Status: drip feed updates slower than an IV.

Master of Timing

pillowtalk.

Sidney groaned into his pillow, reaching out blindly to swipe his phone from his bedside table, which was interrupting his sleep with a tone that was the complete opposite of his alarm - which was gentle, soothing. Not likely to make him jerk awake immediately.

He peeked one eye at the screen and groaned again, swiping the phone icon to the right while he turned his head to the side, so he could bitch into the receiver.

“What?”

Oh, hello brother bear. Wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?

He gave up all pretence of trying to hold his cell, letting it rest against his cheek while his hand fell back against the bed, bringing up the covers to his ribs. “Tayls, it’s 7 in the morning.”

So?

“So?” He echoed. “It’s a day off, call back later. Like, hours later,” He mumbled, glad for his block out curtains that even though she’d woken him up, his room was dark enough that he’d be able to fall back to sleep with no problems once he could get his sister off the phone.

He sighed at the sound of her apology - through a laugh, but an apology none the less. “I just wanted to check in after last night?

He frowned. “What about last night?”

Uhhh, your existential love life crisis?

Good God. “Taylor, it’s not a crisis. Everything will work- you know what, it’s too early. And I’m tired and in pain and am going back to sleep.”

Awwwh, is your poor heart broken?

“Huh?” He was in no mood to have this conversation with her without coffee. But the news had told him it was supposed to snow again last night and he was in no mood to traipse through his house until the heating kicked in so he buried himself a little further under the blankets and tried to pay attention to what Taylor was saying.

You’re in pain?

“Oh.” As if it needed the reminder to make it’s presence feel known, Sidney’s hip flexor began to throb, gently reminding him with each beat of his pulse that yeah - he’d done something to it. And yeah, it wasn’t going away anytime soon. “Nothing that a physio can’t fix.”

Oh. Well, alright.” He waited while she trailed off, almost falling back to sleep when the silence seemed to carry on a little longer than what was necessary. “So, are you going to talk to Mom & Dad?

He groaned again, rolling onto his back, catching his cell in the process before he lost it in his comforter. “Jesus Christ, you’re a pain in the ass.”

Screw you, I’m awesome.

He huffed, pressing his head back into the pillows instead of throwing his phone across the room. “Taylor, I’m half asleep. I could be fully asleep, y’know. Happily trying to recover from all those hockey games I play. I’m not just emotionally exhausted,” He threw back at her, using her own words from her psychiatric mid term paper he’d read last semester. “Lemme sleep,” He whined.

Okay, okay. Jeez. Get your beauty rest.

“Thank you.”

But you should really call them today.

“Oh, for fucks…” He hit the ‘end’ button before she could say anything else, and he went to put his cell back where it lived on his dresser before he saw the message waiting for him on the screen. He had only cracked one eye open, and even though it took him a few seconds to focus on the words blinding him from the screen, he smiled to himself, throwing the phone haphazardly into the post of his lamp and throwing the covers over his head, content to get a few more hours of rest.

*


No matter how many times Sidney had tried, he hadn’t actually got his parents to full retire. His Dad had taken over organising most of his publicity appearances during the offseason, namely events tied to his hockey school, but found ways to pass the time during the rest of the year volunteering and making sure the house was upkeep. His Mom still worked three days a week at the local elementary school, splitting her days between the pre-K and first graders.

Sidney politely ignored her ramblings when she went on and on about how cute and loving and rewarding the kids were when he called home.

He cracked his knuckles and neck and took a deep breath, smiling as the video call connected and he found his mother smiling at him on the other side of the screen.

Hi Sidney!

As always, her enthusiasm made him smile, waving his hand back at her pixelated image. “Hey Mom.”

How are you? You look tired, honey.

He went through all the usuals - assuring her that he was fine, although the angle of the light coming through the window did make him look pretty pale against the backdrop of his kitchen. He had no doubt that she’d seen the game from the night before, but he hadn’t had a call from either of them so obviously they hadn’t worried about the couple of hits he’d taken in the second period.

