I Left The Lights On So You Stumble In Devotion

Nobody had any idea what to expect when they entered the Eastern Conference finals. Carolina was playing hard and good in round two, definitely showing signs of dominance after their last game against Boston. Evgeni had watched it himself on television, not being able to sleep while Sidney was snoring next to him. It was intense, and it would have frightened him if he didn’t have the team backing him up that he did. They had a fair shot- a good, even shot, at the cup this year.

Jordan was the only one who showed any real sign of being nervous. He wasn’t himself as he sat next to Evgeni, not paying any attention to the conversation being held or taking part in any of the team’s ways of getting themselves ‘pumped up’ before the game. He sat, thoughtfully concentrated on whatever seemed to be running through his mind at one hundred miles an hour.

“Feeling alright?” Sidney slapped at Jordan’s shins with his stick, hoping to get some sort of energetic reaction from Jordan as they lined up on the ice.

Jordan just nodded and chewed down hard on the corners of his lips, his eyes gazing over at his brother on the other side of the ice. Evgeni could physically make out a resemblance between Jordan and Eric, it was very clear that they were related. But there was a coldness in Eric’s eyes that didn’t resemble the spark often shining in Jordan’s.

Evgeni knew that Jordan had a desire to win this series more than he’d probably want the next series. He understood it too; he found himself thinking that if he were in the same position as Jordan, he’d want to prove himself just as badly. He’d want to be known as Jordan Staal, the hockey player. Not Jordan Staal, brother of Eric’s.

“Play good.” assured Evgeni, slapping Jordan on the back before Jordan skated to centre ice to face off with his own flesh and blood- his competition.

***

Evgeni played off a satisfied smirk, trying his hardest not to look to cocky from their win against Carolina. It felt good to win in your own rink. It felt good to win the first game of the series. It felt good to get a goal, and to watch the horror sink in to the opposing team’s faces when they realized it was too late and they would lose. He knew that Jordan appreciated that last feeling the most on their team, feeling as though he had won the first battle as he exchanged glances with his older brother. It was too early to consider anything, really. The first game didn’t determine anything. It would be enough to inspire a better game for Thursday.

“Who’d your parents cheer for anyway?” asked Sidney playfully at Jordan.

This win had discarded every bit of awkwardness between Jordan and Sidney. It was almost like nothing had happened, that the tinge of purple on Evgeni’s knuckles and Jordan’s face were completely meaningless.

“They’re in between.” Jordan eyed Evgeni for a second before continuing. “Geno here might have persuaded them to root for us.”

“Why is that?”

“My mom has this thing for Russians.” Jordan rolled his eyes, grabbing roughly at his t-shirt before hauling it over his long torso.

“What about your dad?”

“Come on, Sid.” sighed Jordon, looking as though he were resisting the need to roll his eyes again. “You just like hearing me talk about his huge man crush on you.”

Sidney grinned over at him, and Evgeni knew that it was true; Sidney liked being admired for his skills at hockey. Evgeni watched as Sidney made his way over to Cooke after most of the players had left, he slowly pulled him aside and quietly spoke to him. Cooke nodded most of the time, occasionally giving a bit of input into the conversation.

“I’m just going to warn you, they’re talking about that hit you made on Cole.” Sidney muttered so low and discreetly that Evgeni didn’t think anybody else would have been able to hear them. “They keep talking about the hits you make, and I think you should tone it down a bit. You’re doing good- there’s no question about that, just try to keep it a little bit cleaner.” Cooke continued to nod, as though he were agreeing with Sidney completely.

“Got ya.” said Cooke, nodding once again as Sidney slapped him on the shoulder.

“Good game, though.” added Sidney, the grin returning to his cheeks.

Sidney was smiling when he returned to his seat, causing Evgeni to smile a little too.

“Good game.” added Sidney.

Evgeni was sure that Sidney was speaking to him, even if he wasn’t looking directly at him. He had played good, he’d gotten a goal and an assist.

“Same for you.” mumbled Evgeni.

“Could’ve had another one on that breakaway.”

“I try hard.”

“I know, good job.”

***

Sidney stared at his phone. Sometimes he convinced himself that he heard it make a noise or that the button on the side began to flash colors at him, but it didn’t. If only his phone rang as much as everybody expected it did. Mario’s house was empty tonight, except for a near naked Sidney Crosby laying across his couch watching reviews of the game.

