2minsforslashing | Revenge is sour (Epilogue)

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Revenge is sour (Epilogue)

Title: Revenge is sour (Epilogue)
Characters: Joffrey Lupul, Scottie Upshall, Mike Richards, Zdeno Chara
Rating: PG13
Time: 2008/09 season
Summary: Joffrey has a feeling he hasn't gotten away with anything.
Author's note: From the comments this fic received, it seems Chara needs a bigger role. So here it is.
Disclaimer: A fictional story, written only for entertainment purposes.

The Bruins and the Flyers were on the ice for their pre-game warmup at the TD Banknorth Garden, and Joffrey Lupul couldn't stop glancing over at the Bruins side.

"Scottie, I'm telling you! He knows! He keeps looking over here! He fuckin' knows! Lucic must have told him! No, don't look! Jesus!"

Upshall peered over at the Bruins, where Zdeno Chara was talking to Marc Savard. They made something of a comical picture, the massive Bruins captain towering over the small playmaking center. Scottie smiled.

"You're nuts, Lupes. He's totally ignoring us. You're imagining things. Besides, what's he going to do? Kill you?"

"Yes! You don't think he's capable of that!?"

Upshall shook his head. "Worst he can do is check you hard, man. He's not the dirty type. Besides, we'll be watching your back. Stop fuckin' worrying and just play hockey."

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There was a TV timeout early in the first period, and Lupul was busy studying his feet and trying to ignore Milan Lucic as he awaited the faceoff. Suddenly there were a pair of black and gold socks next to his orange and white ones, and he looked up, startled, into the grinning face of Phil Kessel.

"Hey, man," Kessel said cheerfully. "Boy, are you in deep shit."

"Huh?" Joff said. "What are you talking about?"

Kessel jerked his head back, over his shoulder. "Somebody's not very happy with you."

Lupul followed the gesture and swallowed, hard. Chara. The massive defenseman was standing at the blue line, staring at him, expressionless. As he watched, Chara's lips curled, exposing his teeth. But the smile - if that's what it was - never reached his eyes. They continued to stare, cold and dead. Shark's eyes. Lupul's knees started to shake.

Kessel chortled. "Oh, you're a fuckin' dead man, Lupes. Didn't you have any clue how Chara feels about Krejci? He's gonna rip your fuckin' cock off and stuff it down your throat. Ha!"

The referee chose that moment to blow the whistle and gather the players in for the faceoff. Kessel skated to the other side, and Lupul leaned in next to Lucic, who ignored him. The puck dropped and went behind the Flyers net, and Lupul skated to his post on the boards, trying his best to play the damn game and ignore..... oh bloody fucking HELL HERE HE COMES!

Chara dropped his stick and gloves as he swooped in on Lupul, who stood frozen, unable to move. He picked the Flyers wing up as easily as a kitten and threw him face first onto the ice; Lupul landed with a thump, his teeth smashing the ice, leaving a bloody smear. His scream of terror was lost in the roar of the crowd. He could hear Kessel and Lucic laughing....

"Joffrey! Wake up! For crissakes, wake up!" Someone was shaking him. Was that Upshall's voice? The hand left his arm, and light suddenly struck his closed eyelids.

Lupul opened his eyes. Upshall was standing by the window of their hotel room, the drapes in his hand. Bright sunshine was streaming in. "Man, did you have a fuckin' nightmare or what?"

Nightmare. Just a nightmare. Joff looked up at the ceiling, trying to slow his racing heart.

"You OK, man?" Scottie looked at him, eyebrows raised. Joff nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

Upshall shrugged. "Well, time to rise and shine. We got time for a good breakfast before the pregame skate."

"Pregame skate, yeah," Lupul muttered, rubbing his head. "Where the hell are we, anyway?"

Scottie stared. "Joff, man, we're in Boston. Are you still asleep?"

Boston. Oh, fuck.

"C'mon, get up," Upshall clapped him on the shoulder. "I'll spring for the pancakes."

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The Flyers were heading out onto the Garden ice in twos and threes, but Lupul was still in the locker room, poking his head out the door now and then, as Upshall prepared to take the ice.

"Lupes, what the fuck you doing?"

Lupul started. "Nothing. Just making sure the coast is clear."

