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Hello, sweeties!

It is that bittersweet time of the year when Hockey Hunk goes onto its seasonal break - after a massive season 4, both Gruffy and the characters need a creative break to ensure that fun and games continue during the anticipated season 5! Yay! I will announce the premiere of season 5 in due time before I start publishing, so before that...you must stay tuned! After yesterday's stupid delay, it's about time I get this out. *chuckle*

As always, I must take the time to thank you, everyone, for commenting and supporting this story for two years and running now! It has been a lot of fun, in a lot of ways, to be sharing this story with you, and I am glad to see that the story still gets your attention, your thoughts, and your feelings. That s quite special to me, and I thank you.

I would like to ask for everyone to comment, now, for this season finale - lurkers included, please! - just to leave a note to me to tell that you're still reading, and maybe a few thoughts about the chapter and the season as a whole - I think hearing everyone's thoughts, and letting everyone see everyone's thoughts on the topic - will be nice to all the readers.

An don't you worry, I will be active, of course, Hockey Hunk or not :P

Have a fun read!

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Saturday, 23rdof July, 2011, somewhere on I-90

"...so your grandparents live nearby, yeah?"

My clammy paws clasped the steering wheel of the rented car, as I nodded quickly.

"Mom's parents, yeah, Patrick and Birdie," I replied to the Dobie sprawled on the passenger's seat, "they live in Rome."

I could only spare glances at him, considering that I had to be concentrated to the even more expansive Interstate 90 ahead of us. Victor looked relaxed enough, though, sitting there, his light summery shirt buttoned open almost all the way down, a water bottle in his paw, sunglasses on, generally looking like he was on a beach, not in an overheated car with not very good air conditioning. I'd already sweated through my own shirt.

"Alright..." Victor's ears swished against the ceiling of the car as he nodded, "so your dad moved to Rome with your mom after they got married?"

"After they graduated, yeah," I said, "dad from Taylor University and mom from the Kirkland Police Academy. They had jobs pretty much waiting for them, heheh. Small town and all."

"Hahah," the Dobie chuckled deeply, and in a way that spookily reminded me of Cobb, no matter how much I tried to never let myself think of those two brothers in the same context.

"Connections, eh?"

I eased off on the gas a bit because of a huge lumbering Chevrolet ahead of us.

"Suppose so," I chuckled.

The Chevrolet's ass end seemed to creep even closer to us, no signs of brake lights or anything, simply losing speed. What the hell was that driver doing, sightseeing? There was nothing here, only the trees lining the highway. There weren't even any rest stops nearby, as far as I could see ahead of us on the seemingly endless road. Maybe the traffic would get a bit less silly once we got to NY-13.

The air seemed to be getting even hotter. Judging by the shuffling sounds next to me, Victor was scratching his belly.

Murr.

"So what's next?" Victor spoke after a moment. "Anything else I should know about, say, hmmm...your brother?"

"Justin?" my own ears flicked curiously as he made the statement.

"That's your only brother as far as I know, yes?"

I snuffled. Maybe the heat was making his more Cobb-like sense of humor emerge from the very dark reaches of his psyche that were not usually sounded unless he was feeling especially mischievous. Or maybe he was just bored with sitting in the stifling hot car and being chauffeured to meet my parents, of all furs.

"Yeah," I rumbled, "that it is...Justin Andrew Gliese...Andrew nowadays, apparently, because Justin Bieber sucks, and he doesn't want to be associated with that name."

"Isn't that the little guy who sounds like a girl?"

"The girls dig it, I suppose."

Victor snorted.

"Girls always dig girly boys for some reason."

I raised my brows and risked a glance at Victor, no matter the threat posed by the Chevrolet in front of us. Victor saw me and winked.

"Even I went to college, Rory," he said.

"Hah," I chuckled almost nervously.

"So should I call him Andrew then?" Victor proposed.

"Nah, just go with Justin," I said, "I don't call him anything else, and neither does my parents. Better not give him slack."

"And he's thirteen..." Victor sounded thoughtful, "is it weird to have a brother who's that much younger?"

"A little bit, perhaps," I nodded, "but it can come in handy, too, sometimes, when he's acting up."

"Oh?"

I smirked.

"Well it's easy to make him storm into his own room by telling that I used to change his diapers when he was a baby...apparently it's the most embarrassing thing he can think of."

Victor let out a chortle.

"Why, how catty of you," he spoke in a camp voice.

"Oh I know," I retaliated similarly.

