Post Sunset, Part 3

Title: Post Sunset
Author: macadama
Pairing: lots. I'm serious. I saved the list for the full author's notes, but there are three important pairings: Shani/Apolo, Schlieri/Aksel (yes, I went there) and one sided Schlieri/Simi (yes, I went there too)
Rating: NC-17
Warning: bondage, sex toys, suggested invasion of privacy, het (yeah, there's explicit het in a slash fic), alcohol use, foul language, OFC (since that merits a warning for some people)
Word Count: in the area of 15K
Summary: What would it be like to watch other people's dreams? One (un)lucky Olympian will find out the hard way as his nocturnal voyages force him to face the truth about who he really is. A fill for the kink meme at wintergameskink
Disclaimer: All athletes mentioned in this story belong to themselves, and any resemblance to real events is very much a coincidence. Shaundra is my creation. If you really want to borrow her for any reason, just ask.

Full author's notes are in Part One.



It took me a bit to catch my breath. As I lay in my bed, I tried to comprehend what had happened. I remembered seeing people other than the dreamer acknowledging my presence and being pulled by an invisible force along with Apolo when he left the restaurant. The memory that stood out the most was Shaundra struggling with me even though I didn’t put up a fight. Wondering if she was awake, I went to my computer to try and find her phone number.

It took moving my stuff to the common area and a conversation with a random hacker on Chatroulette to locate the volunteer contact list. I found Shaundra’s cell phone number and sent her a text. While waiting for her to respond, I busied myself with checking out the schedule for the remaining events and brewing some more pomegranate tea. Shaundra replied nearly an hour after I sent my message.

Thank goodness you’re awake. Apolo very nearly pulled you completely away from your body in his desperation. This happened to Keisha when she stumbled upon a suicidal professor crying out subconsciously for help. We’re hoping his continued treatment will help her get off the astral plane.

I contemplated Shaundra’s words while sipping tea and watching the sunrise. Part of me wanted to grab my camera and capture the wash of color. My pajamas were too thin for heading outside for photography. With a sigh, I decided to get ready for the day even though it was almost six and I had nothing scheduled.

I was heading for the door when some knocked. Bemused, I opened it to find Matti and Anders Jacobsen at the doorstep. Both of them fixed me with perplexed looks.

“What are you doing up?” Matti asked. “Isn’t it a little early to be sightseeing?”

“Well, I’m going to Vancouver,” I blurted.

“Vancouver? At this hour?”

I shrugged. “Why not? I haven’t really seen it aside from the Opening Ceremonies. I figured I’d venture out there.”

“Right. Yeah, is Kofi here? We came to grab him for the bobsleigh race we’re all going to this morning.”

“Should be, unless he went out again. Look, I better get going. I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah. Later.”

I hurried out of the dorm with my competitors’ chatter fading behind me. Knowing Matti, it probably had to do with Village gossip. Though I hadn’t planned to go to Vancouver, it suddenly sounded like an excellent idea.

I ended up promising an interview with a German reporter in exchange for a ride to Vancouver. While I was not thrilled about willingly courting the press, it was nice to talk sports for once. We parked a few kilometers from the Vancouver Media Village and parted ways. Checking my watch and a copy of the event schedule I swiped from the reporter’s car, I realized there were some short track races at the Pacific Coliseum. The dream appeared in my mind, and I knew I had to go.

By some sort of miracle, I managed to get a seat. Only when I wandered among the rows to find my spot did I find out that I had a seat for the 500 meter race. It made no difference to me, but I figured it would be important to the batch of near crazy Apolo fangirls I had to push past to get to my row. Once I found my spot, I settled in and watched a couple officials skate around the track. It looked like I had a pretty good view and that I’d have some company. The guy seated to my right appeared to be by himself.

“Been enjoying the Games so far?” he asked.

I nodded. “Haven’t seen as much as I would like with competing.”

“Competing? Which sport?”

“Ski jumping.”

“Really. How do you like that? The whole thing boggles my mind, being in midair with nothing to hold onto and no idea where you’ll land.”

I smirked while debating whether or not to debunk some of the myths about my sport. Shaking my head, I settled on discussing the upcoming race. Granted, my knowledge of short track came from a few minutes of browsing Wikipedia, but I could make small talk. If all else failed, everyone knew Apolo and probably had something to say about him.

“Watch a lot of short track?” I asked.

The man shook his head. “I catch the occasional race, but my events keep me from following it all the time. I’m Chad, by the way.”

“Schlieri.”

