We Found Love

“Miss Vance, what do you have to say about the picture of you and Mr. Crosby that was leaked over the weekend?” a reporter asked, shoving a microphone in my face as I headed into the Consol Energy Center for our first practice of the preseason. I stopped, bit back the annoyance that was beginning to build up, and fed the reporter the answer that my agent had prepared for me.

“I have had numerous discussions with the upper management of the Penguins organization, and I have been told that as long as our personal lives and our professional lives do not cross, there is no problem with the relationship that Mr. Crosby and I have. The organization was aware of our relationship before I was traded, and was aware that it was still valid before they resigned me. My relationship with Mr. Crosby has no weight within the locker room or on the ice. At any time that Mr. Crosby and I are representing the Pittsburgh Penguins organization, we are solely professionals. The picture that was leaked was a blatant and disrespectful invasion of our privacy, especially seeing that we were not even in Pittsburgh at the time. There is no need for anyone to worry that my relationship with Mr. Crosby will affect our on ice abilities, nor will it affect the decisions that the coaching staff makes in lineups or any other team building matter. No more questions,” I said before pushing through the crowd to get to my locker.

“Invasive little bastards, aren’t they?” Jack smiled as I peeled off my shirt and started getting changed.

“Yeah,” I muttered angrily as I heard them begin to interrogate Sidney. Sidney handled the interrogation with ease and hurried into the locker room. I could see the irritation in his eyes, but bit back any comment I had since the media was still so nearby.

“Hey, stop looking so guilty. There’s a lot worse he could do to get this much attention from the media,” Jack smiled, nudging me with his shoulder. I smiled weakly and pulled on my jersey.

“So what about you? Find anyone special?” I teased, hoping to change the subject. Jack’s face flushed and he suddenly became very interested in taping his stick.

“Oh my God, who is it!?” I squeaked, and Jack shushed me, looking up to make sure that nobody had been paying attention. Then he pulled out his phone and quickly scrolled through a menu before showing it to me. My jaw dropped as I saw the name on the screen.

“Claude G-" I began, but Jack clapped a hand to my mouth and looked around wildly before glaring at me and shoving his phone deep into his bag.

"Emily, be quiet...yeah, him...but it's complicated," Jack murmured, pulling on his shin guard.

"Well duh, he's a Flyer. No shit it's going to be complicated," I hissed back at Jack as I pulled on my own shin guards.

"Yeah. He's uh...he's still closeted anyway, so his teammates don't know. I don't think the media would take too kindly to the idea of two men from rival teams dating each other anyway," Jack said. I squeezed his forearm tightly; I could hear the sadness and confusion in his voice.

"Hey, I'm here for you Jack. Anything you need," I said quietly.

The rest of the summer flew by in a matter of weeks, and despite the exposure of my relationship with Sidney, the fans came by the dozen to beg me for autographs and pictures, and I was quickly gaining respect with the hockey world once more. I almost forgot about my promise to Jack when he came bounding into my new apartment.

"Emily, you said that you'd do anything I needed, right?" Jack asked, his eyes full of excitement.

"Uh yeah...hello to you too," I said, placing the dish I had been drying on the counter.

"Can I um...borrow your place for a little bit?" Jack asked, his face turning bright red. I bit back a groan and pinched the bridge of my nose as I tried not to picture Jack and Claude ravishing each other on my countertops.

"I uh...I guess...but use the guest bedroom and um...change the sheets," I murmured, my face flooding with color as well. Jack's jaw dropped.

"Emily, just because you and Sidney are sex machines doesn't mean that everyone else is. Claude and I just want to hang out, and my place is too conspicuous. A lot of people have been finding it lately. Nobody knows where you live, so I figured it'd be better," Jack explained, his face beet red.

"Alright," I said, and I picked up my phone to call Sidney.

A few hours later I opened my apartment door to hear the ending credits music of Miracle playing, and saw Claude sprawled out on my couch snoring softly, his head resting in Jack's lap. I froze; I hadn't realized that he would still be here. I tried to shove Sidney out the door, but he came in anyway and froze as well. Jack turned around and his face lost all of its color.

"Sid," Jack croaked hoarsely.

"What is he doing here?" Sidney asked, pointing to Claude. Jack's eyes filled with fear and he started to visibly shake.

"He uh...I uh...we...I can explain," Jack stammered, and I squeezed Sidney's hand tightly.

"Sid, relax. Jack and Claude have a thing going on, alright?" I whispered, and Sidney stiffened before relaxing.

"Why are they here?" he asked.

"Because people keep finding Jack's apartment. You could imagine the press if somebody caught Jack and Claude together, especially since Jack isn't exactly closeted," I explained, and Sidney's face softened in understanding.

"Sort of like when we first started dating?" he asked.

"Yeah, I guess," I shrugged, and we all froze as Claude began to stir.

"Hey sleepyhead," Jack muttered as Claude's eyes fluttered open, and Claude smiled at him broadly.

"Hey," he said before sitting up and running a hand through his curly red hair. He turned and froze when he saw us though, the smile fading quickly.

"Jack, I thought you said-" he began, but Jack cut him off.

"It's okay, they won't tell anyone. This is Emily's apartment, and I trust Sidney," Jack said quickly.

"I don't," Claude said coldly, and Sidney eyed him up.

"Look Giroux, if you've got a problem, we can settle it on the ice. I'm not going to tell anybody your little secret," Sidney said calmly, and I squeezed his hand tightly once more.

That night, Sidney pulled me into his chest and sighed heavily.

"Emily, why didn't you tell me it was Giroux that Jack was with?" Sidney asked.

"Because Jack didn't want me to," I sighed.

"I can deal with that...but why Giroux?" Sidney pouted.

"Hey, if they've got something, they've got it. Nothing we can do," I said with a small smile.

"This is why I love you," Sidney muttered, kissing me gently.

"I love you too," I whispered before falling asleep quickly.