What is your father… Troy!” Trina turned her attention away from the screen and yelled over her shoulder, the banging noise in the background stopping. “I’m trying to talk to Sidney! Would you shut up?

Sidney rolled his eyes, smirking at his mother. “Actually,” He cleared his throat, “Can you get him? I have something I want to talk to the both of you about.”

Oh, okay. Troy! Troy, come here.

Trina, you keep carrying on about this dishwasher-

Sidney has something to tell us.

It didn’t take much time at all before his father pulled over a chair to sit next to Trina, grinning at the screen.

Hi son.
 
"Hey Dad."
 
What's going on?
 
He cleared his throat again. Bite the bullet. "Well, uh—I—"
 
You're okay, aren't you? Your head isn't bothering you again?
 
Trina, let the boy speak, for God's sake.
 
I’m—
 
"I'm fine, guys. Really, my head's fine. I'm fine."
 
He watched his Mom sigh, then frown. “Then why are you so nervous?
 
God damn it. So much for poker face.
 
Rubbing his palms on his jeans, he tried again. "I have something to tell you. It's...well, it's important."
 
Alright, Sidney. We're listening.
 
"I..." Bite the fucking bullet. "Imetsomeone."
 
While Troy pursed his lips like he was trying not to smile, his eyebrows shooting up high, Trina looked like she was having a hard time understanding what he'd said. Which would make sense, since he'd spoken so fast it probably sounded like he was trying to speak a different language.
 
You...I'm sorry?
 
"I met someone. It’s… well, it’s kind of serious.”
 
Oh.” Trina blinked once, then twice, then looked at Troy.
 
Tell us about her.
 
"Okay, uh...Her name's Lyndsey, and she's..." There were a million thoughts that he had to describe Lyndsey. One of a kind. Driving him crazy. The best thing that’s happened to him in a while. None of which he could actually say out loud. So, he settled with, "She's special."
 
She must be,” Troy teased. “You've always been a man of few words, kid, but I've never seen you tongue tied. And all over a girl, to boot.
 
Trina swatted him lightly in the shoulder before turning her smile on her son. “When did you meet?
 
"In Edmonton, actually. Remember when I was in the hospital there? She's a nurse and she was working in the ER the night that I was brought in. She was—well, she wasn't technically taking care of me, but we became friends and one thing kind of lead to another and here we are."
 
His parents exchanged glances again but neither of them was smiling anymore.
 
Sidney,” Troy leaned forward, serious now as he met his son's eyes through the screen. “Are you sure about this?
 
He frowned, reaching forward to lean on his elbows. “What d’ya mean?”

You said you met her in Edmonton?

“Yeah,” He nodded, reaching for his water. “We kept in contact. And we’ve caught up a couple of times.” Sidney licked his lips, and tried to ignore the glance his parents shared while he unscrewed the cap. He made a resolute decision to not tell them any specific details of their weekend.

And you’re okay with that?” When Sidney raised an eyebrow, his Mom clarified, “With the long distance thing?

He shrugged, sighing a little. “We don’t really have a choice,” He answered quietly, letting the silence fill the air in the room. “I know what I’m doing,” He added.

Sid, of course. We trust you-

We’re just looking out for you, bud.

Sidney nodded at the screen, not really sure what to say next. With his girlfriends in the past, it had been a case of introducing her to his family whenever they visited - or one particular instance where his Dad decided to fly down and surprise him and Stephanie had answered the door in nothing but one of his t-shirts and yoga pants. Not the best way to meet someone.

And hopefully an instance Sidney never had to repeat.
 
Send me her picture.”



He jerked his eyes back to his Mom. “What?"



Sidney, don't tell me you have no pictures of her on your phone.


"I--Of course I do, but-"



“Send one to me. I want to see what she looks like.


"Mom. You can't, like...show her picture to everyone." That was just a disaster waiting to happen.



