cathybites | (no subject)

you know you once held the key
[hockey rps, brandon dubinsky/nikolai zherdev, pg, 802 words]

for

girl_wonder on the occasion of her birthday. um. I don't know how charming and fun it really is, but hope you still enjoy it. :D

title from "This Is the Sea" by the Waterboys

Brandon knows what an honor it is to play for Team USA, he really does. Pulling on that jersey was something he'd dreamed about when he was younger. But after being passed over for the Olympic team, after watching his season slide off the end of Joker's stick, playing at the Worlds seems more like a consolation prize than anything else. Thanks for participating, here's a gift card to the Olive Garden.

He debates over accepting the invitation for a few days. Cally had already said he wasn't going; Brandon's pretty sure Dru is going to pass, too. But in the end, Brandon's a competitor to the core, and he's not ready to give up hockey for the season quite yet. He picks his phone up and calls Burke.

---

He and Gilroy fly over together. The first game is an exhibition match against the French, in some city Brandon's never even heard of. Amiens, and when they arrive, Brandon has a hard time believing there's even a hockey rink there. It's quaint, obviously centuries-old, and pretty much everything Brandon's ever imagined a European town to look like.

"You ever see anything like this?" he asks.

Matt looks out the window of the car and shrugs. "Reminds me of Quebec. Not Montreal, but the city."

It hits Brandon then that he's actually in Europe, about to play hockey. It seems different from the last time he was here, playing in Prague. Maybe because then it was the whole team, maybe because there's a different goal in mind.

Or maybe because it's the first time in almost a year that he's been on the same continent as Nicky. He cradles his phone in his hand, wonders what the time difference is between Amiens and Moscow

They arrive at the hotel, and Brandon pockets his phone, climbs out of the car, and follows Matt into the lobby.

---

The team practices for two days before the game. Brandon wakes up, goes to the rink, returns to the hotel, hangs out with the rest of the guys, goes to bed.

He figures out it's about a two hour drive to Paris; the flight to Moscow is almost four.

He sends his parents an e-mail to let them know he's arrived and having fun. Jags calls him for a little smack-talking, tells him to keep his head up in Germany. He keeps track of everyone else on the other teams: DZ, Staalsy, Artie.

Moscow is only two hours ahead, and finally, the night before the game, he sends a text. in France. headed to Germany for WC.

He hits the send button, then goes to shower. When he returns, his phone is dark. He touches the screen and tries not to sigh when there are no messages.

---

For a country that's only produced two guys to make it to the NHL, France is surprisingly tough to play against. They score halfway through the first, and the rest of the period is spent trying to fight them in the neutral zone. Brandon takes a penalty nearly at the end, and spends the intermission vowing to make up for it.

He does, collecting two assists for the night. They win, and as they head to the locker room, whistles and boos raining down on them, Matt comes up behind him, clapping him on the shoulder. "Glad you came?"

Brandon thinks about it for a moment, shrugs. "Yeah, I guess."

---

The team celebrates at the hotel bar, but after an hour, Brandon is ready to head back to his room. He says his goodnights and leaves.

He's halfway between his door and the elevator when he notices the figure sitting on the floor. Brandon stops, rubs his eyes and wonders if he's gone insane.

Nicky stands up, gives him a smile. "That was a good game." His accent is thicker than before, hair a little longer, body filled out a little more.

"What are--how did you get here?"

Nicky shrugs, then flaps his arms and grins. "Flew."

Brandon blinks. He shakes his head and returns the grin, giving Nicky a hip check as he passes him to get to the door.

Nicky squawks in protest, flailing dramatically before grabbing a hold of Brandon's arms to steady himself. His hands stay there even after he's righted himself, warm through Brandon's suit jacket. He steps closer, and Brandon shuts his eyes. He can feel Nicky's breath on the back of his neck, can smell his cologne.

"Missed you," Nicky says.

Brandon lets himself lean back into Nicky, just for a moment. He looks over his shoulder, smiling. "Yeah, I guess I missed you, too."

Nicky makes a face, pushes Brandon through as the door opens. It shuts with a loud click, and Brandon thinks, yeah, glad I came.

thank you for reading!