The District Sleeps Alone Tonight

The winter sunlight woke me up. It swept into my bedroom through the blinds and cast long, languid shadows across my cream-colored walls. Slowly, it crept across my bedroom, seeping beneath my eyelids, beckoning me to wake up. A soft yawn escaped my lips as my body began to respond to the light.

As soon as I was conscious of the world, I realized there was something different about that morning. I knew for sure I was in my bedroom, but it didn't feel as desolate has I had become accustomed to. My bed felt warm and comforting and I, for once, woke up feeling rested. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I rolled over and realized why.

There, tucked beneath my midnight blue comforter and nestled amongst my mass of pillows, was a sleeping Sidney Crosby.

I didn't know how long we had been there, but eventually my sobs subsided, leaving me with a headache, red cheeks, a sore throat, and the sniffles. I tried to avoid Sidney's gaze as I vainly wiped away a few stray tears. I couldn't believe I had just broken down in front of him.

"Are you going to be all right?" he asked softly. Even though I had slipped from his grip, we were still standing extremely close to one another.

Nodding meekly, I answered with a fake smile, "Of course."

Sidney looked at me apprehensively; I shrugged it off. He opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off by asking the time. Checking his cell phone, he told me it was half past eleven, to which I responded with a slew of curses. The Pittsburgh Penguin captain shot me a confused look.

"The metro stopped running trains after 10:30 because of the snow," I explained irritated as I fished my cell phone from my back pocket. I knew Sadie would still be out with Kent and my brothers were too far away, leaving me to find a taxi service with a driver crazy enough to come pick me up.

I forgot all about Sidney as I called a half-dozen numbers, finally finding a taxi that would come pick me up. Sighing with relief, I gave them my location before hanging up and slipping my phone back into my pocket. When I finally calmed down, I was shocked to still find Sidney standing beside me.

"Shouldn't you get back to your hotel? With room check and all?" I wondered.

"Flower will cover for me," he replied, shaking his head, "I want to make sure you get home okay."

"You don't have to do that. I can take care of myself."

"I don't doubt that, Sorcha, but that's not going to stop me."

I groaned, "You're really frustrating sometimes."

"I know," Sidney chuckled. I bit my lip to stop smiling as his laugh caused light flutters in my stomach. Silence eventually settled between us.

We stood there in the cold for several minutes, waiting for my taxi to arrive. He kept with hazel eyes on me, but I tried to look everywhere but at him. I nearly sighed in relief when the taxi pulled up...

...until Sidney climbed in with me and I realized he was really going to see me home.

I tried to protest, but he couldn't hear it. After muttering obscenities under my breath, I sucked it up and told the taxi driver my address and soon we were off to Dupont Circle. The drive took longer than normal because most of the streets in DC were still covered in snow, but eventually we arrived. I paid for the taxi before Sidney could and leapt out the door, marching determinedly toward my apartment building, which was a bad idea considering the roads on my street were a lot worse than the ones in Chinatown. I nearly made it to the door until a patch of black ice caught me by surprise and unlike the first time, there were no strong arms to catch me.

An indignant cry escaped my lips as my ass met the asphalt, sending a jolt of pain surging through my body. Tears pricked my eyes as I winced when I tried to move. The pain I was suddenly feeling was all too familiar for my liking.

"You know, you should really start watching where you're going," Sidney stated matter-of-factly, standing over me, shooting me an amused look.

"Shut the fuck up, Sidney," I snapped as I struggle to get to my feet without aggravating my tailbone. He sniggered at my attempt.

"Here, let me help you."

He extended his hands to me. Normally, I would've batted them away, my pride too large to accept help, especially from him, but I hurt too much to protest. I accepted his warm hands and he yanked me to my feet. I cringed.

Sidney noticed, "Are you okay?"

"Oh yeah," I replied sarcastically, "I just broke my ass, but other than that, I'm peachy-keen."