Don't be silly.



"Mom."



Trina huffed, pointing her finger at him. “Well what do you want me to do, Sidney? Not tell anyone about your new girlfriend? I mean, that's ridiculous, that’s-


"Actually, I was kind of hoping you wouldn't do that."


Sidney!”



"I--Mom, you have to understand, she hasn't...This is crazy overwhelming for her, okay? If word gets out that I have a new girlfriend and people start poking around--don't do that, you know it can happen, remember what happened with Steph? I don't want that. Not to Lyndsey, she’s… I want things to be as they are, quiet until we're ready to...you know. Until we're ready." 


He didn’t want to see the look his Mom was sending him to he took another drink, draining it completely to give himself a chance to turn around and put the plastic into the recycling cupboard.

Trina…


“Alright.” He looked over his shoulder briefly. She was talking to Troy before glancing back at her son. “Alright, I understand. But you can't expect me to wait until you get around to bringing her home to finally see what she looks like. I'll keep it to myself, I promise, but I need a picture.


He sighed, swiping the lock screen and thumbing through til he found his photo album, ignoring the way Trina quickly clapped her hand and muttered about going to get her cell. He shook his head a little when Troy rolled his eyes.

I love that woman, Sidney. You know I do, but sometimes…

He laughed a little, scrolling through his phone for a picture, not realizing until that moment just how few he had of her. “Yeah Dad, I know.” Not that he was fond of a selfie, but he wished they’d taken more than the couple of photos together when he’d taken her skating. He was glad he had an image of her standing in the middle of the training centre with the biggest frown on her face -

”And just what do you think you’re doing?”

“What? It’s not like I can accidentally post it on social media.”

“Sidney-”

“Please? Smile?”

“Nope. This is what you get for dragging me out here-”


She didn’t really continue with her argument once he’d skated forward and decided to shut her up with a kiss.
 
When will we get to meet this young lady?

He snapped himself out of it, smiling at the way his dad had asked, he paused over a picture. "I was thinking this summer? Once the season is over, I'll bring her home."

Did you send it?” Trina joined them once more, her glasses on her nose with her phone in front of her. Biting his tongue, Sidney found one that she had sent him months ago, from when she was at work and bored trying to make origami animals out of post it notes. Her smile radiated next to the bright pink paper, of what she’d said was supposed to be a swan.

Not that he could tell.

He forwarded it on, hoping that Lyndsey wouldn’t mind and set his phone back down, taking a seat on the stool and crossing his arms over his chest. “It’s on its way.”

Sid was just saying that maybe we’d get to meet her in the summer.

Oh.” Trina looked up in surprise. “She’s not going to be able to come visit during the playoffs?

Sidney groaned in outrage. “Mom, seriously! Don’t mention-”

The playoffs, yeah yeah,” She waved her hand, the screen on her phone lighting up, her eyes widening. “Oh Sid, she’s gorgeous.

Let me see.” Troy took a peek and raised his eyebrows, nodding in approval.

“Oh God, don’t do that.”

Do what?

Sidney waved his hand, all nonchalant. “Act like I picked the winning horse at the Kentucky Derby. There’s so much more to her than just her looks, alright? She’s smart and funny and caring and patient and…what? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Both his parents were laughing, trying to hide it behind their hands, Troy doing a far better job than the woman to his right. “Oh honey, you’re adorable,” Trina cooed, reaching for Troy’s hand. “We can’t wait to meet her.”

“You…” He was still confused. “Why are you laughing?”

We’re not!

“Uh, yes you are.”

It’s a good thing,” Troy assured him with a gentle smile.

He wasn’t buying it.

“…Yeah, I’m gonna go.”

Make sure you tell your sister

He rolled his eyes and nodded, leaving out the details about Taylor’s snooping abilities for another time, and said his goodbyes. Sure, it was a day off, but he had things to do.

And now, thanks to his Mom, planning for the months of April and May involving a certain someone.

