Master of Timing

"No, no more. Please don't." Sidney threw his head back with laughter, putting the shot he was teasing her with back down on the table, leaving it for someone else to devour. The look Lyndsey gave him meant nothing but murder and he slid off his stool to stand next to her, bending down to kiss at the part of her neck he could reach where she'd pulled her hair back. He felt one of her hands slide to the back of his neck, pulling at the strands of hair poking out from his cap. 

"But," he pouted, pulling back to pout at her when she shook her head. She had turned so that he could stand in between her legs, his palms resting on her thighs.

"Don't start something you can't finish right now," she warned, but he could see the temptation she tried to hide in her eyes. They had been pretty handsy with each other since they left California two nights ago and Lyndsey wasn’t sure exactly what time it was or how long she’d actually been partying for. The celebrations from the night before were continuing and even though Sidney could tell that Lyndsey was being careful about how much she drank, he was pretty sure her liver was going to give up at some point, probably long before she was due to go home.

But it had been a long time in between sips of the Stanley Cup and Sidney was going to celebrate in style for as long as possible. No matter how much Lyndsey wanted to pace herself.

"Fine," he huffed, earning himself a pleased grin. Which he promptly kissed off her face. He was going to pull away after a few seconds but her thighs tightened around his and, well. He wasn't as drunk as he thought he was, apparently. If the hardening in his jeans was anything to go by. He didn't mean to lick into her mouth, not really, but Lyndsey wasn't pushing him away and it had been a long play off series. He and his right hand were pretty close at this point and fuck, he'd missed her. He’d had his time with her - the night of the win, the morning after, a very memorable unbelievably quick five minutes in his laundry room which he still can’t believe he let happen with a house full of people. But he was hungry for her. For everything about her. The way she laughed at his terrible jokes, the way she smiled at him from behind her tea in the morning.

The way she moaned his name into his mouth and gripped his shirt to pull him closer, evidently.

"Yeaaaah, get it Captain!"

The wolf whistles and cat calls followed straight after, the both of them breaking apart into smiles. He couldn't look at anyone else, so he didn't mind her turning to the right to flip Marc-Andre off. Everyone just burst out laughing anyway. 

"C'mon," he urged, squeezing her legs where his hands still rested. She turned back to look at him. "Let's get out of here."

He wasn't expecting her to frown in return. It wasn't the look he wanted. If he was honest, he kind of wanted her underneath him, like yesterday, biting her lip the way she always did when she was close. He all of a sudden couldn't think of anything else. "But- the party."

"Stanley Cup fucking Champions!" He yelled to the rest of the team and what could only be described as an entourage that still surrounded the VIP room of the bar. A thunderous round of applause, cheering and whistles came back his way and he smiled at her, satisfied. "Okay, celebrated enough. Let's go."

She scoffed out a laugh, pushing him back with both hands against her chest as she jumped down form the stool with a surprising amount of grace. He was impressed.

And horny as hell.

Marc-Andre caught them trying to escape unseen and he grinned at his captain, tipping his beer in their direction. Sid threw him a thumbs up back, they'd end up seeing each other the next day for locker clean outs anyway so he didn't have any hard feelings or guilt for not saying goodbye.

One shooting glare from her had him keeping his hands to himself for their journey home. For the most part. He figured out that as long as he kept his hands either in hers or resting on her hip while they stood and waited for a car from the fleet the team had hired (no one wanted to deal with ubers, especially when the debauchery was almost NDA worthy), she wasn't going to try and wriggle away from him. Which would've been terrible. He didn't have her close to him enough as it was.

The last shot of whiskey he'd thrown back with Tanger and Beau caught up to him when he tried to fish his keys out of his pocket at his front door once they were finally hime. That, paired with trying to keep quiet so he didn't wake up his family, proved to be too hard and he gave up with a groan, resting his forehead on the door. Lyndsey giggled quietly as he threw his arms down by his sides and stepped up to him, running her nails down his chest to reach into his pocket for him.

