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The spell wouldn’t be easy. It takes a lot of power and strength to open a portal like that, make sure the right person is coming through the portal. There’s protections and odd ingredients because it’s not an encouraged spell. But Robby also knew that Keith needed this and after everything he had been given by the Tkachuks over the years, this would be his thank you.
Mitch had to help him gather some of the ingredients needed for the spell.
“You sure you want to do this?” Mitch asked wearily, handing over the bundle of items after the game, “This could. Bobby, a spell like this could take your magic with it.”
“I’m sure,” Robby nodded, looking at everything in the bag, “I need to do this. And if it costs me my magic, that’s a price I’m willing to pay.”
“Just. Be careful. There’s a reason we don’t do this kind of magic.”
“I’m opening the veil for a couple minutes,” Robby replied, “that’s it. Nothing permanent.”
Mitch paused but nodded and pulled him into a hug that felt like it might be the last one.
+
Robby spent the majority of the months leading up to Christmas working on the spell. He had to be careful. He didn’t have extras of most of the ingredients. A tread from a jersey in a display case, scrapping from a stick in the stall next to Keith’s in the alumni lounge, photos of photos snuck while over at the Tkachuks for dinner, five specs of ash taken from a pendant that Keith only took off when he was in the shower or sleeping.
He could not mess any step up.
+
Three days before Christmas the spell completed itself, the mixture glowing gold, then softening to silver, then settling into a sunflower yellow orb, its glittering magic swirling around in the glass encasement.
This was the result of his sacrifice. He was tired and weak and it would take a bit for his magic to build back up again. But it was worth it.
He carefully set the orb in its box and dragged himself upstairs. He was going to sleep for two days.
+
Taryn was the first person he spotted when he entered the Tkachuk house on Christmas.
“You’re late,” she chided, “Matthew’s been worried sick. He thought you were in a ditch somewhere but mom said you probably overslept.”
“Yeah,” Robby grinned, hugging her with the arm not holding his bag of gifts for the family, “overstretched my magic a bit.”
“You’re not supposed to do that,” Matthew’s voice was concerned as he entered the entrance hall, taking the bag of gifts from Robby and helping him to the couch, “You didn’t drive like this did you?”
“Teleported.”
Matthew gave him a look that told Robby they would be talking about this later. The overprotectiveness was the one thing Robby wasn’t looking forward to with Matthew being traded home right before the holiday roster freeze.
“What did Mitch tell you?” Robby asked.
“Just that you were trying something stupid.”
“Not stupid,” Robby shook his head, “just hard.”
Matthew hummed but didn’t argue back since his parents were entering the living room. His mom would just remind him that Robby’s not sixteen anymore.
“Matthew has my gifts for you guys,” Robby said, reaching for the bag that Matthew pulled further out of his reach, “Fine, you play Santa. But be careful with the square one.”
Taryn loved her tennis bracelet, Matthew laughed at the Bud Light shirt and didn’t notice that it was wrapped around a new set of golf balls and a certificate for a round of golf at Algonquin, and Chantal adored the cashmere sweaters.
Robby but his lip when Keith opened his.
“You get me a Rolex, kid?” he joked at the velvet box.
“Not quite.”
Ts you
Keith slid the latch open and looked at the orb in confusion, pulling it out carefully.
“If you break it,” Robby took a deep breath, “if you break it, a portal will open and the person it’s tied to will come through. Just for five minutes or so. But. I know you didn’t get to say goodbye, so…”
Chantal smiled softly and pulled Matthew and Taryn out of the room, Matthew stopping to help Robby up.
+
Keith waited until he was alone in the living room, fingers tracing over the glass, the magic seeming to chase his touch.
He closed his eyes, raised his arm, and threw the orb down. The glass shattered and a wind whipped up, the gold magic lighting up every corner of the room and then everything went still.
“You really let yourself go, Walt.”
Keith’s eyes snapped open and he was flooded with emotion. Pav was standing in front of him, glowing gold faintly, his eyes dancing with laughter.
“It’s really you,” Keith breathed, reaching out a hand.
“It’s me,” Pav replied, stepping forward, both of them closing their eyes when Keith’s hand made contact with Pav’s chest, Pav’s hand coming up to trace over the pendant his wife had sent Keith.
“I -” Kieth cut himself off. Not a day went by that he didn’t think about what he would say to Pav if he ever got to talk to him again, if he had gotten to say goodbye. He thinks about that day, fourteen years ago, and feels it like it happened yesterday. Getting the call from Pav’s wife. A plane crash. Thinking about how scared Pavol had to have been in his final minutes, how pained he had to feel that he could do nothing to help his teammates. Thinking about the long plane ride over the ocean for the funeral, seeing the way his country mourned for him. About how his wife had asked him to speak at the funeral and how he couldn’t make it through his eulogy without getting choked up. His best friend. The love of his life. Gone.
“I miss you,” he finally said, hand closing over Pav’s around the pendant, “I miss you so much it hurts to breathe some days.”
“I miss you, too,” Pav replied, closing his eyes as Keith’s forehead rested against him.
Their relationship was never a secret from their wives, their kids when they got old enough. They needed each other the moment they entered each other’s lives. They treated the other’s kids as their own. In another world they would have been each other’s onlys.
Keith took a shaky breath, trying to will the tears away. He would not spend the few minutes he had with Pav crying.
“I’m always with you,” Pav reminded him softly, “Always.”
“I know,” Keith replied, “I feel you.”
“Good.” Pav smiled softly, “I have to go soon.”
“Don’t leave me again,” Keith replied, voice cracking.
“It doesn’t work like that.”
“I -” Keith cut himself off and kissed Pav one last time, “milujem ťa.”
“Milujem ťa,” Pav replied with a smile, kissing him one last time before he began to fade, “Navždy.”
Keith held onto him until he couldn’t anymore.
+
Robby carefully entered the room after a couple minutes, pushed in by Chantal, who smiled softly and hugged him after whispering a thank you.
Keith smiled over at Robby, eyes still shining with his tears, and pulled him into a hug.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
“You’re welcome,” Robby replied, holding onto him tightly until Keith was ready to let go.