Fandom: Hockey

Rating: PG

Summary: Alex gets traded. The phone proceeds to ring many times.

Warnings: slash, silliness on the author's part, slight language

A/N: Set in the 2003-2004 season, I started writing this right after Alexandre Giroux was traded to the Rangers on March 9th. Unfortunately, I took a long time about the conclusion, and an even longer time about editing it. I guess you can say this was my way of coming to terms with one of my favorite players getting traded to a team that I basically can't stand. So this one is a little less silly than the others, but it's still got some...interesting moments. ;)

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.

It all started with a call from Kelly, because yeah, the guy could be a prick, but he knew how treat his teammates. Even if they weren’t technically teammates anymore. Because, hey, being his best friend’s boyfriend had to count for something too.

"Hello?" Alex’s voice was kind of hoarse, but it was because he had a cold. Nothing else.

"You ok, man?"

"I’m fine." It came out sounding like he was upset. He wasn’t. It was just…the phone had woke him up. Yeah.

"Ok…" Kelly sounded worried.

"So why are you calling?"

"I wanted to see how you were doing."

"I told you I’m fine."

Someone snorted, and it definitely wasn’t Kelly. Which only left Josh. And sure enough… "Like hell you’re fine!" Josh sounded pissed. "Don’t even give us that bullshit, Alex. We know you better than that. I know you better than that."

"Ok, I’m not fine. I’m a little surprised, but I’m sure I’ll get over it soon enough."

"Quit bullshitting me and just talk to us!"

Alex let his silence speak for itself, even though he knew it’d just upset Josh more. Sometimes he just needed to stop pushing.

"Alex, I-"

"Shut up, Josh." At least Kelly knew when to let a guy have some space. Probably one of the reasons they were so good together.

Alex felt a brief flash of longing for Wren, but he squashed it ruthlessly. Wren was in Germany. He probably didn’t even know yet. Besides, he had other things to worry about, and Alex could take care of himself. He said as much, and the silence on the other end was just as telling as his own had been. Alex thought about being mad for a moment, then decided against it. Too much effort.

So they sat, silence on both ends of the line until finally Kelly spoke. "Just…call us if you need someone to talk to, ok? No matter what time it is or how stupid you feel or whatever."

"We’re here for you, dude," Josh said, at his most solemn.

"Ok, I’ll do that," Alex said, even though he knew it was a lie. Because it was a white lie, and those were allowed, right? "Bye."

"Bye."

Alex hung up, shaking his head. They were making too much of this. Guys got traded all the time. It wasn’t like he was any different.

The second time the phone rang found Alex staring mindlessly at Cops reruns. He thought about ignoring it, then decided not to. After all, you never knew what might be important. He certainly hadn’t been expecting it to be so important when the phone had rang first thing this morning, so who knew what it might be now. "Hello?"

"Hello, is this Alex?" lisped a high-pitched voice.

Alex rolled his eyes. "I know that’s you, Grat. Just because I got traded doesn’t mean I suddenly morphed into a complete fuckwit."

"Really?" asked Grat in his regular voice. "Because somehow I thought that was a basic requirement of becoming a New York Ranger."

"Fuck you too."

"Aw, man, you know I’m kidding. Don’t be an ass."

"What do you want?" Alex growled.

"Just making sure you’re not sitting over there bawling your eyes out or something."

"Have I mentioned ‘Fuck you’?"

"You might’ve." Alex could almost hear Grat shrugging.

"Ok, just making sure I was properly conveying the sentiment."

"Oh, stop trying to act tough. Nobody’s buying it."

"I don’t have to take this, you know. I could just hang up on you."

"Then why don’t you?"

Silence.

"That’s what I thought. Now listen to me. You’re gonna be fine, so stop sitting there feeling sorry for yourself. It’s not becoming."

"I am not sitting here feeling sorry for myself," said Alex in a voice that came out entirely too whiny for his own peace of mind.

"Yeah, sure you aren’t. Now get this through your head. This is not the end of the world. You’re gonna go to your new team. You’re probably going to get more opportunities there than you do here. You’re gonna make new friends, and the great thing is, you’ll still have all of us hanging around bothering you too. Capice?"

"If I say ‘Yes’ will you leave me alone?" Alex wondered.

"For now."

"Ok then, yes."

"Right. Talk to you later then."

"Goodbye," Alex said, almost cheerfully.

"Think about what I said."

"Goodbye." The goodbye was a little less cheerful this time.

"Cheer up."

"Goodbye." He sounded downright irritable now.

"Now, Alex, I know you’re dying to keep talking, but I really need to go. I’ll talk to you later."

