Fic: Vampires: Interlude #3: Accidental Discovery
Title: Interlude #3: Accidental Discovery
Authors: Dee and Ginny 2wingsnuts
Team: Detroit Red Wings
Warnings: RPS, AU, Vampires, moresome
Pairing: Pavel Datsyuk/Henrik Zetterberg/Nick Lidstrom/Chris Osgood, Brendan Shanahan/Steve Yzerma
Rating: FRM
Summary: Shanny makes a startling discovery and chaos ensues
Author's Notes: The next in the vampire saga. For them. You know who you are.
"Steve!" Brendan called as he dug through the bag. He shoved it in his locker and went looking for his lover; he knew he couldn't be too far away. "Have you seen my--" He cut off when he saw Pavel at Steve's throat.
"Bren?" Steve asked as he opened his eyes and Pavel moved back quickly.
"What the fuck is going on?" Brendan asked slowly. "What the fuck are you doing?"
"Bren," Steve replied as he got between the two men. "Let me explain."
"I'm going to kill you," Brendan growled, leaping toward Pavel.
Pavel fell to the floor as Brendan landed on top of him; he tried to cover his head as Brendan's fist connected with his jaw.
"Brendan!" Steve yelled as two of their teammates ran into the room.
"What's going on?" Nick asked. He grabbed Brendan's arm, trying to pull him off of Pavel. Brendan broke free, clipping him with his elbow. "Shanny!" Nick grabbed him around the waist and pulled until they both fell away.
"Let me go. I am going to kill him," he hissed as he pushed against Nick.
"No," Nick hissed back. "You are going to calm down."
"Not until I've wrapped my hands around his throat.
"Bren! Listen to me," Steve ordered as he knelt next to them. He looked over to see Pavel being helped up. "It's not what you think."
"Fuck you," Brendan snarled. "Not what I think? You got your eyes closed and he's suckin' on your neck. To me it looked like you're cheating on me with him." He pushed against Nick again. "I'm gonna kill you next. How long you been fuckin' him behind my back?"
"Brendan Shanahan!" Steve roared, truly angry. "Do you really think I would do that?"
"It was that or he's a vampire. You tell me which is more reasonable!" Brendan snapped, shoving hard at Nick.
"Actually," Chris replied as Pavel leaned heavily against him. "He's a vampire."
The five men turned as the door flung open and Hank stood there, his brown eyes flashing in anger. "What's going on?" he asked, his voice clipped. He looked from Nick and Brendan to Steve before his eyes finally landed on Pavel and Chris.
"Hank," Chris started to say.
"What did you do?" Hank snapped at Brendan, fangs extended.
"He's screwin' my lover so I hit him." He shoved at Nick again. "And I'll do it again once he gets off of me." Brendan looked up and paled when he noticed the fangs. "What the fuck?"
Hank stepped over him, deliberately hitting a shoulder with his heel, as he walked to Pavel. "When was the last time you fed?" he quietly asked, anger still clear on his face.
"A week, maybe two," Pavel admitted, too tired and weak to lie.
"Steve."
"He can feed again, but I'm not leaving Brendan in the same room as you," Steve told Hank firmly. He looked past the angry vampire to see Brendan staring at them.
"Steve?"
"Bren," Steve sighed. "Look you were right, Pavel's a vampire. He wasn't hurting me and I'm not cheating on you. Now, he needs to feed or his mates are going to kill me if something bad happens to him. You can either grow up for a damn minute and let Pav finish or I can let Hank tear you apart. We'll explain better soon, just promise you won't try to go after Pav again if Nick lets you up."
"Fine," Brendan said shortly. Nick gave him a wary look but moved to let him up. He stayed by Brendan as Chris moved next to Hank after making sure that Pavel wouldn't fall.
"I'm sorry," Pavel whispered before sinking his fangs into Steve's neck. He pulled back a few seconds later and licked the wound closed.
"That wasn't enough," Hank snapped immediately.
"It's fine," Pavel told him.
