Trip to Your Heart - A Hockey Fanfiction

Butterfly Kisses

I stirred awake in the dimly lit hotel room with Robert behind me. His arms were around my waist, his legs were tangled with mine, and his chin rested above my head. He was so warm and I didn't want to move or disrupt him in his sleep since it had been a long night with the game, the trip to the hospital and the nightmares. I turned slowly to face him and tucked my face into the crook of his neck. He stirred a bit and I felt him smile into my hair. "Morning, Stella," he greeted me, his voice rough from not being used.

"Morning," I snuggled closer to him, not wanting to rejoin the real world right away. He tightened his arms around me, and my hands rested on his warm, bare chest. I could feel him move as he breathed; his chest rose and fell slowly and the breaths he exhaled were cool on my neck.

"You have to leave soon," I whispered into his shoulder.

"Mmm," he hummed and I could feel the vibration on my cheek. It wasn't a denial, but he certainly didn't seem ready to get up. I closed my eyes slowly and a laugh escaped his lips.

"What?" A small smile played on my lips in response to the sound.

"That tickled," he replied.

"Butterfly kisses?"

"What are those?" Robert pulled back from me a little bit with one eyebrow raised, looking for a demonstration. I leaned forward and blinked a few times so that my eyelashes brushed against the non-scruffy part of his cheek. His lips turned up into a smile again, and he buried his face in my neck. His beard rubbed against my skin giving me goosebumps as he tried to give me butterfly kisses. "Good?" His voice was muffled by my shoulder.

"Yeah," I giggled.

"Good," he came out of my shoulder and looked down at me. The bruises on his face looked worse now that I was awake and I frowned. I reached up to touch them again. Robert's face fell as he watched me, but he didn't stop me. Instead he took my hand in his larger one and pressed his lips to the back of it, causing my heart to stutter in my chest. "Don't worry about me, Stella," he murmured against my skin. I only nodded, unable to think of anything to say.

Robert closed his eyes, but didn't let go of my hand. I studied him in the low light from the crack in the window drapes as his breathing grew deeper. My eyelids soon fell shut as well and my breathing slowed to match his.

We were startled awake by a pounding at the door, "Hey! Bortuzzo! It's time to get up!" Coach yelled from outside the room, "I hope you're already packed because we are leaving in fifteen!"

Robert shot out of bed in a flash and began throwing things into his suitcase, "I'll be right down!" He called.

I sat bolt upright and climbed out of the bed to help him. Together, it took us only three minutes to throw everything into the bag. Robert zipped it up and turned to me, a crooked grin on his face, "That was fun."

"Sure," I laughed.

Robert's smile faded and he became serious, which was unusual for him, "Are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine. He'll cool off eventually," I waved off his concern, not wanting to talk about the ginger right then. I didn't want him to know that I was worried about what Claude would think when I showed up at home.

"You know if he doesn't, we will come beat him up for you," he joked.

"I don't think that will be necessary. How's your head?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"I feel great," he nodded. We stood there in silence for a minute. Then, "We should probably get going."

"Yeah," I agreed. Robert opened the door and followed me down to the lobby where the rest of the team was gathered.