"I really can't even imagine that...sorry. There's only two years between me and Cobb and Evelyn, so I really don't know anything about that."

"It was pretty weird, I guess," I said, "I mean...I was...hmmm...fourteen, fifteen, when mom and dad just suddenly announced that there was going to be another cub in the family..."

"That is an interesting age, yeah, isn't it?"

Was it ever...horny, bored, lonely and confused...

"Yep," I concluded, "guess it had its plus sides, too. Mom was at home for about a year and then she started to do more work at the police station rather than being on patrol, so she started having more regular work hours, too. She used to do a lot of night shifts before that, on patrol."

"Guess having a baby at home changes all that."

"It was kinda cool, I guess, now that I think about it," I said, "food waiting ready at home when I came back from school...all that...though of course I would've never said that at that age...hah..."

"Naaaah," Victor agreed.

The Chevrolet seemed to be creeping further away from me for once. I wouldn't hit the pedal to the medal yet, though. It might just be baiting me, threatening an emergency braking should they suddenly lose speed again.

"He's an okay kid," I said, "You don't have to worry about him. He'll probably be a bit shy in the beginning but I'm sure he's also very curious about you."

Hmmmm...not sure if that was the kindest thing to say...I mean...this had to be as nerve-wracking to him as it was for me...meeting the parents and all that...I mean...it was...big...huge...massive...intimate....dangerous...all kinds of things...yes...hmmm...damn...

"I hope you'll be okay about that," I hurried to say, feeling my ears drop.

"Why not?" the Dobie rumbled, "It's not like I could expect anything else."

"I just don't want you to feel uncomfortable with my family," I huffed.

Victor patted my thigh, a big, warm paw that offered a good, nice presence, as he let it rest there, looking at me, even if I could spare but a glance in his direction in return.

"And it was me who asked to come, and they said that they'd love to meet me, didn't they?" he said.

The "ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhh!!" my mother had let out upon my tentative inquiry had probably lasted for a minute or so, non-stop, on the phone.

"Yeah," I confessed.

Another squeeze before the paw disappeared.

"So, it'll be good," he said.

"You do know that they'll be shadowing us throughout the weekend," I stated, "looking at our every move."

"Our every gay move," Victor added.

Damn...was he ever right...

"Of course", I harrumphed.

"It's what parents do, gay kids or not," he said, "I've seen it happen countless times with Cobb's girlfriends and Evelyn's boyfriends and Steve, too...they do it no matter what. Don't think we can claim exclusive rights to being spied upon by nosy parents."

I let out a deep breath of stale air.

"I still don't like it very much," I replied.

"We could always shock them with public displays of affections," Victor rumbled, "might force them to stop."

I blushed even at the idea of being witnessed in any kind of intimate situation with Victor. Not that it was bad but...embarrassing...yeah...damn...hmmm...hmm...

"Are you willing to take that risk?" I said dryly.

"As long as you're sure that we won't be chased out of the house with a broom," he replied.

That was just too silly. I had to chuckle. He laughed, too. It made me feel much better...for now.

"None of that, "I said, finally, "they're cool...I think."

"Why don't you sound completely convinced?"

A nervous flutter filled my belly as I contemplated the road, the Chevrolet, and the question at paw. I knew that it was probably just me being too nervous for my own good...but still...

"I dunno," I said, "Just...this is kinda big for me too, you know?"

"I never doubted that, Rory."

"I mean...they know I'm gay and all that, but...it's mostly, you know...theoretical...for them..."

"What do you mean?"

"Well you know..."I snuffled, "it's one thing to be gay and living in another town and never...hmmm...uh...."

"Rub it on their faces," Victor completed the sentence.

My nerves fluttered again as the feeling was put into words, and I couldn't do anything but nod.

"Yep."

"Well, like I always tell Cobb...and anyone else, really, who's wondering about it..." he began, "I think that we don't have to rub it on anyone's face, but we should also quit being so damn nice."

"Hmmmm?" my ears perked curiously.

"Well, think about it," he said, "how many gay furs are in the closet or otherwise conceal stuff about their lives just to be nice to their family or friends or whatever? To not to bother them or something, thinking that they don't want to cause any extra grief? Well, that's what I think about it. Being that nice is not gonna help anyone, because it's only going to end up causing you problems in the end."

That was a damn smart thing to say, I had to admit. I did as much.

"That's right, of course..."

Victor unscrewed his bottle of water and took a deep chug.

"Damn right it is," he said, "Time to stop being so damn nice."

The Chevrolet lunged forward.