We shook hands and chatted a little about short track itself. Ten minutes before the start, Shani dashed into the stands and fell into a seat a few rows in front of us. Chad sighed.

“Still don’t like him?” I inquired with a tilt of my head.

“Well,” Chad replied, “it’s more like annoyance. With his races out of the way, I’ve heard him complain about Apolo more than anything. It’s obnoxious.”

I turned my head to face him. “Apolo? Why?”

“Heh. You didn’t hear this from me, but those two having been dating off and on for a few years. They can’t make up their minds on what they want, and the rest of us get to hear all about it.”

“Ouch!” I hissed in sympathy.

“Exactly. Thing is, they’re both much more pleasant to deal with when they are together. I know Shani and I can actually have friendly conversations, and he’s much more social with other skaters on the circuit.”

“Huh.”

“And from what I’ve heard, Apolo behaves the same way and actually hangs out with his team.”

“You mean he doesn’t otherwise?”

Chad opened his mouth to respond when the announcer began to introduce the competitors. I tuned it out and watched the skaters make their way to the ice. My attention drifted to Shani at one point. He clapped when they introduced Apolo, but he sat a little too straight in the seat. I saw his grip the ends of the armrests as the skaters gathered at the starting point. Shaking my head, I refocused on the ice.

For a while, I directed my attention solely to the action. Unless I fixed my eyes on his number, I didn’t follow Apolo’s every move. The whole experience was too much to take in, so focusing on one racer was out of the question. I watched as the skaters jockeyed for the lead and traced the ice with their hands when rounding the turns. The final lap made me realize how mentally tired this event made me. My mind overloaded from the action, I ended up observing Shani. He half stood from his seat and even bounced a little when the race ended. His excitement faded, and a glance at the scoreboard provided a clue. Next to Apolo’s name were the letters DQ. What did I miss? I turned to ask Chad when I saw Shani bounding out of his seat to the nearest exit.

“That’s not good,” my seatmate muttered.

“What?”

“They must be on the outs again.”

Chad and I stuck around for the confusing B final. We ended up talking about things to do in Vancouver and how our respective events went. Chad expressed no interest in discussing Shani other than to say they had reached an understanding. With no believable reason for getting more information about the couple, I opted to find out places where I might spot them.
The remaining daylight hours passed with me wandering around the city. I snapped photos of the cauldron and ended up signing some autographs for fans that spotted me by the harbor. One girl recommended a street vendor called Japadog that sold hot dogs with Asian-inspired toppings. Intrigued, I asked for directions to this hot dog stand and decided I was okay with waiting in line. While I waited to buy one of these East meets West oddities, I overheard an interesting conversation about popular bars and clubs in town. More eavesdropping and convincing the guy in front of me to lend me his iPhone to surf Twitter provided the name of one spot that many Olympians regarded as their favorite place to party in town. I almost inhaled my delicious Oroshi dog before heading to the club.

I had to surrender my camera to the owner before being allowed inside. Of course, I was thankful to get in at all. By the time I arrived, the bar was already packed with Olympians. A cluster of figure skaters hopped around on the dance floor. Apolo sat at a table not far from the deejay surrounded by a group of people I didn’t recognize. I spotted a few other familiar faces before discovering Shani at the bar. He sat with a slouch and appeared to be meditating on the contents of his glass. Not sure what else to do, I headed over and perched on an empty stool next to him.

“Honeyweiss, if you have it,” I said to the bartender. “Otherwise, I’ll have a Stella.”

“Stella, it is,” was my reply.

An uncapped bottle was set in front of me. Nodding in thanks, I took a swig before glancing at Shani. Up close, I saw his eyelids sagging, only moving as he traced the rim of his glass with a finger. He noticed my presence after quite a while and gave me a tired look.

“Don’t think I’ve seen you here before,” he remarked.

If that’s a pick-up line, I’m screwed. “Just here for the day. Not really a big city person.”

“Well, then, what are you doing in a place like this?”

“Getting away,” I lied. “You doing the same?”

Shani shook his head. “Just trying to forget today happened. I can handle setbacks and mistakes in my own races, but…. I told Apolo not to go to the inside like that. He didn’t listen to me.”

“Do you act as one of his coaches?”

“No, but I’ve competed in his events, so I have I pretty good idea how his opponents race.”

My eyebrows furrowed. “You race short track?”

“Not now but have in the past,” he replied.

“Oh. Well, maybe he just doesn’t want racing advice from his boyfriend.”

At that, Shani glared at me, the force strong enough to burn holes in my arms. I attempted to retreat in my beer, taking a swig only to find him facing me full on.

“How do you know about that?” he hissed.

