Waiting for redemption is a funny thing sometimes if you wait too long, youre certain to miss out but sometimes you just have to force it's hand a little. Down 3 -1 in their best of  seven series with the Ducks, the Stars sat before the game listening to their captain and their coach telling them how desperately they needed this win. The only two members of the team who seemed to not be listening were the ones who had only a few hours before had blamed the last loss on themselves. They knew this game was going to be different there was no way the Stars were going to be eliminated on home ice even if the hangar was an intimidating place to be.

            Jason's renewed faith in his ability and the team seemed to come from the man sitting on a bench across the room from him the same man whose arms hed fallen asleep in for the past few nights. Feeling a pair of eyes studying him intently, Marty looked over at Jason and gave him a sly wink. When Tip finally released them to go to the ice to warm up, the two of them waited for everyone else to clear out of the dressing room.

            "Well, I guess we need to go get warmed up." Marty said as he grabbed his mask and stick.

            "Yeah, I guess." Jason replied wistfully. "Too bad Tip would miss us if we decided to warm up back here instead."

            "I think were high enough on his shit list already - I know I don't want to be sitting out today's game." Marty replied as he started to head for the door.

            Before he could get there, Marty felt Jason grab the back of his jersey. When he turned his head around to look, Jason planted a kiss on his lips.

            "Hey, guys, I think your presence in required on the ice right now. I promise I won't say anything about this." Aaron said as he found the two teammates that he'd been ordered to round up. "I think it's pretty cool to see the two of you together - not that you're exactly the match I wouldve expected for Turks, Jason."

            "What's wrong with me being with him?" Jason asked defensively. "It's a free country."

            "Hey, man, don't go jumping down my throat - all I was saying is that I'd never pictured the two of you as, well, you know like a couple or something." Aaron replied as he followed the other guys out of the room.

            "Like a couple or something..."Jason found the words echoing through his mind as he skated warm up and made more than his share of souvenirs go flying into the stands because he wasn't concentrating. When he skated straight into his captain, he thought he was toast.

            "Jason, I suggest you get your mind out of Marty's pants and on the ice BEFORE the puck drops." Derian whispered forcefully. "We really need this game, man."

            "I'm okay, Hatch, really." Jason replied as he headed for the relative safety of the bench.

            "Well, just be cool." Derian said. "We have to win today or else you and Marty will have a very long summer to play house. And nothing personal, but I'd rather see you try to do the dance of the musical hotel rooms for a few more weeks."

            "Yeah, me too," Another familiar voice said as it skated next to them.

Jason kind of rolled his eyes as he looked at Brenden's grin.

"C'mon man, did you think your roommate wouldn't know who you were playing hide the salami with?" Brenden asked as he playfully slugged Jason in the shoulder. "I was just coming in when Marty was folding up your clothes and putting them in the chair the other night. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to put the pieces together."

The game got underway and the Stars seemed to be the commanding and dominating team that theyd been throughout the regular season. They went to the room with a 2 -0 lead for the first intermission. No one was smiling more over the start of the game than Marty. Every shot fired at him didn't make it through he was back to his practically flawless way of goaltending.

The commanding lead continued to a 4-1 victory that left the guys to their own devices until they had to meet the next morning for the flight out for Game 6. The post-game atmosphere of the dressing room was one of elation, tempered with their coachs reminder that they still had to win the next two games to go on the conference finals. After the press and pretty much everyone else had vacated the dressing room, Marty and Jason found themselves alone.

"You know, we're not doing such a good job at keeping this thing a secret." Marty said as he pulled Jason to him by grabbing his towel-clad hips. "Maybe we weren't meant to keep it hidden from everyone."

"Yeah, I mean Hatch, Bren and Aaron all know." Jason said as he wrapped his arms around Marty's neck.

"Which means that Mo, Scott and Darryl also know," Marty added. "We might as well take out an ad in the Morning News."

"Uh, I don't think I want to share this quite that much." Jason replied as he laid his head on Marty's shoulder. "Why don't we go home?"

"Your place or mine," Marty asked playfully as he tugged Jason's towel off as he released him from the embrace.

"I like your place." Jason said. "It's a little less public than my apartment."

Soon the two of them were snuggled next to each other on Marty's couch. Jason was stretched out with his head resting in Marty's lap while they watched a tape of the game they'd played today. The tape had just ended when the phone started ringing. Grudgingly, Marty answered it.

"So, Marty, you wouldn't happen to know where I'd be able to find Jason, would you." Aaron's voice teased as it came across the line. "I tried his place but all I got was the fucking machine."

"It's for you." Marty said as he held the phone to Jason's ear.

Marty made his way from the couch while Jason talked to their teammate trying to explain to him that they were in for the night. While he was trying to get off the phone something unexpectedly hit him in the face - it was Marty's denim shirt.

"Aaron, I gotta go - we'll see you at the airport tomorrow." Jason said before hurriedly hanging up while Aaron was in mid-sentence.

When Jason finished following the trail of Marty's clothes to the bedroom, he found him lying naked on top of the dark blue comforter. He couldn't help but smile as he looked him over.

"It took you all this time to get here and you're not even ready, hmmm, what ever am I going to do with you?" Marty said with an exaggerated sigh as he looked at Jason.