Fight to Overcome: A Story of Failure and Accomplishment

"Gustav Nyquist, get your ass down here this instant! You've been up in your room far too long!"

He was mad. No, mad wasn't the word for it. Furious was more like it. Gustav knew better than to disobey his father. He only did it once out of anger and received a harsh blow to his back with a belt. Fighting the tears that stung his eyes, he made his way downstairs and knelt in front of Sven, his head bowed in submission.

"Y-yes, Pappa?"

"Go get your mother from the backyard you worthless brat."

Gustav knew what that meant and he didn't like it. It meant making his life a whole hell of a lot worse than they already made it.

"N-no, sir."

He felt the familiar sting on his back.

"I said go get your mother now!"

He reluctantly brought her in and was forced back to his knees. They both went into the kitchen, but kept a close eye on him, lest he try to escape. He could hear the gas stove being turned on and he shook with pure terror. Yeah, they had burned him before, but never like this. His heart pounded when Sven grabbed him and dragged him into the kitchen by his ear.

"Go on Gustav, this is your punishment for talking back to me."

The tears flowed freely from his eyes, but he shook his head.

"I'm not doing this! Pappa please don't make me!"

Sven grabbed his hand and held it to the open flame, as his son screamed in agony and tried to escape from his grasp. After close to a minute, Sven was satisfied and sent him back to his room. Gustav wrapped his hand in a cool pillowcase and sobbed.

'Why do they hate me so much? I can't take it anymore!'

He knew he wasn't getting anything to eat, and if he did he knew he didn't want it, so he decided to try and get some sleep. He knew practice was the next day and he swore to himself he wouldn't miss it. Now what to tell the others...

He woke up the next morning, his hand searing. He was so exhausted he stumbled out of bed and dressed as quickly as he could. His parents were at work, so he ran for the Joe Louis Arena. He had wrapped his hand in gauze and was working up a story to tell the others. He went straight to the locker room and sat in front of his locker, waiting for everyone else to arrive.

'How am I going to explain this one?'

A few minutes later, a few of his other teammates came in, chatting amongst themselves. Niklas Kronwall, one of his best friends and his secret love, came over to him.

"Hey Goose, what happened to your hand?"

He tried to fight the urge to cry, but it was too strong. He pushed aside the thought of lying again and spilled the story.

"My mom and dad..."

He couldn't say anymore as he was crying too hard. Niklas took his non-injured hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. He loved him, but was afraid to tell him, lest he didn't feel the same way.

"They did this to you?"

Gustav nodded.

"They've b-been abusing me f-for a while, but I w-was too a-fraid to tell you g-guys."

Anger bubbled in Niklas like lava as he pulled him into a hug. He wasn't upset with his teammate, he was furious with his parents. He couldn't let him go back home, he had to tell him the truth.

"Goose, I have something to tell you."

He took his chin in his hand and gently pushed it up to look him in the eyes.

"I love you, Goose. You're so precious to me, and I care so much about you. Will you be my boyfriend?"

Gustav was in shock. He'd loved Niklas for a while now too, but was too afraid to tell him.

"Yes, Kronner I will."

They embraced for several long minutes before Henrik came in.

"Gus, are you going to be able to practice today with your hand being like that?"

He nodded.

"I wouldn't miss practice because of a small burn."

Henrik shook his head.

That kid has determination.

"Well alright then, let's get on the ice."

The rest of them arrived shortly after, joining them for practice. Both Niklas and Henrik could tell he wasn't on top of his game, but didn't say anything, figuring it would pass before the game the next day. After practice, most of them left to go back to their safe homes. Gustav reluctantly headed for his house, until he felt a tap on his shoulder. He spun around and smiled.

"Hey Kronner, aren't you supposed to be going home? I'm sure your mom's going to be worried..."

Niklas cut him off, pressing a kiss to his lips.

"I want you to come live with me. I don't want you to go back to your abusive parents. Please?"

Gustav hesitated for a moment, not because he wanted to go home, but for fear of how they'd react when they're son didn't return home.

"O-ok, yes I will. Thank you."

He threw his arms around him.

How did I get so lucky?

He followed Niklas to his house, but stopped nervously in the middle of the driveway.

"K-Kronner, what if your mom or brothers don't like me?"

Niklas grabbed his hand and smiled.

"Don't worry about Momma. She'll love you. Staffan...well, he's just Staffan. Don't let him get to you. And Mattias, I've looked up to him since I was really little."

He led him inside and helped him take his coat off, hanging it over a kitchen chair.

"Momma, I'm home!"

April came out and hugged him.

"This must be Gustav. Niklas has talked a lot about you."

Niklas blushed.

"Momma!"

Gustav smiled and shook his head at him.

What a goofball.

He turned and shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Kronwall."

She just shook her head.

"Please, call me April."

He nodded and grabbed onto his boyfriend's hand as his brothers came downstairs.

Mattias came over and introduced himself.

"Hi Gustav, I'm Mattias, it's nice to meet you."

Gustav weakly smiled and gave him a nod.

"Likewise."

Staffan came over and rolled his eyes.

"Really Niklas? You soil our name just to date this loser? You could have gone out with Katelyn!"

He was ready to let him have it.

"Staffan, Goose has gone through hell lately with his parents abusing him and all, he doesn't need it from you!"

Gustav, hurt and embarrassed, ran into the living room sobbing. After the two brothers cooled down a little bit, Niklas sat next to him and pulled him to his chest.

