[Fic: Hockey RPS] You and Me are the Lucky Ones Tonight; Brad Richards/Vince Lecavalier; NC-17
Ugh, so I'm really not too fond of this part, but after reassurances from quenchmysoul, I decided to bite the bullet and just post it. I hope you all like it anyway.
Also, sorry, I'm not sorry for the ending to this part. ^^; But, I have my reasons for why I left it the way I did.
Thirteenth in the Hide the Night-verse
Disclaimer: None of this is true. Any resemblance to existing places, and or names is entirely coincidental. No harm or offense intended. Title from the Lana Del Rey song Lucky Ones.
Warnings: mild dub-con, mild dirty talk. And, not really a warning, but there's a smidge of het in this part. Just go with it ;)
You and Me are the Lucky Ones Tonight
Brad Richards/Vince Lecavalier; Vince Lecavalier/Caroline Portelance; NC-17
Is it ever really over?
You and Me are the Lucky Ones Tonight
At fourteen, Vince had a tendency to dream big. He never thought he would wind up in the NHL, and fall in love with Tampa.
He also never imagined his attention would be captured by the sound of his dorm room door being opened by a boy carrying an oversized hockey bag. The boy was dressed in faded blue jeans, and a plain white t-shirt.
Vince grins, wipes his hands on his jeans and makes his way across the floor to the boy. He holds out his hand.
"You must be my roommate," he says.
"Um," the boy starts, "yeah."
Vince senses the shyness coming off him in waves. Hoping to take a bit of the edge off, he says, "Oh, good, you're in the hockey program. Thank god! I'll actually have something to talk to you about." He gestures to where he has placed his hockey stick. "I took this bed. Hope it's all right."
He lets the boy start to unload his gear, before he flops onto the spare bed. Vince finds out the boy's name is Brad and that he is from Murray Harbour.
"I didn't catch your name," Brad says.
"Vincent." He nudges Brad's toe with his own. "But you can call me Vince, k?"
"Okay."
-x-
Brad and him became fast friends shortly after. Vince supposes it had to do with them being lonely, and having so few people to talk, or relate to.
Like he said years later in interviews about his time in Athol Murray: "We leaned on each other a lot … when you're fourteen and all alone and there's nobody to talk to, you need somebody. I think we got lucky."
Maybe it was luck, maybe it was something else. But whatever it was, there were so many firsts with Brad it made Vince dizzy to even think of them. He remembers crawling into Brad's bed on that long ago night when they were fourteen.
They had been dancing around the subject for so long, and Vince had grown tired of wondering. So, he slipped between Brad's sheets, and curled against Brad's side.
He remembers Brad being a little shocked by it at first, before Vince felt his resolve disappear.
Despite it being their first time, Vince still thinks it was the best orgasm he ever had. Sometimes when he masturbates, he can't help but think of his first time with Brad.
From the way Brad's fingers mapped his skin, to the tentative way Brad let Vince take his cock into his mouth. To the way Brad kept his eyes open the whole time.
Vince thought it may just be a passing thing, but every time they are together Brad keeps his eyes open the whole time. After the countless girls he's ever had in his bed, Brad is the only one he knows of who does so. Even Caroline closes her eyes when he touches her.
He's never told Brad about this observation though, and as he watches the sports channel as they announce the Rangers have clinched a playoff spot, he can't help but wonder if he ever will.
-x-
He wakes the next morning, the sheets rumpled, Caroline sleeping beside him. She smells like lilies - her perfume of choice - and baby powder. Vince slips from the bed, checks on Victoria and Gabriel, before he goes to the kitchen. He stands by the sink and pours himself a glass of water hoping it will clear his throat.
The memories of Brad creep up like a cloud then. His hand throbs. A painful reminder he is still out of the Lightning line-up. Vince feels so fucking helpless he can't stand it. His best friend is living the dream, and he's stuck watching as his team's season is almost over. He tells himself he is happy for Brad, but he can't help but feel jealous.
He resists the urge to break the glass in his hand as he forces the memory of Brad's lips stretched over his cock out of his mind. Vince heads for the bathroom and runs the water before he steps in.
He revels in the feel of the water as it slides over his back, and closes his eyes. A memory of Brad creeps up again.
"I met someone," Vince says.
