened to our offense tonight? Other than Moreau we looked half asleep out there. Someone want to explain? You guys haven't been staying out past curfew again, have you?"

"We did all we could coach," Charlie stepped up for his teammates, "Germany was hungry and their defense is one of the best in the tournament."

"Alright, alright," Gordon allowed, "for some of you I have new training plans I want you to follow. Charlie is right, Germany wanted this win tonight. I know we did to, and we got it, but we looked sloppy. Okay, I'll go over everything more tomorrow. Now Julie," he came and kneeled before her, "how are you feeling?"

She nodded and tested her body by shifting and mentally thanked her teammates who already helped her get the heavy goaltending pads off. Letting out a deep breath she told her coach, "Just had the wind knocked out of me, I think I'll be okay."

Bombay nodded and spoke in a lower voice, "Julie I need to speak with you, come on let's go find an empty office."

Just as she predicted, Coach Bombay found out about her relationship with Gunnar. She just hoped that he wouldn't make her stop seeing him. Or worse tell her parents, it was a blessing in disguise that they were going through a nasty divorce and were to busy to really worry about her. And especially when she was clear across the country and out of their hair.

So she trailed after her coach still in her hockey shorts, socks, skates, and under shirt. All she wanted was a shower and maybe to have Gunnar hold her for a while in the hot tub, yes that sounded just perfect right about now. She was sure to be sore tomorrow after the strain her body went through for the win tonight. He led her down the hallway and opened a door for her to enter a small office first.

Her eyes widened when she saw Gunnar already there with Coach Stanssen. Gunnar stood as soon as he saw her and moved to her, putting his hands on her shoulders lightly and forced her to stare into his eyes, "Are you alright?"

Julie nodded and even smiled in reassurance, "I'll be sore, but okay." He released her and together they eyed their two coaches who were now standing side by side, "So, what's going on?"

She could have sworn she saw a hint of a smile on Wolf's face but it was Gordon who gestured for them to sit before them. Then the coaches sat together and it was silent for a moment. Finally Bombay spoke up, "It has come to our attention that the relationship between the two of you has become, err, personal. Is that true?"

Gunnar grabbed her hand and squeezed, "Yah."

Julie savored his silent support by keeping her hand in his, "Yes."

Stanssen cleared his throat, "How long has this been going on?"

"Long enough, coach," Gunnar told him.

Wolf shook his head; Gunnar had always been a favorite of his. He had natural talent and was intelligent enough to question his at times unorthodox methods of coaching. It was Stahl that helped change and improve their team as a whole. In fact, Wolf was only wondering how long they had been dating because in the past week he'd noticed how much Gunnar's level of play had improved. There were times where the kid was simply performing at a professional level, he had everything it took to be an elite. And if this Julie The Cat was the reason why, he was not about to tell them to stop seeing each other. "Calm down Gunnar, we won't put a stop to what's going on between you. We talked it out and decided on a few things."

Bombay nodded while Julie shared a quick glance with Gunnar, both hardly believing their coaches talking and agreeing on anything. Gordon picked up as he stared at his player, "For one thing Julie, I'm going to let Goldberg start when we play Iceland in four days."

"What!?" she looked at her coach in disbelief, "But why? I've been playing well, haven't I? We haven't lost a game or ended in a tie yet. I won't lose focus when we play the Vikings."

Gunnar nodded in agreement, "We also talked about this and promised to play our best when facing each other. Out of respect alone for the game and our countries."

Julie intertwined their fingers, "Its true coach. We may be in a relationship," she barely blushed at the admission, "but that doesn't mean we can't play against one another."

Gordon and Wolf shared a look and Stanssen was the one to speak up, "We know you are both competitors with natural talent, no one can doubt that. I think we just needed to see you two were focused on the competition and not each other, do you understand?"

The two players nodded and Bombay told them, "Goldberg is starting against Iceland; however," he spoke before Julie could interrupt, "this is still only the trials and I need to see how he will perform. If we do meet the Vikings in the rounds then you'll get the start Cat."

She sighed and had to accept the compromise. Stanssen nodded to them, "Now get out of here."

Gunnar kept his hand on her back as he escorted her to the temporary Ducks locker room. They entered and found that everything had been cleaned out except for Julie's belongings.

She sat on the bench with a huff and slightly flinched as a small ripple of pain nagged at her side. Gunnar sat beside her and gently placed a hand over her ribs, "I wanted to destroy Portman for hurting you again." He smiled softly as their eyes caught and his other hand came up to caress the side of her face, "Are you sure you are fine?"

"It hurts," she admitted then leaned closer, "but if you kiss me I'm sure I'll feel better."

"Julie, Julie," he lightly pecked her nose, "are you flirting with a Viking player?"

