Filles de Fleur

Margaux took a deep breath and slowly let it out as she stared up at the ceiling above her bed. She needed to fix things between Sylvie and Beau, it was her fault they got themselves into this mess, but she was at a loss for any idea how.

She sat up at the sound of a knock on the door and smiled when she spotted Sidney through the peephole. He looked incredible, his suit jacket from the flight over was gone as was his tie and the sleeves of his dress shirt were rolled up to his elbows. Bless the tailor who cut those suit pants, they're worthy of the Louvre with Sidney in them.

"What can I do for you, captain?" she asked, leaning against the door as Sidney tried not to let his eyes go wide. Margaux clearly changed after checking in, there would've been a riot if she'd worn those short pj shorts on the plane.

"You can go get dressed, we're going out tonight." he smiled, stepping passed her into the hotel room.

"The team?" she asked and he shook his head as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"You and me."

Sidney's heart started to race at the incredible smile that pulled at her lips and he resisted the urge to lean in and kiss her. If he kissed her now, there's no guarantee they'd be leaving this hotel room.

"Go get dressed." he chuckled, shaking his head, "I'll be out in the lobby."

"So what exactly are we-" Margaux couldn't even finish her thought before Sidney used their intertwined hands to stop her short and crash his lips into hers for the first time since he'd blurted out a premature I love you. She chuckled, shaking her head as she pulled away and smiled at him, "Just couldn't wait, huh?"

"Nope." he chuckled, using his free hand to reach up and cup her cheek in his palm, gently running his thumb along her cheek bone as he starred into those gorgeous brown doe eyes, "I can't help myself around you. I'm a completely level headed, rational man but the minute I see you I am right back at sixteen years old. Completely and helplessly wrapped up in you."

Margaux blushed, staring down at her feet as Sid tilted her chin back up and kissed her again. When she pulled away he kissed the tip of her nose and then her forehead smiling as she blushed a little more. He loved that he could do that to someone as sure of herself as Margaux.

"Come on, we've got a bit of time before the show, let's grab a coffee." he smiled, giving her hand, fingers still interlocked in his, a squeeze as the headed out onto the streets of DC.

Sidney held open the door of the first coffee shop they passed and he scanned the crowd for any blatant Capitals fans. The last thing he wanted was to be harassed by some smart ass on his first date with the girl of his dreams.

"What can I get for you today?" the girl behind the counter asked, beaming at them as Sidney glanced at the menu boards.

"A large green tea, two milk and a shot of vanilla and a large coffee, black." He ordered for them and Margaux looked at him surprised as he paid the girl, "What?"

"I didn't think you-"

"Knew that you like vanilla in your tea because it reminds you of when your mom used to make it with those awful flavoured non-dairy creamers?" he chuckled handing her the drink, "You mentioned once before."

"I didn't think you'd remember." Margaux smiled, sliding her hand into his as they headed for the door.

"You'd be surprised, how much I remember." he blushed slightly, feeling a little like a stalker. He'd been hanging on her every word for a decade, replaying it over and over in his head when he found himself missing her.

With time to kill, they stopped on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to sit and chat, just the two of them while they had the chance.

"You know, all these years I've thought of you as my best friend." Margaux smiled, nudging his shoulder with hers as he chuckled.

"Ah, the friend zone." he muttered, sipping his coffee as he stared out at the landscape ahead of them.

"Please, I was the one in the friend zone." Margaux scoffed.

"If you've felt the same way all these years, why didn't you say something?" he asked, glancing over at her as she starred down into her drink.

"Remember when I came out to Cole Harbour for your 18th?" Margaux asked, biting her lip.

"Yeah?"

"I broke up with Rick the week before, fulling intending to tell you about the feelings I had for you that night while we were sitting out on the pier. I tried to bring it up but all you could talk about the Pens and how you were going to be the best player in the world and you weren't going to let anything get in your way." she sighed as his heart fell into the pit of his stomach.

"And you thought I meant you?" he asked, his heart breaking at the thought.

"I didn't want to make a fool of myself if you did, so I went back to Sorel and Rick called me a fool, took me back just to prove his point." She swallowed hard, trying not to cry remembering how heart broken she'd been when he dropped her off at the airport that Sunday morning. It was nothing like she'd hoped it would be. He left her with a brotherly hug, not the earth shattering goodbye kiss you see in the movies.

