The arena rumbled thunderously as the second period was coming to a close. The score was close, too close for the comfort of the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs, as they lead by the narrow margin of 4-3. They were expecting the home team to give them a hard time, but not expecting the scrappy small-market team to be this much of a problem. Skyreach Centre sprang alive in the dying minutes of the period, urging their team to pull some kind of miraculous feat to end the period in a tie.

Ryan Smyth, or as he was known to goalies, ^&*%$F#@! , corralled the puck from the Oilers’ side of the ice, and began his sprint with Mike Comrie and Anson Carter to the Maple Leafs’ zone as the clock counted down. Everyone was on his or her feet, watching anxiously to see if the top line could pull off some of the trademark magic. Moments before, the Leafs’ head coach, Pat Quinn, sent out the line of Darcy Tucker, Mats Sundin, and Alexander Mogilny with the order to stop the Oilers’ top line at any cost so it wasn’t tied at the end. He knew what these kids could pull off.

Darcy noticed Ryan was making a swerve from the left to the centre, and as soon as he made it to the centre, Darcy went after him. Ryan quickly passed the puck to Mike, and let the Edmonton kid do his magic. The man from Castor, Alberta, lined the Banff native and collided with him. As Darcy’s shoulder hit Ryan square in the chest, causing the young man to fall flat on his ass. "Ooh, look at the poor little Oiler," Darcy teased, smirking as he went to skate off.

"What the hell was that!" Ryan demanded, pushing himself to his feet.

Darcy stopped and turned around to face the infuriated Banff native. "It was me finishing my check. Didn’t they teach you anything about hockey here in Edmonton?" A smirk came to his lips.

"I didn’t even have the puck! There was no reason to check me!" Ryan countered, his voice uncharacteristically infuriated.

"Ryan, you know these Toronto morons don’t need a reason to be violent," the Finnish accented voice of Janne Niinimaa spoke up, breaking up the eventual confrontation. "All their little minds can comprehend is hit anything in white."

Darcy snorted, getting into Janne’s face. "You’re one to talk, Blondie. You sure that peroxide hasn’t destroyed your brain cells?" Janne was about to make a retort when Darcy turned on the heel of his skate and began to skate away.

"Come back here you punk-ass Leaf!" Janne called, sounding none-too-pleased with Darcy’s decision to skate away.

The said male turned around and raised an eyebrow. "Why were you looking at my ass? I didn’t know you swung that way."

"Well your ass is so fucking lumpy, it’s kind of hard to miss," Janne retorted, folding his arms. Darcy’s eyes narrowed and he swung a punch at the Finnish defenceman, only to have it half-land and Janne’s fist hitting its mark. Darcy grabbed at Janne’s sweater, and the two whirled around each other in a funny-looking dance of fists. Both had ample experience in game-time rumbles, so it was difficult to gauge who had the advantage. Janne used Darcy’s weight against him and swung him to the ground. Darcy’s leg was in between Janne’s, and so when Darcy went down, he took Janne with him, ending up with Janne on top of him.

"Get off," Darcy hissed. "Get the fuck off, Niinimaa."

"I would if you didn’t have your cripple-ass leg hooked with mine!" Janne hissed back, glaring down at the Canadian. "Better pay attention, Canuck."

The loud siren blared, signalling the end of the period. The officials came in a hurry, pulling the platinum haired Finn off of the Castor native, but not before Ryan got his one last shot in, tripping Darcy. The trip caused Darcy to stumble, then fall flat on his ass on the ice. "Ooh, look at the cripple Leaf," Ryan mocked, a smirk on his lips. Darcy was about to jump up and nail the younger man, when the senior referee grabbed his arm and shoved him over to the entrance that led to the Leaf’s locker room.

As Darcy entered the locker room, Shayne Corson threw a glove that nailed his best friend in the head. "Ow! What the hell?" Darcy exclaimed, rubbing his head. "Shayne…you’ve got 5 seconds to explain yourself."

Shayne’s lips curled into a smirk. "I see you handled yourself well against Niinimaa. I commend you on falling to the ice first." He gave Darcy a thumbs-up and turned to their captain, Mats. "But is it just me, or did those two look a little too comfortable when they fell?"

Mats made a face and looked at Shayne oddly. His face contorted into one that Darcy knew too well. The captain was about to join in the festivities. "I think you may be onto something. Darcy was always the odd one. Some of his dates did look like they were men. Like…what’s her name…? Betty."