Brad is juggling three rolls of hockey tape in his hands as Vince talks. "Hm," he replies.
Vince grabs one of the rolls away from Brad, which earns him a scowl. "I'm being serious, Brad."
Brad makes to grab for the roll, but Vince holds it out of his reach.
"We know how this will all go, Vinny," Brad says finally.
Vince holds the tape roll out to Brad. "Maybe. Maybe not."
Brad sighs, and leans back, runs a hand through his hair. "What's her name?"
"Caroline."
Vince jumps when he feels a slender hand on his shoulder, pulling him from his daydreaming.
"Caroline," he says, noticing his wife has slipped into the shower with him.
She smiles, her dark hair damp, the ends curling slightly from the steam. "Want some company?" her hands are on his chest, sliding over the hard planes of his chest, as she steps closer, pinning him against the wall.
Vince is dizzy with memories of Brad nipping at his heels, and Caroline's lily-scented perfume. He doesn't have much time to think on anything though, as Caroline presses a kiss to the side of his mouth.
"Caroline," he chokes out again.
"I can help you with this," she whispers, curling her fingers around Vince's cock.
He feels his knees shake, the memories all but flooding his mind as she manipulates him, her soft wet hand gliding over his erection. And, the horrible thing is, while he is turned on by this, he can't stop thinking about Brad.
How Brad would touch him. The way Brad seemed to just know how to touch him to get him off. And, Brad's amber eyes as they stared at him.
Vince forgets to hold on a moment longer, and he comes in Caroline's hand, knees shaking, as the shower spray washes away his come.
"You're welcome," she whispers.
He can't bear to look at her.
-x-
There was always a beginning, a middle, and an end to any situation.
Vince thinks it was easier to catalogue his life like this. Easier to hold on to everything he thought would make his life perfect.
He wanted to believe he was imaging things in 2001 when Brad started pulling away from him. Vince didn't want to think of the circumstances for why. But, he had a feeling he knew what it was.
He didn't want it to be the end with Brad. Vince knew it was selfish for wanting to hold onto something either of them didn't know how to end. It was just … he couldn't imagine being without Brad. They were like two sides of a coin. Each side complementing the other in a way no one else understood.
He liked to think this was why he crawled into Brad's hotel room bed during the 2001-2002 season on their first road trip.
"Vinny?" Brad asked, hesitancy in his tone.
"I'm scared," Vince blurted out, not caring how silly it sounded.
Brad rolled to face Vince. "Of what?"
Vince reached a hand out to brush the hair from Brad's face. "Of everything." He let his eyes flit away from Brad's face. "I feel like … like you're pulling away."
Brad was silent for so long Vince was sure he had gone back to sleep, but then he felt Brad reach his hand out, interlacing their fingers. "I have to."
Vince feels something inside him snap, and he pushes Brad onto his back, practically rips Brad's shirt as he pulls it off him, rakes his nails over Brad's skin, and yanks Brad's boxers off.
"This doesn't change anything for us," Vince hisses, as he nips his teeth at Brad's shoulder.
"Vinny," Brad gasps.
"I can't. I won't … I won't let it end this way," Vince says, his voice full of dark promise, as he slides down Brad's body.
Brad moans as Vince trails his lips over his hardening cock. Brad fists his hands in Vince's hair, and Vince can tell he's struggling between yanking him up and away from his cock, or wanting him to continue. Vince flicks his tongue across the tip, and Brad lets out a curse.
It's all the encouragement Vince needs. Without another word, he wraps his lips around Brad, and sucks, his tongue running over the veins on the underside of Brad's cock.
Brad is muttering unintelligible words, his fingers have a death grip on Vince's head, and he bucks his hips into Vince's mouth.
"Vinny … fuck …" Brad chokes out. "This is … this … we can't -"
Vinny can feel Brad's cock as it pulses against his lips, and he pulls back, his hand working Brad's cock mercilessly. "Come on, Brad. I want you to come on my face."
"Fucking shit, Vinny," Brad gasps, as Vince feels his cock twitch one more time before he comes.
Vince does a pretty good job of catching most of Brad's come in his mouth, but a few stray drops land on his cheek, and his eyelashes.
After he gets cleaned up, he curls up against Brad, arm draped over his form. "Le cœur a ses raisons," Vince whispers.