She giggled, "Just shut up already." And he did just that by quickly taking her lips with his own. A thrill went through her heart as he groaned aloud at the feeling of their mouths moving together. There would never be getting tired of his lips fused with her own, he just felt so good in everything he did to her.

Eventually he pulled away, kissing her lips one last time before telling her to, "Just relax, I'll get the rest of your stuff in your bag."

Julie nodded and took her time removing her skates and socks. She did have to eventually go into the adjoining storage room to change and by the time she returned he had everything ready to go. He took her folded clothes she wore for the game and packed them into her bag as well. Then he pulled his bag behind him and took his free arm around her waist and together they left.

It was nice to be taken care of so thoroughly. Gunnar knew she was fully capable of handling her own bag and walking on her own, but he liked doing these things for her. Julie probably didn't realize just how much she meant to him, but he would show her, little by little. She was the reason for the good in his life lately, without her he didn't want to think of where he or his team would be. Maybe it was silly that one significant save in a championship game could affect so many people, but Gunnar didn't care, he was happy with the way things had turned out. He was especially happy since it meant that Julie was his.

When they reached her hotel room they found Connie there with Charlie, Adam, and surprisingly Olaf eating some pasta ordered in from room-service. Julie hugged Adam when he told her he went ahead and ordered a dish for them. After they all ate, Julie jumped in the shower while everyone else went to get their swimming gear ready to relax for the rest of the day.

Both girls dared to don their bikinis again and they were joking with each other as they stepped out into the pool area from the top of the hotel. Other than Charlie and Adam it was empty. So they took their time to take off the clothes they wore over their suits and rubbed sun lotion into their skin. Just as they were about to jump in Gunnar and Olaf finally showed up. Connie went ahead and got in while Julie waited for her guy. Olaf was quick to put their towels down and jumped in the water.

Gunnar grabbed Julie from behind and whispered in her ear, "You look amazing but you better get in that pool, only I should see you wearing this."

Julie blushed deeply and Gunnar felt satisfied to see just how far down that lovely flush of hers went. Laughing at her, he pulled her into his arms to carry her. He had one arm tucked under her knees while the other supported her back. He took his time to walk to the deep end and together they jumped right in. They started to kiss under the water, and were still lip-locked as they reached the surface. A few whistles were heard and Julie felt Gunnar's sudden grin against her mouth at being caught.

It wasn't long before Gunnar got them both out of the water and he led her to the hot tub. He knew she was sore from what happened in her game earlier and just wanted her to relax. For a while Adam had joined them and the three made small talk. Gunnar could see just how good of friends Banks was with his girlfriend. It wasn't something to be jealous over; he was glad that she had someone else to look after her. Not that he didn't trust her to take care of herself he knew she could be feisty when the time called for it. Soon though Adam was called back into the pool to even out some game the others were playing.

Julie sighed and closed her eyes when she felt Gunnar move closer to her. He told her to relax and let the heat work on her muscles. When he pulled her into his lap though, she opened her lids to gaze at him questioningly. This was the first time they ever sat like this and while it was quite intimate she felt how wonderful it was to be this close to him. And when his hands began to gently massage her shoulders he officially became the perfect guy in her mind. Well, he did have a few flaws, but who was she to complain? It wasn't like she was perfect either.

Gunnar heard her mew like a little cat and he smirked, "My little kitty, kitty." He felt her amusement as her body softly shook against him; he then cradled her in his arms and rest his head against her shoulder. For him this was a perfect moment and he never wanted to let her go.

Grey eyes met sapphire blue and soon their mouths were teasing one another. The sounds she made from the back of her throat were getting to him and his tongue gently probed her lips, seeking entrance to the soft warmth of her mouth. And with the meeting of her velvet tongue he released his own moan of approval. She tasted so good, she felt so good, and over and over again their lips and tongues danced as one.

Julie felt Gunnar's hands pulling at her hair, trying to get her as close to him as possible. Was it possible to feel so much, to feel this cherished and wanted? Her own hands were grabbing at his long sandy blonde hair. They had never kissed so passionately like this before. New feelings and awakening desires lit her body aflame. If this was a dream she never wanted to wake from it. She gasped slightly when she felt his teeth softly nibble at her bottom lip.

Gunnar forced himself to pull away from her, his breathing was deep and heavy. Both of their hearts were rapidly beating and he saw the inner glow in her eyes. They had to stop before getting too caught up in the ever growing feelings running between them. For him it was a year of wondering, of unknowingly yearning just to see her again. And deep down he knew it was the same for her. But they had time, he would do this right.

He wanted everything they shared together to be special. She was worth it.

A/N **Blu - Ah yes, embrace the fluff because this story is filled with it, possibly even too much but at this point I'm sticking to my guns *pun intended*. Again, just want to thank you all for reading and reviewing!