Darcy stuck out his tongue. "She was just very masculine, all right? But definitely a woman." A murmur that coursed through the locker room caused Darcy to frown. None of the guys believed him. "I’m serious. She was 100% woman."

"More like 60% man and 40% whoa-shit," remarked Alyn McCauley. Darcy’s brows furrowed when this comment came from the young forward. He glared at Alyn, but was met with nothing but an innocent-seeming smile. "You know we’re right about Betty, man. She wasn’t … well really a she."

"Can we get off the topic of my love life?" Darcy demanded.

"Sure, now we can talk about how you’re in love with Janne Niinimaa," Shayne piped up again. "You always did have a thing for bleach blondes." Darcy’s frown deepened. "Don’t give me that look! Betty was blonde!"

"Shut up already about Betty!" Darcy yelled. "I’m not in love with Janne either! What the hell is wrong with all of you?"

Gary Roberts snickered. "Your face is red, Darcy. I say you’re lying." Darcy narrowed his eyes and the banter continued for the remainder of the second intermission. "Hey, look at that, you can see your sweetheart again."

"Shaddup," Darcy snapped, grabbing his stick and his gloves, heading back out onto the ice. Immediately, he found Janne and spun the Finn around as he was talking to Mike Comrie. "I have unfinished business with you."

Janne’s lips curled into a smirk. "Couldn’t get enough of getting your ass-whooped last period? I don’t think you want to start this period off in the penalty box." There was nothing at that moment that Darcy Tucker wanted more than to wipe the smirk right off of Janne Niinimaa’s face. The Oilers bench stood up collectively; ready to jump in at any moment, as they knew the Leafs would do the same. The officials too were close by, ready to deal out more penalties if need be.

The crowd at Skyreach whooped and yelled, hoping that there would be another fight, one to open up the period. Darcy got right into Janne’s face, his breath dancing across Janne’s cheeks. They were so close, their noses were touching, and Janne seemed to be the calmer of the two. "I’m not the one that’s going to have my ass in the penalty box," Darcy said slowly, his fists itching for redemption.

"Oh, I see," Janne said. "You’re this close to me because you laaaaaahhhhv me! Do you want to kiiiiissss me?" The Finn snickered, and the rest of the Oiler bench erupted in laughter at the slow, melodramatic tone that had infiltrated Janne’s Finnish accent. Darcy growled, and Janne put a hand on Darcy’s shoulder. "Listen Leaf, we’ve got 20 minutes to kick your ass, I don’t want to beat you up again."

"You got fucking lucky in that fight," Darcy snapped, his temper now flaring at the fact that Janne was mocking him. "What, are you afraid to dance one more time? Afraid that I might kick your ass this time?"

"I’m not afraid of you, first of all," Janne’s soft Finnish voice had an edge to it, as his blue eyes settled on Darcy’s. "Second of all, if your fucking mind hasn’t clued in yet, we’ve still got a game to finish. Two points are a helluva lot more important than a fight. But I’m not one to back out of a challenge, so I’ll get you later." Just as Janne turned to go, Darcy turned him around and punched him straight across the face. "Fuck," Janne muttered, as he put a hand to his mouth, stumbling back a little. There was a small trace of blood, and Janne glared at Darcy. "This isn’t over, Tucker."

"I’m glad you finally clued in," Darcy smirked, looking at his fist that had a little bit of Janne’s blood on his middle knuckle. The referees came in, and pulled them apart, warning them to quit it or else their respective team, if either one of them dare to initiate a fight again, would take a game misconduct and further punishment.

The game ended, much to the dismay of the Maple Leafs, in a 4-4 tie. Ryan Smyth this time evaded Tucker as the clock ticked down from 45 seconds, and banked the puck in past his old team-mate, Curtis Joseph. Even though they didn’t win, Skyreach Centre was very pleased with the fact that they escaped with a point. Darcy and Janne didn’t finish off their 2^nd period scuffle in the third period, to the disappointment of the fans, and needless to say, the two team benches. Darcy had just flopped down onto his bed in the hotel suite he shared with Shayne, when there was a knock at the door. "I didn’t order room service…" Darcy murmured. "SHAYNE! I’m not paying for it this time ya bum!"

Hearing no answer from his roomie, Darcy sighed heavily and walked over to the door, swinging it open and ready to yell at the poor sap that was on the other end. He opened his mouth to release the verbal assault, but froze when he saw Janne Niinimaa, dressed in a black Metallica shirt and dark blue jeans. "Sorry, but I’m not room service."