"Goodbye," in a growl.

"Bye." Finally, Grat hung up the phone.

Alex turned back to his reruns, only to find he’d lost interest. He switched off the TV to stare at the wall in peace. After all, he might never see that wall again after this. Unfortunately, he didn’t get much time to study that fascinating wall. Just a few minutes after he’d hung up the phone for the second time, the phone had the audacity to ring for a third time.

German accents were few and far between in NY state, and he was easily able to identify the speaker as Schubert. "Hey, what’s up?" asked Schu. "Started packing yet?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Don’t feel like it."

Schu sighed. "Excuses, excuses. You’re so lazy. So when are you leaving?"

"I don’t know. Tomorrow, maybe the day after."

"You going to Hartford or New York?"

"Hartford probably."

"You don’t sound very happy."

"You don’t sound very concerned about the fact that I’m leaving."

Alex could almost picture the puzzled look on Schu’s face as the silence spread. "Why would I be?"

"I don’t know. Everyone else seems to be."

"Oh, well, I know you can take care of yourself. I mean, ever since I’ve gotten here you’ve always known exactly what to do. I didn’t think this would be any different. Was I wrong?"

Alex found himself unable to speak for a long moment before finally replying, "No, you weren’t wrong. I can take care of myself." Then, before he could think better of it, he said, "Thanks for calling, Schu. How about I call you back later, after everything’s been finalized. Ok?"

"Yeah, Sure. And, Alex?"

"Yeah?"

"I will miss you."

"I’ll miss you too, Schu."

His apartment was a mess, he realized after the phone was back on the hook. He’d have to remedy that, get his things gathered together. Resigned, but not feeling as dull about it as he would have expected, he got off the bed and started to clean.

He hadn’t made much headway when the phone rang once again. Briefly he wondered if it was possible for a phone to wear out from overuse, then decided it was unlikely. He was pretty sure he would have heard about it before now if it worked like that. "Hello?"

"Hey, Alex. It’s me."

For a minute he didn’t recognize the voice, not having heard it since training camp. Then it clicked. "What are you calling me for, Poth? I didn’t even think you knew my number."

"Oh, I make it my business to know things like this. Official or not, I take my duties seriously."

Alex nodded, remembering. Truer words were rarely spoken. "So what’s your duty this time?"

"Oh, nothing too strenuous. Talk a little. Maybe provide a friendly distraction. Definitely figure out how you’re handling this whole thing."

Alex thought about that, then said, "You know, you’re the fourth person to call me today."

"Well, you know, larger distance and slower news…"

"Kelly was first," Alex interrupted.

"Well, I’ll be. I’ll have to congratulate him next time I see him. I taught him well. Anyway, what are you up to?"

"Well, I was trying to get my stuff together, until someone decided to interrupt me."

"I wonder who that could be?"

"I don’t know. Someone annoying most likely."

Pothier scoffed. "Oh, now I wouldn’t go that far. I mean, maybe that person is just worried about you. Would that really be so bad?"

Alex paused. "Well, no, it probably wouldn’t be that bad. Thing is though, someone reminded me of something today."

"And what would that be?"

"I can take care of myself. I’ll be fine."

Now it was Poth’s turn to pause. Alex took the opportunity to begin formulating a better plan on how to clean his apartment. It really was a pigsty. He’d probably have to end up leaving a lot of his junk, and then come back once he had some free time to get the rest of it. All-Star Break maybe? Yeah, that’d probably-

"Alex?" Poth’s voice broke into his thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"This is going to sound really weird."

"Poth, you always sound really weird."

"I’m serious."

"Ok, sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt. Go ahead."

"I know I’m not your dad or anything, but I just wanted to tell you that I’m proud of you. You’re being very mature about this whole situation."

Alex let out a short laugh. "No, I’m not. I just put up a good front."

"Well, whatever the case, I’m very proud of you."

"Thanks, Poth. That means a lot to me."

There was a moment of silence, then Poth cleared his throat. "Well, I’m going to let you go now. But you keep in touch! I want a phone call as soon as you get settled in there." Alex smiled, even though he knew that Poth couldn’t see him. It was the thought that counted, right? "I’ll do that. Good-bye, Poth."

"Bye, Alex."

This time he was able to actually begin to accomplish something, a major triumph in his book. But when the phone rang for what had to be the fourth or fifth time that day, he found that he wasn’t really surprised. "Hello?" he said absently, still shoving clothes into his suitcase.

"Yo, Alex! ‘Sup?"

"Besides your lack of sanity?" Alex quipped, shaking out and folding a crumpled shirt.

"Hey, I resent that remark."