“I…heard around,” I told him. It wasn’t exactly a lie.

“Well, next time you should try not sticking your nose in other people’s business.”

I held my hands up and leaned back. “Hey, I was only trying to help.”

“And you can do that by not getting involved in my issues.”

“Shani.”

With one word, Shani turned away. I flicked my eyes over to see what got his attention. Apolo stood next to us, a little closer to his boyfriend than me. He kept looking at Shani, his eyes narrow.

“Apolo,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

“Relaxing,” Apolo fired back. “I can only dwell on my DQ for so long before I drive myself insane.”

“And you get on my case for hanging out with Denny outside of a race. He and I watched ski cross, and that’s it. We didn’t go to a bar and get crazy afterwards.”

Apolo folded his arms across his chest. “Oh, so I can’t take my teammates out for a drink if I want? Is that it? Or is it something else, like you don’t want me to have a life of my own?”

“Well, you’re sure as hell not letting me have one!”

“Guys!” I jumped in while getting up. “Maybe you should take this elsewhere.”

Shani pushed my shoulder, and I stumbled back onto the stool. My heel hit a bottom rung, and I found myself on the floor. After untangling myself from the toppled furniture, I heard Shani yell at me to stay out of his and Apolo’s dispute. I got back on my feet and found Aksel marching over, his jaw tense. Great. I hitched a ride out here so I could ignore everyone and everything in Whistler for a while. Now Aksel and I were in the same bar, and he decided he had to get involved. Aksel stopped when he was next to me. Only then did I feel the dull ache in the back of my skull.

“You okay?” he asked me.

I rubbed my head. “Floor hurts. Got the back of my head.”

He growled a curse in Norwegian before approaching the skaters.

“Shani,” he growled, “was that really necessary?”

“Well, that little twit—“ Shani stammered.

“Was that necessary?”

Aksel crowded Shani, somehow making a centimeter height difference seem like so much more. Looking at Apolo, I realized we were thinking the same thing. I ignored the uncomfortable warmth in my head and stepped over to try to separate them. Just as I got a hand on Aksel’s arm, the sound of running startled all of us. I looked toward the entrance only to find Simi and Morgi stumbling in, with Shaundra and Kofi almost crashing into them. Kofi found us first and herded the rest of the group to the bar. When I caught sight of Shaundra’s gray sweater, I had a moment of déjà vu.

“Schlieri?” Morgi asked. “Why in the world are you here in Vancouver?”

“And why do you all look ready to kill each other?” Kofi asked the others.

Shani and Apolo half-rambled, half-shouted at no one and everyone. I heard bits of their tirade, including my somehow knowing they were at least dating and trying to tell them how to handle their relationship. For his part, Aksel continued to glare daggers at Shani and outright ignored Apolo.

“Maybe I should explain,” Shaundra piped up, causing almost everyone nearby to look up.

“Good,” Shani huffed, “because I’d like to know how this little brat found out about my relationship with—“

“Shani, stop,” Apolo warned.

Shaundra stepped over and gave the couple an amused look. “Well, after this, everyone’s going to know. That’s not the point here. The point is Schlieri and I can see other people’s dreams.”

A collective gasp rose from the crowd. Apolo’s eyes were as wide as jar lids. To my surprise, Aksel smirked.

“Shaundra, what are you doing?” Kofi asked.

“Would you rather watch Schlieri get hurt trying to break up a nasty fight between two guys that could wipe the floor with most of us?” she replied. “I’m choosing the lesser of two evils.”

Kofi sighed but didn’t press the issue. Looking at Morgi and Simi, all I could tell was they had no idea how to react.

“The dreamers can see us,” Shaundra continued. “No one else in the dream can. Schlieri just recently developed this ability. I’ve been able to do this for about ten years.”

“Seriously? A crappy TV show has come to life?”

I looked around to find who asked the question and found Shaun White standing on a booth bench, his arms akimbo.

“It’s very different from that,” she told him. “The process involves astral projection. All that’s really needed is an expanded hearing range in at least one ear. The ear has to pick up a particular frequency in order to get to the astral plane. From there, the person can drop in on a dream.”

“Well, that’s just creepy,” Apolo muttered, “and I remember seeing him once or twice in a recent dream. Why me?”

I opened my mouth to explain, but Shaundra held up her hand.

“Allow me,” she urged before turning to Apolo. “Sometimes we get sucked into the most powerful dreams without any effort on our parts. If you’d directed all your dreaming energy into telling Shani you want something exclusive, none of us would be here right now.”

