Sweet Disposition

The days leading up to All Star weekend passed quickly with the last minute rush of games before the break for the league kicked in. They were so busy and before they knew it they were boarding a plane to Raleigh. The Flyers organisation had been more then helpful in readying themselves for the media storm that was sure to ensue after the rising star of their team showed up to the event with the assistant athletic trainer on his arm.

Now, the young couple sat in their rental car, driving through the streets of North Carolina’s capital city. Claire had been on edge over the coming days, although she tried to hide it from her boyfriend. What shocked her was that this steadily growing fear that had been building since she had agreed to accompany Claude was not, in fact, of going public with their relationship. Rather it was of the idea of meeting his parents and sister. It all was overwhelming really, to think that in a day’s time she would be meeting the closest and most important members of her boyfriend’s family was absolutely terrifying. This was indeed a huge step for the two of them, who had kept it quiet for so long and she was beyond terrified of screwing it up and having the three of them absolutely hate her.

Claude wasn’t stupid. He had seen her get worse as she worked herself up more and more over the days leading up to their flight. He had chosen not to say anything directly to her about it in order to avoid the inevitable snippy reply. Her nervousness now did not go unnoticed as they navigated the way to their hotel provided by the NHL. He placed a comforting hand on her thigh to try and wordlessly convey his support. He sighed quietly in relief as he felt the tenseness slowly ease under his touch, making him glad that he had finally done something that wasn’t even remotely sexual to ease her mind.

Not much was said between the pair during their journey from the airport to their hotel room. Only the occasional exchange small talk here and there when it seemed necessary.

He held her hand as they walked into the hotel lobby from the valet entrance and approached the front desk to get their room keys. His thumb gently grazed back and forth over her knuckles as they stood, waiting for the woman to sign them in and give them the itinerary for the All Star weekend as well as maps of the surrounding area for exploring before the events would begin to take place. Thanking her, the two walked to the elevator, his hand switching from holding hers to resting on the small of her back. The feeling of his touch, whether she cared to admit it or not, was doing wonders of calming her down.

Only when they were in the safe confines of their hotel room did Claire feel like she could breathe again. Claude pulled her close, his arms wrapping around her as he kissed the top of her head, rubbing her back in soothing circles. “Vous avez besoin de vous détendre chérie. Ils vont vous aimer,” (You need to relax darling. They’re going to love you.) he murmured into her hair. She sighed as she nuzzled into his chest, the double meaning of his words weighing heavily on her. She could only hope that his reassurances were true and that she wasn’t disliked by the public and more importantly by his family. First impressions were everything and she was beyond scared of making a bad one.

A rather frantic pounding on their door pulled the couple abruptly from their moment of peace. Placing another tender kiss on her forehead, Claude reluctantly pulled away from his girlfriend to answer it. He opened the door only to be practically bowled over by the three Briere boys. She couldn’t’ help but laugh at the sight as they overpowered her boyfriend, almost bringing him to the floor. Danny trailed in almost immediately after they had attacked Claude and tried desperately to detangle his boys from the 23-year-old ginger. The older man’s attempts were in vain until the novelty of attacking the man who had become and older brother to the boys wore off.

Cameron caught sight of Claire and launched himself into her arms screeching her name in excitement, “We missed you so much! Are you excited for the All Star Game? I’m super excited for the skills competition! I can’t wait to see…” The young woman smiled nodding along with him as he rambled on, clearly energised from the prospect of seeing the best players in the league fool around and play together. The two older boys interjected when they wanted, both just as eager to talk to the girl that they had now regarded as the older sister they never had.

Claude and Danny watched her intently, smiles on their faces as they watched her interact with the three excessively chatty boys. Neither could believe how good and patient she was with them. It was clear she loved them as she did her own siblings. “Elle est toujours si bien avec eux,” (She’s always so good with them.) Danny murmured, his voice soft and warm with admiration, “Elle va faire une mère incroyable un jour.” (She’s going to make an amazing mother one day.) Claude could only nod in response, completely in awe of her, as he often seemed to feel when he watched her interact with the kids.

“Elle rencontrer ma famille demain,” (She’s meeting my family tomorrow.) he softly tells his mentor and friend, his eyes never leaving his girlfriend. “Comment va-t-elle manipuler?” (How’s she handling it?) Danny asked, turning his gaze to his friend. Claude sighed, reluctantly turning to face him, “Elle baise terrifié. J'ai essayé de la calmer tous les jours depuis qu'elle a accepté de venir.” (She’s fucking terrified. I’ve been trying to calm her down since she agreed to come.) Danny nodded, knowing full well about the nerves that accompanied meeting the parents would bring, “C'est dur pour elle, vous le savez. Elle a peur, elle ne fera pas une bonne impression.” (It’s hard on her, you know that. She’s scared she won’t make a good impression.)

“Ils vont l'aimer. Ma mère fait déjà et elle n'a même pas encore rencontrée. Aucune fille n'a jamais réussi cela avec ma mère avant.” (They’re going to love her. My mother already does and she hasn’t even met her yet. No girl has ever managed that with my mother before.) Claude was in love with her and he had voiced it to his mother on several occasions, hell she had even called him out on it before he really realised it when he spent time with his family over the summer. Danny chuckled at that, “Mon ami, vous pouvez lui donner tout le réconfort que vous voulez, mais elle va s'inquiéter à ce sujet jusqu'à ce qu'elle les respecte. Elle ira bien, je te le promets.” (My friend, you can giver her all of the reassurance you want, but she will worry about it until she meets them. She’ll be fine, I promise.)