Darcy’s eyes narrowed. "How did you know what hotel and suite I was staying in?" he demanded, clenching his fists.

"I have my ways," Janne replied. He didn’t expand on it, and dug his hands in his pockets, stature suggesting he didn’t really want to be there, but had to. "I wanted to talk to you about something." Darcy uncharacteristically chewed at his lip, as the thoughts of prior that evening that he had dismissed returned. As much as he was loath to admit it, he had felt something strange when Janne’s nose touched his. He hadn’t thought much about it, as thoughts like the ones that had first registered in his mind were not ones a normal young man, especially a hockey player should be thinking. "Hello? Are you even listening to me? Invite me in already!"

"Huh?" Darcy blinked, clueless for the first time. "Oh…right…come in." He stepped back, allowing the blonde man into the hotel suite. "What do you want to talk to me about?" The question came out sounding awkward, which the situation, for Darcy at least, was. In the dimly lit room, (which was illuminated only by a pathetic looking lamp in the far corner) Darcy noticed how much softer the Finn’s features looked. ‘Argh! What the hell, Tucker? Since when do you think like that?’

Janne walked into the room, softly closing the door in behind him. He shifted a little, looking around the hotel room, and turned back to the Canadian in front of him. ‘Okay, now what do you do, Niinimaa? You decide to come here on a whim to talk to some idiot Leaf? That’s it, you’re officially nuts.’ He ran a hand through his hair, and looked over at Darcy. "This may sound weird, but … oh fuck it!" Suddenly, Janne’s hands were clamped down on Darcy’s shoulders and he pressed his lips against the Castor native’s lips. Darcy tensed tremendously, yet, for some reason, he relaxed, and responded to the Finn’s initiated kiss.

Darcy pushed Janne against the door, the kiss deepening with each passing moment, the grip the two had on one another tightening as well. It was a strange yet addictive feeling that coursed through the two players’ veins, one that they, by society’s views, should be disgusted by, but with the rush of adrenaline, the feeling was too much for them to resist. As they slid down, Janne’s tongue pushed through Darcy’s lips and was granted access into the wet cavern, their tongues sparring just as their fists had done mere hours before. Finally, the need for air was greater than the addictive rush, and the two stared at each other, a mixture of emotions reflecting in their eyes.

"Now tell me you didn’t like that," Janne’s voice broke the silence first. Darcy stared at the blond Finn with an incredulous expression on his face.

"You find the strangest things to say at the weirdest times, I hope you know that," Darcy replied, staring down into Janne’s clear blue eyes. "Do you have absolutely any idea what just happened here?"

Janne smirked. "I think you kissed me."

"Me! You kissed me first you bastard!" Darcy exclaimed, oddly enough not jumping up to emphasise his point. "I would never kiss you."

"Ah, but you responded, and quite enthusiastically might I add," Janne said pointedly, causing a deep crimson blush to colour Darcy’s cheeks. "Aha, don’t have such a strong case now, do you Canuck? Admit it, you liked it."

"I did not," Darcy argued, glaring down at Janne. "It was just…heat of the moment. It didn’t mean anything. Jesus! Why am I talking about this to someone like YOU? Why am I even talking about something like this period?"

"You talk too much…" Janne said, leaning up and kissing Darcy again, then stopped momentarily when the Castor native began to protest. "Shut up…you know you like it." Finding no protest to that, Janne kissed Darcy again, pulling himself and the Leaf to their feet, guiding Darcy to the bed. He felt the Canadian tense, and smirked a little. "You’ve never done it with a guy, I take it?"

"Of course not! I’ve never liked guys," Darcy snapped defensively, resisting the urge as best he could not to blush. Guys like him didn’t blush. They didn’t act like a frickin’ schoolgirl. Yet he couldn’t deny that Janne had a point, that he did feel something, that he did like it. But there was no way he was going to admit that. This situation in itself was something that in his wildest dreams he’d never thought he’d have to deal with conflicting emotions about a guy. And an Oiler at that. What was the world coming to? Next thing you know, he was probably going to profess to the world that he and Daniel Alfreddson were best friends. Darcy muttered something about Janne mocking him when the Finn put a finger to his lips.