"Coast is clear? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Joff looked at Scottie, debating anew whether he should tell him what really happened with Krejci and Lucic, beyond his muttered "It didn't work." No, he decided. He wasn't going to relive that humiliation, even if it had been partly Upshall's fault. Not even to impart Lucic's warning. Everybody was always warning or threatening Upshall about something or other. He'd pay no heed - he never did.

Finally certain there were no lingering Bruins, Lupul turned and darted out of the room, heading for the ice at top speed. Upshall, shaking his head, followed.

Joff relaxed as the skate went on and was almost cheerful as they showered and dressed afterward. Silly to worry, really. Lucic and Krejci certainly hadn't told anyone. Leaving the visitors' locker room, he pulled out his cell phone as he headed for the door, thinking maybe he'd walk back to the hotel... it was a pleasant day, and....

"Joffrey," said a low voice behind him as a massive hand clamped down on his shoulder.

"HAH!" Lupul shouted, leaping in the air, his cell phone flying toward the high ceiling. The large hand flashed and neatly caught the phone as it plummeted downward, and Joff spun around to find himself practically nose-to-chest with the 6-9, 260-pound captain of the Boston Bruins.

Chara smiled, holding up the phone. "You OK, Joff?" he inquired. "You don't want to be dropping this here, it'll break." He tucked it into Lupul's jacket pocket.

"Huhfphlllxfhl," Lupul said, shaking. At that moment, Mike Richards came out of the locker room and smiled. "Hey, Zee, how you doing?"

"Fine, Mike, how are you?" Chara smiled back. "Thought I might take your teammate to lunch. Would you care to join us?"

Lupul stared at the Flyers captain, willing him to read his mind. Yes. Help. For God's sake, don't leave me alone with him! Mike smiled. "No thanks, got plans. See you tonight." And he was gone, leaving Joff feeling very small and alone and absolutely terrified.

"There's a great place nearby, Joff," Chara said. "Nice Ceasar salad. I'll buy. We really need to talk." He grasped Lupul's elbow firmly and propelled him out of the Garden, Joff certain he was going to his death. And the condemned man ate a nice Ceasar salad....

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Chara took a seat near the back of the small Italian restaurant as the waiter greeted him respectfully by name. "Salad, Joff?" the Bruins captain inquired. "Or would you like something more substantial?" Lupul shook his head, and Chara ordered two large Ceasar salads with garlic bread and two bottles of Pelligrino.

"So, Joff," Chara said after the waiter delivered the water, and Lupul took a large gulp, trying to mask his shaking hands. "Our Milan is none too happy with you."

"Uh," Lupul said, feeling his face turning pink. "He uh.. he uh...."

"He told me everything," Chara said, quietly.

Joffrey's blush rapidly deepened to crimson. "Everything?"

"Yes, everything," Chara said, ignoring Lupul's obvious discomfort. "He knows of my concern about our teammates, especially the younger ones. And especially... David."

Oh, Christ. Joff closed his eyes and offered up a quick prayer of contrition. The waiter returned and deposited their salads and the bread, and Chara picked up his fork and dug in. Lupul simply stared into the greens, wondering morbidly if the Bruins captain was going to kill him before or during the game, and how badly it was going to hurt.

"You're not eating, Joff?" Chara inquired. Lupul reached blindly for his fork, stabbed at the salad and shoved a forkful into his mouth. He couldn't taste a thing. You'd think at least I could enjoy it, this being my last meal and all...

"From what Milan told me," Chara said, tearing off a bit of garlic bread and chewing appreciatively before swallowing and continuing, "you seem to have suffered what might be deemed a just punishment."

Lupul felt like crawling under the table. Bad enough that the guy was going to kill him - he had to remind him of how it felt to get his ass pounded by Milan fuckin' Lucic? And that Chara now had that mental image in his brain? He swallowed and reached for his water glass, suddenly feeling nauseated.

"At any rate, though I was extremely distressed to hear about this, especially about the injury to David's psyche, judgement and punishment seem to have been meted out, and I need to concentrate on more practical matters," Chara said. He leaned forward, his eyes suddenly boring into Joff's. "Do you realize that the drug you used was probably on the league's banned substance list?"

Lupul's eyes widened in shock. The thought hadn't even occurred to him. Chara was nodding. "I thought not. I do think you should tell your Mr. Upshall -- I believe he was probably your supplier? -- that he might find himself in very serious trouble if he continues to traffic in such substances. Fortunately for everyone involved, David had been tested just two days before the... incident, and as far as I know, has not been tested since."

