[FIC] (Hockey) It Wasn't Because
Title: It Wasn't Because
Pairing: Paul Kariya/Teemu Selanne (ANH)
Rating: R
Disclaimer: This is fake. I am merely making up stories about real life people. So yes, it is fake as I am making things up. Okay I'll shut up now.
Summary: Paul is sort of drunk while Teemu doesn't care about it anymore.
Notes: Oh yes, I made the deadline, even for east coast time! But yes, they weren't my initial pairing but I still wrote them. I need a little hockey in my life. Um, it didn't turn out the way I thought it would, but I still like it. This time, no baseball, maybe next time. And really, lies and secrets? Nah. I'll stop yacking now. And the lyrics are from natural_center.
Extra Notes: This is written for sslyricwheel's challenge theme - Secrets and Lies, originally posted here.
It’s three in the morning in a hotel room.
Teemu twists and turns in his bed. He is really annoyed at the moment so he kicks off the sheets that have been bothering him all night long. He looks over to the other bed and notices that Paul is still not back from wherever the hell he went. They have a game tomorrow and there’s early skate in the morning. He does his little math thing and calculates how many hours of sleep he can get if he falls asleep now. He figures that there is really only five hours left of sleep and god he needs to stop doing the little math thing that he often do, in his head of course. Teemu closes his eyes and stubbornly drifts off to sleep.
By then, Paul has, somehow, got back into their hotel room. He trips over the shoes that are left at the end of Teemu’s bed and lets out a drunken laugh. Paul does the ‘shhhh’ motion to particular nobody, like he is trying to tell another person to be quiet, when it is really him that’s making all the noise.
Teemu never gets waken up from the noise because Paul collapses onto his bed and passes out before that can ever happen.
--
It’s four hours and fifteen minutes later.
Teemu comes out from the bathroom to find Paul asleep on his bed. He is surprised that he hasn’t noticed Paul coming into the room, or even registering that he is in the room at all. Teemu takes a look at the time and, through his annoyance, decides that he’s had enough of Paul’s shit and instead of waking up Paul, Teemu grabs his jacket and leaves the room for practice. He feels slightly guilty about leaving Paul back in their room as he walks to the elevator. But really, he shouldn’t, because it isn’t his fault. Fuck, he thinks to himself, he shouldn’t be responsible for Paul. Paul is a grown man and he can take care of himself.
The elevator arrives and as Teemu walks in the compartment, he sees a few of his teammates running down the hall and jumping in before the door closes. “Hey buddy, thanks for keep on the door open,” Mike LeClerc jokes. Mike shifts against the wall and looks around, “Hey, where’s Paul? That sleepy head still not awake?”
A chorus of quiet laughter erupts from the rest of the teammates. The ‘sleepyhead Paul’ joke has been going around lately as Paul has become one of the latest guys to wake up and barely makes it to practice on time.
Teemu laughs with the rest of them as he tries to cover his awkwardness. He shrugs, “I tried waking him up, but he ended up kicking me and telling me to go first. So I guess he’ll be coming soon.”
Teemu looks over at Mike and breathes a relief sigh, as his teammate seems to buy his cover-up explaination. He looks up at the floor numbers counting downwards. The elevator dings as they arrive at the main lobby, but suddenly a rush of guilt rushes through Teemu.
As his teammates exit the compartment, he tells them, “Actually, you guys go ahead for breakfast. I’m going to go up and check on Paul. Don’t think any of us really want our Captain to be late, no?”
Ruslan Salei slaps Teemu on the back and tells him, “You’re a good man, Teemu. And good thing you’re doing this, means that none of us have to it.”
The mass of men leaves Teemu alone in the elevator. Teemu shakes his head and presses ‘15’ on the wall full of buttons.
--
It’s a minute and few more seconds later.
Teemu takes out the hotel room cardkey from his back pocket and inserts it into the key slot. He opens the door to find Paul still flopped on his bed. Teemu slams the door close, which in turn causes Paul to startle awake and fall off the bed.
A groan echoes in the room as Paul struggles to climb back onto the bed. “I know that’s you, Teemu. Just give me a few more minutes. Like fifteen, ten, or dude, even five. I’m just so tired and I have this fucking headache that won’t go away,” Paul puts his hands to his head.
