It took what felt like an inordinately long time for Johnny to get himself back under control. When he finally drew back, Evan handed him a couple of Kleenex.

"Sorry," he apologised, feeling more than a little stupid.

"Don't worry about it," Evan replied and looked perfectly sincere. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Johnny took a deep breath and dabbed his eyes and nose. He was uncomfortably aware of the big wet patch that was now on the front of Evan's shirt.

"Tanith sent me a link to your latest news spot," he said, feeling a little bereft now that he was no longer in Evan's arms.

"Oh," Evan said, catching on fast, "oh, you don't have to worry about that. They already ruled. The ISU got involved and the results stand."

The urge to cry was suddenly back, but Johnny also realised that it wasn't really that which had set him off.

"Thank you," he said, feeling the gratitude welling up in him, "thank you for standing up for me."

Evan sat down on the edge of the bed, looking at him with a very serious expression.

"What they were trying to do was completely wrong," Evan said with a resolution Johnny had only ever seen in him on the ice. "You won fair and square; you were brilliant; they had no right to even suggest it."

"I embarrass them," he said quietly, knowing it was true.

"It's about time they grew up then," Evan said and totally seemed to mean it.

Johnny sniffed again as he felt overwhelmed for a second time and a tear rolled free no matter how he tried to stop it. Usually he had defences, long held beliefs and reasons he could hide behind, but he had been stripped bare. He was vulnerable and open, and he just couldn't stop his reactions bubbling to the surface.

"Sorry," he apologised again, feeling incredibly awkward for melting down on the man who had already moved from rival to friend in his head.

He shut his eyes and tried to get a hold of himself. What shocked him into not completely folding again was the sudden feeling of soft lips on his own. He gasped and opened his eyes and stared as Evan pulled back, cheeks slowly heating up.

"Sorry," it was Evan's turn to apologise, "it seemed ... I ... I didn't want you to cry again."

Evan looked like he was about to bolt.

"Why?" Johnny's thoughts were spinning.

Evan stood.

"I'm sorry."

"Evan, tell me why you kissed me," Johnny insisted, throwing out his hand to grab Evan's arm.

Evan just stood there looking like he wanted to break away and run.

"Evan," Johnny said in a warning tone; he was in no mood for games.

"I ... kind of ... wanted to." It was dragged out of Evan word by word.

Johnny couldn't remotely pretend he wasn't stunned by that response. Evan wasn't a spontaneous person, not usually, and Johnny wouldn't have known how to deal with sudden kissing at the best of times.

"How long," was what he asked eventually; "how long have you wanted to?"

It felt as if they were at a very delicate moment and Johnny didn't quite know what to do.

"When did I start being nasty to you?" Evan replied awkwardly.

Johnny's mouth fell open in shock.

"Oh my god," he said as realisation dawned, "you were pulling my pigtails."

"You pulled back," Evan replied with all the emotional maturity that his previous behaviour suggested.

"Because I thought you were just being a dick," Johnny replied, but couldn't help lifting his hand to touch his lips.

Evan had never been a people person and Johnny couldn't help wondering how much else about Evan he had read wrong. Evan still looked terrified. It dawned on Johnny quite how much courage kissing him must have actually taken.

"Did you want to kiss me again?" he asked as gently as he knew how.

If Evan said no, he was pretty sure his heart would shatter and he'd be so much mess on the floor, but he owed it to them both to take the same risk Evan had. Very slowly Evan sat down again and then very carefully leaned in. This time the kiss came from both sides. Evan's stubble was scratchy, but his lips were soft, and Johnny let himself sink into the kiss. They were still kissing when the door opened.

"Oops, sorry, I'll come back later."

That was Patti's voice and Evan kind of jumped back, blushing furiously when he heard it. Johnny found himself smiling.

"Mama, you don't have to go," he said, before his mother could close the door again. "Please come in."

Patti did step in then and quietly closed the door behind her.

"You boys looked busy," she said, and Johnny couldn't help noticing his mother's eyes were very firmly on Evan.

Evan was still blushing the most adorable colour.

"Um," Evan didn't seem to know what to say to that.

"Plenty of time for that," Johnny said and then realised that he had just opened himself up to a possible world of hurt with those few words.

The slightly shocked look on Evan's face made Johnny feel even more vulnerable.

"Um," Evan said again, "would ... um ... would you like to go on a date?"

Johnny's inner girl jumped up and down and squealed and clapped her hands, on the outside he just sat there, once again stunned. Then he smiled and it felt as if his face was going to split.

"I'd love to," he said, and he could barely remember why he had been crying.

"Awww," his mom said with a little sigh, "that it so adorable; I wish I had my camera."

Now Johnny remembered he had an embarrassment reflex and blushed right along with Evan.

"Mama!" he said in a scandalised tone.

His mother just smiled.

"Evan, dear," Patti said, still smiling, "do we really need to have the conversation that involves words like 'broken heart' and 'pain' and 'missing limbs'?"

Evan paled.

"No, Ma'am," was the immediate response and Johnny wasn't sure if he should be mortified or proud.