Joff's head was buzzing. Banned drugs? Why hadn't he thought of that? Krejci getting suspended on top of everything else, and it would have been all his fault... Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Anything Chara wanted to do, he deserved it, he... wait a minute. Punishment's been meted out? As in past tense?

He looked up, into Chara's intense but not unfriendly eyes. "You're not... you're not gonna kill me?" he finally managed to whisper.

Chara's eyes - what color were they anyway? Was that green? - suddenly warmed with amusement. "No, Joff, I'm not going to kill you. I have a feeling you've probably punished yourself worse than I ever could."

Lupul sighed and nodded. Couldn't argue with that.

"I do want you to do something for me, though," Chara continued. "I want you to tell your Mr. Upshall that if I ever hear a whisper of any such thing ever happening again, I will kill him. Understand?"

Joff nodded again and shuddered. "Why... why not tell him yourself?" he ventured to ask.

Chara sighed. "Because, Joff, Scottie seems to be somewhat.... immune, if you will, to my powers of persuation. Just as I am immune to his... particular charms."

Lupul looked up, shocked. The very idea... no fucking way. Chara chuckled and touched Joff's face, briefly cupping his cheek in one massive paw. Joff closed his eyes, relishing the feel in spite of himself. Chara's hand was warm and calloused and gentle, and for a brief moment, he wondered....

Joff's eyes snapped open in surprise. Chara chuckled again, chucked his chin and waved to the waiter, who cleared the remains of the salads. "I could have spoken to Mike, I suppose, but I'm sure you'd rather keep this as private as possible."

You got that right. "Thanks, Zdeno," Joff said, swallowing hard. "I... I really appreciate it." Now he knew why the Bruins would follow their captain to the ends of the earth. "I'll talk to Scottie, I promise."

"Good," Chara said, in tones of dismissal. "See you tonight, then, Joff. Did you need a ride to your hotel?"

"No, thanks, I can walk," Joff picked up his jacket and headed for the door, resisting the urge to break into a run. His heart was hammering and skipping in his chest like a hyperactive kindergarten kid. Reprieved, thank you God, never fuck up again, never ever. Ever.

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Chara watched him go, unable to take his eyes from Lupul's impressive backside. He sighed. Sometimes doing the right thing was damn difficult.

Pulling out his cell phone, he punched a button as the waiter brought over the check.

"You home, Kes? Alone? Good. I'll be there in 15."

Fifteen minutes and he'd have Phil Kessel's ankles in the air, listening to him scream his pleasure. He'd revel in the hard perfection of Phil's lithe young body, and he wouldn't think of Joffrey Lupul at all.

Hardly at all.

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I loved this. Loved. Loved. Loved. Loved it.
A lot.

It was just perfect. Everything. The humour, Joff's fear and guilt, and the practical attitude of Chara. I loved that he was attracted somewhat to Joff (who wouldn't be?) but let it go because it was the right thing. I also love that he knew Joff had suffered enough and that he would kill Scottie if he pulled this type of thing again.

Thanks so much. :-) It was such fun to write - I just love Chara. And I couldn't resist the urge to scare the crap out of Joff. Hee.

dude that was intense! but i think chara should kill scottie anyways, or at least punch him.

ROFL! Just on principle, eh?

Thanks, glad you liked it. :-)

Haha, LOVE this! Who messes with Zee? No one, that's who ;)

Thanks! Yeah, got that right. Funny how just the thought is bad enough. ;-)

Oh. My. God.

*is dead*

This was just perfect in all kinds of ways that I can't even BEGIN to find the words for!! I think your Zee is one of my favorite things EVER. Awesome. :)

"And the condemned man ate a nice Ceasar salad...." -- Bwahahahaha! This line is the reason I should not read things like this while around other people. I nearly fell out of my chair.

And DUDE! Chara being immune to Scottie's charms and Scottie being immune to Chara's powers of persuasion?!?!?! I WANT THAT STORY!!!

Uh oh! ;-) Scottie and Zdeno. I think my head might explose.

Thanks so much for your lovely comments. Glad you got a good laugh out of that particular line - I must admit it cracks me up too. Sometimes they just come out of nowhere, dont't they?