"Not enough," Hank growled. "You are going to do this right or I am going to kick your ass instead of Brendan."
"I can't take much more from him," Pavel replied. "I'll take too much."
Hank growled again, spun on his heel and disappeared from the room.
"Can someone finish telling me what the fuck's going on?" Brendan asked, not moving from his spot next to Nick.
"Vampires are real," Chris said.
Brendan glared at him. "That much is obvious," he snapped.
"And you attacked our mate," Nick growled, his eyes flashing dangerously.
"He was biting Steve," Brendan argued.
"He wasn't hurting him," Chris said.
"How was I supposed to know that? What are you doing here anyway?"
"Visiting from New York," Chris answered.
"Hi Cheli," Steve interrupted, greeting the man that had walked in behind Hank.
"Hi," Cheli nodded. "What's going on?" he asked when he noticed Pavel's rapidly darkening eye.
"Nothing," Pavel replied.
"I heard you've been a bad vampire," Cheli stated with a small smile. Pavel shrugged.
"If you hadn't touched Steve," Brendan said.
Hank growled and stepped toward him. Chris reached for his arm to stop him as Nick pulled Brendan back.
"We're just going to wait outside until you can play nice," Nick told him sternly.
Brendan sighed heavily. "I'll be good. I just can't get the picture of him sucking on Steve's neck out of my mind."
"Pav," Cheli coaxed as he stepped in front of the man. "You gonna feed? Or you just gonna stand there?"
"I'll feed," Pavel said, swaying on his feet. Hank was by his side in a second, steadying him.
"Careful," he murmured. "We're going to talk about this after I kick Brendan's ass."
"You're not going to do that," Pavel told him firmly. "Thanks Cheli," he told the man before licking across his neck and biting.
"Vampires," Brendan muttered as he shook his head. "This is unreal. How come they all knew but not me?"
"Not all," Nick corrected. "Only Cheli, Steve and Tomas."
"You and Oz?"
"We're vampires too," Chris clipped as he showed Brendan his fangs. "You gonna keep trying to hurt Pavel? I'd hate to have to kick your ass if you did."
Brendan started to snap before remembering how Chris got when he was angry. "I'll behave, I promise," he sighed.
"Thank you," Pavel whispered as he squeezed Cheli's arm briefly.
"Enough?" Hank asked. Pavel nodded. "Good. We're still going to talk about this later," he promised.
"What would you like to know?" Pavel asked, looking at Brendan.
"Everything. Vampires?"
"Yes."
"For how long? How long have you known?" he asked Steve and Cheli.
"Since I was born, Hank was twenty-five, Nick was thirty-five and Chris was twenty-seven," Pavel explained.
"I've known all my life," Steve replied. "My family is chosen and the vampires come to us to feed."
"I've known for six years or so," Cheli shrugged. "Seems like forever though."
"Obviously you can be out in daylight. Garlic isn't an issue. You speak fluent English," Brendan said to Pavel who smiled smugly and nodded. "This isn't an elaborate joke? It's not a prank of Oz's?"
"No. But that's a good idea, if anyone we don't want to know ever finds out, we'll just blame me," Chris laughed.
"What else can we do to prove it? You've seen the teeth and you watched Pavel feed," Nick pointed out. "You can't possibly think this is a joke."
"I believe you," Brendan said. "I'm sorry Steve. I'm really sorry Pav. I shouldn't have assumed what I did."
Pavel shrugged as he pressed an ice pack against his face. "Next time, ask? Please? You hit like a damn wall."
"There won't be a next time," Hank growled.
"Not from me," Brendan promised.
"Excuse me for a moment." Pavel walked to Hank and pulled the growling mate close to his body before leaning down and kissing him deeply. "I'm fine," he whispered against Hank's lips.
"Just let me hit him once," Hank requested.
"No." Pavel ran his fingers lightly down his mate's cheek. "We're going to have to explain things to him. Can you handle this or should I send you and the others away?"
"I'll be fine. As long as he doesn't make any sudden movements, I'll be fine."