====

"So," Harry said, sitting down in the chair next to Johnny's bed, "did Evan finally make a move, or did you figure it out first?"

Johnny looked at the other man in shock. Harry had been in the room for about five minutes, but so far all they had done was talk about Johnny finally being allowed out of the hospital.

"How did you..?"

"I may have been dense once, but I've trained myself to be more observant," Harry told him with a grin. "I'm not sure if Evan could have been broadcasting louder with a neon sign. Every time I walked in the room he prickled."

Johnny couldn't help wondering if Evan had been obvious for longer than that and he had just been missing it, or if this was a new thing.

"He kissed me, if you must know," he said eventually, deciding that there was no point in dwelling on the past, "and then I made him confess. I think the skating world has a hell of a lot to answer for; the poor lamb has the emotional maturity of a teenager."

Harry smiled at that.

"And I take it you've assigned yourself the task of changing that?" was the amused question.

Harry didn't seem to be the least bit upset that their fledging affair was well and truly off.

"I never thought of it before it happened," Johnny admitted quietly, feeling as if he could talk to Harry, "but I think I might have had a thing for Evan for a while. I was shocked when he kissed me, but the moment I realised he was serious I was all 'mine', 'keep'."

That revelation was met with a quiet laugh.

"I don't blame you," Harry said with another genuine smile; "he's definitely worth fighting for. Really big hands I noticed."

That made Johnny laugh.

"I'm not sure if I should be offended that you are taking rejection so calmly," he said, even though he was quite pleased that Harry didn't seem to mind.

"I'm happily married," Harry said and grinned, "and I make it a rule never to let a little fun sex get in the way of a real relationship."

That made Johnny smile fondly; Harry's marriage was definitely unconventional, but it was abundantly obvious that Harry really did love his wife. Then it dawned on him what Harry was hinting about him and Evan.

"I'm not sure it's a real relationship," he said, looking down at his fingers and playing with his nails, "we haven't even been on a date yet."

"Yeah, and I'm a Muggle," Harry said in a very dismissive tone.

When Johnny looked up, Harry was rolling his eyes at him.

"It could go disastrously wrong," he protested, "I don't want to get my hopes up."

Harry rolled his eyes some more.

"Johnny, I've known you for a couple of days and even I know it's too late for that."

That was one of Johnny's big problems, when he let his heart into things there was no turning back.

"Just keep remembering the 'keep' and 'mine' instincts and you'll be fine," Harry told him and patted his hand gently. "Honestly, I think if you say jump, Evan will ask how high."

There were so many reasons it might not work: they were competitors for a start; then there was the whole Evan being completely in the closet problem; followed of course by the fact they had basically been at war for several years. Johnny couldn't help thinking about all of that, but he had to admit Harry had a point.

"Hell," he said, deciding it wasn't worth thinking of maybes when life was so short, "if the worst comes to the worst, we can go be OCD together. I'll clean everything and he can arrange it all in threes."

"See," Harry said and laughed, "you're perfect for each other."

There was a light knock at the door and Johnny looked up to see a very awkward looking Evan standing there. He felt a smile cover his face almost instantly and that really told him all he needed to know.

"Evan," he said, and he honestly felt his mood brighten, "come in."

When he held out his hand Evan walked over and took it, but he could tell that Evan was doing his best not to frown at Harry. It was adorable really; he had had no idea that Evan was remotely the jealous type.

"Harry came to help me plan my escape from the evil clutches of Healer Glastone," he said in his best dramatic tone.

"Ha," Harry said, with a shake of his head, "if you think I'm going up against a healer you have another think coming. Healers are scarier than any dark wizard I have ever met. But I can give you a police escort to your hotel once she does let you go if it'll help."

That made Johnny pause for a moment.

"But the bad guy's all locked up," he pointed out, suddenly worried that there was something no one had bothered to tell him.

"Yes, but you haven't seen the army of fans that are camped outside this very hospital," Harry replied with a grin.

Johnny wasn't quite sure what to make of that. He was used to a handful of fans turning up most places he went, but Harry didn't seem to be talking about that. Wondering if it was bizarre British humour, he looked to Evan for an explanation.

"There have to be a couple of hundred," Evan said with a shrug, "they must have come from all over. There was almost a riot when they heard about the USFSA thing yesterday."

It was more than a little bit of a shock and Johnny didn't know quite how to react.

"Get used to it," Harry said with a laugh and stood up, "you're a hero now. I'll leave you two love birds alone, call me when Healer Gladstone relents."

When Johnny finally kicked his brain back into gear, he looked at Evan to find that his prospective boyfriend had a very puzzled expression on his face.

"Why..?" Evan began to ask, but Johnny decided he wasn't in the mood for talking any more.

Dragging Evan down to his level, he demanded a kiss and was rewarded by an enthusiastic response and a delightful little moan from Evan. Clearly, they should have been doing this for years, but Johnny refused to regret the past and just began looking forward to the future.

The End

I very much hope you enjoyed this story. Thank you for stopping by and thanks to everyone who left a comment and/or voted, you're the best.

~*~

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