"Such a tease," he muttered, pulling her in for a searing kiss before she could step away. He could hear the tell tale jingling of keys near his ear before her arms were locked around his neck. He gripped her ass with both hands and rolled their hips together, so caught up in her that he didn't actually care if the both of them didn't make it inside and he came in his jeans like a teenager. She felt so good, sounded so good when she moaned into his mouth. It was almost enough.

Then she pulled away. He groaned. "Come on, babe. Inside. Bed," she panted, her eyes fluttering closed when he pulled her hips into his again. Going to bed sounded great.

Then he had a better idea.

"Inside, yeah." She smiled and turned around, sliding the key into the lock and turning it softly. He remembered reading a text earlier in the night from Taylor that said she wasn't going to put the alarm on and he was kind of grateful. He couldn't quite remember it as he stepped over the threshold anyway. "Water?" He slurred a little, giggling quietly as she slipped out of her heels with a moan, resting one hand against the cabinet he had near the front door to throw his keys and other crap on it. She fell into his side and nodded, letting him know that the Gatorade he pulled from the fridge was "even better".

He could see the backyard through the kitchen window. More importantly, he could see what had sparked his sudden interest to get inside the house as the taxi drove off. "Let's go swimming."

He turned around to Lyndsey coughing, her hand covering her mouth while she looked at him like he was crazy. But he tried to put on his most serious face. There was nothing more he wanted right then than for the both of them to not be clothed and covered in water.

"The both of us are far too intoxicated to be anywhere near a body of water," she hiccuped. “I’d hate for Pittsburgh’s hero to drown in a horrible swimming accident.”

"Then we'll just stay in the shallow end," he giggled, leaving the Gatorade on the bench and walking past her to the end of the hallway, flipping the lock on the back door. He looked over his shoulder to see her standing with one hand on the wall, biting her lip and he flashed her a grin, opening the door quietly and then stepping outside. 

June wasn't the hottest of months as far as Pittsburgh was concerned, but he'd had the heat on for the pool water for a week- wanting to give his family a reason to use it, and not have it still freezing cold from a winter than never seemed to leave. So he had absolutely no problem getting rid of his clothes and then stepping into the water. It was a bath like yesterday and the only reasonable action he saw to do was to submerge himself completely.

He liked the silence of it. It was the first time all day that’d he’d had a chance to hear himself think and a few air bubbles escaped as the smile stretched across his face again. They had done it. Finally. He didn’t know what he would’ve done if San Jose were the team taking Lord Stanley with them out of the building, he wasn’t sure if his self esteem as a Captain would’ve held up like it had in the past. 8 years was a long time between drinks.

He came to the surface and gulped down a huge gasp of air, revelling in how he felt more relieved than he had ever felt before in his life. When he opened his eyes, he paused; Lyndsey had decided to join him, and was standing in front of him with her hands behind her back, clearing reaching for the clasp of her bra.

He grinned as big as he could and reached his arms up out of the water, making grabby hands in her direction, much to her annoyance. He didn’t get why she was so upset about the whole thing; the first thing she commented on when she landed was how she couldn’t wait to spend some time in the pool, attempting to get a tan.

“You’re impossible,” She told him, getting rid of the final layers of clothing before she tip toed over to the stairs. He could see the effect the change of temperature had on her body and all of a sudden couldn’t wait, walking towards her to hold her hips and sinking them down into the water up to their shoulders.

“Yeah, but you love me.” She rolled her eyes, but it didn’t stop her from wrapping her arms and legs all around his body, humming quietly as he pulled her in for a hug, holding her tight. He skimmed his fingers up and down her back as he kissed her neck, feeling the indents her underwear had made on her skin, tracing the lines along her ribcage to where her chest was pressed against his, and back again. “Doesn’t it hurt?”

Lyndsey raised an eyebrow as she pulled back, the water swirling between their naked torsos. “What?”

“This,” He pointed out, running his fingers over the lines again. “Wearing a bra that tight.”

