Take Me Anywhere

Sidney shot the puck at Marc-Andre Fleury, who blocked it and taunted him as the Pittsburgh Penguins practiced at Mellon Arena. A month had passed since the Olympic games, and Sidney had to refocus himself and his team on the next goal that stood in front of them: winning the Stanley Cup for their second consecutive year.

It was obvious though that Sidney had been distracted. He missed Mia. He longed to touch her again, breathe in the scent of her conditioner, kiss her lips that always formed in a perfect, adorable pout. He missed the woman he loved so much that it made his teammates nauseous.

"Hey, Sid," Jordan skated over to him. "Are you okay?"

"Don't you miss Alice?" Sidney suddenly asked. "I mean, she's still going to school in Toronto and pretty much told you that she's not going to move to Pittsburgh until she finishes getting her degree."

Jordan shrugged. "I miss her, but we see each other often enough. I go up and visit her, she comes down her and visits me. What about you and Mia?"

"She's still on tour," Sidney sighed. "I knew it would be hard, but I didn't know it would be this hard."

"That would be life," Jordan shrugged. "Come on. Let's finish practice and hit the showers."

The rest of the practice went by fairly successfully, with all of the guys getting their heads in the game, prepared for the next match up in the Eastern conference.

"Oh, dammit," Sidney sighed. "I left one of my gloves back inside the arena."

"Well, go and get it," Max Talbot called from where he was changing. "We don't want another episode like what happened with your Olympic gear." The entire locker room laughed, Sidney included, as he went back to the arena in his Under Armor and sneakers.

As soon as he got to the arena, he checked the bench where the players left most of their stuff, but couldn't find his glove.

"Looking for this?" a familiar voice called from high up in the stands.

Sidney's head snapped up and a huge smile spread on his face as Mia waved down at him, holding the missing glove in her hand. He ran up the steps to reach her and nearly winded her as his strong arms wrapped around her small frame.

Bringing her hands to either side of his face, she drew him in closer and pressed her lips against his. The kiss deepened as Sidney pulled her towards him, eliminating all of the space that stood between them.

When they finally pulled apart to catch their breath, Sidney asked, "What are you doing in Pittsburgh? I thought you were still on tour!"

"I had the day off, so I drove here myself," she grinned, kissing him again. "I missed you, Sidney."

"You have no idea how much I've missed you," Sidney laughed. "I think the guys were getting sick of me."

They sat at the back of the arena together, side by side, with Sidney's arm draped over Mia's shoulders. She leaned against him, taking in the familiar scent of Sid's Old Spice that she loved and missed constantly while she was on the road.

"When will you be back next?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"Most likely in a month's time," she shrugged. "This tour is going to be a long one."

Sidney sighed and pulled her closer. "I was afraid of that."

Mia sat up and looked into Sidney's eyes. "Don't think of that," she said to him. "Don't worry about what might be and what could happen. All that matters is the time we have together now."

Sidney nodded and pulled her in for another kiss. Mia was right--he had always been so preoccupied with the future, with what was going to happen while they were apart, to really live in the moment, to realize how much he truly loved her. And with her in his arms, all he ever wanted since the day they met, he couldn't help but smile to himself against Mia's lips. It was perfection.