fool (lester averman)

chapter twenty-two

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chapter twenty-one: he is not the sun

a/n:

i hate wolf stansson pt. 2

tw(s) - daddy issues, mentions of jack reilly

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"By the way, Stansson, you owe me a beach ball."

There's a split second where Rory thinks that Bombay might actually win. But then Stansson pushes himself off the ice, his face twisting with rage, and her cheer gets caught in her throat.

He makes this noise. This growl, like some wild beast on the attack. How fitting, she thinks. For the majority of his career, they called him 'The Dentist.' A clever play on words, it made a fitting nickname for a man who takes genuine pleasure in hurting others-- a man who's now teaching children to enjoy it, too.

The man who helped send her father down the one-way road to early retirement.

Rory's gaze focuses on him rather than her coach.
He changes his grip on his stick and shifts how he stands, and her eyes grow wide.

"Watch out!" She shrieks, gripping the edge of the boards.

Rory's too late. By the time the words burst past her lips, the metal is already hitting Bombay in the bad leg with a resounding thwack. He falls forward with a shout and the roar of her team hushes as she hops over the barrier and goes to her coach's side.

"Are you alright?" She takes a knee, her hands hovering over him nervously.

He waves her off and sits up a bit. "I'm alright. I'm alright."

They're swarmed by the team moments later and she turns to look at Wolf with horror in her eyes.

"What is wrong with you?"

Sneering, he wets his lips with his tongue.

"Nothings wrong with me. You're too weak, just like your father."

Somewhere, distantly in the recesses of her mind, she wonders, just going off the look on Bombay's face and the pure glee in the Icelandic coach's eyes, what her expression is right now.

"Leave her out of it." Her coach huffs as two of her teammates lift him off the floor. "This is between us, Stansson."

"Tell the girl to stop minding men's business if she doesn't want to be burned."

Rory only comes out of her own head long enough to sidestep and keep Jesse from doing something he'll regret.

The two coaches stare each other down again.

"Get your coach off the ice, we have to practice now."

Dean and Fulton both lurch forward to fight, too, but they are also blocked by the group.

Wolf sees them off the ice with another sneer.

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Crowded in Bombay's office, everybody yells at one another.

MacKay, Jan, and Charlie are trying to take care of Bombay but he's snapping at them for trying. Everyone else is arguing about their next move, some people wanting to fight and retaliate, and some people wanting to just go home. They've already accepted defeat in the oncoming game, and their coach's leadership ability is called into question.