She threw her head back and laughed, tightening her fingers in his hair. He gulped as he could feel the blood in his body starting to rush south. She knew exactly what having his hair pulled did to him. She kept giggling as he bent forward, kissing and licking across her collarbones as his other hand moved down to her ass, holding her onto him as he rocked his hips up.

“Just one of the many things women suffer through,” Lyndsey reasoned, her breath catching at the end as he bit onto her skin, sucking the pool water away from the dip in her neck where it met her shoulder. He loved it. “Don’t give me a hickey.”

“Why.” It wasn’t even a question anymore, he knew why. Plenty of reasons as to not mark her up, but that didn’t stop him wanting to anyway. As childish as it seemed, he loved it. Loved that he was the only one that got to do that.

“You’re an ass.”

“You’re beautiful,” He countered, snapping his head up to catch her mouth in a kiss, swallowing her moan as her legs tightened on his when his arms went around her back. They had been innocently rolling their hips into each other the whole time, but the more he thought about it, the more he knew that it alone would be enough to get him off and she deserved more than that.

It wasn’t just him who’d gone without through the playoffs.

Which was why he wasn’t really surprised when she reached down to pull his fingers out of her, her nails biting into the tendons of his wrist so tight he almost thought she’d give him a bruise. And just as he was about to question why, she had thrown out just how much she needed him, right to his face, and demanded that he take care of her properly.

That he could do.

“Oh fuck, Sid,” She gasped, her hands pulling his face up to hers so she could kiss him again as he sunk into her. He held onto her hips tightly, wanting just to savour how good it felt to finally be inside her after waiting what felt like an age but was only an afternoon, her warm heat enveloping him in such a way he’d never live without it. They way she could read him, moving her body and clenching down on him so tight he practically forgot his own name.

“I know, babe, I know. God I missed this,” He groaned, trying to do his best to keep it down. The worst thing he could imagine was someone inside the house hearing them and then coming downstairs to investigate. He tried his best to keep a steady pace, walking them slowly at the same time he thrust into her towards the wall. He worked better with one hand stabilising them to a solid object, the other hand pressing into her lower back to keep her right there with him.

She bit her lip as she whimpered, looking him in the eyes before she dropped a hand from his hair and scratched through his poor attempt at a beard. She kissed him quick, dirty and wet before she ran her hand down his chest the same way she had to get the keys out of his pocket only ten minutes before. He looked down into the water and clenched his teeth together, trying not to make a sound as he watched her touch herself.

“God, you look so fucking hot.” He was never the best at dirty talk but he decided that he couldn’t be blamed for what word vomit came out of his mouth when he was as close to losing it as he was. She was getting tighter around him and he was struggling to keep his hips from snapping into hers as hard as he possibly could. He needed to have her.

He’d needed it since he kissed her on the ice.

“Sid- I’m, oh fuck, c’mon. Come on,” She urged. Their arms moved at the same time; hers to pull their chests closer together so that she could bite at his shoulder, his to her shoulder so that he could pull her down onto him as he thrust up into her harder. He felt it when she finally got her release - her legs pulled him even closer, her teeth finding the skin of his neck as she whimpered and he groaned.

His other hand from the wall came down to around her waist as he folded their bodies together, only needing to pump into her a few more times before he finally came, his hips jerking with each spasm that ran through his entire body, down to his toes.

They were both panting against each other, the water trickling from where they gently moved around, Sidney not being able to help rolling his hips against hers softly, not quite ready to lose the feeling of her. She moaned at the contact, letting her head fall back so that he could kiss her skin all the way up her neck to her mouth, their breaths coming together as he licked between her lips, loving the way she sucked on his tongue.

He half wished he’d be able to get hard again so that they could keep going.

“Fuck, babe,” Lyndsey broke away from him, resting her forehead against his while she tried to catch her breath. He still hadn’t let go from where he was holding his body to hers. Wasn’t ready to escape their little bubble in the pool just yet. “God, you make me feel so good.”

