Ron Francis: 
Gary Roberts: 
Paul Maurice: 
by me
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Ron Francis/Gary Roberts, Ron Francis/Paul Maurice
Summary: It's 1998 and Ron has come back to the franchise that drafted him.
Dedication: Flan for getting Francis/Maurice back in my head after I THOUGHT
it was out of my system (and I will be waiting (im)patiently for yours).
Mae for writing Eros, which somehow forced me to write in this weird tense
thing.
Notes: This is odd. Don't ask where a Roberts/Francis bunny came from, since
I really don't like Gary. At all. And then it somehow turned into
Ron/Paul, and ::growls at muses:: Well. Good luck reading it...
It started when Gary wouldn�t give Ron his number. �Why do you care? You
don�t want to be here anyway.�
He had snorted. �Who would?�
�I do.�
�You just get paid a lot.�
�I want to be here, Gary. This team will win. I�ll lead them there.�
�Gee, you have quite the faith in your captaincy skills.�
�Shouldn�t I?�
�Yeah, I guess. But it takes more than that.�
�We have a good coach.�
�Oh, chrissake, Ron. He�s younger than we are!�
�That doesn�t mean anything. He�ll grow with the team.�
�That is so fucking sentimental.�
�Shut up,� Ron said, throwing a pillow at him.
One, expectedly, came flying back. �You shut up.�
�Seriously, Gary. Trust me.�
�Why? Because you�ve won two Cups? And I�ve only won one?�
�Yes. And because I�m right. Paul Maurice is a good coach. But no one knows
it yet.�
�So fucking sentimental,� Gary muttered again.
Ron gave up. �Forget it.�
�They�re not going to be good while you�re here. It�ll take too much time.�
�Fine. Then I�ll help build them. God, Gary. Be more pessimistic. And it�s
not �they�, it�s �we�. You�re still part of the team.�
�Yeah, whatever. I�m going to sleep.�
Ron Francis just sighed.
*
*
*
*
�You�re hurting the team.�
�It�s barely a team.�
�Blame yourself for that.�
�So? You�re the fucking captain. Make me part of the fucking team.�
So Ron kissed him, because it shut him up, and Gary kissed him back, and then
he may not have been part of the team, but he was part of the captain.
But it wasn�t a relationship.
Maybe they both wanted it to be, but Gary was too cynical and Ron was too
scared. He wasn�t supposed to like this man, who was adored by the fans
and liked by his teammates because he stuck up for them even though they
all knew he didn�t want to be there. He was afraid of people finding
out. He was afraid of losing the respect of his team. And his coach.
But they both kept trying. They kept rooming together. They kept fucking.
Ron kept talking like a captain and Gary kept pretending not to listen.
But he did. And suddenly, he was trying harder. He was playing better. He
was becoming a mentor to a young, rugged winger.
And suddenly, Ron was caring more if Gary listened to him or not. He didn�t
want to care more. He didn�t want to love him. But somehow in the middle
of a season that had seemed bad and had suddenly become a chase for a
playoff spot, everything was backwards and the captain was still wearing
number 21 because Gary Roberts had number 10.
The season ended, and the Carolina Hurricanes played their first six playoff
games and went home, but they didn�t feel bad. There was always next
year. They had a foundation. And Ron though Gary might start to believe
that they had a future.
The team, too.
The next season was better. They gelled as a team better. They had youth and
experience and a patient coach. But they didn�t have a playoff spot. And
Ron thought it didn�t matter because they still had next year.
But then Gary fucked everything up. Ron assumed he had been fooled, that it
was all an act, but he didn�t think he�d been that stupid. He thought he
was better at reading people than that. After two years, he thought they
were closer than that.
So he said it didn�t matter. They�d be fine. The team had plenty of talent
that wasn�t Gary Roberts. He can say he left because he wants to play for
the Cup, but we will be soon, he�ll see. He told them that it was ok,
because now he�d get number 10 back.
But it wasn�t. It meant that Gary lied. He lied about his feelings. He
didn�t trust Ron. He didn�t believe his captain. He didn�t believe his
coach. And all of that hurt, because when Ron wasn�t the captain, he had
always trusted his. And he always trusted Paul. Ron had the patience and
foresight to see what Paul did with the team.
But Gary didn�t have the patience. Or the foresight. So Ron was hurt, not
just for himself, but for Paul too.
And now it is two years later, the end of May, 2002, and Ron is standing on
the ice in Toronto, his hand clasped by Gary�s. He�s watched him play
hard, play passionately, play the way Ron wanted to see him play in
Carolina. He had also watched him cheap shot Ron�s rookie time after
time. He met Gary�s eyes.
�Ron�I�m sorry�I�m sorry I didn�t trust you�I wasn�t lying, I did love you��
The Carolina captain took his eyes off Gary and let his gaze settle on his
coach instead. Paul was smiling, letting himself enjoy this moment of
leading his team to a point few thought possible. Paul noticed him
watching, and his smile changed imperceptively to everyone but Ron.
Francis looked back at Gary.
He dropped his hand. And didn�t look back.