Differences

Opening day for hockey in Philadelphia and the Flyers were facing off against the Lightning. Ryan was in her seat, minding her own business, when she was accosted by a crazy woman.

“Hey! I need you to come with me a minute.”

“What do you want, Contessa?”

“Raffl needs to see you.”

Ryan scoffed, but got up and followed Contessa through the arena towards the locker room area. Mrs. Crosby took her hand and Ryan squeezed it back out of pure joy. In the weeks after her hospital stay, which was brief, life had been good and Ryan and Michael enjoyed their solitude in many ways in Philadelphia before the insanity of another semester and hockey season got under way.

He did not sublet his apartment, but just canceled the lease. He didn’t tell Ryan for weeks, mostly because he was afraid the full commitment of him living with her would scare her to death. When she found out, she very calmly suggested he find a back up apartment and sublet that, just in case, but then grinned to let him know she was joking. She did not, however, help him move, but she did allow his Flyers’ family to do the job and even hung around with them without picking an argument or calling anyone an asshole. She said it was her housewarming gift to him.

A few weeks before training camp began, Ryan came home with a dog. It was a mangy mutt, with matted black hair and a permanent scowl that made Michael a little leary about getting too close. She said she found her wandering around campus and she had no I.D. so Ryan was keeping her. When the dog was cleaned and brushed and fed, she took on a more gentle demeanor and Michael agreed that the dog could stay. They named her Milady, because Michael was never going to stop teasing Ryan about her ridiculous middle name. Her cat Iverson was at first less than pleased, but after a few weeks, the two animals became good friends, often curling up together on the bed when Michael and Ryan weren’t using it for other things.

Michael took his role as man of this house (his words) very seriously, which mostly meant ensuring that Ryan didn’t have to worry about a thing. All he wanted was to care for and love her and to feel her love in return. She never said the words to him again, but she showed him she loved him in a million different ways: tracing the veins in his palm with her fingertips when she thought he was sleeping, kissing him directly behind the ear when she met him in the kitchen for morning coffee, trying out different brands of masculine scented soap and then pressing her nose against his skin to breath him in to find out which one she liked best. She told him she loved him by (finally) installing central air conditioning, buying him books in German and French, by learning German as he had wanted her to for so long. Every thing she did for him felt like a declaration of care and compassion. He didn’t need the words, he had her deeds as proof.

The one thing they did very little of was speak of the past. When Ryan first came home from the hospital she offered Michael only slightly more information than Contessa had given him. And for the first time, he agreed that less was more. He could see that she was happy, he knew she loved him, and like her he wanted to move forward into a future that reflected those things. And it was easy to move on because Ryan seemed freed by no longer having to keep anything from him. She was lighter, less apologetic about the way she was while still working to evolve even more. She still had her moments of course, sometimes her eyes would narrow and her lips would press together, her shoulders tense with holding something back, but very often, without his help, she let go and said what she was thinking, what she was feeling.

Because of all her progress, Michael happily left the ugliness of her past where it was and and instead worked on making her present the very best it could be. Which, naturally, included copious amounts of sex and presents. Knowing what she liked, he bought her lots of little things all the time. Nearly everyday she had something waiting for her, in the bathroom, on the kitchen table, in his hands as he grinned. Rarely were they expensive, but he made each one feel special and he loved how excited she started to get about them. Notably there was a custom dog collar for Milady, a pair of embroidered red silk slippers that felt like heaven on her feet, truffles from Paris, tea directly from Darjeeling in India, coffee from Ethiopia, crumbling paperback biographies that she devoured no matter who the subject was, and he bought her every gold bangle he found until she had so many she finally told him to stop. He loved spoiling her and she wasn’t complaining about it either. He simply luxuriated in her smile and that was always more than enough to make it worthwhile, but she repaid him in other ways as well, of course.

In short, they were happy and so ridiculously in love in such an adorable, easy going way that Contessa was nearly in tears whenever she spent time with them. Ryan even started to tolerate Crosby, at least a little, which only brought more joy to their circle.

Today, opening day, Ryan was even happier than normal. It had been a long, bizarre summer and she was looking forward to finding a new rhythm in her life with Michael as they both went back to work. Plus, it was hockey season again and there is nothing better than that. When they got where they were headed, Ryan realized that all the players had already taken the ice and the National Anthem was being sung.