“Then maybe you shouldn’t have gone out and partied all night long. We do have a game, you know.” Teemu walks over to where Paul is, and reluctantly carries Paul to the bathroom. “And you better take a shower before you leave this room, ‘cause you smell like shit.”
“I don’t wanna,” Paul mumbles against Teemu’s shoulder. “Just let me sleep.”
Teemu tells himself that ‘this is for the team’ over and over again and he is doing this ‘for the team’s sake’, because really now is not the right time to have Paul to be right against him. He places Paul into the shower and awkwardly pulls off Paul’s shirt. Teemu can smell the alcohol stink and wants to get away from it as soon as he can. So Teemu backs away and pulls the shower curtain, but Paul - who isn’t as hungover as Teemu has though - grabs Teemu’s arm and pulls Teemu into the shower with him.
Teemu almost trips over the tub but luckily caught his footing in time. He laughs at himself. Teemu really doesn’t want a twisted ankle or broken leg at the moment. He doesn’t think his coach would appreciate the injury very much and especially not the way he injured himself. ‘Yes coach, I got the injury from being pulled into the shower by our captain.’
Not only that he almost fell over, the cold water has poured down onto him, soaking his shirt and pants altogether. “Damn it, Paul. It’s bad enough that you are soaking wet, you don’t need to get me wet too.” Teemu’s last words are lost before he can finish the sentence. Paul closes in the gap between Teemu and him. Teemu is afraid that Paul will do something that both of them will regret but that worry leaves his mind as Paul leans in and kisses him under the showerhead.
Paul wishes their reunion could be a little more romantic, but right now, he will take anything he can get. He pulls Teemu closer to him. “God, I missed you so much,” Paul whispers to Teemu. Paul nips at Teemu’s shoulder before licking a trail from his neck to his ears. “Why did we ever stop this?”
“Because, I said I didn’t, want to, do this, yes, god this, anymore,” Teemu replies between gasps. “I’m getting myself into, a lot, and a lot, of trouble, aren’t I?”
Paul chuckles. “Yes you are, and I'm aware of it. But for once, stop thinking about it and enjoy it.”
(Yes, they actually turn the water to hot again later if you are wondering, but both of them have already caught a cold by then.)
--
It’s at least thirty minutes later.
“You know, I lied about not wanting you or being with you.” Teemu looks up into the ceiling. Teemu has lied about a lot of things in his life, but that is one lie he will probably regret for the rest of his life, probably.
“I think I knew that,” Paul tells Teemu with a sigh. “I mean, I saw it coming. Or at least I think I did. I could see you changing. You won’t look me in the eye when I talk to you. And you turn away from me when we were together,” Paul says as he looks directly at Teemu. “Don’t think I don’t notice these things.”
Teemu stares back silently. At the moment, he doesn’t know what to say. At least nothing that would help the situation. He didn’t mean to hurt Paul, really he didn’t. He wants to tell Paul that hurting him was the last thing he wanted to do. But he can’t see to form any words to explain.
Paul sits up from his bed and looks at the TV, “No, don’t say anything. I don’t want anymore lies from you.”
Teemu opens his mouth to say something, but he is lost for words.
“Whatever it is. I don’t want to hear it right now.” Paul pushes himself off his bed. “We should get going. It’s time for practice, right? Guess I’m missed breakfast again.”
Teemu continues to stare at Paul and snaps out of his state. “Right. Yeah, practice.”
Both men pick up their coat and stands in front of the door. Paul puts his hand on the doorknob as Teemu close in the space between them. “Paul, I know you don’t want to hear this, but...”
Paul squeezes his eyes shut and closes his fist on the doorknob. “No, Teemu. No. Not now, not today. We have a game to play. I don’t want anything to distract us from it. You know that the team always come first.”
Teemu numbly nods his head and follows Paul out the door. ‘No. I always came first with you. But I guess not anymore.’
"Chocolate" by Snow Patrol
This could be the very minute
I'm aware I'm alive
All these places feel like home
With a name I'd never chosen
I can make my first steps
As a child of 25
This is the straw, final straw in the
Roof of my mouth as I lie to you
Just because I'm sorry doesn't mean
I didn't enjoy it at the time
You're the only thing that I love
It scares me more every day
On my knees I think clearer
Goodness knows I saw it coming
Or at least I'll claim I did
But in truth I'm lost for words
What have I done it's too late for that
What have I become truth is nothing yet
A simple mistake starts the hardest time
I promise I'll do anything you ask...this time
Pairing: Paul Kariya/Teemu Selanne (ANH)
Rating: R
Disclaimer: This is fake. I am merely making up stories about real life people. So yes, it is fake as I am making things up. Okay I'll shut up now.