"I’m not making fun of you, it was just a simple question," Janne explained, seizing Darcy’s mouth again. "Now, there are two ways to do this. We can prolong it and continue to ponder why the hell we’re both doing this, or just do it with not another thought. What do you want to do?" Darcy paused for a brief moment before kissing the Finn passionately. Janne smirked, and began to work at the buttons on Darcy’s baby blue buttoned up shirt. Darcy was slightly alarmed at the speed Janne’s fingers worked, as his shirt had been discarded to the floor in mere seconds.

‘To hell with it,’ Darcy finally decided in his head, as Janne’s lips began to dance across the bare skin of his neck, ‘just to fucking hell with it.’

* * *

[Curse at me all you want. Would you really have wanted a crappy lemon? I didn’t think so. Don’t worry, it’s not over yet…]

The sound of knocking brought Darcy out of his deep slumber. He groaned, and felt a dull pain in his lower back and his throat felt insanely sore. The centre felt he was leaning against something, and that something was warm. He was currently cold, so the human instinct was to move closer to where the warm is. The thing he was currently cuddling against was muscular, and it was human. Darcy blinked, and opened his eyes, and nearly screamed when he saw that it was Janne Niinimaa lying beside him. ‘What… what the hell happened? I didn’t…oh shit, I did…’ The knocking continued and Darcy began to panic. He grabbed Janne’s shoulders and shook him. "Wake up! Wake up you poor excuse for an Oiler! Wake up!"

Janne muttered something unintelligible and his eyes slowly opened. "What the hell do you want now?" he questioned. Clearly he had a better recollection of the night before, and Darcy continued to shake him. "Stop it! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Someone’s at the door, asshole!" Darcy exclaimed, careful to keep his voice low enough that whoever was at the door didn’t hear him. Janne woke up at this and grabbed his boxers from his side of the bed, shoved them on and ran into the closet. "God, I hope no one looks in there." Darcy walked over to the door after pulling on some pants and opened it to find his previously absent roomie, Shayne. "Where were you?"

"I was talking with Craig and Kevin," Shayne replied nonchalantly. "We stayed up a little later than we should’ve and I crashed at Kevin’s place." He peered around and raised an eyebrow at the ruffled sheets. "I see you were busy last night."

‘Shit! The sheets…’ Darcy panicked momentarily, then put on a calm face to his best friend. "You know how much I toss and turn during the night."

Shayne winced in remembrance of one time in particular. "Yeah, I know. Well, I just came to tell you we’re leaving in a few hours." He looked around. "And tell your puck-bunny I said hello." Darcy growled and shut the door. Janne stepped out of the closet, and the Albertan bit back an oh-so-obvious remark.

"So I’m your puck bunny?" Janne asked, raising an eyebrow. He walked over to Darcy, and gave him a look. "I thought I meant so much more to you." Janne’s tone had become melodramatic, and Darcy shook his head with a smile.

"Nah, don’t you know you were just a good fuck?" Darcy asked, and the two started to laugh. Darcy got brave about the whole thing and snuck a kiss from Janne’s parted lips. Janne looked to the Canadian with a surprised look on his face, but returned the kiss and the two broke after a little bit.

Janne broke away and smirked, grabbing his jeans and shirt, putting them both on. He made his way to the door and turned around when he heard Darcy run up to him. "We’ll do this the next time our teams meet. Think of it as a twisted welcoming. You’re more than just a fuck."

Now this statement confused the Castor native. He was just on the verge of convincing himself that all this was just a meaningless fling, something that happened on the spur of the moment. But Janne had just said it was more than that. That ‘he’ was more than a good fuck. "What are you talking about? I thought—"

The Platinum haired Finn turned fully to Darcy and had a serious look in his eyes. "I don’t do flings, Darcy. I’m not one of those guys who screw puck-bunnies after every game. I only get involved with someone if I know it’s going to be something good. And I can tell, this is definitely something good." He smirked a little. "Besides, you know you liked it. Can’t deprive you of something like that, can I?" He gave a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows to clue Darcy in on what he was insinuating.

The tension broke and Darcy laughed. "You ass." Janne leaned in and gave Darcy one last kiss. "Get out of here before someone sees you…ya dirty Oiler." Janne shook his head with a smirk on his face, and Darcy quickly shut the door, and couldn’t help but smile. ‘He actually called me by my name. I like how it sounded coming from him.’ Suddenly he made a face. ‘God, you’re becoming Alyn! Shut the hell up Tucker!’ He nodded to this thought, but then smiled again. Edmonton sure had it’s surprises for being a small Canadian city. Even if the hockey team was a big pain-in-the-ass.