"Thank you, my love." He brushed his fingers against Hank's cheek again.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
"I should have hit him before you could stop me," Hank muttered.
Pavel sighed.
"I deserve it," Brendan commented from behind them. "Both of you can hit me if you want. I was an ass."
"No," Pavel said quickly. "You can't hit him Hank."
"I'll do it," Chris volunteered.
"No," Steve requested and pulled Brendan into his arms. "No one is going to hit you."
"Can I do anything else?" Cheli asked.
"Unless you want to stay and answer questions, no. Thank you," Pavel told him.
"Any time," Cheli smiled and left.
"Where do you want me to start?" Pavel asked.
"Why didn't I know?"
"It's a secret that we protect very carefully," Pavel told him calmly.
"We've been together for years. How did I not notice?" he asked Steve.
"Usually Pavel's a lot better about feeding." Steve glared at the vampire in question. "And I never told you because it's not my secret to tell. They decide who knows and who doesn't."
"And the more people that don't know protects us from people that don't understand," Nick finished. "It's not that we didn't trust you, we do, it's just that we didn't know how you'd react."
Brendan blushed. "What's going to happen now that I know?"
Pavel placed a calming hand on Hank's shoulder as he squeezed Chris' arm. "Would you do us the honor of becoming one of our chosen? Of letting us feed from you when necessary? I promise you that if you say yes, none of my mates will ever harm you."
Brendan didn't hesitate. He didn't know what exactly he was getting into, but he knew the correct answer. "I will," he promised.
"Thank you," Pavel replied with a soft smile. "Would you like to be fed from now? Or would you prefer to wait?"
"Who?" he asked, stealing a quick glance at Hank.
"I think Nick would be the best choice." Pavel nodded. "Hank's still too worked up and Chris is just starting to calm down. If you want Nick to do it, that will be fine. Or I can. Your decision."
"Do you need to feed more?"
"I am fine," Pavel told him.
"Then Nick, if you don't mind?"
"Of course," Nick agreed, stepping toward them. "Relax." he told him.
Nick leaned over and gently ran his tongue along Brendan's neck before piercing the skin. He sucked for a moment, withdrew his fangs and licked the wound closed.
"You okay?" Steve asked.
"Yeah," Brendan replied softly as Nick stepped away from him. "I didn't realize it would be so...so...gentle. Thank you for trusting me with your secret and I am so sorry that I freaked out."
"It's fine. We do understand," he told Brendan, glancing back at Hank who was once more standing just in front of Pavel, staring at them intently. "You might just want to stay away from Hank for a few days."
"Yeah," Brendan agreed with a nervous laugh. "I think I'll be hiding from all of them if Pavel's not around."
"You were looking for something when you came in here," Steve said suddenly. "What were you looking for?"
"My equipment bag. It's not in my locker, have you seen it?"
Steve smiled. "I'll help you find it." They waved to the four men before quietly stepping out of the room. "Did you check my locker?" his voice filtered through the closing door.
Pavel winced as Hank spun around and glared at him. "Two weeks!" he bellowed. "I thought I hadn't seen you feed but I kept telling myself you were doing it when I wasn't around. What were you thinking? Oh wait, you weren't. Good Lord, Pavel, what in the hell am I going to do with you, huh?"
"Hank," Pavel began.
"How would you like it if one of us did that?" Hank asked. "Maybe we should try, just so you can see how it feels!"
"My love," Pavel softly said. "I am sorry. Between everything that's been going on and the playoffs, I just didn't realize what was wrong until I stood after practice and almost fell over."
"I still can't believe you did that," Hank replied, his voice softening a bit. "You do know that I'm going to be on your ass everyday forever, right? And you deserve it." He growled and pulled Pavel close to his body. "You are a fool, a lovable fool, but still a fool. How do you think we'd be if something happened to you?"
Pavel swallowed and apologized again. He looked back to Nick and Chris, who were standing just a few feet away, waiting for Hank to finish. "Are you going to yell at me too?"
Chris laughed. "I think Hank's done enough yelling for both of us, don't you?" he asked looking at Nick.