Oh, come on! Zee/Scottie would be the most amazing crack!fic EVER, lol!

Oh, true that. ;-)

I love it, I love it, I love it! I love how Zee was so nonchalant about it.

Thank you! Oh yeah, calculated nonchalance - that's our Zee. ;-)

;-) Damn right it is!

Hey ya!

I have been awful to you in not responding. Firstly, the topic of this story is a little close to home for me, so its been tough reading in that sense. I also think you're making me fall in love with the Bruins, which makes me a really, really, really bad division rival.

I really like this story, i dont want you to think I don't. I love, specifically, Chara. I love Chara. You've made me love Chara. He is now lumbering around in my head about 24-7. I would not stop you if you wrote more Chara fic. I love his protective nature, his calm demure, his scary calm before the storm, sleeping giant-ness.

So yeah, strange comment! Keep up the good work! (more chara please.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XStpMZbhhOE&NR=1

Thanks very much! Nice comment, IMHO. :-) (Hope Zdeno isn't giving you too bad a headache, lumbering around in there. Hee.) Thanks for the vid - wonder how many times the waitress had to plaster him before they got the perfect shot? ;-)

I think I fell in love with Zdeno his first year in Boston when I saw him on a post-game interview with several of the kids he supplies with tickets for Bruins game (he owns a luxury box and he always has kids from local hospitals there). The kids were literally climbing all over him and he was just grinning from ear to ear. He also speaks something like five languages and got his college degreee while playing in Ottawa. He really is an amazing person.

stupid ottawa.

Yeah, that is good of Chara, to do that for the kids. It's really sweet.
I am completely okay with chara being in my head all the time, i just have no way to find good videos, and i just feel sorta lost in terms of good info on him.

I frickin love that guy.

So... new fic? Soon? Chara style?

I'll definitely see what I can do. I do love writing him.

Too bad you can't get access to NESN. It's frustrating being an out-of-market fan, I know. Back in the day (shows you how far back I go) my other-team love was Gil Perreault. Had to depend on the Hockey News to get anything on him. At least now we have the Internet.

Loved it, I still think that Chara should have smacked Joff at least once. scottie needs a smack upside the head and Joff needs to listen to himself and not scottie. Once again LOVED IT.

It would be appealing to see Joff smacked a bit, I suppose. ;-) Though sometimes the anticipation is worse! I do think from now on Joff is NOT going to listen to Scottie, thankfully.

Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed.

Awesome, awesome, awesome! I love a scared!Joff. And the thing with Chara and Scottie...omg. Images in my head! LOL

Frightening images! Yikes! ;-)

Thanks for commenting, I'm glad you liked. :-)

So much awesome here.

Thanks. Glad you liked it. :-)

Awesome!! You just made my day here!!!

I love Chara, I love Joff and I LOVE your story!(actually you just made me love Zee more than I thought I could.)I'm pretty sad that it's finish, but i suppose every good thing have end, hein?

It was fantastic and I hope for more soon^^

Thank you! I hope for more soon myself. :-)

The more and more you write Chara as a character, the more I absolutely love him.

Me too. Thanks. :-)

you continue to make me love the bruins, and zee.

i do have one request... please please write chara/joff! kessel images aren't satisfying my needs right now haha

either way, wonderful as always! i always know i'm in for good stuff when i click on your stories.

Wow, that's a lovely compliment, thank you!

Oh, poor Joff - I suppose I could have Chara chase him down and carry him off? Bwahahaha.

i love how the underpinnings of this are really bits of a character piece on chara - he's so freaking awesome, looking out for everyone, knowing all and seeing all, and taking care of EVERYTHING in exactly the right manner. oh captain my captain. indeed. his selflessness - as depicted by not pursuing joff's charms - is particularly great.

gotta say, though, i'm glad kes was around. ;D i'm guessing it was good for both of them.

what fun!

Thank you! I really love the guy - he's such a fun character to write, and the more I see of him in interviews and such, the more convinced I am that I'm not that far off the mark (minus boinking his teammates, of course haha). I think he's one of those guys who was just born to be a captain, and I'm so glad the Bruins have him. :-)

oh man, you should totally write scottie/chara. that would be funny as hell and amazing. XD

Hmmm, that WOULD be a hell of a challenge. Maybe I'll think about it... ;-)

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Revenge is sour (Epilogue)

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