*


Because it was the beginning of March, and the Penguins were still only a few points ahead of the wildcard spots for the playoffs, Lyndsey didn’t actually get a chance to speak to Sidney more than just the occasional texts for the three days after her chat with Sam.

She was lucky enough to have had a busy schedule at work so that she was mostly distracted during her nights; it was the occasions after her shift ending while she was usually crawling into bed to sleep the day away that her thoughts drifted to the man she was always so far away from.

She didn’t really have any indication of how his parents’ reaction was to her - he’d only sent back a ‘all good’ with a smiley face emoji before telling her he was boarding a plane to Detroit for an 18 hour trip before playing the Sens at Consol and that he’d chat to her later. Not that she was anxious or anything, but later did usually mean later, just not days later. Regardless of what news he had to tell her, she just missed talking to him.

Jackie had taken to confiscating her phone during a shift, only to hand it back a few hours later with an eye roll, saying that Kate wouldn’t stop spam texting her about god knows what, and for her to take a break to check her messages.

Things had been weird at work (something she was beginning to get annoyed with. Of all the drama in her life, work had been a safe haven). Casey had seemed to know something was up, but they didn’t know each other well enough for her to start asking questions, or offering to help. Jackie was the only one who really knew what was going on behind closed doors and clearly the bags under Lyndsey’s eyes weren’t hiding how stressed she had become in the recent weeks. Her and Claire were almost back to normal, but her mother had barely spoken two words to her that weren’t asking Lyndsey what she wanted for dinner ever since she’d flown back from Pittsburgh. It had been the longest they’d ever gone without talking and Lyndsey had no idea how to work themselves back to the relationship she had before.

Throw in Sam leaving and then worrying about the Sidney part of her life, she wouldn’t be surprised if that the next time she went to get her hair done, they’d tell her she had greys. She’d caught herself a couple of times taking breathers in empty patient rooms - or once when she had been left on duty to care for someone waiting to be transferred to ICU and couldn’t be left unattended.

It was moments like those she was thankful that she had her phone in her pocket to keep her distracted, even if she had to physically stop herself from scrolling down to the text message with a smiley face in it.

“Do you have any plans for your week off?” Casey looked back at her in the mirror she was applying her lip balm to, smiling when she caught Lyndsey’s eye as she repacked her bag from her locker.

“A whole lot of nothing,” She replied, closing the metal door. “What about you?”

Casey was younger than she was - only a year out of getting her diploma and when it came to days off plans, it showed. “My housemate and I were going to go out to a bar or something tomorrow night - she’s new to Edmonton as well - try and see if we can charm some boys into buying us drinks. Would you like to come?”

Jackie walked in the last part of the question, raising an eyebrow with a smirk in Lyndsey’s direction. Great. Now she had to go.

“Oh, uh. My best friend has been bugging me to catch up, I’m not sure if we’ll go out tonight or tomorrow…”

“Oh c’mon, Lynds!” Casey pouted, fiddling with her watch. “Bring your friend! We can drink a little, dance a little. You’ve looked…” She trailed off, her eyes going wide like she hadn’t meant to keep talking.

But Lyndsey was mostly curious. “I look?” She pressed, one hand in her pocket.

Casey sighed, looking down at her feet for a moment before she squared her shoulders. “You look like you could use a night out away from whatever is stressing you out lately.”

Lyndsey almost wanted to laugh, if it wasn’t so true that it hurt to hear. There was no way that she could tell Casey just why she was stressed - her personal life was HER personal life - but she was quickly learning that the young nurse wasn’t easy to say ‘no’ to. She had clearly been taught how to use those puppy dog eyes on anyone to get them to agree to whatever she had planned.

But she really wanted to take some time just to wrap her head around things, to talk to Claire, to talk to Sidney, somehow figure things out with her Mom. She knew that if she took introduced Casey to her best friend they’d end up partying the night away and she wasn’t in the mood lately to play baby sitter, so she nodded, putting her bag over her shoulder.

