Fandom: Hockey

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Alex gets lucky! Or does he?

Warnings: slash, silliness on the author's part

A/N: Here's the second of the 'series.' I felt bad for Wren, so I wrote him a reward for all his hard work. As before, this story is set when all these players are in the AHL for the Binghamton Senators. Their current situations are a little more varied, from Europe, to the NHL, to the AHL. Technically, I should have posted this some time over the summer. I don't really have an excuse for why I didn't except that I'm lazy and last time I tried this, I lost all the work I'd done. Needless to say, I was frustrated.

Yes, I'm still a fangirl. I admit it freely. But seriously, these guys are just too awesome! I can't resist writing about them! In any case, I hope someone out there enjoys my silliness and bad writing. ^-^

Disclaimer: I in no way, shape, or form, have any association whatsoever with these players except for the fact that I like to watch them play. This story in NO way depicts anything that has happened in real life. 'Nuff said.

Bob Wren flopped wearily onto one of the benches in the locker room. The atmosphere in the locker room was cheerful, if slightly subdued. The general consensus was that they had played well and should have won. Yeah, their defense had been a little shoddy, but Ray had been solid, and they’d had some really good opportunities. They’d got the tie, but they’d earned the win. Wren had personally played his heart out, battling not only against the regular defense of the Bulldogs, but also against the disadvantages of his own size. He felt ready to drop.

A loud burst of laughter from across the locker room made him lift his head. It was no surprise that Antoine was the center of attention. He appeared to be doing an imitation of the ref. Brian McGrattan and Christophe Schubert were leaning heavily on each other, laughing hysterically. Josh Langfeld was grinning, arm draped casually over Chris Kelly’s shoulder. Chris was rolling his eyes and suppressing his own grin. Wren wondered for a minute where the other member of their little group, Alex Giroux, was, then dismissed it from his mind. It wasn’t like the five of them were handcuffed together or anything. They did spend time with other people. Kelly wasn’t officially part of their group, but he’d been spending a lot of time with them lately. Or rather, he’d been spending a lot of time with Josh lately. Wren had his own suspicions about that. It wasn’t like the two of them were particularly subtle about anything, after all. No one seemed to really care anyway. Wren certainly didn’t. Good for them, was his opinion. Now if only he could...

Wren sighed and leaned back, closing his eyes. He didn’t see how he was going to get the energy to change. Exhaustion was not fun.

The bench moved a little as someone sat to the left of him. "Man, you look really exhausted," a familiar voice said in his ear.

Wren cracked open an eye. So that was where Alex had gone. He was stalking him, his exhausted mind noted distantly.

"Are you ok?" Alex asked, touching his hand.

Wren’s eyes shot open and it was all he could do not to jump up and start dancing. That touch had been pure electricity, and he wasn’t talking about static. Wren stared incredulously at Alex. "I’m fine," he said, voice coming out as barely more than a whisper.

"You don’t sound fine," said Alex hoarsely.

Wren cleared his throat. "All of a sudden, you don’t sound so great yourself."

Alex laughed. "Point. So, the reason I came over here was to ask you if you wanted to go out with us tonight. Kind of a celebratory ‘We almost won’ thing to cheer us up."

"Define ‘us.’"

"You know, me, Antoine, Schu, Grat, Josh. Probably Kelly too, considering the way he and Josh are attached at the hip or something. So what do you say?"

Wren hesitated, then remembered that touch. "...Sure, but I’ll need a ride. I usually take the bus."

"No prob. I’ll even give you shot-gun and make the three stooges sit in the back for once instead of piling on top of each other in the front."

Wren raised an eyebrow, but wasn’t surprised by the image. Nothing the three of them did could shock him.

Alex shifted a little, and Wren turned his attention back to him. "So...I’m gonna finish getting changed. I'll meet you outside the locker room in about ten minutes, ok?"

Wren nodded. Sleep had just become the least of his worries.

The car ride was...interesting, to say the least. True to his word, Alex gave Wren the front seat, forcing Antoine, McGrattan, and Schubert into the cramped back. Their pained complaints almost had Wren feeling sorry for them. Until they made an attempt at buckling their seatbelts. (Apparently none of them trusted Alex’s driving. Wren took that for a bad sign, and made it a point to double-check his own seatbelt.)

First there was a squeal from Antoine, who had been shoved into the center by his two bigger friends. Then there was the breathy utterance of "Ooo, Christophe," also from Antoine. The small, frightened near-whimper that followed from Schubert could only have been caused by Vermette responding in kind. The thud was obviously Schubert hitting Vermette over the head. Then there was a soft shuffling sound that could only be described as cuddling.