He waits for Brad to respond, but Brad doesn't.
"Le cœur a ses raisons," he whispers one more time.
Vince isn't sure what hurts more, not hearing Brad say "Que la raison ne connaît pas," or knowing even if he did, he may not fully mean it anymore.
-x-
Winning the Stanley Cup in 2004 with Brad was like living in a dream. He remembers thinking they were untouchable. Nothing could stop them. They were living the dream together. And, damn anyone who told them otherwise.
What happened after winning the Stanley Cup was …
-x-
The lockout sent them to Russia. To play with Ak Bars Kazan. It was a short lived time together, as Brad suffered an abdominal tear and returned to the States to have surgery and recover.
It felt awkward playing without him. It was like a small piece of himself was missing.
When he came back from Russia, he found Brad waiting at Tampa's airport. "Need a ride?" he asks.
Vince licks his lips. "Sure."
What happened was …
-x-
Vince shoved himself through Brad's door, pulling Brad with him, and not allowing either of them to breathe until they fall down onto Brad's bed.
Brad tastes like cinnamon, his skin like sugar and cream as Vince's mouth runs over every inch of bare skin he can find.
They pant into each other's mouths, sharing breath, and they don't stop breathing the other's air, until Vince rolls Brad onto his stomach, his face tucked up between Brad's shoulder blades. He fucks him open with his mouth, his tongue, and finally his cock.
Brad's hands fist in the sheets, his toes curl under him, and he rocks his hips back against Vince, taking more of him in.
Vinny, please … Vinny …
Brad repeats Vince's name over and over like a benediction, even as they lie sweaty, breathless and panting against the sheets.
-x-
Vince wonders when his life got so complicated.
He wonders if it will ever get any easier.
-x-
Dallas happened in 2008.
"One last time before you go," Vince says, as he stands on Brad's doorstep.
Brad pulls him inside.
They undress hurriedly, before Brad sinks onto Vince's cock, his hands pinning Vince's hands above his head.
"Take what you need," Vince ordered, watching as Brad fucked himself on his cock.
Brad's hands gripped Vince's so tightly, Vince was sure there would be marks there in the morning.
"It'll be okay," Vince continued, "we'll see each other again when I'm in Dallas, or you're in Tampa."
Vince watches as Brad comes, his bright amber eyes wide open as he comes apart in Vince's hand.
-x-
They take the boat trip in 2008 after Dallas is eliminated from the playoffs. He doesn't like to think about it.
"Caroline wants to get married," he says simply.
Brad glances over at him, eyes hidden by his sunglasses. 'What'd you tell her?"
Vince shrugged. "I told her I'd think about it." He eyes Brad steadily. "Look at me, Brad."
Brad turns, but doesn't take off his sunglasses.
"Give me a reason not to marry her," Vince says.
"Are you giving me an ultimatum, Vinny?"
"I'm asking you to give me a reason. If it sounds like an ultimatum, fine, I'll make it one."
Brad's next words cut Vince to the core. "I think you should marry her."
"Is it what you want?"
"It's what we need."
Vince doesn't want Brad's words to be the end, but it feels so much like it, he can't even bring himself to come up with a response. So, he sits next to Brad, and lets the silence fall between them.
"That's it then?" he finally says.
"It has to be."
-x-
"Je vais t'aimer toujours," Vince says when they arrive back in Tampa.
Brad just looks at him, but he may be looking right through him, Vince thinks sadly.
He looks tired, worn out.
Neither speaks as he drops Brad at Tampa International Airport.
-x-
They stayed apart, keeping in contact through texts, and the occasional phone calls. He thinks it's over. So, he starts picking up the pieces. Tries to put the years he's spent with Brad behind him.
Victoria was born in 2010. Brad texts him to congratulate him.
Brad's short, generic congratulatory text hurts him more than he'd care to admit.
He forces himself to stop thinking about the different girls Brad has had in his bed in Dallas. How many girls have had their lips on his cock. How many girls he's fucked.
Vince never asks, and Brad never tells him. He wonders if it was for the best. Wonders just how self-destructive it would be if Brad had told him about all the numerous girls he's had since 2008.
He eventually marries Caroline in the spring of 2011.
