Original Date of Completion: April 2006
Rating: So G it makes my teeth hurt
Pairing: Sergei Fedorov/Nikolai Zherdev
Disclaimer: I own no one. This is all fiction, conjured in the confines of my demented little mind. That means it's fake, so no suing me.
Notes: This idea is 3 years old, when compared to the final completion time, and parts of this were actually WRITTEN 3 years ago. But it was long locked away, before Sergei returned from the Dark Side and I decided to revive it with a much more adorable co-star than the original. The candy hearts in this are of course those chalky little Valentines candies with words written on them (conversation hearts being their technical name.) All the phrases that appear herein are actual phrases I've found on the candy, as odd as they might seem.
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I’ve celebrated a lot of Valentine’s Days in my life. It’s been 17 years since I defected to America, and at least 14 of those years, I’ve celebrated the day in some way or another. Some times have been grand events, filled with flowers and candy, expensive champagne and moonlight walks. Other’s have been less grandiose, a quiet dinner at home, or room service in the hotel on the road. They’ve all been nice in their own way, they’ve all added some happy memory to my brain, even if it was a small one. But even with all those memories, all the happiness that they remind me of, they never could’ve prepared me for today. I never could’ve guessed that my 15th Valentine’s Day would be the happiest of my life. Or that I’d never have to leave bed for it.
But I probably shouldn’t be so surprised. Since the trade brought me here in November, it seems like my life has been one surprise after the other. Some were on the ice, as could be expected, but most came off of it. And they all seemed centered around one thing–one person–who has turned out to be the greatest blessing of my life. I’ve been fortunate enough to have a lot of great things in my life, but as far as I’m concerned, they all take a back seat to him. He’s the sweetest, cutest, most adorably devious, loving, caring, sexiest man I’ve ever known. Every single day I’ve been with him has been greater than the last, usually because of something he’s done. He’s amazing, both on and off the ice; there aren’t enough words to express how special he is. He’s just...Nikolai, that’s description enough for me.
That’s why this day, as simple as it’s been, has been so great. There hasn’t been anything special about it, but it’s been perfect in my eyes. It’s been just him and I all day, laying cuddled up together in bed. His head has been on my shoulder most of that time, my arm wrapped around him, our legs tangled up. We’ve only moved from that position twice all day, once to get into a more fun position, the other for me to give him his Valentines gift. It was nothing more than a couple boxes of candy, but he’d loved it, just as I knew he would. His sweet tooth was as insatiable as the rest of him; candy was as quick a way to his heart as sweet words, or a romantic dinner followed by dancing and a night of making love. Trust me, I’ve done the research to run the comparison. So I knew that candy was the gift to give, regardless of what candy it was.
But in the end, I stuck to the Valentines standards, a heart-shaped box of chocolates, and a bag of those chalky candy “conversation” hearts (you know the ones I mean, they taste bad and have things written on them.) Not surprisingly, the chocolates didn’t make it past lunch; they actually were lunch, now that I think about it. But the chalky hearts had survived well, not just because of their taste, but for the amusement they’d given Nikolai. Seeing words and phrases he didn’t recognize, written on candy, he’d eagerly submitted to an impromptu English lesson, with the hearts as a visual aid. Me, I became the chalkboard, so to speak; the hearts went from the bag to my stomach, where they’d remained since, to give Nikolai easy picking for those he wanted to learn.
“What is this?” He mumbled, his mouth full of candy as he held up a heart.
I glanced at the orange heart between his fingers, smiling to see the words “Be Mine” written on it. That was an easy one to explain, not like some of the odder sayings like “URA 10” (He insisted he was only 8, then measured to prove it) or “Swing Time” (I’m pretty sure the swing he thought of wasn’t what the candy company meant with that one.) So explaining those properly had just left him confused, but like most English lessons, he hadn’t really cared. He’d just shrugged, ate the candy, and moved onto the next one. I should probably care more about his nonchalance, after all I’m supposed to be mentoring him, teaching him the ropes, and especially the language. But, confused was too cute of a look on him, I couldn’t help but enjoy it. Besides, how much could I really teach him with candy hearts?
“Be mine,” I mumbled as he fed me the heart, smiling despite the taste. “You already are,”
He paused for a moment, thinking over what I said, before his lips curled into a grin of recognition. He motioned between us, then reached down to grab my hand. His long fingers entwined with mine, and he squeezed my hand, smiling sweetly before he spoke.
“Like this,” He said with a smile, a hint of pride behind his words. “Mine.”