They stood in the player’s tunnel and she said, “Too late. Let me head back, I don’t wanna miss the start of the game.”

Contessa grabbed her hand and made them move closer. “No, just stay here for a minute. He wants to see you before puck drop.” Although it was awkward, standing next to the bench and feeling like she was in the wrong place, Ryan consented to stay, watching Michael on the ice and smiling when he looked over.

The anthem ended and Claude Giroux took the microphone to make a few announcements of his own, which was strange, but not unheard of.

“I just wanted to say thank you to all the fans in Philly who’ve supported us over the years and continue to do so. Last season didn’t end how we wanted it to, but we’re gonna push even harder this year and we hope you’ll all be there for the ride.” He paused for the applause to roar and then die down. Then he continued, “I would also invite you to join me in congratulating two incredible people on their recent wedding.” Ryan looked to Contessa and smiled, figuring Giroux was talking about her and Crosby. But instead he said, “In case you didn’t hear, which I know you didn’t, our very own Michael Raffl was married yesterday and we’d like to ask his wife to join us so we can honor them both.”

The crowd roared again. Ryan just gasped and looked at Giroux with murder on her mind. Raffl was smiling, of course, and when she looked at Contessa, her friend was grinning as well.

“You deserve this. Fuck you for not telling me you got fucking married!”

Ryan shrugged, trying to maintain her composure in the light of all the attention she had been looking to avoid in the first place. “It wasn’t a big deal, we just went to the courthouse.”

“Seriously? I don’t give a shit. You should have told me!”

“Why? So you could cry about?”

Contessa wanted to smack her. “Fuck you again.”

“I was going to tell you and mama.”

“When?”

“Today.”

“That’s a day too late. I’m so pissed at you, but we’ll talk about that later. Get your ass out there, go.”

Ryan sighed and took a few steps towards the door that lead to the ice. Del Zotto caught her eye on the bench and winked. Ryan just sighed again and tried to block out the fact that literally thousands of people were watching her. All she needed was to slip and fall on the ice and really embarrass herself.

Michael came skating up, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her onto the ice with him. She shouted over the noise, “I want a divorce.”

He just laughed. “Never going to happen. Just wave to the people like a good girl.”

Ryan dutifully did as he asked, letting him hold her hips and waving to the cheering crowd. Giroux handed her a massive bouquet of flowers and said into the microphone. “On behalf of all the Flyers and the whole City of Philly, let me say, welcome to the family. Now give the people what they want and kiss your woman, Raff.”

Ryan put a hand on his chest. “Don’t you fucking dare do that to me. I am not kissing you in front of this many people.”

Michael covered her hand on his chest with his own. “You have two choices, let me kiss you, or I’m going to get naked right here and confess my undying love for you on the microphone for at least fifteen minutes.”

Ryan smiled. “I see we’re back to symbolic gestures, huh?”

“Oh, ja. Küss mich, mein schatz, here in front of these people. Bare your soul with me.”

“Nothing to hide, yeah, yeah, I get it. Fucking asshole.”

She grabbed his jersey and kissed him soundly on the mouth. Raffl, not to be outdone by his lovely wife, wrapped his arms around her middle and dipped her low for a kiss worthy of an Academy Award. When he was done, she pulled away smiling and said again, “I still want a divorce.”

“I will change your mind tonight.”

“Hmm, true. I do enjoy your cock and your cooking and -”

“Me. You enjoy me. And I love you for your lists because they’re how you tell me you love me without saying the words.”

“Idiot.”

“Your idiot.”

Ryan chuckled and kissed him again as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Yes…mine.”

The Flyers won and the Raffls topped off the night with a late dinner, which included the entire Flyers roster and staff, as well as Michael’s family who had flown in from Austria. It was the first time Ryan met them and she got to try out her newly acquired German. It wasn’t perfect, but the fact that she had even bothered to learn any at all endeared her to his mother and the two women spent most of the dinner chatting in a mixture of English, French, and German.

Michael sat on Ryan’s other side, grinning from ear to ear and squeezing her thigh whenever he had a chance. Near dessert, Michael’s mother noted, “Oh, goodness, I just realized that you will be Ryan Raffl, what a charming sound that makes!”

Michael interrupted Ryan’s thought. “No, mama, nein. Ryan’s name is very important to her. I would never ask her to change it.”