"Well goody for you. Would you like me to shake your hand?"

"Don’t be a smartass, Alex."

"Don’t be a psychopath, Vermette."

Vermette huffed, but didn’t object to his latest title.

"So what are you calling for?" Alex asked. "No, wait. Let me guess. You’re worried about poor defenseless little Alex being swept out into the wide world all by his lonesome."

"Hey, man, you nailed it!" Vermette exclaimed enthusiastically. "How’d you guess?"

Alex rolled his eyes. "Have I told you lately that-"

"-you love me?" Vermette interrupted. "No, but that’s the real reason I called."

Vermette’s voice dropped to a dramatic whisper. "Alex, I have a confession to make. I love you."

Alex paused, suppressing the shriek of "WHAT?" that automatically rose to his throat. Long seconds passed as he tried to decide what the appropriate answer would be. Vermette had sounded so serious… Finally Alex settled on asking very slowly, "Antoine, are you serious?"

"Alex, I...totally tricked your ass!" Vermette laughed.

Alex groaned. "I knew you were the spawn of Satan! Are you capable of being serious for even one minute?"

"Actually, yeah, I think I do have about one minute in me today. Now, don’t blink or you’ll miss it, but…Alex, I just wanted to tell you that-" A dramatic note crept into Vermette’s voice, "I- I’m not a man anymore. I had a sex change while I was up here in Ottawa, and I’m just so ashamed of myself, but I want you too bad, Alex. I just had to call you. You are the essence of hotness, Alex, and I want you to take me. I’m yours."

There was a moment of silence as Alex let what Vermette had just said sink into his head. Then a strange sound started at Alex’s end of the phone line. First it was a snicker. Then it slowly became a chuckle until finally it happened. Alex was laughing, laughing so hard that his stomach hurt, laughing so hard that his eyes were watering, laughing so hard that he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to breathe again.

It wasn’t until Alex was wiping the tears from his eyes and slowly learning to breathe again that he realized he had set the phone down while he was laughing, and Vermette was still on the other end. Oops! Alex hastily picked up the phone and winced. "Hello?" he said hesitantly, expecting to get bitched out on the spot.

To his surprise, Vermette’s reply was a simple, "You done now?"

Alex paused, pretending to think about it. Sometimes you just had to be a pain in the ass. It was an utterly necessary friendship thing. Then he spoke just as Vermette was about to let out a growl of frustration. "Yeah, I think that I’m done now."

"Good. Sometimes you’re just too serious, you know? Someone’s got to make you lighten up."

"And I suppose you feel that’s your job?"

"Well of course. Who else is so perfectly suited to the job?"

Alex rolled his eyes, but decided to humor Vermette. After all, they were friends, and tolerance was another necessary friendship thing, especially with Vermette. "No one," he replied, letting his sincerity show through in his voice.

There was a moment of silence from the other end of the line, and then Vermette cleared his throat. "Right, well, I’ve got to go now. Practice and all. But you take care of yourself, ok, Alex?"

"Sure," Alex agreed amiably. "You too."

"Adios!"

"Good-bye."

Alex hung up the phone, but didn’t move. Then before he could give himself a chance to reconsider, he picked the phone back up and dialed a number that he knew by heart. While the phone was ringing he thought about backing out, but he knew that the Caller ID would give him away. Besides, Alex thought that it might be nice to be the one doing the calling for once. By the time the phone had reached the fifth ring, Alex wondered if maybe he’d managed to catch him while he was out. At practice, hanging with his new friends, doing something in this new life that Alex could hardly touch. He was on the verge of hanging up when the phone cut off in mid-ring and a groggy voice murmured, "Hallo? Wissen Sie, welche Zeit es ist?"

Alex let a tremulous grin light his face at the sound of the much-missed voice. He didn’t need a translator to know that Wren was complaining about the time. He hadn’t even thought about the time difference when he’d picked up the phone, but now that he thought about, it had to be sometime early in the morning. Wren never had been good at mornings. "Hey, it’s me," he said into the silence that followed the grumpy question.

"Alex?" Wren sounded a bit more awake now, and concern was evident in his voice. "Is something wrong? Why are you calling me at this time of night?"

Alex grimaced because that really was embarrassing. You’d think after nearly six months he’d be able to remember something as simple as a difference in time zones.

Wren sighed, then said, "Stop yelling at yourself and tell me what’s going on."

Alex blinked, having forgotten an answer was expected of him. He debated for a second, then, deciding that simpler was better, he said, "I got traded. I thought you should know."