*

I had to admit, my heart was starting to pound a bit harder by the time we entered the town premises of Rome, New York, and being void of the earlier chitchat now, with an over-filled bladder after chugging down too much water from my own bottle, and generally feeling like a big bundle of nerves, I was slowly starting to feel rather crap as I navigated the peculiarly familiar roads and streets leading towards the place where it all began for me.. At least the sky had turned cloudy, and Victor was now sunglasses-free and poking his head in all directions, looking at everything he could see.

"I know it's not much to see," I commented dryly, "no landmarks, no sights..."

"I'm not here to sightsee," Victor replied.

"Guess not...you wouldn't find any even if you wanted to."

"Why do I sense that there's no love lost between you and this place?" Victor proposed.

We drove past an Aldi, and I snuffled.

"It's home," I said, "can't change that fact."

"Not until you have a home of your own," he said.

Home...hmm...picket fences and stuff...eh...

"Well at least there's plenty of room here," Victor said, still curiously taking in the bleak landscape, "not like Cleveland."

"Just wait until we get home," I said, "I doubt suburbs are that different anywhere..."

"Perhaps," Victor smiled.

And we were getting close...really close now, in fact...

"Think there's any lunch waiting for us?" Victor asked suddenly. "I'm starting to get kinda hungry."

I let out a deep chuckle.

"That's the first impression you want to give, eh?" I smirked. "Asking for the way to the fridge?"

Victor winked.

"I could sit down on the couch with your dad with some cool beers and we could talk man stuff while you catch up with your mom."

I harrumphed, but playfully.

"Have to tell her the latest in Kirk City fashion, of course," I said, "it is my duty as the gay son to make sure she's the most fashionable woman in town here."

Victor snerked and nudged my shoulder with his elbow. My tail tried to tie itself into a knot between my legs.

"Why do you think it's just my dad who drinks beer, though?" I stated. "My mom's known to enjoy a nice beer after work as well."

"How edgy."

"When you're a cop, sometimes you have to be one of the guys," I told him as I signaled before turning left to take us deeper into the Roman suburbia.

"So how about beer and man stuff for everyone on the couch?" Victor suggested. "And a soda pop for your bro so that he won't feel left out..."

Hahah.

"Heheh."

That old Williams house...we were really close now...oh damn...

"I can't believe we're going to do this," I chuckled nervously

Victor patted my thigh.

"I can't wait," he replied.

My ears jumped.

"You Holdens are weird," I snorted.

"And now I'm getting to see where you get all your weirdness from," Victor replied.

He did have a point.

"Well I can't be held responsible if you don't want to visit ever again," I said.

"Why do you make it sound like your parents are Archie and Edith Bunker?" Victor stated. "They sounded pretty decent beforehand but now..."

That was the Cooper house...still with that old Jetta on the driveway...just one more turn...I could already see the Scott house...

"That's not a bad comparison," I said.

Victor harrumphed.

"Oh come on," I huffed, "sorry about it. You know I'm a bit on the edge about all this."

"Well I know, but you're not making it easier to me by being so out of sorts," Victor replied.

I felt a pang of embarrassment in my belly, but decided to play it cool. Just for Victor's sake.

"Sorry," I sighed.

"You're not thinking this is too early, eh?" the Dobie sounded demanding.

"Oh, no, no," I shook my head quickly, "I'm just trying to...sort myself out...you know..."

"Well you better do it damn quickly, then," he rumbled.

Did I ever...I was just signaling to turn to Pritchard Lane, with the Stafford house on the corner...then there'd be the Gordon house...then the Gliese house...

I swallowed.

"Well, yes...we're almost there."

"Oh we are?" he almost leaped against the window.

Gulp.

I put on the signal and slowed down to a suburban crawl.

"There we go," I murmured as I slowed down even more.

"Wow...your mom..."

"Yeah," I rumbled as my car came into a halt next to the police cruiser on our driveway, next to dad's car, "courtesies of being the sheriff."

"Hahah."

"Welcome to my life," I said as I turned off the engine, "literally."

The Gliese residence stood on our lot, surrounded by the lawn dad was not too keen on mowing, just your ordinary house, I guess, two stories, garage, walkway, more room on the back...possibly a few curious lions on the windows...I couldn't spot any for now.

"Looks nice," Victor smiled.

"You ain't seen nothing yet," I replied.

Victor tousled my head furs.

"You silly boy," he said, making kissy lips at me.

I blushed.

"Starting with the PDAs?"

"Nope," Victor squeeze my arm, "just making sure you're alright."

