Le Coeur Veut Ce Que Le Cœur Veut

On Friday that same week, the Penguins were in Anaheim for game day. It was weird, having just said goodbye to Simon Monday and now seeing him for the last time until the season was over. They had kept missing each other when they called, and their texts to each other came sporadically as they operated under two different schedules and adjusted to life on opposite coasts.

Pearl sat with Jennifer during the pregame practice and then oversaw some of the interviews after. When she left the locker room after Ben Lovejoy finished talking, she felt emotionally raw. She just wanted to see Simon, have lunch with him, and fall asleep beside him before they both had to be back for the game that night.

Unsure where exactly to head, Pearl ventured towards where she heard voices. When she heard Kris' familiar voice, and then Simon's, she hurried faster in their direction.

She rounded the corner and saw him talking to Kris, new tennis shoes in his new teams colors, athletic shorts, and a black Ducks t-shirt. She stopped short, suddenly feeling shy and self conscious. While Jennifer knew their secret, no one else on the team did.

Simon looked up and saw her standing there, an unsure look on her face. Seeing her though made his face break into a bigger smile and he excused himself in the middle of Kris' sentence. It had only been three days but not being around Pearl all the time was killing him, which meant that until playoffs were over this was going to be difficult but worth it.

He made his way for her, ignoring everyone else until he was right in front of her. He lifted her off the ground, holding her to him tightly before claiming her with a kiss.

"Simon!" She exclaimed in a whisper. She blushed red as a round of catcalls burst through the hall.

"I'm not a Penguin and there is not a rule that says you can't date a Duck. And if anyone asks, I'll tell them I've been dying to do that for months so thanks for trading me."

She smiled at him as he set her down, letting him hold her in the middle of the hall. "I miss you."

"Tu me manques aussi," he said before kissing her again. "I miss you too."

"Can you leave yet?"

"Let me change and then we can go."

"Can you hurry?"

He kissed her forehead. "For you I will."

She followed him back towards Kris, smiling at him shyly, her hand wrapped in Simon's.

"Vous deux? Vraiment? Depuis quand?" He asked him.

"Us, really," Simon answered. "And since right now."

"Liar. Catherine called this months ago. She said you looked at her differently at Paulie's wedding."

"Since the day we all flew home for Christmas," Pearl told him. "That was when we started this."

"For over two months? You've been hiding this for that long?"

"I wasn't allowed to date one of you guys. I could be fired for it."

"And now?"

"Now I'm a Duck and it doesn't matter," Simon replied with a grin. "I'll meet you over by the visitors locker room, okay?"

"Okay," she agreed.

"It was great seeing you Tanger. I miss all of you guys."

"Same here, man. I'll see you at my wedding this summer; I'll tell Catherine to make sure to add Pearl as your plus one." They exchanged a bro hug before Simon kissed Pearl's cheek and headed inside the room. Pearl walked back beside Kris and as they neared the visitors room, Beau burst out the door.

"You and Desi? Are you shitting me?! I thought you hated each other."

"I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes," Kris told him.

"For how long?" Beau demanded to know.

"Two months," she answered. "How do you know?"

"Flower."

"Your goalie is a gossip."

"You shouldn't be making out in the middle of a hockey arena with Desi." Pearl rolled her eyes at him. "Borts is not going to believe this..." He said as he pulled out his cell phone.

"Are you going to quit?" Kris asked her after Beau had walked away.

"No, I'm staying. I haven't thought about next year yet. I guess I'll wait and see how things work out for now but maybe."

"Definitely. You're in love."

"I had to write the press release; that's how I found out he was traded. It was the worst moment of my life because I couldn't say anything, I couldn't react to it like anyone else would when they find out their boyfriends been traded."

"How did you both fool everybody? I can't even imagine what that's like."

"Luckily I don't live near any of the guys so he could come and go from my apartment pretty easily. There have been a lot of shadowy corners that I've been pulled into, and one elevator at midnight on New Years."

"I thought Catherine was nuts when she started elbowing me and pointing out you were both missing from the room at midnight but here she was right all along," he mused, shaking his head. "I told her you two didn't even like each other, you never spoke."

"I didn't speak to him because he didn't talk to me. I thought he was such a jerk."

"I had a crush," Simon spoke up as he walked towards them. "And I thought it'd go away if I ignored her. That doesn't really work. Le coeur veut ce que le cœur veut."

Pearl smiled at his words. It had become their mantra, something they said to each other when things were hard, when she was scared at getting caught and losing her job in the beginning, when sneaking around caused them stress. Simon slid his arm around Pearl's shoulder and she leaned into his side as Kris left them alone in the hall.

Her phone started buzzing and she smiled at the message from Robert.

You and Desi? That's why you'd never give me a chance? Ugh! :(

I hope he knows this means I'm gonna kick his ass.

Seriously though, if you're happy, I'm happy for you both. But if you're not happy, I'm always just a plane ride away.

She typed out a quick reply to him: I am happy, and I'll call you tomorrow and tell you everything.

She put her phone away and looked up at Simon. "Robert says he hopes you know he's gonna kick your ass now," Pearl told him.

"He can try," Simon replied.

Simon's phone buzzed then and he laughed, showing Pearl the message from Robert.

Dude! I thought you hated each other. Hurt her and I kill you. Just know that.

"He's always going to be protective of you, isn't he?"

"We made an agreement in the beginning; he looks out for me, I look out for him. Mostly it was just so I knew he didn't end up with some trashy whore but it did keep some gross dudes from hitting on me a time or two."

"Of course. You ready?" He asked.

"Mmhmm."

They headed out to his car, stopping so Simon could introduce her to some of his teammates. He leaned her back against his vehicle and she wound her arms around his neck as he leaned in to kiss her.

"No fraternizing with the enemy, Pearl," Beau called out as a group of the Penguins headed for the bus.

"Fuck you, Sunshine!" Simon yelled back.

"You can do better, Pearl," Brandon added to the teasing.

"Maybe," Pearl smirked, "but he can't."

There was a burst of laughter from the Penguins players and Simon flipped them off as they continued on and before looked back to her. "Je t'aime," he said softly, touching his forehead to hers.

"I love you too. Now let's go so I can take off your clothes."

His eyes sparkled as he laughed. "Are you trying to sabotage my game tonight?"

"No; I want you to have the best game of your life tonight so that the team is filled with regret for trading you. Today I'll settle for you shirtless and some major cuddling but tomorrow I want it all."

"You guys have a game tomorrow."

"The guys have a game tomorrow. Jennifer gave me the day off though, so I can spend it with you."

"Êtes-vous sérieux?"

"Am I serious?" She guessed.

"Sorry," he blushed.

"I like it," Pearl promised as she squeezed his hand. "And yes, I'm serious. Our day off is your travel day so she's letting me have tomorrow off too."

Simon picked her up in a hug and twirled her around. She laughed at him he set her down. "Je t'aime, Simon."

He grinned broadly. "I love you, Pearl."