A murmur rolled through the club, and Shani shot some people dirty looks. Apolo rubbed his boyfriend’s shoulder, his eyes still bright with worry. I noticed my friends still didn’t react much to Shaundra’s revelation, although Kofi continued to give her wary glances.

“If you want to blame anyone for the dream stuff, blame me,” she pleaded. “I’m the one who has encouraged Schlieri to develop his ability.”

“Yeah, but he still chose to go into my head,” Apolo argued.

“Exactly!” Shani chimed in.

Oh shit.

Those two and a few others advanced on me, but Aksel blocked their way. He grabbed Shani by the arms when the skater attempted to get past him. The two of them struggled for a little bit, Aksel contorting the other man’s arm to the point I thought he was going to break it. Shani growled at Aksel to let him go to no avail. Judging by the height at which the skier held his shoulders, I realized Shani wasn’t going anywhere. The other aggressors backed off, although Apolo did try to pull his boyfriend away. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Simi running over. Shaundra busied herself with picking up the stools before half leaning against the bar. Kofi and Morgi joined her while keeping an eye on the crowd.

“Stop!” Simi shouted. “You don’t need to attack him for this. From what I hear, he was just trying to help. You shouldn’t place blame for your issues on him, either.”

“Listen to the man,” Aksel added. “Schlieri appearing in your dream might be a good thing. He shows up when you need the push to decide something. Trust me. I’ve had a similar experience.”

Morgi gasped while Kofi and Shaundra bit their knuckles. The surrounding crowd looked at Aksel, unsure whether to be shocked or intrigued. Even Shani and Apolo’s jaws dangled. Oddly enough, Simi kept calm, almost slipping into deep thought.

“And if any of you go after Schlieri, you will answer to me,” Aksel warned.

He finally let go of Shani and stepped toward me. He flashed me a smile before looking at the crowd. I heard a couple girls giggle before they ran for the dance floor. Shani looked at Apolo before guiding him elsewhere. Most of the people in the area dispersed, allowing my friends to join me. Shaundra got Aksel’s attention and coaxed him into sitting with her at the bar.

“We need to talk.”

I almost jumped at Simi’s voice. He tilted his head to another tucked away part of the club. With a nod, I followed him over. We settled at a table and observed the revelry.

“Shaundra told us about your ability on the way here,” Simi said. “I presume that’s why you made those comments about Maria and me.”

I nodded. “I never did find out whose dreams those were.”

“Hers. Are you kidding me? I’ve been too drunk and/or tired to remember my dreams lately.”

“Right.”

He smirked. “Believe me when I say I’d remember a dream about getting pegged. That reminds me of this one time when—”

“Shut it! I don’t want to know!”

“Exactly. While the rumors sucked, it did help Maria get over her crush on me, at least a little. I told her about my girlfriend and all that.”

I slumped in my chair. “And how’d she take that?”

“About as well as you just did. Look, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out your behavior. And I think I knew before you did.”

“What?”

Simi chuckled. “I would never have gotten that wasted in Oberstdorf if I’d know first that I’d grope you in public and second that you’d enjoy it. I like you as a friend, Schlieri. Nothing less, nothing more.”

“I figured,” I replied with a nod. “I hope this hasn’t been too awkward for you. If it was, sorry.”

He shook his head and grinned. “By the end of the season, we’re all going to look back on this and laugh. Expect for the part where people tried to kick your ass. That was a dick move.”

“Agreed,” I replied while managing not to blab about what Shani did prior to the four of them arriving.

“I’m not holding it against you. In fact, if you’re up for it, you’re welcome to take a peek in my head. It gets really weird and involves giant chipmunks spiking people’s drinks.”

I snorted. “And that would still be tame compared to what I saw.”

“Sounds like it. So the rest of us are going to mingle here for a little while before heading back to Whistler. I heard Aksel’s doing the same. Speaking of which, go talk to him. You really should give him a chance.”

With that, Simi hopped out of the chair and disappeared into the crowd. I scanned the area to see where everyone else went. The sound of a bottle being set on the table snapped me out of my trance. I found a new Stella in front of me, uncapped and ready to drink. Taking a pull, I spotted Aksel standing next to me.

“Seems like you’re doing better,” he murmured with a smile.

I shrugged. “My head’s still a little sore, but I’m not seeing double or anything.”

“That’s good. If you start feeling any worse, though, I’m taking you to the hospital. Concussions are hell.”

“I’m well aware of that fact,” I told him as I stood up.

“Where are you going?”

I grabbed my new beer. “Some place more comfortable and with a better view.”