"I believe you're right," Nick replied. "Come on, let's go home and calm Hank down."
Pavel nodded. They returned to the now deserted locker room and grabbed the last of their gear. "I love you," Pavel told the three of them as they stepped outside.
"We love you too," Chris replied. Nick only smiled softly as he opened the trunk and they tossed their belongs inside.
"Just take care of yourself and we'll be happier," Hank said.
"I will," Pavel promised. He looked at the side of his face and shook his head at the dark purple bruise on his cheek. "Homer or Cheli sleeping with anyone on the team? If they are, I think we'll be talking to a few more teammates before I end up with another irate lover trying to kill me."
"I don't know," Nick said. "But we'll find out."
"Can I check Shanny into the boards at the next practice?" Hank asked. "I'll behave after that."
"Hank," Pavel sighed. "You promise to me that you'll drop it after?" he conceded, knowing Hank would not let it drop until he sought some sort of revenge.
"Yes."
"Just don't hurt him too bad. We need him, and you, on the team."
"Of course," Hank agreed. "I'll just startle him a bit."
Pavel shook his head in resignation. "What about you two?" he asked Nick and Chris.
"We're fine," Chris told him. "We won't do anything to him."
"Fine," Pavel agreed and climbed into the car. Hank slid into the backseat beside him. "So," he started with a smile. "How was playing goalie?" he teased, patting the top of Chris' head.
"You don't play goalie, you become the goalie."
Nick snorted. "You're full of it."
"You're just jealous that I'm the goalie and you're just the lowly defenseman."
"At least I'm not crazy and think I can hear the ice."
Chris laughed, the sound lifting the mood in the car tremendously. "I don't think I can hear the ice. I know I can hear it. If you three would shut up long enough, you'd hear it too."
Pavel laughed softly and relaxed against Hank. "What did I do to deserve a goalie as a mate?"
"Something right, that's for sure," Hank replied.
Pavel nodded. He was lucky to have all three men in his life and knew that no matter what any of them said, he wouldn't trade any of them in for someone else. They were perfect and they were his.
Authors: Dee and Ginny 2wingsnuts
Team: Detroit Red Wings
Warnings: RPS, AU, Vampires, moresome
Pairing: Pavel Datsyuk/Henrik Zetterberg/Nick Lidstrom/Chris Osgood, Brendan Shanahan/Steve Yzerma
Rating: FRM
Summary: Shanny makes a startling discovery and chaos ensues
Author's Notes: The next in the vampire saga. For them. You know who you are.
"Steve!" Brendan called as he dug through the bag. He shoved it in his locker and went looking for his lover; he knew he couldn't be too far away. "Have you seen my--" He cut off when he saw Pavel at Steve's throat.
"Bren?" Steve asked as he opened his eyes and Pavel moved back quickly.
"What the fuck is going on?" Brendan asked slowly. "What the fuck are you doing?"
"Bren," Steve replied as he got between the two men. "Let me explain."
"I'm going to kill you," Brendan growled, leaping toward Pavel.
Pavel fell to the floor as Brendan landed on top of him; he tried to cover his head as Brendan's fist connected with his jaw.
"Brendan!" Steve yelled as two of their teammates ran into the room.
"What's going on?" Nick asked. He grabbed Brendan's arm, trying to pull him off of Pavel. Brendan broke free, clipping him with his elbow. "Shanny!" Nick grabbed him around the waist and pulled until they both fell away.
"Let me go. I am going to kill him," he hissed as he pushed against Nick.
"No," Nick hissed back. "You are going to calm down."
"Not until I've wrapped my hands around his throat.
"Bren! Listen to me," Steve ordered as he knelt next to them. He looked over to see Pavel being helped up. "It's not what you think."
"Fuck you," Brendan snarled. "Not what I think? You got your eyes closed and he's suckin' on your neck. To me it looked like you're cheating on me with him." He pushed against Nick again. "I'm gonna kill you next. How long you been fuckin' him behind my back?"