“I can’t tonight. I’ll talk to my friend about tomorrow though.” It was the least committal thing she could say, but it made Casey happy enough that she just beamed, saying goodnight to the both of them and leaving in a flurry.

Lyndsey almost imagined that she should have pixie dust follow her everywhere.

“So.”

She groaned, sitting down on the bench, leaning sideways to lie her head on Jackie’s shoulder while she tied her shoes. “I’m exhausted just thinking about trying to keep up with her.”

Jackie just laughed, petting her knee. “Welcome to old age, honey.”

“I’m not old!”

“Sure.”

Lyndsey pouted, standing up and crossing her arms with a playful humph, waiting until Jackie was ready so that they could walk and talk together. The older of the two had the sense to basically speak in code, but it wouldn’t really matter - no one cared about Lyndsey enough to pay attention to what she was talking about on her way out of the building.

“She’s right, y’know. About you being stressed.”

“I know.”

“Boy trouble?”

She didn’t even know if it was, that was the thing. It was a gigantic confused mess of miscommunication, distance, worry, time difference, different lives, different countries. It hurt her head if she thought about the grand scheme of things when it came to every bit of her relationship adding up into a big pile of uncertainty.

“I have no idea.”

Maybe it was the solemn tone or the downcast look on her face that made Jackie grab her arm and look her in the eye. But when Lyndsey glanced back, all she saw was the eyes of a worried mother. It hit her pretty hard that even if it meant making her own Mom upset, she’d give anything to have her pay attention right now.

“Listen,” Jackie sighed, bringing her in for a hug. “I have absolutely no idea how all of this is playing out. I mean, I get why you don’t want to talk about it, I completely understand. But honey,” She pushed Lyndsey back, holding her shoulders square. They were the same height, but her frown made Lyndsey feel two feet tall. “Is being this lost all the time worth it in the end? I know he’s who he is, but that doesn’t mean he just gets a free ride to string you along.”

“No, no it’s not like that at all,” Lyndsey rushed. No one Jackie was concerned; if she thought it was a ‘girl on the side’ thing. “It’s… it’s not a Sidney thing,” She reasoned. “Well - not really. It my own stupidity and - well, okay a little bit of distance and, y’know, he’s so busy lately that we haven’t had a chance to talk much and-”

“Okay, okay.” Jackie held her hands up, motioning for the younger nurse in front of her to take a deep breath, to slow down.

“Thanks. Sorry.”

“Hey, if you need to talk to someone about it- about anything- you can come to me. Got it?”

Lyndsey smiled, hugging her again, pressing close to she could speak into her shoulder. “I know. Thank you Jackie.”

“Enjoy your time off.”

By the time Lyndsey got into her car, she felt marginally better about herself. Even though her and Jackie hadn’t actually talked about anything in particular, it felt nice just to get some of it off her chest. And to be reassured that someone was still on her side unconditionally.

The phone was pressed to her ear before she knew it, and after a quick glance at the clock on the dashboard, she mentally calculated that he should’ve been on his way to training. Or possibly already there, since her call had gone to voicemail.

She cleared her throat just before the beep, feeling herself smile as he wished her a good day. “Hey. I figure you’re at training or whatever, uhm. Congrats on last night’s game, I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to watch it. But I was just calling because I’m off for the next few nights so I was thinking that maybe we could Skype? Or FaceTime or whatever…” She trailed off, watching as it began to rain outside of the parking complex, immediately excited for the chance to fall asleep to the sound of it once she got home. “Uhm, anyway. Yeah. Uh, I miss you. Call me after your game. Good luck.”

She might’ve been the only person driving who had a smile on their face, which stretched into a grin, warmth rushing through her when she checked her phone after it pinged at a traffic light.

God I can’t wait to see you.

*


“So, she’s still pretty mad, huh?”

Lorraine had been pleasant when saying hello to Claire who waited by the door as Lyndsey pulled on her boots, but she didn’t really respond when Lyndsey had told her she’d be home no later than ten, her attention back to the book she was reading before Lyndsey have even closed the door behind her.