Ryan reached for his hand under the table and told his mother, “Actually, Mike is very important to me as well. Since I’ve already gone through one name change, what’s one more? And I think Ryan MacShaw-Raffl has a nice ring to it as well, don’t you think?”

The elder Mrs. Raffl looked at her with tears in her eyes and Ryan wondered if every woman in her life would forever be driven to sobbing whenever Ryan said anything remotely nice. “I agree, dear. A lovely sound as well, yes?”

Ryan looked at Michael who smiled and kissed her cheek. “Yes, mama. Lovely.”

Later that night, when the Raffls came home, Michael had yet another surprise for Ryan. In their bedroom, he pulled out a blue felt covered jewelry box, square, flat, and wide.

“What’s this?”

“A gift for my wife.”

Ryan grinned and opened it, the sound of the creaking spine of the box nearly drowning out her gasp of awe, but not quite. She was staring at a necklace made of white gold and sapphires, so many damn sapphires, most of them the size of quarters. It was huge and way too fancy, not mention how much it must have cost him, dear God.

She swallowed and said, “I don’t know where you got this from, but you need to return it. Right now.”

“Nein, schatz. I can’t do that.”

She looked at him. “Yes, you can. I’m your wife and I’m telling you to take this back. This is too much, too expensive. I can’t keep this. Where would I even wear something like this?”

Michael pulled the box from her hands and set it gently on the bed. Then, he started to undress her, telling her, “I can’t take it back because I didn’t buy it. It was my grandmother’s.”

“Okay, give it back to her.”

“She died ten years ago, sweetheart. The necklace has been in the family for hundreds of years, but she specifically stated in her will that it was to go to my wife, no one else. And that’s you. So you see, you have to keep it, it’s yours.”

Ryan was now naked and smiling. “That’s so…old school European.”

“Thank you, I thought it was sweet. And I will tell you how and when you will wear it, when you are with me, just like this.” He removed the elaborate necklace and fastened it around her neck, whispering, “Perfect.” He let his fingers trail down her naked breasts and told her, “I have dreamt about this, you draped in nothing but sapphires as I make love to you for hours.”

His fingers lingered along her mound now and Ryan licked her lips as she canted toward his touch. “In that case, I accept it. Thank you, süsser. Although I feel a little silly in it, it is beautiful and I will treasure it.”

As he smiled, he slipped two fingers along her already wet folds. “You are beautiful, mein schatz. And now I will have you as my goddess, truly. I have been waiting for this, to adorn you in jewels and then worship you. Lie down. Let me play for a while.”

Ryan reclined on the bed and after stripping down, Michael joined her. When she laid back, the necklace was still cold and heavy on her chest, but her skin soon heated it and it felt a part of her. With Michael’s mouth spreading heat and arousal around every inch of her skin, Ryan put her hand on the necklace and felt deeply connected to him, to his family.

It wasn’t easy, dealing with the way she was feeling. Her relationships to any family outside of Contessa and her mom was complex and at times felt strained, but she was trying. The Raffls made it easy and Michael must have told them something about her struggles, because at dinner they had tread softly, and like Michael, never pushed too hard.

She was lucky. And she was loved. More than that, she had started to believe that she deserved it.

“Mike…süsser, please fuck me. I need you so badly.”

Michael sat up with his legs extended and then pulled her onto his lap. When she started to ride him, he held her close with one hand on her lower back. He used his unoccupied digits to caress the column of her neck and finger the necklace that looked flawless on her body.

He watched her pretty mouth expel her breath and he kissed more of it away. He teased, “Still want a divorce?”

She laughed and hugged him to her chest with both arms. “Nein…nimmer. You know that.”

“I know. Sie sind meine, immer.”

Ryan thrust against him faster, close to her peak and drunk on his words and she told him the truth. “Yes, mine…always.”

Notes

You should know that long form fiction really isn't my thing; I take more to short stories, poetry, etc. (Crosby/Contessa was never meant to be a *thing* either, but it just got out of hand!) As such, while I love Ryan and Raffl, I am "ending" this and marking it as complete. However, I adore them too much to leave it alone for good. I will probably add more chapters that are more akin to what I prefer to write, short form fiction that give you snippets from their life together. Thanks for enjoying them as much as I do. <3