He squeezed my hand tight, giving me a quick wink before he brought it to his lips for a kiss. I couldn’t help but laugh at that, nodding my agreement in spite of it, then tugging our hands down to me to give his the same treatment. I knew that would be an easy heart to explain, but I didn’t expect him to understand it quite like that. But, that was Nikolai, he was the master of the unexpected, in every facet of life. Ask any opposing defenseman if you don’t believe me.
“That’s right,” I nodded, smiling as my laughter ceased. “I’m your’s, you’re mine,”
He nodded and smiled, then returned his attention to my stomach. He glanced over the hearts for a moment, his eyebrow arching slightly as he picked up a purple one. I recognized that look as one of vague recognition, and as he held up the heart for me to see, I understood why.
“Kiss me,” I said with a grin, reading the words on the heart. “You know that one.”
He paused for a moment, his eyebrow cocking as he stared at me. I knew he understood, but the point of that heart was to get him to do what it said. So I puckered my lips and made a kissing noise, earning a giggle and a faint grin for my display. He nodded his understanding, popping the heart into his mouth before he leaned down. I leaned up to meet him, but instead of the kiss I so wanted, he leaned back, crunching the heart as he flashed me a devious grin. I slumped back at that, chuckling softly despite my striking out. I couldn’t help but smile when he acted like that, it was a uniquely Nikolai thing; no one could make sly tease work like him. Every time he did, I just found him cuter, and loved him a little more, even if it was usually stemming from my being shot down.
“Okay, I understand that one now,” He said with a giggle, that god-he-is-cute grin still on his face. “But what is this one?”
He grabbed another heart from my stomach, a green one this time, and held it up for me to see. I laughed as I read the words “Moon Beam”, and smiled as the grin on his face morphed quickly to a quizzical half-smile. That was one heart even I wasn’t sure the meaning of, a moon beam could be a lot of different things. But I knew as I stared up at him what it was for me. His eyes, those were definite moon beams, if you take beam in the literal sense. They were another one of those uniquely Nikolai things, a soft shade of granite, so deep and soulful, but always with a sparkle in them. You could stare into them for just a moment and get lost, believe me I know. They were simply beautiful, incredible, amazing, or any other word you could use in that same vein. I’m not sure what the exact definition of moon beam is, I’d hazard a guess on a ray of light, but regardless, my personal definition was much more fun.
“That one,” I started, stopping as he fed me the heart. “I’m not too sure of. But for me, moon beams are those.”
I grinned, and rubbed my thumb softly beneath his eye. That look of confusion swept across his face again, softening my own grin to just a smile. I think I’d just confused him more with my explanation, but that look was too adorable for me to care that much. Some people just looked good confused, and he was one of them, like I said before. If enjoying that makes me a bad person, well then I guess everyone was right about me.
“I think you are just trying to sweet talk me,” He said with a grin, his eyebrow cocked slightly.
I wiggled my eyebrows at him, and pulled him against me, moving quickly to roll him onto his back. The candies scattered from my stomach, most landing on the sheets, but a few lucky hearts landing on him. He giggled as he wrapped his arms around my neck, and gave a glance down at the hearts on his stomach. I flashed a quick grin, then reached down to snag up a heart, a white one this time. He arched his eyebrow yet again, and I gave him a quick wink before I held the heart up for him to see; the words “Kiss Me” scrolled across it in bright pink letter.
“Two of them,” I murmured, feeding him the heart. “You have to obey this time.”
He giggled and nodded, a faint grin on his face as he leaned up to kiss me. It was just a brief, fleeting peck, way too short for my liking, before he pulled away flashing that devious grin. I frowned and tried my best to pout, but his attention was fast elsewhere, on the hearts that remained on his stomach. He took a moment to study them, then grabbed one, too quick for me to see what it said. But that didn’t matter long, because he was quick to show me, holding up a pink heart with “I Luv U” written on it.
“I know this one,” He said with a shy smile, offering the heart to me.
I grinned happily, nodding my head as I took the heart from his fingers. I ate it quickly, then leaned down to kiss him, much deeper, and far more passionate than what he’d allowed earlier. That display was another of those uniquely Nikolai moments, from devilish to cute sweetheart faster than you can say “toe-drag”. It was things like that that made it impossible not to love him. He’s just too sweet, and too cute, and too...everything perfect in the world, to not find completely irresistible. At least to me, but he doesn’t show his candy hearts to anyone else. Or anything else he likes to show off that helps out on that matter, either.
“I know you do,” I murmured against his lips, once our kiss finally broke. “Just like you know I feel the same.”
He smiled against my lips, nodding so his nose nuzzled mine. “Ya Tebya Lyublyu, Sergei,” He murmured, kissing me gently. “Happy Valentines.”
“I love you too, Nikolai,” I said with a smile, kissing him the same as he had me. [in Russian] “Happy Valentines.”
END
© 2006 Triple X