“I have no idea what to do. I feel like everything I want to say to her is just going to make her even more angry at me.”

It wasn’t the longest drive to the bar they were having dinner at, but Lyndsey was glad for the silence. Maybe it was because she’d gone to sleep knowing she had definite plans for when she woke up, or because it was the Skype date she was going home to, but she’d had the best sleep that day in the longest time. She knew it was textbook crazy to give all the credit of her happiness to a man or a meal, but she going to. She was feeling better than she’d felt in over a week.

Watching the Penguins game on the TV, while trying to eat and uphold a conversation AND ignore everything going on in her brain was testing her limits, though.

The two of them made their way through entrees and mains before splitting a desert and a carafe of sangria. It was way too cold outside to be drinking cold cocktails, but Claire said the occasion called for it, announcing that she’d gotten a promotion at her job. And that dinner was on her, thanks to the pay rise.

“I didn’t even know you were up for a promotion!” Lyndsey had gaped, dodging the napkin that Claire threw at her face.

“Yeah, well. You decided to run off with a certain face of a certain sport and ignore the rest of us poor unfortunate souls, so I’m not surprised.”

Even though she could clearly tell that Claire was joking, it still did make her feel bad. “I am sorry about all of it, y’know that.”

“Sorry? About Sidn-”

“Ssssh! Shut up.”

“About Sidney Crosby?” She continued, whispering over their exploding chocolate cake. “Lyndsey, I love you. But you’re an idiot for apologising for that.”

“First you’re mad at me, then you’re ecstatic. Now you’re calling me stupid. Claire, you’re giving me whiplash,” She whined, giggling as she scraped up the piece of cake that Claire was gunning for.

“Oh please. Your life is a trial.”

“You’re a trial.”

“And that’s why you love me.”

The only thing that would’ve made the night better was if Brent had been able to join them, but he was called away for work. She hadn’t seen him at all in the new year, belatedly forgetting that she still had his Christmas present up on the mantle of her bedroom. She quickly texted him to ask when he was next in town so that they’d be able to catch up properly and hang out, just the three of them.

Lyndsey felt good to have her best friend back again, and made a vow to herself to never let it get that bad between them again. Not that she ever intended on keeping anything secret from Claire as long as she lived again. It was too hard.

“You should see your face.”

“Shut up,” She could feel her cheeks blushing, hating that the street lights were so bright as they sat behind traffic waiting to turn so that Claire could drop her home.

“You’re all reeeeeeed.”

“I hate you.”

“You’ve got a boyyyyyfriend.”

“Claire, stooooop!”

“Oooh, Lyndsey’s in lurrrrve.”

Claire was too busy turning onto the highway to notice straight away that her best friend wasn’t really giggling anymore, and she switched lanes before reaching over to squeeze her hand.

“I dont…”

“Hey,” Claire interrupted, glancing over at her. “I was just kidding.”

“No!” Because, somehow, her apologising for what she’d said was worse than being teased about being in love in the first place. “No, that’s not… it’s fine.”

“So, wait. You… you love him?”

There had been a couple of times that Lyndsey had thought she’d been in love. Looking back, she knew that she was never going to marry her ninth grade boyfriend Luke, or Simon when she had been in her second year of college, but both times she’d thought she’d been in love.

She didn’t have much to go on, considering her Dad never really showed her how a man in love should look, but both guys had treated her decently, even if they were relatively short-lived relationships.

Nothing like how she was with Sidney.

It was stupid to say they were butterflies in her stomach when she talked to him. It wasn’t like she was some teen fiction novelist. More, it was anxiety that she’d say something stupid, or accidentally hang up on him, or do something that would inevitably end up driving him away.

But once the idea had been planted in her head, she spent the whole ride home running over all the things they’d said and done for each other. Six months was too fast to tell if you loved someone, wasn’t it? Especially someone who you don’t get so spend any time with whatsoever.