Watches Brad as he stands silently at the altar, as Vince slips the ring onto Caroline's finger.
The reception is loud, boisterous, and … lonely.
Vince wants desperately for Brad to meet his gaze, but he never does. Finally, Vince grows frustrated, and follows him to the bathroom.
Brad stands by the sink, eyes Vince as he slowly makes his way over to him. "Are you just going to ignore me all evening?"
Brad shrugs. "I came to the wedding, isn't that enough?"
Vince feels all the anger and hurt he's felt boil over, and he grabs Brad's arms, and shakes him. "No, it's not."
"What do you want me to say?" Brad returns, eyes flashing with anger. "We …"
"We're not over," Vince growls, not letting Brad finish his sentence. He fists his hand in Brad's hair, and pulls him in, lips catching on Brad's in a bruising kiss.
Brad moans against Vince's mouth, his hands coming up, resting on Vince's chest, every intention to push him away, but he finds any resolve he may have melts.
Vince pushes him into a nearby stall, hurriedly unzips him, and falls to his knees in front of Brad.
Brad comes in his mouth, and Vince gets to his feet, eyes meeting Brad's. He can see the questions, the hurt, the fear of the unknown in Brad's gaze. He leans his chin on Brad's shoulder, and lets Brad take his cock in his hand. Lets Brad work out his frustration and lust, before Vince comes apart in his hand.
“Le cœur a ses raisons," Vince whispered in the aftermath.
"The heart has its reasons," Brad whispered back.
“Que la raison ne connaît pas,” Vince continued, stepping away from Brad slightly.
"Of which reason means nothing."
-x-
Vince doesn't want to think about the end. It scares him too much. He's faced a lot of ends in his life, but he can't seem to come up with an end to him and Brad.
He's not even sure if he wants to. He can't seem to picture his life without Brad being there somehow.
Or maybe it was just silly to think like that.
Vince sits on his couch, watching the sports highlights from the night before. Watches as the TV repeats over and over again that the Rangers clinched a playoff spot.
Brad was living the dream. Again.
He picks up his phone, and dials Brad's number.
He answers on the last ring.
"Hello?"
Vince is silent for a beat. He nearly loses his nerve and hangs up the phone.
"Hello?" Brad repeats again.
"Hi," Vince says.
Also, sorry, I'm not sorry for the ending to this part. ^^; But, I have my reasons for why I left it the way I did.
Thirteenth in the Hide the Night-verse
Disclaimer: None of this is true. Any resemblance to existing places, and or names is entirely coincidental. No harm or offense intended. Title from the Lana Del Rey song Lucky Ones.
Warnings: mild dub-con, mild dirty talk. And, not really a warning, but there's a smidge of het in this part. Just go with it ;)
You and Me are the Lucky Ones Tonight
Brad Richards/Vince Lecavalier; Vince Lecavalier/Caroline Portelance; NC-17
Is it ever really over?
You and Me are the Lucky Ones Tonight
At fourteen, Vince had a tendency to dream big. He never thought he would wind up in the NHL, and fall in love with Tampa.
He also never imagined his attention would be captured by the sound of his dorm room door being opened by a boy carrying an oversized hockey bag. The boy was dressed in faded blue jeans, and a plain white t-shirt.
Vince grins, wipes his hands on his jeans and makes his way across the floor to the boy. He holds out his hand.
"You must be my roommate," he says.
"Um," the boy starts, "yeah."
Vince senses the shyness coming off him in waves. Hoping to take a bit of the edge off, he says, "Oh, good, you're in the hockey program. Thank god! I'll actually have something to talk to you about." He gestures to where he has placed his hockey stick. "I took this bed. Hope it's all right."
He lets the boy start to unload his gear, before he flops onto the spare bed. Vince finds out the boy's name is Brad and that he is from Murray Harbour.
"I didn't catch your name," Brad says.
"Vincent." He nudges Brad's toe with his own. "But you can call me Vince, k?"
"Okay."
-x-
Brad and him became fast friends shortly after. Vince supposes it had to do with them being lonely, and having so few people to talk, or relate to.
Like he said years later in interviews about his time in Athol Murray: "We leaned on each other a lot … when you're fourteen and all alone and there's nobody to talk to, you need somebody. I think we got lucky."
