Bringing the Devil Out of Me

"Hey babe, we're here," Sidney muttered, nudging me slightly. I yawned and opened my eyes, stretching out in the airplane seat as the plane slowed to a stop on the runway.

"So did you have fun at my parents' house?" I asked as I pushed open the door to my apartment. Marc had texted me, telling me that he was out with Comrie, and so the apartment was empty.

"Loads, actually. Your parents, once they got over the whole Penguins complex, were really chill. You gotta meet my folks soon," Sidney said. I nodded.

"I definitely do. I need to thank them for having sex," I laughed.

"Ew...moving on," Sidney said, picking up my bag and walking into my bedroom with it.
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The next few weeks were uneventful, both at home and at work. Annabeth stopped by for a visit, and Sidney was over as usual, but it was relatively quiet. Sidney recovered more quickly than anticipated, so five weeks after the initial accident, he resumed skating. I kind of missed having him around all the time, but that spark in his eye was worth a little bit of pining.

"So my first game back is in Newark," Sidney smirked after practice one night. I stared at him for a minute.

"What? Are you serious?" I asked. He nodded, and held up a single black ticket with a red NJ Devils logo on it. A smile spread across my face.

"I'm going to be so torn between rooting for you and rooting for them," I admitted.

"I know...but I'll be happy that you're there and I'm back either way," he said before skating away.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?!" I cried. He opened the door leading to the visitors bench and picked something up before skating back over. He placed a large black bag in my lap.

"My skates?" I asked, opening the bag.

"Put them on. I want to skate with you," he said. I immediately tore off my boots, and shoved the skates on. I laced them up almost as quickly as Sidney could lace up his skates, and leapt over the boards. The team had cleared off the ice a few minutes ago, so the fans had dissipated as well, and we were alone. Sidney took my hands in his and skated backwards as I skated towards him. His gloves made his hands ten times bigger, but it didn't bother me at all. We skated for at least an hour before the coach came out and told Sidney to get off the ice and get some rest.
"He's just mad because his wife can't skate," he muttered as we got off the ice.
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My bag was almost entirely packed for the trip to Newark when I opened my closet the following week. My hand immediately went for the red Brodeur jersey, but I found myself hesitating to grab it for the first time ever.

"Babe, wear your Marty jersey..." Sidney said, lounging on my bed.

"What? I thought you'd want me to..." I started.

"Just wear it. Trust me," he laughed. I rolled my eyes and pulled the jersey off of its hanger, folding it carefully as always before placing it in my bag.

The next night I sat in my seat as usual, surrounded by a sea of red. The game was exciting, with New Jersey and Pittsburgh both rocketing off goals within the first few minutes. The score stood 4-3 in favor of New Jersey when there were 3 minutes left in the second period. A security guard tapped me on the shoulder and I turned, raising my eyebrows.

"Are you Alice Parker?" he asked. I nodded.

"Come with me please," he said. I followed him into the hallway.

"Is there something wrong sir?" I asked. He shook his head and used a keycard to open a door to his left.

"No, just follow me," he smiled. I followed him down a set of stairs, and he soon led me to a section of the Prudential Center I had never been before.

"Where the heck are we?" I asked as we went through another set of doors and walked down a wide hall.

"We're going to the locker room," he said finally.

"What? Why?" I asked.

"That's all I can tell you. My lips are sealed," he smirked. We walked into the now buzzing Devils locker room, and Kovy waved to me as the guard ushered me down the tunnel towards the ice.

"Serious, what the hell is going on?" I asked as I heard the announcer ask for the crowd's attention on center ice.

"This is where you go onto the ice," he laughed, pushing me out towards the ice. I saw Sidney standing at the center faceoff circle, and I froze. He was holding a single red rose. I numbly walked onto the ice, and the crowd started to cheer.

"Hey there," he said as I slid over to him.

"Sid, what the hell is going on?" I asked as he handed me the rose.

"Alice...we've been together almost seven months now," he said quietly. I could barely hear him even though the crowd was dead silent.

"I...I know," I said.

"Y...you are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me...and so...I was wondering...will you marry me?" he asked, suddenly dropping to one knee and revealing a beautiful ring in his gloved hand. I felt my jaw drop.

"Sid, are you being serious right now?" I asked. Tears sprung up in my eyes.

"I've never been more serious about anything in my entire life," he said. I reached out with a shaking hand, and he placed the ring on my finger. I immediately flung myself at him, knocking him onto his back and kissing him roughly. The crowd erupted into cheers, and Penguins fans and Devils fans began to hug and high five each other. As we stood up, Sidney picked me up, threw me over his shoulder, and skated over to his bench. He sat me on the edge of the boards, bent over, picked up a jersey that had been hidden under the bench, and pulled it over my head. I raised my eyebrows in confusion, and stuffed my arms into the sleeves.

"What the heck?" I asked.

"It's a Devils jersey with my name and number on it..." he blushed as the crowd began to scream again.

"I love you," I laughed before kissing him again. Is this real life?