Get over it

Surprise!

The story ended 4 years ago (OMG what happened to the time!). But... it didn't. =P It just took hell of a long time to continue.

There will be more, but since I am HORRIBLY slow, I don't know when. But here is a little more right now.

I hope you enjoy. ^_^

These installments are about their life about the "Get over it" ended (or didn't).  



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TELLING THE TEAM



It was the right time. It had to be. Because Gabriel was supposed to be gone already and there was no other way to explain him staying in Finland without lying, and neither of them wanted to do that. Jesse was filled with horror but still determined to do this. Staying in the closet had never brought him happiness so maybe this new openness would. 



… Or then he would get a really nice black eye. Or his ass kicked. Or a broken skull…



What ever the case, Gabriel seemed calm when they walked into the locker room. The whole team was there, changing for practise and joking around. Jesse wasn’t going to join them today, that would be too much, he was too nervous to even drive his car, Gabriel had driven them there.



When they stepped into the locker room, all heads turned to them. There was surprise in the eyes of their teammates as they saw Gabriel, but the greatest shock was caused by the fact that they were holding hands.



And then the silence broke as one of their teammates and friends stepped closer, smiling widely. “I knew you would make it man!” he slapped Gabriel’s shoulder and Gabriel laughed softly. They shook hands. Another friend yelled from behind the others. “Congrats man!”



And a third stepped up and winked at Jesse. “We were all voting for him.” and then they were all laughing happily. Gabriel joined them but squeezed Jesse’s hand extra hard at the same time. Jesse felt stunned! And bright red. He had a hard time deciding what face to make. 



He had waited for everyone to yell at him, or even to get beaten up and this was just too much. He felt like he would soon start crying, he was so overwhelmed. Gabriel must have felt him tensing next to him because an instant later he was dragging Jesse back to the hallway. They heard cheers behind them and someone yelling “Oh fuck you, you’re not gonna have sex in a closet or something? You just came out!” and the laughter got even wilder. Jesse walked backwards as Gabriel pushed him away from the locker room and then they stopped, Gabriel pushed him against a wall and stared at his face. Jesse breathed hard.



 And then he shrugged. What could he say? His lips formed a little nervous smile and Gabriel grinned back.

“So, was it horrible?”

“No… no.” Jesse whispered back and then he was laughing too. 



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THE NIGHT



Gabriel was fast asleep when he suddenly woke to a strange grunting sound and the bed moved slightly. Jesse had jumped to sit and was breathing hard, massaging his face in the darkness. It took a moment for Gabriel to understand what was happening as he stared at his lovers heaving, shaking back. Jesse was panting, his muscles flexing as he fought down the panic and rage.



 Gabriel reached for the blond and ran his hand soothingly down his back. Jesse didn’t flinch, he might have even pushed himself a little close against his hand. Gabriel sat up next to him and took a hold of Jesse’s shoulder, massaging the tense muscles, stroking his hair with his other hand.



 “Another nightmare?” he whispered and Jesse nodded back. He was already calming down. As soon as the blond realized it was a dream and he started to wake up, he always felt instantly better. He leaned against Gabriel and sighed. His hands were still tight fists but Gabriel reached for them and helped him to open his hands and flex his fingers.



“I had wished this shit had ended already” Jesse whispered seriously, rubbing his eyes when his hands were finally working again. He didn’t get embarrassed anymore when this happened, like he had in the beginning. He had realized Gabriel was not going to make fun of him.



 “It will.” Gabriel said back, soothingly. “And it no longer makes you anxious afterwards, does it?”

“Well… not like that, not anymore. But I still feel like crap.” Jesse laughed



He had seen a psychiatrist about his trust and fear issues, when Gabriel had finally convinced him that it did not make him crazy if he went and saw one. That it might actually make him feel better. And Jesse was better. He didn’t fear anymore, not all the time, not everywhere. And his nightmares didn’t ruin the rest of the night or the next day, they didn’t keep him up anymore. They were remnants of his old life and would probably fade in time. 



Jesse wasn’t ashamed of himself anymore and didn’t feel he was doing something wrong. He knew he was not going to be punished. He had had a hard time in the beginning, making himself open up enough to be helped, but in the end he had realized that if he didn’t, nothing would change. And he knew from past experiences that that was not a good thing.



He turned enough to see Gabriel’s face and gave him a soft kiss to thank him. And then pushed him lover down to lie on his side, stroking his lovers chest. Gabriel kissed his forehead and smiled, settling into his arms contently. Just a few months ago this kind of nightmare would have kept Jesse awake half the night with a raging panic. Now his pulse had already settled and he was almost asleep. 



Gabriel watched his calm expression with a slight smile on his face as the blond drifted into deep, happy sleep.



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FRIENDS AND BEER



The music turned slow and Jesse started to finally relax. They were playing Michael Jackson’s “Smile”, a strange song for a nightclub.