Summary: Paul is sort of drunk while Teemu doesn't care about it anymore.
Notes: Oh yes, I made the deadline, even for east coast time! But yes, they weren't my initial pairing but I still wrote them. I need a little hockey in my life. Um, it didn't turn out the way I thought it would, but I still like it. This time, no baseball, maybe next time. And really, lies and secrets? Nah. I'll stop yacking now. And the lyrics are from natural_center.
Extra Notes: This is written for sslyricwheel's challenge theme - Secrets and Lies, originally posted here.
It’s three in the morning in a hotel room.
Teemu twists and turns in his bed. He is really annoyed at the moment so he kicks off the sheets that have been bothering him all night long. He looks over to the other bed and notices that Paul is still not back from wherever the hell he went. They have a game tomorrow and there’s early skate in the morning. He does his little math thing and calculates how many hours of sleep he can get if he falls asleep now. He figures that there is really only five hours left of sleep and god he needs to stop doing the little math thing that he often do, in his head of course. Teemu closes his eyes and stubbornly drifts off to sleep.
By then, Paul has, somehow, got back into their hotel room. He trips over the shoes that are left at the end of Teemu’s bed and lets out a drunken laugh. Paul does the ‘shhhh’ motion to particular nobody, like he is trying to tell another person to be quiet, when it is really him that’s making all the noise.
Teemu never gets waken up from the noise because Paul collapses onto his bed and passes out before that can ever happen.
--
It’s four hours and fifteen minutes later.
Teemu comes out from the bathroom to find Paul asleep on his bed. He is surprised that he hasn’t noticed Paul coming into the room, or even registering that he is in the room at all. Teemu takes a look at the time and, through his annoyance, decides that he’s had enough of Paul’s shit and instead of waking up Paul, Teemu grabs his jacket and leaves the room for practice. He feels slightly guilty about leaving Paul back in their room as he walks to the elevator. But really, he shouldn’t, because it isn’t his fault. Fuck, he thinks to himself, he shouldn’t be responsible for Paul. Paul is a grown man and he can take care of himself.
The elevator arrives and as Teemu walks in the compartment, he sees a few of his teammates running down the hall and jumping in before the door closes. “Hey buddy, thanks for keep on the door open,” Mike LeClerc jokes. Mike shifts against the wall and looks around, “Hey, where’s Paul? That sleepy head still not awake?”
A chorus of quiet laughter erupts from the rest of the teammates. The ‘sleepyhead Paul’ joke has been going around lately as Paul has become one of the latest guys to wake up and barely makes it to practice on time.
Teemu laughs with the rest of them as he tries to cover his awkwardness. He shrugs, “I tried waking him up, but he ended up kicking me and telling me to go first. So I guess he’ll be coming soon.”
Teemu looks over at Mike and breathes a relief sigh, as his teammate seems to buy his cover-up explaination. He looks up at the floor numbers counting downwards. The elevator dings as they arrive at the main lobby, but suddenly a rush of guilt rushes through Teemu.
As his teammates exit the compartment, he tells them, “Actually, you guys go ahead for breakfast. I’m going to go up and check on Paul. Don’t think any of us really want our Captain to be late, no?”
Ruslan Salei slaps Teemu on the back and tells him, “You’re a good man, Teemu. And good thing you’re doing this, means that none of us have to it.”
The mass of men leaves Teemu alone in the elevator. Teemu shakes his head and presses ‘15’ on the wall full of buttons.
--
It’s a minute and few more seconds later.
Teemu takes out the hotel room cardkey from his back pocket and inserts it into the key slot. He opens the door to find Paul still flopped on his bed. Teemu slams the door close, which in turn causes Paul to startle awake and fall off the bed.
A groan echoes in the room as Paul struggles to climb back onto the bed. “I know that’s you, Teemu. Just give me a few more minutes. Like fifteen, ten, or dude, even five. I’m just so tired and I have this fucking headache that won’t go away,” Paul puts his hands to his head.
“Then maybe you shouldn’t have gone out and partied all night long. We do have a game, you know.” Teemu walks over to where Paul is, and reluctantly carries Paul to the bathroom. “And you better take a shower before you leave this room, ‘cause you smell like shit.”