He laughed and kissed her nose. “Don’t say shit like that right now, I’m not gonna be any help to either of us again any time soon.” She laughed in agreement, angling her hips away enough that he slipped out of her, hissing at the cold contact of the water compared to where he preferred to be. “Fuck, I’m so tired,” He yawned into her hair, kissing her forehead where she tucked herself into his neck, her arms wrapped underneath his towards his back.

“Long day,” She mused.

“Long season.”

And it was true. He didn’t think he’d felt this tired after 2009, but then again, he was basically still a kid. It was a lot different to win a cup at 29 than it was as 21. He felt different - his body reacted differently. He was looking forward to the offseason so that he’d be able to bulk up again and put on some of the muscle that he’d lost (and some muscle that hadn’t really returned since before his concussion).

Most importantly - he was looking forward to not wake up anxious for the next couple of months. He was ready for a break.

He felt Lyndsey shiver from under his hands, breaking his stare with the edge of the pool to look down at her. There was a bruise starting to form on her shoulder. He frowned at it before he faintly saw teeth marks, then realised he’d be in for a world of hell when she woke up in the morning and figured out where it came from. He couldn’t be blamed; he didn’t know he’d done it.

“Come on. Let’s go to sleep.”

She mmhed, breaking her legs from his to stand in the water. “Just sleeping?”

He could see she was asking just to make sure and he laughed, brushing some of the hair that was on her forehead back, kissing her cheek. “Yeah baby. You look exhausted.”

She nodded, hiding a yawn behind her hand. “Not as bad as you.” She reached up to run a finger along the bags under his eyes, carefully avoiding the cut that was stitched up during the series thanks to a high stick. He’d almost forgotten about it.

Kissing him once she turned around and heading for the stairs, reaching out gingerly to hold onto the edge. He would have to remember to feel proud for making her legs that weak in the morning. Right now all he could imagine was his mattress upstairs and cuddling into his girl.

Completely happy.



“I don’t know if I can spend the next three days having sex,” Lyndsey spoke, pulling hair away from her neck where it had started to stick to the sweat on her skin. Sidney giggled, the sound muffled from where was still resting on top of her, using her chest as a pillow.

“I don’t think I can either,” He agreed, speech slurred as if he was dreaming, pressing soft kisses across her chest to her shoulders. His fingers brushed gentle patterns into the skin of her waist. “I miss this more when you’re gone, anyway.”

Lyndsey frowned at the ceiling, poking his shoulder to get his attention when he didn’t elaborate. He blinked up at her. “This,” He continued. “Holding you.”

“Sans clothing?”

Sidney rolled his eyes, pressing up on one arm to reach for the top sheet, pulling it back over both of them as he rested beside her. “Clothes, no clothes. I don’t even need to be in a bed.” He paused, biting his lip as he played with her hair. Lyndsey held her breath, soaking in as much of her sweet-tempered boyfriend as she could before the inevitable craziness of the day was to begin. “I just want you here. All the time.”

His eyes bore into hers and there was way that what he was saying was anything other than the absolute truth. Lyndsey had changed her flights, staying an extra week longer than she intended to (much to the displeasure of the hospital, or to the happiness of Claire, Jackie and Sam - who screamed down the phone that she just shouldn’t come home at all). In between all of the press, parades, bar hopping, club hopping, spending time with Sid’s family amongst it all and falling into bed together each night, wrapped up in his arms and safe and happy and completely fulfilled, she understood where he was coming from. It was almost like a perfect fantasy; one where the past ten days were her actual life, not just a fairytale she was lucky to be apart of.

She stalled, her eyes dropped from his face to focus on the chain around his neck, running her fingers along it. In an ideal world, she wanted to be in Pittsburgh full time too. Or even part time. She knew that the next couple of months of flying back and forth for a long weekend was going to do her in, making each goodbye harder and harder and she was sure she’d almost not be able to stand it.