"I'm alright," I smiled helplessly.

"Good."

Another squeeze.

"Let's get out of the car before they mob us," I said as I released my seatbelt, "they must've noticed we're here."

I was surprised there weren't already telescopic lenses poking out of the windows to capture Victor's likeness on film...

"Right on!" Victor smiled. "I better get the gift bag..."

I watched as he reached out for the backseat, with its travel bags and the bulging plastic one, too, for which his big paw was reaching intently. I couldn't help but smile - copious gift-giving seemed to be a very much of a Holden habit, too, judging by Cobb's previous behavior and now Victor's insistence for bringing something nice for my family...speaking of which...

"Are Cobb's gifts there as well?" I asked.

"Yep," Victor replied, bent over sideways to find the bag, "all safe and re-wrapped."

Oh, God, if Cobb ever learned that Victor and I had opened the presents he had bought for my family and then rewrapped them after deeming them safe to give to them...he'd never let us hear the end of that, I was sure of, and that's why I would take that particular secret to the very end with me. No point in upsetting the emotional Dobie...but there was also no way I would risk Cobb buying something stupid, embarrassing, or potentially just dangerous. "MOM OF A GAY SON AND PROUD OF IT" - T-shirts were a possibility, as were cans of beer for Justin...you just never knew...

"Good!"

Victor grabbed the bag and pulled it over to the front seat, shuffling about as he did so.

"Should we take the rest too or...?"

"Better go and say hello first," I proposed, "makes it less swamped if we don't barge in with all the bags..."

And that'd leave our paws free for self-defense, too...

Oh crap...don't think about it like that...

Victor opened the car door. Guess I had no choice but to follow...yes...out to the driveway...good old concrete...the little stone path to the front door...a couple of steps...door...doorbell with a little light shining on it...at least the weather seemed to be getting worse. Some rain would mean no backyard barbeque with the neighbors...perhaps. It didn't look bad yet. That was nice enough, meaning that we'd beat the weather to be here in time. What was the time, anyway? I little bit over midday, it had to be, we left around 10, so...maybe it was half past or so. I should've checked the time from the clock on the dashboard.

"It looks quite neat," Victor commented, looking up and down and back and forth on the house.

"Dad did some painting on it," I replied, "back when I was staying here before."

"He must've done a fine job."

The stones scratched under my footpaws. Victor walked down the path without an nerves, it seemed...nice and broad shoulders, that loose shirt, those well-fitting pants...damn, I was looking at his ass now...swing swing swing...that little stubby tail and all...

Hmmm.

I reached the small steps to the front door and scaled them, to stand there behind the door with Victor on my side. My heart was thumping. My neck was sweating, even though we were now in the shade of the house. I could swear there was movement behind the door...a little noise...a small creak...a giggle...?

I felt Victor's fingers close around my paw, and give it a squeeze.

"Just breathe," the Dobie smiled. "It's your family. They love you."

But would they love Victor...

Did I...

I was just about to press the doorbell when the door suddenly opened. It was mom and dad, both wearing T-shirts and shorts of all things, guess that was because of the weather, with huge smiles plastered on their muzzles, standing side by side in a kind of an eerie mirror of how Victor and I were poised at the door...mom smiling and dad peering at us curiously through his daddy eyeglasses....

"THERE YOU ARE!"

Gulp.

"Hello, Mister and Mrs. Gliese!" Victor spoke before I had a chance to get my paralyzed tongue to work again.

Curious ears flicked, eyes fixing on the tall canine standing next to me, tails swaying behind them, generally looking like they'd just found the proverbial plate of milk on the door.

"Hi, mom, hi dad!" I tried.

Dad stepped forward and extended his paw.

"And you must be Victor," dad rumbled.

Victor let go of my paw, moved the plastic bag from his right paw to the left, and then extended his. I hope he put on his hunkiest grip as I saw him and dad shake paws. Mom was smiling cheerfully. I managed a small smile for her, too.

"That's right, sir," Victor replied, sounding all business, "I'm glad to be here!"

"And we're so glad you're here too!" my mom smiled almost wolfishly as she floated past my dad and practically swatted him aside to get her turn at Victor's paw. "Hello, I'm Patricia."

I could see that Victor's pawshake with mom was decisively more gentle, but firm still, I could tell by the little flexing of his arm.

"And I'm Victor," he said with a polite smile, "nice to meet you."

Dad was still smiling happily, even as he stepped back a bit and turned to face the staircase.