"Brendan Shanahan!" Steve roared, truly angry. "Do you really think I would do that?"
"It was that or he's a vampire. You tell me which is more reasonable!" Brendan snapped, shoving hard at Nick.
"Actually," Chris replied as Pavel leaned heavily against him. "He's a vampire."
The five men turned as the door flung open and Hank stood there, his brown eyes flashing in anger. "What's going on?" he asked, his voice clipped. He looked from Nick and Brendan to Steve before his eyes finally landed on Pavel and Chris.
"Hank," Chris started to say.
"What did you do?" Hank snapped at Brendan, fangs extended.
"He's screwin' my lover so I hit him." He shoved at Nick again. "And I'll do it again once he gets off of me." Brendan looked up and paled when he noticed the fangs. "What the fuck?"
Hank stepped over him, deliberately hitting a shoulder with his heel, as he walked to Pavel. "When was the last time you fed?" he quietly asked, anger still clear on his face.
"A week, maybe two," Pavel admitted, too tired and weak to lie.
"Steve."
"He can feed again, but I'm not leaving Brendan in the same room as you," Steve told Hank firmly. He looked past the angry vampire to see Brendan staring at them.
"Steve?"
"Bren," Steve sighed. "Look you were right, Pavel's a vampire. He wasn't hurting me and I'm not cheating on you. Now, he needs to feed or his mates are going to kill me if something bad happens to him. You can either grow up for a damn minute and let Pav finish or I can let Hank tear you apart. We'll explain better soon, just promise you won't try to go after Pav again if Nick lets you up."
"Fine," Brendan said shortly. Nick gave him a wary look but moved to let him up. He stayed by Brendan as Chris moved next to Hank after making sure that Pavel wouldn't fall.
"I'm sorry," Pavel whispered before sinking his fangs into Steve's neck. He pulled back a few seconds later and licked the wound closed.
"That wasn't enough," Hank snapped immediately.
"It's fine," Pavel told him.
"Not enough," Hank growled. "You are going to do this right or I am going to kick your ass instead of Brendan."
"I can't take much more from him," Pavel replied. "I'll take too much."
Hank growled again, spun on his heel and disappeared from the room.
"Can someone finish telling me what the fuck's going on?" Brendan asked, not moving from his spot next to Nick.
"Vampires are real," Chris said.
Brendan glared at him. "That much is obvious," he snapped.
"And you attacked our mate," Nick growled, his eyes flashing dangerously.
"He was biting Steve," Brendan argued.
"He wasn't hurting him," Chris said.
"How was I supposed to know that? What are you doing here anyway?"
"Visiting from New York," Chris answered.
"Hi Cheli," Steve interrupted, greeting the man that had walked in behind Hank.
"Hi," Cheli nodded. "What's going on?" he asked when he noticed Pavel's rapidly darkening eye.
"Nothing," Pavel replied.
"I heard you've been a bad vampire," Cheli stated with a small smile. Pavel shrugged.
"If you hadn't touched Steve," Brendan said.
Hank growled and stepped toward him. Chris reached for his arm to stop him as Nick pulled Brendan back.
"We're just going to wait outside until you can play nice," Nick told him sternly.
Brendan sighed heavily. "I'll be good. I just can't get the picture of him sucking on Steve's neck out of my mind."
"Pav," Cheli coaxed as he stepped in front of the man. "You gonna feed? Or you just gonna stand there?"
"I'll feed," Pavel said, swaying on his feet. Hank was by his side in a second, steadying him.
"Careful," he murmured. "We're going to talk about this after I kick Brendan's ass."
"You're not going to do that," Pavel told him firmly. "Thanks Cheli," he told the man before licking across his neck and biting.
"Vampires," Brendan muttered as he shook his head. "This is unreal. How come they all knew but not me?"
"Not all," Nick corrected. "Only Cheli, Steve and Tomas."
"You and Oz?"
"We're vampires too," Chris clipped as he showed Brendan his fangs. "You gonna keep trying to hurt Pavel? I'd hate to have to kick your ass if you did."