A brief laugh escaped his lips, but stopped when he saw the glare I shot him. He then wrapped a firm arm around my waist to help me into my building. I tried to convince Sidney that I'd be able to make it up three flights of stairs without his help, but both of us knew I was lying and soon, the two of us found ourselves outside of my apartment door. My tailbone was throbbing, but it was the last thing on my mind since the close proximity to Sidney and the intoxicating scent of cinnamon was dizzying. I unlocked the door and opened it, not surprised to find a dark, empty apartment. There was a heavy silence between the two of us as I turned towards him.

"Thank you," I stated genuinely. The young captain really had gone above and beyond that night.

"It's no problem." He was suddenly standing extremely close. I bit my lip as I tentatively fingered the doorknob.

"I...I should probably go," I announced and Sidney nodded in agreement. I had only turned my to limp into my apartment when he said my name barely above a whisper. I turned back to him, mouth open to ask him what he wanted, but couldn't because his lips met mine.

I bit my lip to stop myself from grinning as I hesitantly watched as Sidney's eyes slowly flutter open and meet mine. Confusion washed over his face momentarily until he realized where he was, who he was with, and what he had done.

Time seemed to freeze as we stared at each other, neither of us willing to break the silence to say what was one both our minds.

"So..." Sidney began tentatively, "...did we...?"

I nodded meekly, "Yeah, I believe so..."

"...oh..."

"...yup..."

It felt as though there was an elephant in the room as he laid there, looking at one another, unsure of what our next move should be. We stayed like that for awhile, until the uncomfortable silence was broken by my shrill alarm clock. Groaning, my hand shot out to the nightstand and I fumbled to switch it off. When it finally, did Sidney was maneuvering to get out of bed. I followed suit. He pulled back on his clothes from last night as I changed into my work clothes.

Nervously, I bit my lip as I watched him check his pockets and glanced around my surprisingly spotless room, making sure he hadn't forgotten anything. After I tugged on my Converse, I spoke up, "So, what does this actually mean?"

Sidney didn't respond right away. I tried to ignore the somersaults that my stomach was doing as the silence seemed to drag on.

"Why does this time have to mean anything?" he wondered nonchalantly. I felt my mouth go dry.

"Wh-what?" Suddenly, my voice seemed very small and very soft.

"We've slept together twice before it never meant much of anything. Why should last night be any different? I mean, life's just one big, one-night-stand for you."

"Excuse me?! That was me seven months ago, not now," I defended angrily. "And 'why should last night be any different'?! Perhaps because neither of us were drunk out of our minds?!"

"Oh, come off it, Sorcha. You were at a bar last night, and I saw you with a drink!" Sidney stated matter-of-factly.

"It was water, Sidney! And just because I go into a bar doesn't -" I began, but stopped myself midsentence,"- no, you know what? I don't need to defend myself to you. Get the fuck out of my apartment."

"Wait, what? I -" he tried to respond, but I didn't want to hear it.

"Get. The. Fuck. Out. Of. My. Apartment."

I didn't wait for him to respond. Instead, I firmly grabbed hold of his arm and yanked him through the small apartment and to the door. He was too shocked to do anything.

"But Sorcha, I didn't -" I slammed the door in his face.

* * *

She had been sober. He had been sober, give or take a few beers. They had both been sober. And they had slept together. Sober.

Sidney's stomach lurched at the thought of it. Things had been bad enough when he slept with his girlfriend's best friend when he was drunk and before they were together, but now he's gone and slept with Sorcha when he was sober and while he was dating Isabelle. And to make things worse, he's not only cheated on his girlfriend, but he's pissed off Sorcha.

Groaning, the young captain scratched the back of his neck, mumbling to himself, and left the apartment building. It took him a while, nearly an hour in fact, to wander his way back to the hotel, but he managed it before anyone besides Fleury noticed his absence. His roommate shot him a curious look when he waltzed into the room after not being seen all evening. Sidney waved it off, telling him that it was "nothing", even though he had a forlorn look on his face. What had he gotten himself into?