Claude nodded, uncertainty clear on his face. His brain completely agreed with Danny, knowing that she would be perfectly fine once she actually talked to his family. However, there was a nagging voice in the back of his mind that whispered words of doubt and worry, causing turmoil and clouding his logic.

He knew for a fact that his mother was more excited about meeting his girlfriend than she was about seeing him. In all honesty, she was his mother’s dream choice of girlfriend. She had a steady, well-paying job, was a good cook, serious and completely understanding of the demands of his career, good with kids, and a total sweetheart. There was a reason why his mother was so insistent on meeting the young woman that had managed to capture her son’s heart. Not to mention his sister had been demanding to meet her for what was now going on 3 months.

“Alright boys. Let’s go check out the hotel. Claude and Claire need to unpack and get themselves settled in,” Danny suddenly called out to finally save her from the barrage of questions and almost entirely one-sided conversations that his sons had unleashed upon her as they all (especially Cam) talked a mile a minute. There was a chorus of ‘aw’s and ‘do we have to’s from the three Briere boys. “Yes, now let’s head out and give them some time to get themselves sorted okay?” The boys let out a collective sigh of disappointment, their gazes averting to the floor.

The look of defeat on the three of them was enough to bring a small grin to Claire’s face, “How about we meet up with you guys later and we explore the city? We can go out to dinner too, that way we can hang out for a while. How’s that sound?” Their faces lit up as the launched themselves at her, grinning madly in a big hug. They were almost shouting out their approval in their excitement before Danny finally managed to call them away and wrangle them out of the room. He shot her an apologetic glance, which she returned with a small shrug and a soft smile. “Votre copine a la patience d'un saint.” (Your girlfriend has the patience of a saint.) he mumbled to Claude, giving her another smile before following his boys out into the hall, closing the door behind him.

Claude turned to face his girlfriend after a moment, a small smile still on his lips as she grabbed her suitcase and hauled it onto the bed, “You’re amazing with them. You know that?” She blushed at that, never one to take a compliment, “They’re good boys, I hardly have to do anything with them really.” He walked up behind her, snaking his arms around her waist, placing his chin on her shoulder as she removed her toiletries, books, etc. and placed them next to the open bag on their bed, “You don’t give yourself enough credit babe. You know how to handle three energetic boys and they all love and respect you. I swear, sometimes Danny and I think that they listen to you more than they ever listen to us.”

She cracked a smile at that, “Well, I guess I’ve had enough practise dealing with two brothers and a bunch of crazy little boys at work,” she teased. Claude kissed her shoulder, “Glad we could help.” He didn’t even bother to pretend to take offense, instead opting to nuzzle her neck and blow a raspberry against her smooth skin. She laughed, attempting to pull away from his strong arms, squealing a little as he did it again, pulling her tighter against his body preventing escape.

“I love you babe,” he murmured, kissing her neck. She sighed contentedly, allowing herself to relax against him, “I love you too.” The two were quiet for a moment before Claire spoke up, “I’m sorry I’ve been such a mess. I know I’ve been a pain in the ass recently.” He frowned, “Non chérie-“

“I have. Don’t lie and try to make me feel better,” she sighed, cutting him off, “I just…” He sighed, turning her around to face him, “You want everything to go well and you want them to like you.” She meekly nodded, confirming his statement even though he already knew the answer. “They will love you, hell, they already do. I mean the fact you’ve stuck around this long is a big deal.” She scoffed at that, “Great, I’ve outlasted my competition.” He rolled his eyes before looking intently into hers, “You’re the first girl I’ve ever fallen in love with.” Her eyes widened in shock. She was aware that he had been rather sexually active in the years before she had met him and he had told her of several serious relationships in the past. Naturally, she thought he might have said it at some point.

“I mean it,” he said, noticing the surprise that flashed in her eyes, “I’ve never said ‘I love you’ to a girl and I’ve never felt like this either. My mom saw it before I did. That’s why she’s so excited to meet you. She wants to meet the girl who’s somehow managed to, and I quote, ‘voler le cœur de mon petit garcon.’ I swear, she’s more excited to meet you than seeing me play in my first NHL All Star Game.” (steal my little boy’s heart) A small grin spread on her lips, the ghost of a laugh evident on her features at his words, “Aw! I stole your heart, Roo? I’m flattered.” He rolled his eyes at her teasing, “Point is, I love you, which means they will love you.”

She rocked up onto her toes pressing her lips to his, her hands fisting up his shirt for leverage. He cracked a smile, letting out a small chuckle making her pull away with a questioning look. “Nothing,” he smirked brushing her off. “What?” she whined, a pout forming on her lips. “It’s just, you’re so short it’s adorable,” he laughed as she swatted him, shooting him a glare. “Asshole,” she grumbled trying to break free of his grip, “I will have you know I’m not short. I’m average height.”

He laughed, his strong arms not giving her much chance of escape as she tried to push him away, “You know I’m teasing babe.” He gently grabbed her chin when she wouldn’t look at him, her stubborn streak kicking in, “Hey, you know I love you.” She glared defiantly up at him, “So you say.” He rolled his eyes, kissing the tip of her nose, “You know I do.” The sincerity in his eyes still stunned her. She really didn’t know what she had done to deserve such an amazing man but couldn’t have asked for anyone better, even when he was poking fun at her. “I know,” she sighed, allowing him to kiss her lips.

“Now,” he said, “Let’s get settled so we can go and explore the city with Danny and the boys.” She finally cracked a smile, giving him a peck on the lips in affirmation. He smirked, releasing her from his embrace. She squealed a little when he lightly smacked her ass as she turned back to continue unpacking her bag, shooting him a playful glare before returning to the task at hand.