"Margaux-" Sidney started and she shook her head, reaching over and squeezing his knee.

"Who knows if you could've accomplished all the amazing things you have if I had told you." she shrugged and he frowned.

"Of course I could've, you're not - you wouldn't have been a distraction, Mar." his insisted, his blood boiling at the idea his own determination, not Richard, is what stood between him and Margaux all these years.

"Fate is a finicky thing, Sid. Maybe ten years was the price to pay for all this."

"I would've rather had you." Sidney muttered, shaking his head. What good is a Stanley Cup or a gold medal, they can't keep you warm at night, but Margaux could.

"I wouldn't change a thing." Margaux shook her head and Sidney looked over at her surprised, "I'm proud of all this, of who you've become. When I think back to that awkward stick boy I met in Halifax, I'm thankful I've had a front row seat on this crazy ride."

Sidney leaned over and kissed her, not caring how many tourists with camera were all around them. Let them take photos, he didn't care if the world knew, he was in love with Margaux and that's all that really mattered.

"We better go, if we don't want to miss that show."



Sylvie let out a long sigh, not bothering to watch the children’s show that was playing quietly in the background as she bounced Estelle gently on her knee. She still wasn’t quite used to being an aunt but she adored Estelle, always volunteering to babysit so Marc and Vero could have date nights. And as Estelle’s massive eyes began slipping closed, Sylvie smiled, rocking her as she murmured an old French lullaby her mother used to sing to her.

“Au clair de la lune. Mon ami Pierrot, prête-moi ta plume. Pour écrire un mot, ma chandelle est morte. Je n'ai plus de feu, ouvre-moi ta porte.” She smiled as Estelle yawned before finally collapsing into her aunt’s arms, causing Sylvie to smile. She kissed Estelle’s forehead, unaware of her older sister’s presence until Vero spoke.

“Having kids changes everything, doesn’t it?” Vero asked quietly, walking over and picking up her small daughter. “You try to tell yourself you’re ready to be a mom, that it’s all going to go smoothly because you’ve read all the books, but it never does.” She smiled, brushing a few fine strands of hair out of her daughter’s eyes. “You just see them for the first time and you fall completely in love, you don’t want to see them get hurt, make mistakes, you want to do everything for them that you didn’t have someone there to do for you.”

Sylvie sighed, knowing that Vero wasn’t just talking about Estelle as her dark eyes moved to Sylvie’s. “Look, I don’t want to talk about it-” Sylvie started.

“Did he put on a condom?” Vero asked simply. Sylvie turned bright red, running a hand through her hair. Vero set Estelle down in her crib, propping her up before standing before her sister, her arms crossed tightly. “Answer me Sylvie.”

“No.” She admitted, unable to look at her sister. “Look, nothing was going to happen-”

“Do you have any idea how stupid you just sounded right there?” Vero snapped. But when she saw the embarrassment on Sylvie’s face, she sighed. “Look, you’ve never done this before. I want to make sure you know everything alright? When Marc and I first-”

“You can stop right there.” Sylvie said, her eyes wide as her face turned a deep shade of scarlet. “Because I can think of about a million other things I’d rather hear about then you and Marc having sex.”

“Sylvie, I’m telling you what I know. Now do you want my help or not?” Sylvie looked sadly at the carpet, tears stinging her eyes.

“It doesn’t matter, he’ll never want to see me again anyway.” She whispered.

“Then fuck him.” Sylvie looked up at Vero in surprise, knowing it took a lot for her sister to drop an F bomb, even with all the time she spent with Marc. “Sylvie, you are a beautiful, smart girl. If he can’t see that because of one drunken night the two of you spent together then it’s his loss.”

“You say that like you know Vero.” She whispered, looking up at her sister. “You married the first man you ever cared about.” She shook her head, tears rolling down her cheeks. “When I think about him with another girl, holding her, kissing her… it’s more than I can bear.” Her head fell in her hands as she started crying, shaking her head. “I don’t know what to do Vero, it hurts so much.”