Suddenly Gabriel stood in front of him and offered his hand to Jesse. He even bowed slighty. The blond stared at the hand like it was an alien and their friends shared stunned looks. Jesse looked up into Gabriel’s eyes and saw the man smiling down at him softly. He nodded his head slightly towards the dance floor. Jesse stood up slowly, in a haze. His heartbeat was suddenly so loud it blocked the music out. He took Gabriel’s hand and let his boyfriend lead him to the dance floor.



The catcalls started in their table and almost everyone was suddenly staring at them. Jesse tugged at Gabriel’s hand in his panic but the dark man just glanced at him and walked ahead without stopping. Jesse followed with numb legs until they were on the dance floor. Gabriel turned and swirled them around so Jesse was facing him. Then Gabriel’s arm took a strong hold of Jesse’s back and pulled him so close to his hard body that Jesse could feel every muscle move. 



And to his own surprise, he smiled. He was horrified and sure someone was just about to run to them and bash their heads in, but at the same time he knew their team mates would never let that happen. And Gabriel was with him, he felt safe. He took a similar hold of Gabriel, pulling him even closer. He wasn’t going to be the girl of the dance. Gabriel grinned at him and then led them to a dance. 



They danced for a long while and enjoyed every minute. There was a lot of commotion around them and they could hear some yelling, a fight breaking out, someone being dragged out, people dancing around them, stares from all around, but neither of them really cared. Jesse was still in full panic, but it no longer ruled him, it was like a small fading pain inside him. 



When they finally let go of each other and walked back to their table, their teammates were there to cheer at them again. A few of them looked a little sour, but they didn’t let that bother them, those were guys they didn’t really talk that much with anyways. Their best friends were all smiling and laughing loudly, padding their backs as they took their seats. Soon everything seemed to get back to normal. Jesse still couldn’t believe it. He sat next to Gabriel and below the table they held hands as they drank their drinks and laughed with their teammates.



************************** 



THE SWEDISH-FINNISH MATCH



The crowd was cheering so loud they couldn’t hear anything. 

“Welcome to the friendship match between Finland and Sweden! The match is set-“

The end of the introduction was lost in Jesse’s ears when he saw Gabriel step to the opposite side of the ice. It was his turn. He turned to face his team and saw them all smiling at him wildly, all prepped up for the match and ready to win. 



He felt a twinge of nervousness as he glanced at his friend Jimi, who winked back at him and slapped him on the shoulder. Jimi was the only one who was in on the joke. Jesse smiled nervously back at then turned, stepping on the ice. The judge and the vice-captain followed behind him. He skated forward, to meet Gabriel in the middle of the ice and slowly his nervous smile melted into a real grin. Gabriel was grinning back widely, obviously thrilled by the situation. Jesse could see Gabriel’s whole team behind him looking expectedly at their captain. 



The words of the announcer started to filter back into Jesse’s ears now that he was in the skating rink. “Our juniors are also all here, taking part in this important event to show that our neighbours really are important and dear to us.” a snicker escaped from the announcer and Jesse lifted an eyebrow. Gabriel was almost laughing now too. 



He was still suspecting the sanity of this whole deal. They were probably going to get slaughtered after this. Oh well, who cared about that. It was about friendship… aw, bullshit. They all loved a joke and to shock.



He was in the middle of the rink and finally so close to Gabriel that he could hear his voice over the babble of the audience. The announcer had silenced. He had given his mark. Their teams were waiting. Everyone in the audience was waiting. Jesse offered Gabriel his hand and Gabriel reached for it.



They shook their hands once, staring at each other. Then pulled each other closer, the skates slid easily on the ice and softly they pumped into each other. And then Gabriel was kissing him. Jesse almost snickered into the kiss when he heard the audience go “OOOOOHWHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!” the babble, laughter and yelling was ear shattering. Gabriel’s team was applauding and whistling behind his back. Jesse smiled as Gabriel’s face moved a little further from his. The Swede winked at him and was just about to turn when Jesse grabbed his hand strongly and pulled him back closer to him.



“Gabriel… jag älskar dig” he whispered, strong enough to make sure Gabriel would hear him. And he did. The dark man’s green eyes widened hugely and he gasped. Then he blinked and his mouth started to widen into an impossibly huge grin.



Suddenly he was all over Jesse, kissing his lips, his hands in Jesse’s hair, their gear-heavy bodies pressed against each other. “Jesse, minä rakastan sinua myös!” Gabriel yelled against his lips, his hand wild against his neck, his kisses hot and his eyes churning with emotion. Jesse laughed softly and mussed his black hair. 



Soon they were brought back from their happiness to hear the audience’s screams and yells and applause. The commenter was almost laughing to the mike now. “As you can see, our players take this friendship very very seriously!” he yelled and the teams behind them both roared with laughter. 



Slowly they let each other go, still grinning madly and, escorted by their co-captains, they skated back to the sides of the rink to finally start the match.



(Translation from Swedish: Jag älskar dig= I love you)

(Translation from Finnish: Minä rakastan sinua myös= I love you too)



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TBC! ;)