"Shh baby, it's ok. Staffan's just an asshole. If he says anything bad to you again, I'll make sure he pays for it."

Gustav wasn't so much hurt by Staffan's comment as he was frightened for his safety. If he really hated him, he'd do anything to get rid of him. Niklas hated seeing him so sad and hurt. He'd do anything to protect him. He wanted to blame himself for not realizing the abuse earlier, but he knew Gustav would scold him for it. A few minutes later, they were called out for dinner. Gustav was starving, he hadn't had a decent meal in weeks. It was everything he could to not scarf down his meal. They all ate in silence, not knowing what to say to each other. Gustav found the silence to be uncomfortable as he squirmed in his seat. Staffan laughed harshly and smirked.

"Can't take the silence, or are you just thinking about how to screw over Niklas later?"

Gustav couldn't take it anymore. He could insult him all he wanted, but he wasn't going to get away with degrading Niklas like that. He stood up and slapped him across the face, hot, angry tears streaming down his cheeks.

"You leave my angel out of it! He didn't do anything wrong! If you have a problem with me, then keep it with me, not him!"

Staffan stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind him. He almost felt bad for hitting him, but he pushed it away. Mattias helped April clean up from dinner. Gustav tried to help, but she denied him.

"That's very sweet of you honey, but I think you and Niklas need to discuss what just happened."

She went back to the kitchen to help Mattias with the dishes, while Niklas took Gustav up to his room, closing the door behind him. Gustav was afraid he was going to punish him for getting physical with his younger brother. He knelt in the same submissive position he had always been forced into back at his house. Niklas shook his head and knelt in front of him.

"Goose baby, look at me. I'm not upset or angry with you. I'm glad you stood up for yourself, and I appreciate the way you stood up for me."

Gustav looked up at him, shaking in fear.

"I....I couldn't let him insult you like that..."

Niklas smiled and helped him to his feet.

"Don't let him get to you too much. And we've really got to work on this whole kneeling thing. But, how about we go do something fun to get your mind off the frightening things?"

He nodded and they played video games for a while until they both got tired and went to bed.

The next morning they headed to the arena to refocus him on hockey, and distract him from his painful memories. As soon as Henrik set foot on the ice, he fell to his knees. Henrik flashed a nervous glance at Niklas who just waved it off. Helping him back to his feet, he mouthed,

"I'll explain later."

Henrik decided it was in Gustav's best interest for him to leave. Heading back to the locker room, he shot a quick prayer up to heaven for him. Gustav, still shaken up, stood there not knowing what to do. Niklas handed him a stick, wanting to know how much he'd been hurt, both physically and mentally.

"Alright, slapshot the puck into the net."

He followed directions, but ended up hitting it wide of the goal. They went through each shot multiple times, Gustav missing every single one of them. Niklas could tell he was still so distracted by his painful memories he couldn't focus. But he refused to give up on him. He needed someone to be patient with him, someone to love and care for him. He grabbed him by the shoulders and looked straight at him, his eyes firm but loving.

"Goose, listen to me. I know it's hard, but forget them. They don't want you, you mean nothing to them. But your team does and I do. We care about you. Whatever your parents have told you, it's all a lie. You are wanted, needed, and loved. You are capable to do well. Don't give up on us love. We haven't and won't give up on you. Now go out there and score a goal."

Gustav hesitated a moment, but pulled himself together the best he could. He executed each shot almost perfectly. They embraced and went into the locker room to get ready for the game that was to start in only a few minutes. Waiting for the rest of the team to finish dressing, he pulled Henrik aside and explained everything he hadn't heard the other day. Their conversation was cut short by the cheering of their beloved fans.

"Sounds like it's showtime."

He pulled Gustav aside for a short pep-talk before following Henrik, their captain, out onto the ice. During the first period, Niklas could see the spark come back to his teammate's eyes. They played well, scoring a single goal. The second period raced by, landing them with a 2-2 tie. Now there was only 30 seconds left in the third period, still tied 2-2. Gustav caught the puck with his stick, and as soon as he turned to face the Blackhawk's goal, he saw his parents in the stands. Rather than freezing in fear, he raced to the goal.

I'll show you I'm not worthless.

The moment seemed to be in slow motion. With unrelenting focus and determination, he executed a perfect snapshot and scored just as the timer ran out. Niklas skated up to him and kissed him hard.

"Great goal baby Goose, I knew you could do it!"

The rest of the team followed, patting him on the helmet, congratulating him for the winning goal. The fans lost it. They were screaming and several were jumping up and down hugging each other. His parents on the other hand were furious. Their brainwashing techniques had been broken and their son was now confident in himself again. They stormed out never to be seen again. After the game, the team happily greeted fans, signed autographs, and had pictures taken with them. They all congratulated Gustav for the the goal.

"I couldn't have done it without my team, but especially Kronner. He's my guardian angel, and the love of my life."

Niklas had never blushed so red in his life.

"Will it wasn't all me, I..."

Gustav kissed him to make him shut up and grinned.

"You know, you're cute when you blush."

They all laughed and departed to go home, except Gustav.

"I'll meet you at home in a little while."

Alone in the arena, he looked up at the banners that hung from the ceiling and smiled.

"Hockey is my dream, my passion, my high. I will not let you guys down."

And with that, he walked into his new life, ready to take on the world with his head held high.