"What are you doing?" McGrattan asked, sounding amused.

"Protect me from that big meanie, Bri!" Antoine whined.

"Vermette. You play hockey for a living. Grow up," deadpanned Schubert.

Wren decided to brave a glance behind him just in time to see Vermette move to sit practically on top of McGrattan, and start...purring? Wren shook his head and turned back to face the front. "You have some very weird friends," he informed Alex.

Alex grinned. "They may be weird, but they’re great entertainment."

"Way to be sensitive, Alex," said Schubert from the back.

"I think I’m wounded, man," chimed in McGrattan over Vermette’s purring. "Besides, it’s not like you’re precisely the model-boy of normalness yourself here. You know?"

"Grat, I don’t think normalness is even a word," said Vermette in a stage whisper.

"Hey. You’re supposed to be on my side here, moron," McGrattan growled. Vermette surreptitiously went back to his purring. Wren suppressed laughter. Alex was right: they definitely had good entertainment value, if nothing else.

Soon after that they arrived at their destination, a small bar across town. They’d beat Josh and Chris there. Wren figured it probably had something to do with the way Alex had insisted on driving at least 10 mph over the speed limit no matter what, and usually considerably more.

The bar was nearly deserted except for the few lone drinkers in the corner. Vermette, McGrattan and Schubert immediately headed for the bar. Alex hung back a little to walk beside Wren. Wren smiled at him, but didn’t say anything. They arrived at the bar just in time to hear Vermette ordering Sierra Mist.

Wren looked at Alex. "I thought that Sierra Mist was some type of soda," he said.

Alex snickered. "It is. He’s too young to drink alcohol."

Wren held back a snicker as well. They ordered their own drinks. They had just been delivered when the sound of loud voices coming from the door distracted him. Wren turned his head just in time to see Chris come storming in, followed closely by a sheepish-looking Josh. Chris immediately went to the only open seat on the left by McGrattan. Josh stopped, stuck out his tongue at Chris’s stiff back, and then made his way over to sit by Alex.

"Trouble in paradise?" asked Alex sympathetically.

Josh nodded, and gestured to the bartender. She came over and took his order and money, then left.

"So, what happened?" asked Alex.

"Oh, Chris is mad because I had a little incident with his car."

"What kind of incident?"

"Well, I asked to drive, right? So he let me and I kind of..." Josh ducked his head in embarrassment, mumbling something unintelligible. Alex raised an eyebrow. "So I can understand you?"

"I got a speeding ticket, and then I ran into a fire hydrant when I parked, and the car got just a little dented, and the fire hydrant started spraying water all over the place, and it was just really bad."

The bartender returned in the middle of his little diatribe. She placed the drink in front of him, looked at him strangely, and then left shaking her head.

Wren winced, sympathizing with the bartender. "How bad was the damage to the car?"

"Just a little dent!" Josh sounded like he’d already said that once and it probably hadn’t been any more convincing the first time around.

Wren resisted the urge to give him the ‘You’re lying and we all know it’ look, and instead said mildly, "Maybe you should offer to pay for the damage."

Josh’s eyes lit up. "That’s a great idea, Wren!" He jumped up, and jubilantly hugged Wren. "You're a prince, seriously!"

Then as quickly as the hug had started, it ended, and Wren found himself wobbling precariously on his stool while Josh rushed over to Chris. Alex put out a hand to steady Wren. "I think you made his night."

Wren shrugged. "It seemed like the obvious solution."

"Only to your brilliant mind," said Alex, grinning. Wren rolled his eyes.

"Whatever." After that, silence fell over their end of the bar, each feeling awkward, but neither knowing what to say. Wren cast around for a conversational topic. His eyes lit on Josh’s abandoned drink. "Langfeld left his drink," he commented.

Alex grinned. "Great. More for me. He’ll never miss it," he said, tipping it back.

Wren shook his head. "That wasn’t particularly polite."

"Privilege of the best friend. Besides, like Schu said, ‘You play hockey for a living. Grow up.’ "

Wren frowned and took a gulp of his drink as a cover while his slightly tipsy mind tried to come up with a response. Finally, he said, "Alex, I hate to break this to you, but hockey player does not equal gorilla with no manners."

"But being a gorilla with no manners is just so much fun!"

Wren batted his eyes, feeling even more tipsy from his drink, which had now been refilled several times. "But I don’t like ill-mannered gorillas."

Alex took a minute to process that, alcohol obviously affecting him as well. Then he batted his eyes as well, somehow managing to look both silly and sexy at the same time. Wren put a hand over his mouth, trying to suppress the treacherous giggle that threatened to bubble up in him. It was to no avail though. The giggle burst out, leaving him feeling slightly embarrassed, and more than slightly ridiculous. Not to mention the center of attention.