Brendan started to snap before remembering how Chris got when he was angry. "I'll behave, I promise," he sighed.
"Thank you," Pavel whispered as he squeezed Cheli's arm briefly.
"Enough?" Hank asked. Pavel nodded. "Good. We're still going to talk about this later," he promised.
"What would you like to know?" Pavel asked, looking at Brendan.
"Everything. Vampires?"
"Yes."
"For how long? How long have you known?" he asked Steve and Cheli.
"Since I was born, Hank was twenty-five, Nick was thirty-five and Chris was twenty-seven," Pavel explained.
"I've known all my life," Steve replied. "My family is chosen and the vampires come to us to feed."
"I've known for six years or so," Cheli shrugged. "Seems like forever though."
"Obviously you can be out in daylight. Garlic isn't an issue. You speak fluent English," Brendan said to Pavel who smiled smugly and nodded. "This isn't an elaborate joke? It's not a prank of Oz's?"
"No. But that's a good idea, if anyone we don't want to know ever finds out, we'll just blame me," Chris laughed.
"What else can we do to prove it? You've seen the teeth and you watched Pavel feed," Nick pointed out. "You can't possibly think this is a joke."
"I believe you," Brendan said. "I'm sorry Steve. I'm really sorry Pav. I shouldn't have assumed what I did."
Pavel shrugged as he pressed an ice pack against his face. "Next time, ask? Please? You hit like a damn wall."
"There won't be a next time," Hank growled.
"Not from me," Brendan promised.
"Excuse me for a moment." Pavel walked to Hank and pulled the growling mate close to his body before leaning down and kissing him deeply. "I'm fine," he whispered against Hank's lips.
"Just let me hit him once," Hank requested.
"No." Pavel ran his fingers lightly down his mate's cheek. "We're going to have to explain things to him. Can you handle this or should I send you and the others away?"
"I'll be fine. As long as he doesn't make any sudden movements, I'll be fine."
"Thank you, my love." He brushed his fingers against Hank's cheek again.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
"I should have hit him before you could stop me," Hank muttered.
Pavel sighed.
"I deserve it," Brendan commented from behind them. "Both of you can hit me if you want. I was an ass."
"No," Pavel said quickly. "You can't hit him Hank."
"I'll do it," Chris volunteered.
"No," Steve requested and pulled Brendan into his arms. "No one is going to hit you."
"Can I do anything else?" Cheli asked.
"Unless you want to stay and answer questions, no. Thank you," Pavel told him.
"Any time," Cheli smiled and left.
"Where do you want me to start?" Pavel asked.
"Why didn't I know?"
"It's a secret that we protect very carefully," Pavel told him calmly.
"We've been together for years. How did I not notice?" he asked Steve.
"Usually Pavel's a lot better about feeding." Steve glared at the vampire in question. "And I never told you because it's not my secret to tell. They decide who knows and who doesn't."
"And the more people that don't know protects us from people that don't understand," Nick finished. "It's not that we didn't trust you, we do, it's just that we didn't know how you'd react."
Brendan blushed. "What's going to happen now that I know?"
Pavel placed a calming hand on Hank's shoulder as he squeezed Chris' arm. "Would you do us the honor of becoming one of our chosen? Of letting us feed from you when necessary? I promise you that if you say yes, none of my mates will ever harm you."
Brendan didn't hesitate. He didn't know what exactly he was getting into, but he knew the correct answer. "I will," he promised.
"Thank you," Pavel replied with a soft smile. "Would you like to be fed from now? Or would you prefer to wait?"
"Who?" he asked, stealing a quick glance at Hank.
"I think Nick would be the best choice." Pavel nodded. "Hank's still too worked up and Chris is just starting to calm down. If you want Nick to do it, that will be fine. Or I can. Your decision."
"Do you need to feed more?"
"I am fine," Pavel told him.
"Then Nick, if you don't mind?"
"Of course," Nick agreed, stepping toward them. "Relax." he told him.
Nick leaned over and gently ran his tongue along Brendan's neck before piercing the skin. He sucked for a moment, withdrew his fangs and licked the wound closed.