Veronique just looked at her little sister, the one she and Marc had both sworn to protect from something just like this. She sighed, reaching over and setting an arm around Sylvie, pulling the girl into her chest. She just stroked Sylvie’s hair, kissing it softly. “I know you don’t want to, but you’re not going back into the dating scene until you know exactly what it’s going to be like. No matter who it’s with.”

“Fine.” Sylvie whispered. Vero pulled back, wiping Sylvie’s tears away and sighing.

“There is nothing more perfect then holding a child that you created with a man you love. It’s a lot of hard work, and requires a lot of dedication, but when you see things like their first steps, hear their first noises, see them smile…” She beamed proudly. “There is nothing more beautiful.” She then sighed, sitting up. “That being said, you’re too young. You need to finish school, start a career, or you’ll never have the time again. So never, ever have sex without a condom. I’d prefer if you didn’t have sex at all, but just in case.”

“Vero, we were drunk-”

“I don’t care.” She snapped. “Not only will it keep you from getting pregnant, but it can keep you from getting diseases.” Sylvie sighed, nodding softly. “And it’s going to hurt, probably a lot if you were in that much pain so early on.” Sylvie whimpered, wincing. “That’s why I want you to wait until it’s with someone who’ll go slow, who’ll hold you when you cry afterwards, who won’t make fun of you for being in pain. I remember Marc just held me for hours afterwards, stroking my hair and telling me he loved me.”

“I don’t have a Marc, Vero.” She whispered, shaking her head.

“Everyone has a Marc waiting for them Sylvie.” She promised. “You just have to find them.”



"So, who are these guys?" Margaux asked, leaning in close to be heard over the crowd at the 9:30 Club.

"Boyce Avenue. They're some youtube band and apparently pretty popular." Sidney shrugged, glancing around the full standing room only house.

"Apparently." Margaux chuckled, smiling as Sidney wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her in close as fans packed the balcony to capacity. The band came out twenty minutes later and spent two hours belting out original songs neither of them knew the words to and covers the couldn't help sing a long with.

Margaux couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed this much, but watching the ever serious Sidney Crosby dance and sing along purposely off key to make her smile was more than she could take.

"I hope you don't mind if we slow it down a bit for this next one." the band's lead singer smiled as he took a seat at the piano,

"It's a few years old now, but when it first came out we couldn't help but put our own spin on it and tonight this song goes out to someone very special. This is for you Margaux."

She looked up over her shoulder at Sidney surprised as his arms snaked around her waist, pulling her into his chest while he rested his chin on her shoulder.

"You didn't."

"Shh, I'm trying to hear the song." he chuckled, turning his head to kiss her cheek.

"I think you're pretty without any make up on. I think you're funny why you tell the punch line wrong. I knew you got me when you let your walls come down, down. Before you met me, I was alright, but things were kinda heavy, you brought me to life. Now every February you'll be my Valentine, Valentine.

"Let's just talk all through the night, there's no need to rush. We can dance, until we die. You and I, will be young forever."

"You make me feel like I'm living a teenage dream. The way you turn me on, I can't sleep." Sidney whispered in her ear along to the song and Margaux bit her quivering lip, feeling tears welling up in her eyes.

Never in the ten years they'd been together had Richard shown an ounce of spontaneity, not that she'd ever let just how much she despised the predictability of their relationship show.

With the lack of spontaneity came a lack of romance, no grand gestures, no flowers just because, there was never a cozy dinner for two waiting for her when she came home. He'd asked her to marry him over breakfast one morning as cavalier as if he'd asked her to pass the salt. It wasn't because he couldn't live without her or because he'd never loved anyone else as much as he loved her. It was because it was more beneficial for her to be his wife - for him - seeing as Quebec doesn't recognize common-law couples.

But this, this was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for her.

"My heart stops when you look at me, just one touch now baby I believe this real, so take a chance and don't ever look back, don't ever look back."

She turned around in his arms and grabbed Sidney by the lapels of his jacket, pulling him in for a kiss.

"Je t'aime." she whispered, leaning her forehead against Sid's, "I love you, Sidney Patrick Crosby. Always have, always will."

Before he could respond she pulled him in for another kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck as he smiled into the kiss. His heart pounded in his chest, elated that she felt ready to say it back so quickly, he felt like it was about to jump out of his chest and surf the crowd below.

"Je t'aime aussi."