Someone poked him in the side. He turned to see McGrattan looking at him with a wide grin on his face. "Did you just giggle?" he asked, words slightly slurred.

Wren nodded, burying his burning face in his hands.

"Aww! L’il Wrenlet’s embarrassed!" McGrattan exclaimed, letting out something that sounded suspiciously like another giggle.

Wren opened his mouth to respond. He figured something like ‘Look who’s talking’ would do it. Right at that moment though, Alex put an arm around his shoulder. While Wren dealt with the shock that went through him at the contact, Alex leaned forward to address McGrattan.

"What did you just call him?" he asked, sounding delighted.

McGrattan thought about that for a second. "Wrenlet," he replied finally.

Wren blinked. "The hell is up with that?"

McGrattan shrugged. "Dunno. I guess I thought, you know, you’re little so instead of just Wren you should be Wrenlet."

Wren sulked a little. "Just because the rest of you are hulking brutes doesn’t mean I’m little."

McGrattan shrugged again. "Whatever," he said, turning his attention back to Vermette and Schubert.

"Hey, you know what they say," said Alex consolingly.

"No. I don’t," Wren stated flatly.

"Good things come in small packages," he said with a smirk and a leer. Wren thought about pushing his arm off his shoulders. "Besides, I think Wrenlet’s a cute nickname."

"You would," Wren muttered. "I don’t think I like you anymore," he added, knowing he was acting childish, but not really caring.

Alex blinked. "I wasn’t aware that you liked me in the first place."

"That’s ‘cause you’re a dumbass."

Alex laughed. "You act like five-year-old when you’re drunk. I hope you know that."

"Does it bother you?" Wren tried to keep the anxious note out of his voice, but was fairly certain that he didn’t succeed. Alex was right; he really did act like a five-year-old when he was drunk.

"Now who’s being a dumbass?"

"Bite me."

To Wren’s horror, Alex leaned down with an evil grin and did just that.

Wren yelped, suppressing the surge of lust that went through him. "You creep! That hurt!" Wren exclaimed, purposefully ignoring any other effects it had had. Scowling, he reached up to rub the spot on his shoulder where he could still feel the imprints of Alex’s teeth.

Alex reached out and replaced Wren’s hand with his own. "Sorry, but you asked for it."

Wren didn’t reply, secretly reveling in the way Alex’s fingers were rubbing comforting circles on his shoulder. Despite himself, as he began to relax his eyes started to droop shut. He was still exhausted from the game after all.

Alex chuckled as his head dropped forward slightly, then jerked up again. "Tired?"

Wren gave him a ‘duh’ look.

"Ok, dumb question. Here’s a better one. You want me to give you a ride home?"

Wren shook his head. "Then what would your friends do? You gave them a ride over too."

"Ah, that brilliant mind again. Well, I think I may have a solution to that."

Alex stood abruptly, heading toward the end of the bar where Josh and Chris were sitting. Wren wasted a moment lamenting the loss of Alex’s warm hand on his shoulder, then got up and followed him over. He wanted to see this if it was what he thought it was. He got there just in time to hear Alex ask, "Hey, Kelly, you mind giving the other guys a ride home? Wren is tired."

Wren suppressed the urge to smack Alex. It wasn’t Alex’s fault that he felt like he was a teenager again. It was his fault that he was acting like a moron. It was just...it had been a while. Shaking his head, he tried to look neutral as he looked at Kelly. Maybe it would be best if he did go home. But he wanted to spend more time with Alex! Squashing his conflicting thoughts, he waited for Kelly’s response.

Kelly was looking a bit sour, probably from the earlier incident with his car. And sure enough... "How like are they to damage my car?"

"Just don’t let Josh drive and you should be fine."

Josh looked sheepish, but didn’t object. Kelly hesitated a minute longer, then reluctantly nodded.

Alex grinned. Wren, a little star struck, noted that he seemed to be doing that an awful lot lately. Almost as if he could read Wren’s mind, Alex’s grin softened to a mere smile, this time directed at Wren. Wren stared at him solemnly for a minute, trying to figure out exactly what he was getting himself into, then gave it up and smiled back, thoughtfully. Alex’s smile faltered a bit until he was the one doing the solemn stare.

Feeling suddenly and remarkably sober, Wren reached up and touched Alex’s cheek. They froze like that for a moment, and then Wren began to remove his hand. Alex reached up and caught it before he could get it very far though. Their gazes locked, and Wren shivered.