"You okay?" Steve asked.
"Yeah," Brendan replied softly as Nick stepped away from him. "I didn't realize it would be so...so...gentle. Thank you for trusting me with your secret and I am so sorry that I freaked out."
"It's fine. We do understand," he told Brendan, glancing back at Hank who was once more standing just in front of Pavel, staring at them intently. "You might just want to stay away from Hank for a few days."
"Yeah," Brendan agreed with a nervous laugh. "I think I'll be hiding from all of them if Pavel's not around."
"You were looking for something when you came in here," Steve said suddenly. "What were you looking for?"
"My equipment bag. It's not in my locker, have you seen it?"
Steve smiled. "I'll help you find it." They waved to the four men before quietly stepping out of the room. "Did you check my locker?" his voice filtered through the closing door.
Pavel winced as Hank spun around and glared at him. "Two weeks!" he bellowed. "I thought I hadn't seen you feed but I kept telling myself you were doing it when I wasn't around. What were you thinking? Oh wait, you weren't. Good Lord, Pavel, what in the hell am I going to do with you, huh?"
"Hank," Pavel began.
"How would you like it if one of us did that?" Hank asked. "Maybe we should try, just so you can see how it feels!"
"My love," Pavel softly said. "I am sorry. Between everything that's been going on and the playoffs, I just didn't realize what was wrong until I stood after practice and almost fell over."
"I still can't believe you did that," Hank replied, his voice softening a bit. "You do know that I'm going to be on your ass everyday forever, right? And you deserve it." He growled and pulled Pavel close to his body. "You are a fool, a lovable fool, but still a fool. How do you think we'd be if something happened to you?"
Pavel swallowed and apologized again. He looked back to Nick and Chris, who were standing just a few feet away, waiting for Hank to finish. "Are you going to yell at me too?"
Chris laughed. "I think Hank's done enough yelling for both of us, don't you?" he asked looking at Nick.
"I believe you're right," Nick replied. "Come on, let's go home and calm Hank down."
Pavel nodded. They returned to the now deserted locker room and grabbed the last of their gear. "I love you," Pavel told the three of them as they stepped outside.
"We love you too," Chris replied. Nick only smiled softly as he opened the trunk and they tossed their belongs inside.
"Just take care of yourself and we'll be happier," Hank said.
"I will," Pavel promised. He looked at the side of his face and shook his head at the dark purple bruise on his cheek. "Homer or Cheli sleeping with anyone on the team? If they are, I think we'll be talking to a few more teammates before I end up with another irate lover trying to kill me."
"I don't know," Nick said. "But we'll find out."
"Can I check Shanny into the boards at the next practice?" Hank asked. "I'll behave after that."
"Hank," Pavel sighed. "You promise to me that you'll drop it after?" he conceded, knowing Hank would not let it drop until he sought some sort of revenge.
"Yes."
"Just don't hurt him too bad. We need him, and you, on the team."
"Of course," Hank agreed. "I'll just startle him a bit."
Pavel shook his head in resignation. "What about you two?" he asked Nick and Chris.
"We're fine," Chris told him. "We won't do anything to him."
"Fine," Pavel agreed and climbed into the car. Hank slid into the backseat beside him. "So," he started with a smile. "How was playing goalie?" he teased, patting the top of Chris' head.
"You don't play goalie, you become the goalie."
Nick snorted. "You're full of it."
"You're just jealous that I'm the goalie and you're just the lowly defenseman."
"At least I'm not crazy and think I can hear the ice."
Chris laughed, the sound lifting the mood in the car tremendously. "I don't think I can hear the ice. I know I can hear it. If you three would shut up long enough, you'd hear it too."
Pavel laughed softly and relaxed against Hank. "What did I do to deserve a goalie as a mate?"
"Something right, that's for sure," Hank replied.
Pavel nodded. He was lucky to have all three men in his life and knew that no matter what any of them said, he wouldn't trade any of them in for someone else. They were perfect and they were his.