Maybe it was luck, maybe it was something else. But whatever it was, there were so many firsts with Brad it made Vince dizzy to even think of them. He remembers crawling into Brad's bed on that long ago night when they were fourteen.
They had been dancing around the subject for so long, and Vince had grown tired of wondering. So, he slipped between Brad's sheets, and curled against Brad's side.
He remembers Brad being a little shocked by it at first, before Vince felt his resolve disappear.
Despite it being their first time, Vince still thinks it was the best orgasm he ever had. Sometimes when he masturbates, he can't help but think of his first time with Brad.
From the way Brad's fingers mapped his skin, to the tentative way Brad let Vince take his cock into his mouth. To the way Brad kept his eyes open the whole time.
Vince thought it may just be a passing thing, but every time they are together Brad keeps his eyes open the whole time. After the countless girls he's ever had in his bed, Brad is the only one he knows of who does so. Even Caroline closes her eyes when he touches her.
He's never told Brad about this observation though, and as he watches the sports channel as they announce the Rangers have clinched a playoff spot, he can't help but wonder if he ever will.
-x-
He wakes the next morning, the sheets rumpled, Caroline sleeping beside him. She smells like lilies - her perfume of choice - and baby powder. Vince slips from the bed, checks on Victoria and Gabriel, before he goes to the kitchen. He stands by the sink and pours himself a glass of water hoping it will clear his throat.
The memories of Brad creep up like a cloud then. His hand throbs. A painful reminder he is still out of the Lightning line-up. Vince feels so fucking helpless he can't stand it. His best friend is living the dream, and he's stuck watching as his team's season is almost over. He tells himself he is happy for Brad, but he can't help but feel jealous.
He resists the urge to break the glass in his hand as he forces the memory of Brad's lips stretched over his cock out of his mind. Vince heads for the bathroom and runs the water before he steps in.
He revels in the feel of the water as it slides over his back, and closes his eyes. A memory of Brad creeps up again.
"I met someone," Vince says.
Brad is juggling three rolls of hockey tape in his hands as Vince talks. "Hm," he replies.
Vince grabs one of the rolls away from Brad, which earns him a scowl. "I'm being serious, Brad."
Brad makes to grab for the roll, but Vince holds it out of his reach.
"We know how this will all go, Vinny," Brad says finally.
Vince holds the tape roll out to Brad. "Maybe. Maybe not."
Brad sighs, and leans back, runs a hand through his hair. "What's her name?"
"Caroline."
Vince jumps when he feels a slender hand on his shoulder, pulling him from his daydreaming.
"Caroline," he says, noticing his wife has slipped into the shower with him.
She smiles, her dark hair damp, the ends curling slightly from the steam. "Want some company?" her hands are on his chest, sliding over the hard planes of his chest, as she steps closer, pinning him against the wall.
Vince is dizzy with memories of Brad nipping at his heels, and Caroline's lily-scented perfume. He doesn't have much time to think on anything though, as Caroline presses a kiss to the side of his mouth.
"Caroline," he chokes out again.
"I can help you with this," she whispers, curling her fingers around Vince's cock.
He feels his knees shake, the memories all but flooding his mind as she manipulates him, her soft wet hand gliding over his erection. And, the horrible thing is, while he is turned on by this, he can't stop thinking about Brad.
How Brad would touch him. The way Brad seemed to just know how to touch him to get him off. And, Brad's amber eyes as they stared at him.
Vince forgets to hold on a moment longer, and he comes in Caroline's hand, knees shaking, as the shower spray washes away his come.
"You're welcome," she whispers.
He can't bear to look at her.
-x-
There was always a beginning, a middle, and an end to any situation.
Vince thinks it was easier to catalogue his life like this. Easier to hold on to everything he thought would make his life perfect.
He wanted to believe he was imaging things in 2001 when Brad started pulling away from him. Vince didn't want to think of the circumstances for why. But, he had a feeling he knew what it was.
He didn't want it to be the end with Brad. Vince knew it was selfish for wanting to hold onto something either of them didn't know how to end. It was just … he couldn't imagine being without Brad. They were like two sides of a coin. Each side complementing the other in a way no one else understood.
He liked to think this was why he crawled into Brad's hotel room bed during the 2001-2002 season on their first road trip.