Finally Alex broke the tableau, turning his head to glare at Josh, who had just opened his mouth, most likely intending to say something obnoxious. He wilted slightly under Alex’s glare. Chris rolled his eyes. Then Alex was moving, pulling Wren along by the hand he still held. Alex continued to hold Wren’s hand until they reached his car.

The ride to Wren’s apartment was quiet except for the occasional instruction from Wren. It was a short ride, and when they reached their destination Wren found himself wishing he could spend more time with Alex. Sleep seemed like a distant concern compared to that wish. He stayed seated for a long moment, weighing that desire. The next minute his mind was made up. "Do you want to come up for a while?"

Alex looked doubtful. "Don’t you want to sleep? I mean, anyone with eyes can tell that you’re exhausted."

Wren shrugged. "I’m not *that* tired." A huge yawn split his face, and he grinned sheepishly. "Ok, maybe I am, but sleep can wait, and I don’t want you to leave quite yet."

Alex laughed, but his eyes remained serious. "I really like you, you know," he said.

"I really like you too, which is why I’d really like it if you’d come up to my apartment."

"You’re really sure?"

"For God’s sake, Alex, yes! Now come on!"

Wren got out of the car, and walked to the other side. Opening the door and pulling an unresisting Alex along behind him, he led the way to his apartment. He fumbled slightly with the keys, nearly dropping them, but managed not to. He hesitated only slightly in the doorway before leading Alex into his small living room. Wren pushed Alex onto the couch, and handed him the remote. "Find something you want to watch," he instructed. "Would you like something to drink?"

Alex quirked an eyebrow. "Has anyone ever told you that you’re really cute when you’re determined?"

Wren flushed, but otherwise ignored the comment. "What would you like to drink?" he asked again.

"Water, please."

Wren nodded, and went into the kitchen. He used the mundane task of getting a glass of water to calm his nerves. Thankfully, it worked, and he felt a lot more confident returning to the living room than he had leaving it.

Alex had settled on one of the Lethal Weapon movies. Wren was fairly sure it was the first one. He handed Alex his water, then sat down beside him. Alex downed the water within a few seconds, then began to toy with the glass. Wren watched him for a minute out of the corner of his eyes, then reached over and took the glass from him and set it on the floor. "Nervous?" Wren asked.

"Like you wouldn’t believe," replied Alex with a sheepish grin.

"Oh, I don’t know. I think I’m more likely to believe you than you realize."

Alex blinked, as if the thought had never occurred to him. Unable to resist temptation, Wren reached over and tweaked Alex’s nose. Alex looked even more startled, if that was possible, then laughed and slung a seemingly casual arm around Wren’s shoulder. "I’m being dumb, aren’t I?"

Wren nodded and leaned closer to him. "Yeah, just a little," he replied dryly. Alex laughed, and Wren noticed absently that Alex had a really nice laugh. It was one of those contagious laughs that made you want to join in. "You seem to be laughing a lot tonight," Wren observed.

Alex shrugged and pulled Wren a bit closer to him. "You make me happy."

Wren adjusted his position so that he was leaning directly on Alex. "I’m glad."

Yet another jaw-breaking yawn over-whelmed him, and then as if by some spoken agreement, they both turned their attention to the TV. Five minutes later Wren’s eyes drifted shut and a soft snore escaped from his lips. Alex glanced down to find that Wren was completely and totally asleep. He smiled and drew a blanket from the back of the couch over them. He stroked a hand through Wren’s light brown hair and leaned comfortably against the arm of the couch, thinking he’d watched the rest of the movie and then sneak out. The game had taken more out of him than he’d thought though, and barely a quarter of an hour later found him drifting off into sleep as well.

They arrived at practice the next day just in time to avoid being late, and quickly separated to get ready. They were aware of the eyes on them, but ignored them. During stretches though, McGrattan settled down beside Wren and with an obnoxious smirk, asked, "So what exactly did you and Alex do last night after leaving the rest of us so quickly?"

Wren shrugged and answered without thinking. "Nothing. We just went back to my place and slept together."

McGrattan let out a whoop of laughter. "I wouldn’t call that nothing, Wrenlet!"

Wren, just realizing what he’d said, blushed. "I didn’t mean it like that! I mean, we actually slept! We didn’t-" He fumbled for words.

"Fuck?" McGrattan supplied, smirking.

Wren blushed harder. "Yeah."

McGrattan looked at something behind Wren. Wren turned his head to see Alex watching the two of them. They exchanged smiles. "Guess you didn’t get lucky last night after all," McGrattan said, laughing slightly at his own joke.

Alex’s smile widened a bit. "No, Grat, you’re wrong. I think I got way luckier than you’ll ever realize."

--THE END!!!!