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Goose felt his stomach sink lower and lower as Viper called out each player's name.
"Pete Mitchell."
Ah fuck, there it is. Goose curled up his fists. The silence was deafening to his ears.
"...Pete Mitchell?"
No answer from the crowd. Goose held his breath and prayed to the good lord above-
"Bradshaw!"
Fuck. Goose felt Viper's sharp eyes on him. He gulped and gave his coach his most innocent look. His expression wavered as he saw the murderous look on Viper's face.
"Bradshaw, where's Mitchell?" his tone was calm, yet Goose could see the vein on his neck bulge.
"Um... yeah I don't know coach? Maybe he's in the stalls-"
Viper snapped, "Goose, cut the crap. Where. The hell. Is Mav?"
Goose winced and tensed up his shoulders, "... at the ice rink..."
His coach lets out a sigh, "Goose, please get your buddy back here, we have a playoff against the Migs, TOMORROW. We need the practice as a team. I don't care how good he is, I need him here and NOW. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Now go get him back, and don't let him escape!"
Goose nodded and headed for the door; he walked past his teammates, and Wolf snickered and gave his back a hearty slap, "Go fetch!"
Goose glared at Wolf and grumbled under his breath. "On time my ass..."
⏳
He and Mav found the rink accidentally one day after practice. It had been pouring, and they booked towards the nearest building for shelter. The building was an ice rink. The two wandered in and immediately shivered at the cold air. There wasn't much of a crowd that day—a few families with their children and a figure skater.
Mav's interest peaked when he saw the blonde skater. His eyes lit up, and Goose groaned, "No. Bad idea, Mav. You've got to stop hitting on blonde women, remember Charlie?"
Mav laughed, "Rich coming from you, you married a blonde!"
"Well, she was the one for me."
"Who says this girl isn't?"
"Mav-"
"Okay, okay, I get the message. No blondes."
Mav hummed as he sat down to watch the people move on the ice.
"Say Goose, this place is really close to our stadium. It would be really nice to come here during summer practices."
Goose sat down next to him, "Yeah, it is. Free air conditioning... too bad though, when we're done with practice, it's sundown already."
Mav smiled, and Goose suddenly understood what he was getting at.
"Mav..."
"What! I'm just saying it'd be realllllll nice to rest here with the cold air, that's all!"
"Viper would bust a vein if you snuck out of the stadium."
"I'll be careful, honest to god!"
"Pete honey, please-"
"Nick, sweetheart, you have my word." Pete grabbed his hand and went on one knee, giving Goose his most sincere look.
"I swear I won't get caught, and if I do get caught, it's all on me."
Goose looked at his friend for a full minute, then he let out a defeated sigh. "There's no stopping you, is there? Fine, just remember to come back on time, yeah?"
Pete grinned and sat in his seat again, "Yes, sir!"
⌛
Weeks went by, and Mav kept his word. He would sneak off to the ice rink when no one else was looking and always came back on time for roll call, looking smug when his name was called. And hell, these trips to the ice rink boosted his performance on the field. Mav was fully refreshed and ready to go, while the rest of the team was sweaty and tired. Goose was tempted to go with him on several occasions but thought better of it. It was too risky, and Mav needed Goose to cover his tracks.
So it was strange when Mav didn't make it back in time. Something must have gone wrong. If anything happened to their ace, Viper would skin him alive. Shuddering at the thought, Goose jogged faster to the ice rink.
When he finally made it in, he scanned the dimly lit arena for his friend. Goose spotted Maverick’s signature red baseball cap and strode over to Mav. Mav was fully dressed for practice; he even had his bag on him ready to go.
"Mav! We've been busted, time to go!"
Mav, however wasn't listening. Goose frowned, wondering what was up with him. Mav was fully focused on the ice rink and Goose turned to see what he was looking at.
"Mav?"
There's a single figure skater on the ice, a tall, lean man in a translucent blue shirt. The man was skating gracefully on the ice like he was floating. He picked up speed and suddenly jumped up into the air, spinning like a top, then landed gracefully down to the ice as if the jump never happened.
Goose looked back at his friend. Mav was fully entranced with the skater, his eyes were following the man like a hawk. Goose looked at the skater again, then back to Mav, then it hit him:
The skater had frosty, light blonde hair.
Goose yanked Mav by the arm, and Mav yelped, "Wha- Goose! What are you doing here?!"
Goose shook his head furiously as he dragged Mav toward the entrance.
"No more blondes, my ass! Mav! You-! We'll talk about this later! We got to get back now before Viper-"
Mav fully awakened from his trance, "Wait, what time is it?!"