"Vinny?" Brad asked, hesitancy in his tone.
"I'm scared," Vince blurted out, not caring how silly it sounded.
Brad rolled to face Vince. "Of what?"
Vince reached a hand out to brush the hair from Brad's face. "Of everything." He let his eyes flit away from Brad's face. "I feel like … like you're pulling away."
Brad was silent for so long Vince was sure he had gone back to sleep, but then he felt Brad reach his hand out, interlacing their fingers. "I have to."
Vince feels something inside him snap, and he pushes Brad onto his back, practically rips Brad's shirt as he pulls it off him, rakes his nails over Brad's skin, and yanks Brad's boxers off.
"This doesn't change anything for us," Vince hisses, as he nips his teeth at Brad's shoulder.
"Vinny," Brad gasps.
"I can't. I won't … I won't let it end this way," Vince says, his voice full of dark promise, as he slides down Brad's body.
Brad moans as Vince trails his lips over his hardening cock. Brad fists his hands in Vince's hair, and Vince can tell he's struggling between yanking him up and away from his cock, or wanting him to continue. Vince flicks his tongue across the tip, and Brad lets out a curse.
It's all the encouragement Vince needs. Without another word, he wraps his lips around Brad, and sucks, his tongue running over the veins on the underside of Brad's cock.
Brad is muttering unintelligible words, his fingers have a death grip on Vince's head, and he bucks his hips into Vince's mouth.
"Vinny … fuck …" Brad chokes out. "This is … this … we can't -"
Vinny can feel Brad's cock as it pulses against his lips, and he pulls back, his hand working Brad's cock mercilessly. "Come on, Brad. I want you to come on my face."
"Fucking shit, Vinny," Brad gasps, as Vince feels his cock twitch one more time before he comes.
Vince does a pretty good job of catching most of Brad's come in his mouth, but a few stray drops land on his cheek, and his eyelashes.
After he gets cleaned up, he curls up against Brad, arm draped over his form. "Le cœur a ses raisons," Vince whispers.
He waits for Brad to respond, but Brad doesn't.
"Le cœur a ses raisons," he whispers one more time.
Vince isn't sure what hurts more, not hearing Brad say "Que la raison ne connaît pas," or knowing even if he did, he may not fully mean it anymore.
-x-
Winning the Stanley Cup in 2004 with Brad was like living in a dream. He remembers thinking they were untouchable. Nothing could stop them. They were living the dream together. And, damn anyone who told them otherwise.
What happened after winning the Stanley Cup was …
-x-
The lockout sent them to Russia. To play with Ak Bars Kazan. It was a short lived time together, as Brad suffered an abdominal tear and returned to the States to have surgery and recover.
It felt awkward playing without him. It was like a small piece of himself was missing.
When he came back from Russia, he found Brad waiting at Tampa's airport. "Need a ride?" he asks.
Vince licks his lips. "Sure."
What happened was …
-x-
Vince shoved himself through Brad's door, pulling Brad with him, and not allowing either of them to breathe until they fall down onto Brad's bed.
Brad tastes like cinnamon, his skin like sugar and cream as Vince's mouth runs over every inch of bare skin he can find.
They pant into each other's mouths, sharing breath, and they don't stop breathing the other's air, until Vince rolls Brad onto his stomach, his face tucked up between Brad's shoulder blades. He fucks him open with his mouth, his tongue, and finally his cock.
Brad's hands fist in the sheets, his toes curl under him, and he rocks his hips back against Vince, taking more of him in.
Vinny, please … Vinny …
Brad repeats Vince's name over and over like a benediction, even as they lie sweaty, breathless and panting against the sheets.
-x-
Vince wonders when his life got so complicated.
He wonders if it will ever get any easier.
-x-
Dallas happened in 2008.
"One last time before you go," Vince says, as he stands on Brad's doorstep.
Brad pulls him inside.
They undress hurriedly, before Brad sinks onto Vince's cock, his hands pinning Vince's hands above his head.
"Take what you need," Vince ordered, watching as Brad fucked himself on his cock.
Brad's hands gripped Vince's so tightly, Vince was sure there would be marks there in the morning.
"It'll be okay," Vince continued, "we'll see each other again when I'm in Dallas, or you're in Tampa."