“I don’t wanna,” Paul mumbles against Teemu’s shoulder. “Just let me sleep.”
Teemu tells himself that ‘this is for the team’ over and over again and he is doing this ‘for the team’s sake’, because really now is not the right time to have Paul to be right against him. He places Paul into the shower and awkwardly pulls off Paul’s shirt. Teemu can smell the alcohol stink and wants to get away from it as soon as he can. So Teemu backs away and pulls the shower curtain, but Paul - who isn’t as hungover as Teemu has though - grabs Teemu’s arm and pulls Teemu into the shower with him.
Teemu almost trips over the tub but luckily caught his footing in time. He laughs at himself. Teemu really doesn’t want a twisted ankle or broken leg at the moment. He doesn’t think his coach would appreciate the injury very much and especially not the way he injured himself. ‘Yes coach, I got the injury from being pulled into the shower by our captain.’
Not only that he almost fell over, the cold water has poured down onto him, soaking his shirt and pants altogether. “Damn it, Paul. It’s bad enough that you are soaking wet, you don’t need to get me wet too.” Teemu’s last words are lost before he can finish the sentence. Paul closes in the gap between Teemu and him. Teemu is afraid that Paul will do something that both of them will regret but that worry leaves his mind as Paul leans in and kisses him under the showerhead.
Paul wishes their reunion could be a little more romantic, but right now, he will take anything he can get. He pulls Teemu closer to him. “God, I missed you so much,” Paul whispers to Teemu. Paul nips at Teemu’s shoulder before licking a trail from his neck to his ears. “Why did we ever stop this?”
“Because, I said I didn’t, want to, do this, yes, god this, anymore,” Teemu replies between gasps. “I’m getting myself into, a lot, and a lot, of trouble, aren’t I?”
Paul chuckles. “Yes you are, and I'm aware of it. But for once, stop thinking about it and enjoy it.”
(Yes, they actually turn the water to hot again later if you are wondering, but both of them have already caught a cold by then.)
--
It’s at least thirty minutes later.
“You know, I lied about not wanting you or being with you.” Teemu looks up into the ceiling. Teemu has lied about a lot of things in his life, but that is one lie he will probably regret for the rest of his life, probably.
“I think I knew that,” Paul tells Teemu with a sigh. “I mean, I saw it coming. Or at least I think I did. I could see you changing. You won’t look me in the eye when I talk to you. And you turn away from me when we were together,” Paul says as he looks directly at Teemu. “Don’t think I don’t notice these things.”
Teemu stares back silently. At the moment, he doesn’t know what to say. At least nothing that would help the situation. He didn’t mean to hurt Paul, really he didn’t. He wants to tell Paul that hurting him was the last thing he wanted to do. But he can’t see to form any words to explain.
Paul sits up from his bed and looks at the TV, “No, don’t say anything. I don’t want anymore lies from you.”
Teemu opens his mouth to say something, but he is lost for words.
“Whatever it is. I don’t want to hear it right now.” Paul pushes himself off his bed. “We should get going. It’s time for practice, right? Guess I’m missed breakfast again.”
Teemu continues to stare at Paul and snaps out of his state. “Right. Yeah, practice.”
Both men pick up their coat and stands in front of the door. Paul puts his hand on the doorknob as Teemu close in the space between them. “Paul, I know you don’t want to hear this, but...”
Paul squeezes his eyes shut and closes his fist on the doorknob. “No, Teemu. No. Not now, not today. We have a game to play. I don’t want anything to distract us from it. You know that the team always come first.”
Teemu numbly nods his head and follows Paul out the door. ‘No. I always came first with you. But I guess not anymore.’
"Chocolate" by Snow Patrol
This could be the very minute
I'm aware I'm alive
All these places feel like home
With a name I'd never chosen
I can make my first steps
As a child of 25
This is the straw, final straw in the
Roof of my mouth as I lie to you
Just because I'm sorry doesn't mean
I didn't enjoy it at the time
You're the only thing that I love
It scares me more every day
On my knees I think clearer
Goodness knows I saw it coming
Or at least I'll claim I did
But in truth I'm lost for words
What have I done it's too late for that
What have I become truth is nothing yet
A simple mistake starts the hardest time
I promise I'll do anything you ask...this time