“I know,” She whispered. His smile didn’t reach his eyes and he lay down again, tucking the sheet around them both as her hands played with this hair. She felt him kiss her neck and sigh deeply, enjoying the few peaceful minutes they had left.



“So, is there going to be anyone else there that I haven’t had a chance to meet yet?”

Lyndsey watched at Sid ran through a quick checklist in his head, slowing their walk up Kris’ driveway, around the maze of cars that were parked out the front. Tanger had declared the day ‘Pittsburgh Penguins Barbecue Day’ and invited everyone involved with the team - from Mario down to the front office staff - over for a family afternoon. A quick run through the list of names Lyndsey knew off the top of her head, including kids, gave her a migraine and a severe hope that he’d had it catered.

“You’ve met most of them at least once. Although, if it was anytime last week, you might not remember.”

“Oh, shut up,” She laughed, pushing him away with the her hip, careful not to drop the box of wine bottles she was carrying. She hadn’t been that drunk. Mostly. She bit her lip before she even knew what she was doing, caught off guard as he bent down to kiss her quickly.

“Don’t worry about it,” He whispered, offering her a smile. “No one can remember much of anything from the past couple of days.”

“That’s comforting.”

He rolled his eyes and pulled her up the stairs, letting her hand go so that he could unlatch the lock to the back gate.

“Heyyyy, the party’s here!” Chris cheered from his place at one of the tables, holding up his beer and balancing one of his kids on his knee. Everyone’s heads turned towards their direction, which still creeped Lyndsey out a little, even if she knew them and had come to love them in the space of 8 days.

Catherine cheered loudest of all, running over to greet them both with a smile and a hug, taking no time at all to express how happy she was that Lyndsey had stayed for a little while longer. Lyndsey was still a little dazed by the fact that she was friends with Kris Letang’s wife and hugged her back.

“Oh, is that the ribs? Kris,” She took the bag from Sidney’s hand, holding it out to her husband as she walked the both of them into the backyard. Kris grabbed it off her quickly, planting a quick kiss on Lyndsey’s cheek before jumping onto his Captain, the both of them separating from the ladies as quick as breathing.

“I love that dress Lyndsey, where did you get it?”

She smiled, running her hand across the front of it. “Sidney wanted to get out of the house yesterday. Took me shopping,” She shrugged, still not quite believing that a) he was willing to wander around a shopping mall so soon and b) that it cost close to $300 and he handed his credit card over like he was buying a bottle of water.

“Wow, Crobsy. I’m surprised it’s not navy.”

Lyndsey laughed, looking back down at the pastel pink and blue flowers before being collided with by a rather small human.

“Is that who I think it is?” She asked, turning around to look over her shoulder to find Alex grasping her leg, giggling like mad. “How can I hug you if you’re all the way down there?”

“You can’t hug me! I am running away!” He squealed, peeling past the adults with no regard for the level of volume. The two ladies winced at each other.

Duper appeared out of nowhere, offering to take the box still under her arm, “Oh, uhm, thank you.” Cat didn’t take long putting a full wine glass in her hand, offering to show her around. She glanced quickly at Sidney’s direction, but he had thrown his head back laughing at something Mario said, and she nodded, walking towards the house.

There was Top 40 playing on the speaker system, which you could catch hints of in between the different conversations happening in the backyard. Some of the younger players were on the grass, throwing a football or playing with hockey sticks with the kids - of which where were many. Lyndsey counted ten off the top of her head, and that was just the Kunitz’s, Dupuis’ and the Cullen kids. Alex, Estelle and a baby Scarlett added to the chaos too. Well, those that weren’t on the hip of one of their parents.

“Oh, the ladies are in the kitchen!”

Lyndsey didn’t know what was more impressive; the amount of women in the kitchen, or that it was big enough to hold them and not be a tight squeeze.

“Lyndsey!” Carole-Lyne exclaimed, moving through the crowd of women to wrap her up in a hug, clearly a couple of wines in. Not that Lyndsey could blame her.