"JUSTIN, COME ON DOWNSTAIRS TO MEET RORY AND HIS BOYFRIEND VICTOR!"

Eeek...

Mom chuckled.

"He's being a bit moody today," mom said with a little wink.

Victor glanced over towards the staircase and gave a nod.

"Well I know a thing or two about brothers," he mused, "let's give him time, eh?"

"JUSTIN!" dad bellowed again.

"Well ,you better come in!" mom slapped her paws together. "I'll fix us something to drink, it's still quite hot even if it went cloudy right now..."

"Yeah, the drive was so hot," I said, "think it's gonna rain soon."

"I'm sure it will," mom smiled.

Victor led the way as we both stepped inside into the hall. It was definitely cooler and more nice inside, and I was glad for that. It smelled like home, too, which was a bonus, of course. Home not smelling like home would've been a big worry, I thought.

"So is that your car, Victor?" I heard dad say, as I was giving the house an once-over with my eyes and I wasn't looking at them for the moment. Oh dear...dad going into manly dad mode instantly.

"It's actually rented, sir," Victor replied as I swiveled back to observe, "I hired it for this trip, since I haven't replaced my car yet."

"Oh, of course, of course," dad nodded quickly, bushy mane waving and all.

"I drove!" I chimed in.

"Oh!" Dad's ears flicked curiously. "How was I-90?"

"Crazy like always," I said.

"Of course," dad harrumphed.

"JUSTIN, THERE'S SODA HERE SOON!" mom yelled as she passed the stairs and headed for the kitchen.

"Why don't we go to the living room?" dad suggested.

"That sounds good!" I said.

Dad led the way this time, as Victor and I ambled into the living room. The drapes were open and drab light was coming in, and everything like it should be, I observed. The TV was on and showing what looked like an aerial shot of that wretched island that'd been on the news all day yesterday. A voice was speaking, too, but not for long, since dad was swift to hit "mute" on the remote before he settled into his favorite chair.

"Been watching the news?" I asked as Victor and I lingered and tried to decide where to sit...the couch seemingly most tempting for now.

Dad shrugged.

"It's either that Norwegian gunman or now that...what's she called...uhm..."

Mom walked through the door from the kitchen into the living room, carrying the old flowered tray which now held lots of cans of Sprite and diet Coke. Even from afar I could tell that they were icy cold. My tongue started to feel especially parched.

"And here's drinks!"

Dad scratched his muzzle.

"Mom, what's the name of that singer who died and is on the news?" dad asked as she bustled further into the room to serve the soda.

Mom shook her head as she held the tray out for dad to take his pick, which was a diet Coke.

"Amy Winehouse," she said.

Victor's ears jumped.

"She died?" he spoke.

Mom gave him a look and nodded.

"Found her dead today, it's all over the news," she said, "that and the horrible thing that happened in Norway."

She glanced at the TV which was now showing a picture of that gloomily staring, smirking man, labeled "LONE WOLF HELD UNDER CLOSE POLICE SUPERVISION"

"Wow..." Victor shook his head.

Suddenly I felt ever so glad that I was at home...with Victor on my side. Made the world feel like a safer place.

*

Previous Day

It had been a long day at work, following the rehearsals at the university, and Mason was more than glad to be at home now, back in his little apartment on the block. The wolf was ever so happy that he could afford it, with what he made at the bookstore and the allowance his parents sent to him every month. Sure beat a dorm, he thought with a smile as he entered with a clatter of keys and then stepped in. Shucking off his backpack and wandering inside took only a moment, as did turning on the computer from hibernation mode and throwing himself onto the couch. His footpaws felt a bit sore after all the campy dancing and standing around at the shop.

"Phew...."

The WiFi lights were on, Facebook was quickly opened, and he was soon checking the newest wall updates when there was a knock on the door. The wolf's ears flicked curiously.

"Hmm..."

Mason put the laptop down to the couch and meandered over to the door, flicked open the lock and opened the door.

"Haakon!"

The lynx's eyes were shining.

"Dude!" the wolf exclaimed.

"Något hemsk har hämt på hemmet* ," the lynx mumbled before his arms were crashing around the wolf, pulling him close to his soon shuddery form.

*

* Something terrible has happened at home."

*

THE HOCKEY HUNK

RETURNS

AS

SEASON 5

COMING

THIS

FALL

*

Thank you for reading my story!

Hope you had a fun time reading, and hope you'll feel like commenting now that you're done. Also remember that all votes, faves and watches will help others to find these stories to enjoy as well!

See you in due time!

Cheerio!

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