Claire left her to think, though, pulling into the driveway slowly before leaning over the seat to give her a hug. “Stop overthinking,” She whispered, squeezing Lyndsey tightly for a second before pulling back, waving a little as she got out of the car, waiting until Lyndsey was inside before pulling away.

“How was dinner?”

“Oh, crap!”

Lyndsey jumped, dropping her boot to the ground as her Mom’s voice came flowing down the stairs leading up to the living room. The TV wasn’t on, so Lyndsey had just assumed she’d gone to bed.

Not wait up to scare the crap out of her.

“Uhm,” She could feel her heart race as she took off her other shoe, moving them to stand next to each other. “It was good. Fun.”

She watched as Lorraine appeared at the top of the stairs, walking down to meet her daughter face to face, smiling gently and kissing her cheek. “I’m glad. Goodnight.”

I can’t handle all these emotions! she screamed to herself, frozen in her spot as she watched the dogs run after her Mom, her brain going a million miles an hour to figure out how she got from the mental state she was in the twenty four hours before to now. It was going to give her a head ache.

She made her way slowly down the stairs, half in a daze, tripping on the last step but managing to catch herself on the wall before she made it to her bedroom, lifting open her laptop before she wandered into her bathroom, deciding it was better now to brush her teeth, in case she fell asleep talking to Sidney.

Sidney.

She took a deep breath and pointed her toothbrush at her reflection. “You can do this. Don’t be a wimp. And don’t freak out.”

It was only once she was halfway through running the bristles along her teeth that she realised it probably wasn’t normal to have to give yourself a pep talk before a Skype conversation. She was embarrassed for herself.

It didn’t take long before she heard the familiar ringing sound, dashing back into her room and practically diving for her laptop where she'd left it on her desk, stubbing her toe on the bottom of her dresser in the process. Yelping in pain, hopping on one foot with her knee up so she could cradle her injured foot in her hands, she all but threw herself down onto the chair. Sidney was calling her on FaceTime. She waited for the call to connect and held her throbbing foot, all while uttering every single curse word she knew between clenched teeth.

Uh...hi?

She looked up from where she'd been resting her forehead on her knee and found Sidney's face on screen, both frowning and smiling and looking so confused that she almost laughed.

"Sorry. Hi." She tried to smile, knew it looked more like she was making a wincing face, and explained, "I think I broke my foot."

Laughing once, he looked like he didn't believe her before his eyebrows lowered. “Wait, are you serious?

"Yeah. Maybe." Tightening the grip of her hands around her foot because obviously that made it feel better, she stared sheepishly at him. "Probably not."

He laughed again, adding an eye roll as he asked dryly, “You didn't look?

"No, it hurts." Knowing how pathetic that sounded, she ignored the look he was giving her and pulled her hands away to finally look at her foot. Despite the fact that her toes were still throbbing enough to make her want to swear again, they looked...well, normal. She wiggled them just to be sure, felt the bones with her fingers and was assured that everything was fine. Except for the deep red polish which needed to be redone.

All good?

"Yep." Laughing at herself, she shifted to get more comfortable on the chair with both knees tucked up against her chest and smiled brightly at him. "Hi again."

Hey,” He sighed, blinking at her slowly, but his smile was warm and reached his eyes, dimples on full display.

He looked tired. And no wonder, she thought. He'd just had back to back home games and both had been tough. Last night's had been a success, a 5—2 win over the Red Wings. Tonight's game hadn't been as good. Kunitz got the first and only goal early in the first period but the team just couldn't seem to get it together. A tie brought it to overtime, then a shootout, and it finished 2—1 for the Senators. Just the box score on the NHL app made her cringe when she’d checked it between desert and her last drink. It hadn't been their best performance, sure, but it not the worst either. At least that's what she thought. She could tell that he wasn't happy, despite his smile, and decided not to talk about the game unless he brought it up first.

