This Ain't a Fairytale

Leigh

“I’m home!” I heard Sidney call out as he shut the front door. I wiped my hands and moved out of the kitchen to meet him.

“Had a good practice?” he nodded, giving me a one-armed hug. We walked into the kitchen together, where Sidney eyed the lunch I’d been making.

“What’s all this?”

“Come on, I know how hungry you get after practice,” I teased, elbowing him lightly. He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tightly.

“Aww Leigh! You didn’t have to do this!” he insisted, making me laugh.

“Maybe I wanted to,” I responded, and then we sat down to eat. I didn’t start work until Monday, so I had the weekend to hopefully find a place, because I had my lesson plan for the week basically done up already.

“Nap?” Sidney asked, a yawn erupting from him as he stretched. I nodded, thinking that sounded good after the long morning I’d had. We curled up on the couch, like we always used to at Shattucks. Everybody had always thought we were dating, because we were so close, but we’d never so much as went on a date together. We’d kissed once in the eighth grade, and it was so awkward and wrong we’d both burst out laughing, and remained close ever since.
When we woke up an hour later I felt much more refreshed, while Sidney looked a little dazed still – he always took a while to wake up.

“Good sleep?”

“Yeah, I missed my cuddle buddy,” he teased, wrapping his arms around me and nuzzling my cheek.

“Me too,” I agreed, making him chuckle.

“You really should just stay with me, it gets lonely here by myself,” he admitted a few moments later. I sighed, not sure what to tell him. I’d love to stay with him, but I really did want to have my own place.

“Sid, you know that would be cool, but I really do want my own place,” I told him, and he nodded.

“I know, I know. It’d just be nice to have company,” he shrugged. I squeezed his hand tighter, and he just chuckled.

“I understand Leigh, I’ve known you for ever, remember?” I could hear the little smirk in his voice, and began to squirm as he tickled my sides.

“SIDNEY! STOP IT!” I shrieked, before I ended up rolling off of the couch and onto the floor, Sidney following without thought.

“Never!” he declared, and we were on the floor laughing hysterically when we heard someone clear their throat. Sidney turned to look, and I hid my face against his chest, seeing the tall goalie for the Penguins standing there looking awkward.

“Uh, Sid, I can come back some ot’er time,” he said, but Sid shook his head before getting to his feet and offering me a hand up. I attempted to hide behind him, but he put his arm around my shoulders like usual and kept me at his side.

“Flower, this is my best friend Leigh – Leigh this is Marc-Andre Fleury,” he introduced us, and while my face was fire-engine red I offered him my hand.

“Hi, nice to meet you,” my voice came out meekly, and he nodded, scratching the back of his neck as he obviously felt like he shouldn't be here. He probably hadn't expected me to still be at Sidney's when he got here, or at least not have been visiting and had been caught off guard.

“Nice to meet you too, m’amie. Are the two of you dating?” he asked, and both of us burst out laughing. I knew it must’ve looked bad considering Sidney had me pinned beneath him tickling me, but the idea of us dating was hilarious.

“No! We’re friends Flower – we have been since we were four,” Sidney insisted, and Marc slowly nodded.

“Okay, if you say so,” he allowed. “I was wondering if you could watch the dog for a while – Vero wants to go do more wedding stuff and we don’t know how long it will take,” he asked, and Sidney nodded.

“Sure, we can watch Maggie for a bit,” he replied, and Marc visibly relaxed.

“T’ank you! I hate leaving her wit’ you, but I don’t trust Tanger or TK wit’ her,” he chuckled, and Sid nodded.

“I don’t blame you,” he answered, and they chatted for a few minutes.

“Did you bring her with you?” Sid asked, and Marc nodded.

“Yeah, I will get ‘er,” he quickly left the house, and when he returned he had an adorable little beagle on a leash.

“Aww, she’s adorable!” I gushed, kneeling down as the dog bee lined right for me. She gently placed one paw on my knee and licked my cheek, her tail wagging relentlessly. I have a soft spot for animals, but this little dog took the cake - those big brown eyes and ever-wagging tail stole my heart in a moment.

“Aren’t you a cutie Maggie,” they both chuckled at me as I patted her, and a few moments later I felt a little embarrassed again.

“Looks like our baby is in good hands,” Marc teased, and I smiled at him.

“I absolutely love dogs,” I explained, and his smile grew.

“T’ank you so much for t’is – we really appreciate it,” he repeated, and we both shrugged him off.

“No problem – you know I love Maggie,” Sid brushed him off, and I nodded. After a few more minutes Marc excused himself and left, leaving Sid and I alone with Maggie.

“So, do we wanna go for a walk?” he asked, and the beagle let out a tiny, excited yip, her tail wagging so hard her whole back end was moving.

“Sounds good, hey girl?” her tongue lolled out, and both of us laughed as we got our shoes and jackets on and headed out the door.