“Hi!” She laughed, making her way around and saying hello to everyone else, blushing at the compliments on her dress. When she’d tried it on in the store, she wasn’t sure on it - it was pastel first of all, and had flowers which she was allergic to and was generally a little too girly for what she normally went for. But when she stepped out into the hallway and Sid didn’t say anything, just looked her up and down and bit his lip, she would’ve worn it every day for the rest of her life.

And it was growing on her. A little.

“Lyndsey, when are you leaving?”

She held her glass out again to be refilled, smiling at Carol-Lyne in thanks before turning back to Catherine. “On Friday morning. I can’t stay any longer, otherwise I won’t have a job.” She laughed as she said it, but it was true. Administration was not happy, and at that point Lyndsey wasn’t even sure if telling the truth about where she’d been a why - even with the excuse of being connected to Canada’s hero - wasn’t going to be a good enough Get Out Of Jail Free card.

A thunderous sound of feet and yelling interrupted whatever everyone was going to say next, and all of a sudden nearly every single kid that had been outside was now inside, yelling at the top of their lungs over one particular thing or another. Someone at some point had broken some rule of the game and it was all too much. Lyndsey spotted Alex stood behind it all, eyes wet but not like he was now crying and Lyndsey bent down to give him a hug, picking him up when his arms wrapped around her neck.

“Are they being loud?”

“Ils sont trop bruyant,” He sniffed and Lyndsey wracked her brain back to her tenth grade French. Noisy was all she got.

“Mon amour, viens ici,” Catherine smiled, reaching her hands out. Alex shook his head and moved from one shoulder to the other, holding on tighter to Lyndsey than before. She opened her eyes in shock, but Catherine just laughed, brushing his hair back and speaking to him in rapid fire French. “He’s all yours now.” Lyndsey smiled at her. “Are you going to go live with Lyndsey in Edmonton, hmm? Leave your maman et papa?”

“Ouis,” Came a tiny voice.

As quickly as it started, the kitchen was empty of anyone under the age of 15 in the flash of an eye, Mom’s all turning back to the glasses and conversation like nothing had happened. Lyndsey held onto Alex for a few moments more, until he decided that he was done and wriggled to get down out of her arms. Lyndsey spared a glance at Cat who was just grinning back, sliding her’s and Sid’s bottles of wine into a rack in the fridge, taking out a plate to set on the counter. “Walk, please.”

“Hey buddy!”

Even though she had seen him with kids before, it did nothing to stop the way her heart practically melted in the middle of the Letang’s kitchen as Alex ran straight into her boyfriends’ legs, giggles echoing through the room as Sid picked him up upside down and spinning around. Both of their smiles were stretched wide across their faces. “Uncle Sid I’m gonna puke!”

“No you’re not!” But he turned him the right side around anyway. “What’s going on in here?”

“Girl talk, wanna join in?” Maureen Kunitz grinned at him, poking her tongue out when he rolled his eyes.

“I’ll pass, thank you.”

“Well,” Lyndsey held out her hand, closing her eyes when he pressed his lips against her cheek. “That means you need to go back out the way you came.”

He pouted back at her, taking a glance around the kitchen. Carol-Lyne and Catherine were trying to make it look like they weren’t listening in, and failing at it spectacularly. “Come outside.”

“Nuh uh, you’ve had her enough.”

“Hardly,” He responded, but sighed. “Find me later?” He whispered in her ear, squeezing her hand gently before excusing himself, hands up in surrender as the women made it known loudly he wasn’t exiting the room fast enough. It didn’t take long for the conversation to get back to where it was before; what the summer plans were, how long the kids were still in school, who was going where on vacation, when each family’s Cup Day was going to be held. Lyndsey got caught up in it, sitting quietly unless a question was asked directly of her, enjoying the company of people who had a lot more experience than she did but understood how she felt about how her life was now a lot more crazy than it had been two weeks before.

“Is Sidney going back to Cole Harbour with the Cup?”