Did you go out tonight?

"Just for dinner and drinks with Claire." She left out the fact that they'd been at a sports bar to watch the game, where Claire had taken way too much pleasure in teasing her every time the camera had focused on him.

That's why you look so pretty,” he teased, grinning when she gaped at him like he was nuts.

"Get your eyes checked, Captain."

I have perfect vision and you know it.” His voice cut out for a minute as he sat forward, fixing the pillow behind him before he leaned back against his headboard and came back to her. “I talked to my parents.

Her insides jumped when she remembered giving him the okay to tell his mom and dad about her. Somehow, she’d managed to forget about it. The ignorance had been nice, if only for a few hours. She tried not to show her mini panic, tried to keep her face and voice as neutral as possible as she asked, "Oh yeah? How are they?"

They're good.” Sidney stopped for a moment, pressing his lips together like he did when he was thinking, then said casually, “I told them about you.

Lyndsey gulped. Her heart was suddenly lodged in her throat. "You did?"

Mhm. They're happy.

When he stopped to press his hand over his mouth as he yawned, she wondered what in the world that meant. They were happy? Happy about what?

"What, uh..." she paused to clear her throat. "What did you tell them?"

Just, you know.” Sidney shrugged one shoulder. “How we met, about us being friends first, how special you are to me.”

Cheeks flaming, she couldn't have stopped herself from smiling if she tried. He was half asleep and rambling, that much was obvious.

I sent Mom a picture of you—you know that one with the paper thing that I couldn't figure out?

"It was a swan, Sidney."

He just rolled his eyes. “Sure. But she and dad both think you're gorgeous, which just proves me right so stop arguing with me about it.
 
Obviously, there were quite a few sarcastic comments lining up in her brain but she kept quiet instead. She didn't want to give up the warm, gooey feeling in her chest for anything. She imagined herself staring at him with hearts in her eyes and couldn't find it in her to care. She put her conversation with Claire out of her mind.

They can't wait to meet you.

Wait—what?

Dad was like, 'when do we get to meet this young lady' and I said—” He yawned again, clearly not noticing the way she was staring at him. “I said this summer.

"Summer?" she squeaked. "This summer?"

Yeah. I mean, if you can. I know it's hard for you to get time off work but there's a few months to go yet.

"Right, but I—Sid—" She made herself stop, took a deep breath, and looked seriously at the screen. "Sidney, are you sure?"

Maybe having this conversation while he was half asleep wasn't the best idea.

Of course I'm sure.” Tired as he was he still frowned at her. “I want to bring you home. I mean, if you're not—I get it, but I don't know if I'll get to see you again before playoffs, and then it will be summer and I can't—I want to show you where I grew up and went skating as a kid. I want you to meet my family and my sister and everyone. Nate is going to be hell, but I can deal with him. They're all gonna love you, Lynds.

Nate? McKinnon? What.

"Sidney—"

I want you to come home with me.

She had heart eyes again. She looked away, pulling a loose thread out of her comforter as a million voices ran through her head. Her Mom, Claire, Jackie, Sam. Even Kate would actually call her over this kind of news. It was a lot.

Her stomach was doing that thing again. The anxiety thing.

(Who was she kidding. The butterflies were in full force).

She knew it, knew she was smiling like an idiot, and heard herself saying "okay" before she'd even really thought about it.
♠ ♠ ♠
Okay, this chapter even makes my teeth ache.

(also makes me realise just how alone and desperate I am for some cuddles. please someone just love me, whyyyyyyyy universe. why???)

Hopefully this makes up for the previous chapter! I don't know about you, but I don't really mind a sleep deprived and soft haired Sidney Crosby. Pulls at the heart strings a bit, that does.

(Thank Lyndsey for the skype conversation, it's all her).

I know it's undeserving but i'd appreciate it if you could leave some love. there's some drama coming up in the next few chapters, because can we really live in a world where lyndsey and sidney are both happy at the same time? no. of course not.