Vince watches as Brad comes, his bright amber eyes wide open as he comes apart in Vince's hand.
-x-
They take the boat trip in 2008 after Dallas is eliminated from the playoffs. He doesn't like to think about it.
"Caroline wants to get married," he says simply.
Brad glances over at him, eyes hidden by his sunglasses. 'What'd you tell her?"
Vince shrugged. "I told her I'd think about it." He eyes Brad steadily. "Look at me, Brad."
Brad turns, but doesn't take off his sunglasses.
"Give me a reason not to marry her," Vince says.
"Are you giving me an ultimatum, Vinny?"
"I'm asking you to give me a reason. If it sounds like an ultimatum, fine, I'll make it one."
Brad's next words cut Vince to the core. "I think you should marry her."
"Is it what you want?"
"It's what we need."
Vince doesn't want Brad's words to be the end, but it feels so much like it, he can't even bring himself to come up with a response. So, he sits next to Brad, and lets the silence fall between them.
"That's it then?" he finally says.
"It has to be."
-x-
"Je vais t'aimer toujours," Vince says when they arrive back in Tampa.
Brad just looks at him, but he may be looking right through him, Vince thinks sadly.
He looks tired, worn out.
Neither speaks as he drops Brad at Tampa International Airport.
-x-
They stayed apart, keeping in contact through texts, and the occasional phone calls. He thinks it's over. So, he starts picking up the pieces. Tries to put the years he's spent with Brad behind him.
Victoria was born in 2010. Brad texts him to congratulate him.
Brad's short, generic congratulatory text hurts him more than he'd care to admit.
He forces himself to stop thinking about the different girls Brad has had in his bed in Dallas. How many girls have had their lips on his cock. How many girls he's fucked.
Vince never asks, and Brad never tells him. He wonders if it was for the best. Wonders just how self-destructive it would be if Brad had told him about all the numerous girls he's had since 2008.
He eventually marries Caroline in the spring of 2011.
Watches Brad as he stands silently at the altar, as Vince slips the ring onto Caroline's finger.
The reception is loud, boisterous, and … lonely.
Vince wants desperately for Brad to meet his gaze, but he never does. Finally, Vince grows frustrated, and follows him to the bathroom.
Brad stands by the sink, eyes Vince as he slowly makes his way over to him. "Are you just going to ignore me all evening?"
Brad shrugs. "I came to the wedding, isn't that enough?"
Vince feels all the anger and hurt he's felt boil over, and he grabs Brad's arms, and shakes him. "No, it's not."
"What do you want me to say?" Brad returns, eyes flashing with anger. "We …"
"We're not over," Vince growls, not letting Brad finish his sentence. He fists his hand in Brad's hair, and pulls him in, lips catching on Brad's in a bruising kiss.
Brad moans against Vince's mouth, his hands coming up, resting on Vince's chest, every intention to push him away, but he finds any resolve he may have melts.
Vince pushes him into a nearby stall, hurriedly unzips him, and falls to his knees in front of Brad.
Brad comes in his mouth, and Vince gets to his feet, eyes meeting Brad's. He can see the questions, the hurt, the fear of the unknown in Brad's gaze. He leans his chin on Brad's shoulder, and lets Brad take his cock in his hand. Lets Brad work out his frustration and lust, before Vince comes apart in his hand.
“Le cœur a ses raisons," Vince whispered in the aftermath.
"The heart has its reasons," Brad whispered back.
“Que la raison ne connaît pas,” Vince continued, stepping away from Brad slightly.
"Of which reason means nothing."
-x-
Vince doesn't want to think about the end. It scares him too much. He's faced a lot of ends in his life, but he can't seem to come up with an end to him and Brad.
He's not even sure if he wants to. He can't seem to picture his life without Brad being there somehow.
Or maybe it was just silly to think like that.
Vince sits on his couch, watching the sports highlights from the night before. Watches as the TV repeats over and over again that the Rangers clinched a playoff spot.
Brad was living the dream. Again.
He picks up his phone, and dials Brad's number.
He answers on the last ring.
"Hello?"
Vince is silent for a beat. He nearly loses his nerve and hangs up the phone.
"Hello?" Brad repeats again.
"Hi," Vince says.