“Oh.” Lyndsey assumed he was, but he hadn’t actually spoken to her about his plans yet. As Captain, he got two days, which she assumed he’d spend at home like he had after the 2009 win. When she told the group, Catherine and Carol-Lyne shared a look. “What?”

“He hasn’t spoken to you about it?”

“No,” She answered, shrugging. “I assume it will come up once it’s all sorted out.”

“But…” Catherine frowned. “I thought he’d make it work around you, and your plans.”

Lyndsey’s eyes widened. “Why?”

The ladies all stared at her like she’d started growing another head. “Because… well, that’s what he told Marc-Andre. Who’s of course told me because he knows what’s good for him,” Véronique joked. “We all thought that…”

“Well, because you’ve stayed these extra days, that it might mean you were staying for the summer.”

Lyndsey, who’d chosen the wrong time to take a sip of wine, coughed, trying her best to not get the alcohol up her nose. Catherine handed her a napkin.

“Uh, no. I’ve still got to go home, my job, my Mom - everything is still in Edmonton. I had planned to go see Sidney during the summer, I’m guessing he’ll have the Cup again for his birthday…” She trailed off, not understanding why Duper’s wife was still frowning. “What?”

“I don’t get that guy, I really don’t.”

“I know, she’s right here.”

“How can someone so smart be so dense someti-”

“Hang on,” Lyndsey interrupted, holding her hand up. “Why do you all know something I don’t?”

“Oh, no it’s not like that,” Catherine soothed, coming to stand next to her and putting a hand around her shoulders. “We just… some of us have been friends of Sidney for a long time. And I’ve never seen him act this way with anyone - right?” She asked Veronique, who nodded.

“Act like…?”

Catherine tutted, reaching for the one of the wine bottles open to top up everyone’s glass. “He’s so serious about you! Please tell me you know this.”

Lyndsey did. She’d known for months. But so much of their time together had been just the two of them, that she’d forgotten a little how much Sidney belonged to the outside world. It was easy to pretend just the two of them existed when they were together, and she compartmentalised him in her brain into boyfriend, friend, hockey player. She didn’t notice people noticing them most of the time that it sort of threw her for a loop.

She smiled at her friends, sitting back quietly again as the conversation moved on and got lost in her own train of thought. So much so that it wasn’t until she was stepping outside that she registered that food was ready, and that there was still a large group of people that she’d want to spend more time with before leaving the few days later to go back to normalcy.

Although, with what the wives said, the two different sides of her life were both versions of normal. Part of her wanted to figure out a way to make them into one.



“Oh shit, Lyndsey. I’m sorry,” Kris rushed up out of his seat, licking wings sauce off his fingers as he made his way around the table to where she was sitting. Lyndsey smiled politely and looked down, Alex fast asleep in her arms with his hand curled around the edge of Sidney’s jacket that he’d given her to wear once she got cold. He had a tiny smile on his face, eye lashes flickering as he dreamt the night away.

“It’s fine, really.” She stood up, adjusting the four year old in her arms, biting her lip as he jostled but didn’t wake.

“I can take him.”

“I’ve got him, you’re okay.” Nodding her head in the direction of the house, she asked him to show her where Alex’s room was, excusing herself from the table, brushing Sidney’s shoulder gently as she passed. Lyndsey didn’t miss the glance that he sent to Cat, smiling a little behind the neck of his beer before he started to drink it.

“He loves you,” Kris murmured, folding the sheet down on his son’s chest, brushing his hair off his face as he kissed Alex’s forehead.

Lyndsey laughed softly, tucking her hands inside the pockets of Sidney’s jacket. “He’s a great kid. I think he loves everyone.”

Kris paused, looking past her for a second before he gave her a smile, squeezing her shoulder gently as he kissed her cheek. “What makes you think I’m talking about Alex?”