Wren was silent for a long moment, and Alex almost thought that the connection had been lost. Which really would be ironic, considering the many other phone calls he’d had that day where he might not have minded losing the connection at all. But then Wren spoke again, voice calm, but with just a touch of concern. "Where to?"

"Rangers. Looks like I’ll be traveling to Hartford pretty soon."

"When did you find out?"

"I got the call this morning. A couple hours later I was the most popular guy in town. First it was Kelly and Langfeld, then Grat, then Schu, then Poth, then Vermette. Then I called you."

"I guess you haven’t lacked for conversation then." Wren sounded exasperated, and…was that guilt? Oh, no, none of that!

"I wouldn’t exactly call it conversation. More everyone ganging up on poor defenseless little me, trying to convince me that I was moping and sad when I really wasn’t."

"Uh-huh." And now Wren sounded amused, which suited Alex just fine since it was what he’d been going for in the first place. "Well, far be it from me to comment on the intellect of your friends…"

"Don’t you even start! You know that they’re your friends too, so don’t even deny it."

"Yeah, but I’m the brains of the operation. You’re just another minion. There’s a difference."

Alex snorted. "And you’re so modest too."

"Hey, nobody’s perfect." Both paused to chuckle, then Wren sobered. "Seriously, Alex, are you ok? How are you dealing with this?"

Alex paused to consider that. "You know, if you’d asked me a few hours ago, I’d have said I was fine. I would have been mad at you for asking, and I would have believed that I was fine. But you know, I’m not really fine. I mean, we all know it happens, especially in this league, but…not to me, you know? Always to someone else. Except this time it is me, and I hate to admit it, but I’m scared. I love this team. The Rangers? Hartford? Who gives a fuck about them? So I guess I’m not really fine. But I think - No, I know - that I will be. That’s why I called you. Because I’ll be fine, but I wanted you to know that, so you wouldn’t hear and worry and be just another person calling to check on me or whatever. Besides, you more than anyone must know exactly how I’m feeling. So yeah, I’m not fine. But I will be."

"I’m glad. That’s good. And for what it’s worth, I know that you’ll be fine. I never doubted that for a second." The warmth in Wren’s voice was enough to Alex blush, even though there were more miles between them than Alex wanted to think about.

Alex cleared his throat. "So, how are things in Germany?"

"Eh, nicht gut, nicht schlecht. At least I’m playing."

Alex rolled his eyes at the gratuitous German. Wren claimed that he was just trying to make German come more naturally, but Alex strongly suspected that he was rather more motivated by a wish to show off his newly acquired foreign language.

"Yeah. Well, that’s what it’s all about isn’t it?"

"Yeah, I suppose it is. So anything else new over there?"

"Let’s see…Kelly’s developed some diplomacy."

"Strange, but not too surprising."

"Langfeld is an interfering and nosy prick."

"He’s your best friend. You know it better than me."

"Grat’s a nagging asshole."

"Again, nothing too surprising."

"Schu’s still Schu."

"Thank God!"

"Poth acts like he’s practicing for fathering a teenager or something."

"He’s gotten worse, then?"

"Sadly, yes. Even more sadly, he’s pretty good at it."

"And Vermette?"

"Trying to convince me he got a sex change."

"Nothing’s changed then."

"Nope, not really. Well, except you not being here, but I guess I should be used to that by now."

Wren’s voice was soft as he replied, "Yeah, you probably should."

Somehow, that wasn’t reassuring. "But?" Alex prompted, sure that there must be a but somewhere in there. Because if there wasn’t…he didn’t even want to think about it.

"But I really hope you’re not."

Alex’s voice was low as he confessed, "I don’t think I ever will be. Some things you just don’t get used to, I guess."

"This is going to sound horrible, but…I’m glad. This won’t be forever."

"I know."

"I love you."

"I love you too. And because I love you, I’m going to let you off the phone now. I haven’t forgotten that it’s the middle of the night over there. You need your rest if you’re going to play your best and show Germany what you’re made of."

"Yeah," Wren said with laughter in his voice. "I’m going to call you tomorrow though, and we’re going to talk. We haven’t been doing enough of that. Distance is no excuse."

"Yeah," Alex agreed. "Well, good night, I guess." And surprisingly enough, it was good. Somehow the day had gone from nightmare to something different, and he hadn’t even noticed.

"Good night."

A click sounded from the other end and Alex knew that Wren was gone. He’d be back tomorrow though, and the day after that, and the day after that. That was what was important. How could he have ever thought that his life was horrible? He had everything that he needed: friends that cared for him, a job that was rarely a chore, his health, and a wonderful man who loved him. How could things get better? The answer was, they couldn’t. Life was a wonderful thing indeed.