Aksel clasped my shoulder and geared me in the general direction the bar. “Hopefully no one took the spot where I was sitting before Shani started shoving you around.”

He guided me to a plush semi-circular couch on the opposite side of the room. The area was mostly empty, although the limbo contest on the dance floor may have kept a lot of people away. I sat on one of the velvety cushions and placed my beer on the nearby table. Aksel set his tumbler next to my drink and settled beside me. Neither one of us said anything for a while and observed the events in the club. A lot of the people I saw in dreams stood in line for the chance to limbo. Morgi was chatting with some of the snowboarding girls while Dale looked on with an almost amused expression. Turning my attention toward the bar, I found Shaundra and Kofi in the throes of an involved conversation.

“So what did bring you out here?” Aksel asked.

I shifted to face him. “Really? Apolo had a dream about losing Shani. I almost got stuck in it and thought making sure they stayed together would keep that from happening again.”

“Makes sense. Shaundra mentioned that to me earlier.”

“It didn’t work out like I expected.”

My companion gestured to the table I abandoned. The skaters now occupied it, their entwined hands resting on the tabletop.

“Maybe it just took some time to get there,” he remarked.

“Huh. So how about you? Why are you here?”

I watched him grab his tumbler and sip what appeared to be whiskey. He took a second to let it settle.

“Truth?” he asked. “I heard you were here. Word spread quickly in Whistler about your disappearing act, so I convinced an American photographer to give me a ride.”

“You ventured out here looking for me?”

Aksel nodded. “I was a little worried, actually. It seemed unlike you to just wander out here without really telling anybody.”

I shook my head. “It was a very spontaneous thing. I was tired of the gossip and realized Vancouver would be a good place to go to get away from it.”

“I kind of figured after Shaundra told me about the dreams you saw. Still, I was concerned. I couldn’t help it, and I wish I could explain why.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

I looked over at him, seeing that he still held his glass. He gripped it tight enough for his fingertips to turn white. His other hand rested in his lap, and I could see it trembling just a little. Staring straight ahead, he raised his glass and drained the remaining liquor. Taking a deep breath, I clasped his free hand in my own. I traced calloused fingertips and channeled my energy into calming him down.

“Schlieri?” he asked.

I grinned. “I didn’t mean to push you away back on the trail. I just didn’t know then.”

“And now?”

“Let’s take it one day at a time.”

That prompted Aksel to let go of his empty tumbler. With both hands free, he pulled me into a hug. I leaned in and rested my head on his shoulder. All the noise in the club —the music, the chatter, the clinking of glass— blurred into the background as I listened to the sound of our gentle breathing. My headache faded away as Aksel toyed with my hair. We cuddled for a bit until we heard someone set glasses on our table.

“They’re from Shani and Apolo,” the waiter said. “A thank you gift, if you will.”

I let go first and asked, “What is it?”

“Johnny Walker Gold. Enjoy.”

With that, the waiter left. I glanced at the liquor and then at Aksel.

“Let’s save them for a little while,” he said. “I don’t feel like leaving anytime soon.”

“Me neither.”

I curled into his side and felt him drape an arm around my back. From this angle, I could see everything. Shani and Apolo walked out of the club hand in hand. Kofi and Shaundra glanced in our general direction before having a toast. Morgi took pictures of the limbo contest with his cell phone. Simi, meanwhile, dominated the competition, leaving half the crowd too stunned to move. Other people danced on the perimeter, making the most of the little time we had left for the Olympics. The thought made me frown, as I realized I could have been in this position much earlier.

“This night can go on forever,” Aksel murmured.

“That it can,” I agreed.

“Worried about going to sleep?”

I picked up my beer and swigged. “A little.”

Aksel rubbed my side with his thumb. “I understand. Maybe if we stay up for a while, you’ll get too tired to see any more dreams.”

“Maybe.”

My new beau reached across the table and grabbed one of our free drinks. He handed one of the glasses to me before claiming the other for himself.

“I think a toast is in order,” he muttered, “but to what?”

“How about Vancouver?” I suggested.

“Hmmm. I like that idea. If it wasn’t for the Games here, we wouldn’t have our medals or even the chance to meet. And we certainly wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for this town.”

Aksel tightened his hold around me, and I pressed into his side. He radiated heat like a furnace, prompting me to cuddle closer.

“Indeed,” I said. “To Vancouver.”

“To Vancouver.”

We toasted our glasses and sipped the almost creamy whiskey. There was no way I’d even want to see anyone’s dreams after a night like this. Except for maybe Aksel’s. I wondered what he’d dream about as we started on our new path together.

FIN