Lyndsey turned as he left the room, confused until she saw Sid waiting by the door, muscled arms folded across his chest as he checked his D man as he passed. She couldn’t understand what was being said but she assumed it was something rude in French because it earned Sid a punch in the arm, followed by a soft laugh. Kris left the two of them alone, smiling when Lyndsey stepped out of the room and pulling the door almost shut behind her quietly. “Finally finished eating?”

He shrugged, holding his arms open for her to fall in to, stepping back until he was resting against the opposite wall. “If I stayed there any longer, they were going to start chirping me on getting clucky and I can’t handle those questions on my own.” Lyndsey rested her hands on his chest, looking back into his eyes with a hesitant frown. “They’re worse than the media.”

“It’s what friends are for, I guess.”

His eyes flickered from her eyes to her lips and back again. He bent forward softly and she met him halfway, opening her mouth for him before he could even begin to ask, her hands sliding up his chest and around his neck. He wrapped his arms even further around her back, pulling her up onto her toes so she was practically leaning all on him. The smell of his cologne flooded her senses, the hint of beer still lingering on his tongue as he licked into her mouth.

“You’re pretty great with him,” Sid whispered against her lips, nodding once in the direction of Alex’s room as one of his hands came up to play with the ends of her hair that were falling down her back.

Lyndsey shrugged, dipping her fingers into the collar of his shirt. “My cousin’s have kids. I’ve had some practice.”

Sid paused, his Adams apple bobbing as he swallowed, licking his lips before he took a deep breath and looked her straight in the eyes. “I kind of want to say something but I don’t want you to freak out.” Lyndsey felt her face get a little hotter and just hoped that her make up would cover her blush as she tried to steady her breathing. He spoke again once she nodded. “You, uh…” He chuckled to himself. “You looked good with him. With all of them, actually. When you were playing tag, and stuff…”

There was an endless list of things she found attractive about Sidney Crosby, but bashful and shy Sid did something else to her entirely. It even managed to override the drop in her stomach at the way he mentioned her and kids in the same sentence - they so weren’t anywhere near that stage, or so she’d thought - so she stepped back up on her toes and kissed him hard, moaning a little when he tightened his fingers on her hips under his jacket.

She ran her fingers into his hair and scratched her nails, kissing harder as she finally got to touch him the way she had wanted to all day. They had been pretty tame most of the afternoon, but always finding a way to be near each other; Sid’s hand on her knee, her leaning into his shoulder between bites of food, playing with his hair a little. A few stolen minutes alone after unconsciously teasing each other all afternoon was a worthy pay off.

She had spent most of the whole afternoon watching the man she was hopelessly in love with play with his teammates kids like his life depended on it. He’d dirtied his jeans to play horsey and the back of his shirt so that the kids could use him to play aeroplanes without even thinking about it. Lyndsey was thankful that no one had tried to drag her attention away from watching him, because honest to God it was embarrassing how long she stared.

And he knew it too, sending her playful grins and winks every time he caught her looking. Which was practically every ten minutes.

Sid pulled back with a sigh, squeezing her hips gently before he cupped the sides of her face, kissing her lips softly before she finally opened her eyes to look at him. He smiled at the pout she sent, wrapping her up into a hug so tightly she almost disappeared. Even at his end of the season lightest, he surrounded her.

“We should probably get back out there.”

His sigh resonated down the hallway with the exact amount of enthusiasm she spoke with. The captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins had ditched his team to go make out with his girlfriend in the hallway of someone’s house. They were being extremely rude.

“I know, but…” He trailed off, ducking his head to kiss her quickly, swallowing the laugh that she let out when she wormed herself out of his arms. Not with all that much effort, but she was trying to be good. He groaned when she shook her head with a smile, linking their hands together as they made their way back down the stairs.

She was nearly at the door past the kitchen that would lead them into the backyard before Sid wrapped his arms around her from behind, holding on tightly as she managed to open the door at the same time she was trying to squirm away from where he was laying kisses behind her ear. Neither of them noticed the glance Kris shared with Pascal, or the way they clinked their beers together with a smirk.