He’d thought that Evgeni would’ve called him. He’d made it quite apparent that he didn’t have any plans and that the house would be vacant, knowing fully well that Evgeni didn’t really enjoy Mario’s four children running around. He’d made subtle hints around Evgeni after the game, thinking that he’d caught his eye when they were walking towards their cars.

After sitting on the couch, contemplating while continuously flipping his phone open, for about two hours, Sidney decided to drive over to Evgeni’s. He’d called Evgeni once, and he didn’t answer; not wanting to look desperate, he didn’t call back anymore. He’d already tried texting Evgeni, knowing fully well that Evgeni simply doesn’t text.

He frowned to himself, feeling as though he were stalking Evgeni. Would it be a bit too much if he just showed up at Evgeni’s? He stopped frowning, fixing the crookedness of his shirt as he waited for Evgeni to open his door. The footsteps neared, and Sidney felt slightly nervous.

“Sidney.” said Evgeni, not looking as happy as Sidney would have imagined.

“Don’t look so happy.” Sidney wondered if Evgeni could even pick up on sarcasm.

“Bad time.” admitted Evgeni, tilting his head back towards the door.

“What, not again?” grunted Sidney, throwing his hands upward to try to give a dramatic effect of defeat. “Guests?”

“Yes.” His hand still grasped tightly on the door.

“I should’ve called…” Sidney trailed off, trying to remain quiet to see if he could hear any voices echoing out from Evgeni’s apartment.

“You did.” corrected Evgeni.

Sidney glared playfully as Evgeni grinned at him, a nice, crooked grin. Sidney was acting like he was teasing, but at the back of his mind he was somewhat curious as to why Evgeni wouldn’t pick up his phone.

“Sorry, Geno.”

“It okay.” said Evgeni simply.

Sidney was waiting for an invitation in, wondering why Evgeni would be so discrete about his guests. He was about to ask when Evgeni opened his mouth to speak, looking utterly frustrated.

“I am not sure if now is good time…” Evgeni scrunched his nose a little, but Sidney could tell he was almost happy with the way the sentence flowed out from his mouth.

“Alright then.”

“I am sorry, Sidney.” Evgeni shrugged his shoulders, hand still tightly gripped onto the door.

Sidney turned around, happy to know that his feet weren’t really glued to the spot he’d just been standing in. He could feel Evgeni’s eyes on his back, maybe guiltily staring into his back as he walked away. Maybe his eyes were lower, but Sidney doubted it, Evgeni was too innocent to actually have any intention of staring at his ass.

“Sid.” Sidney turned around again, trying his hardest not to look like he was thinking too much about the decline at Evgeni’s door. “I explain.”

“No, Geno, it’s okay.” admitted Sidney, a tinge of red flowing to his cheeks. “You’ve got other friends, and we’ve been together nearly every night this week.”

“My parents.” Evgeni pointed in behind him. “I not know if you… want to be here.”

Sidney would have let out a sigh of relief if he didn’t think it would have embarrassed him so much. Evgeni looked uncomfortable, and not the normal, awkward uncomfortable he was around Sidney.

“I’d come in if you wanted me there.” Evgeni tried to smile, but he looked like he was in pain. “Really, Geno. I’ve met your parents before, you’ve met mine.”

“Different now.” stated Evgeni, chewing steadily on his bottom lip. “But, not say anything?”

“No- no, I wouldn’t.” blurted Sidney.

Evgeni turned around in his doorway, checking to see if his parents were anywhere near. The coast must have been clear because in an instant he shut the door quietly and grabbed Sidney by the front of his shirt; he laughed, probably at the terrified look on Sidney’s face, before pressing his lips roughly yet quietly against Sidney’s. Sidney let out a grunt, and this fuelled Evgeni on to kissing him with more of a force. Evgeni let go, not realizing he’d thrown Sidney up against the wall.

“And… you want me to do that in front of your parents?” Sidney winked, causing Evgeni to roll his eyes as he pushed him through his door.

Sidney walked quietly, pacing himself in a nervous manner. He felt his hand slide over his hair, his hair was a mess. He pursed his lips, thinking in his head that he should’ve worn something nicer. But it wasn’t his fault, he didn’t know he was going to be making an introduction to Evgeni’s parents.

“Мама и Папа, это Sidney Crosby.”

Sidney waved awkwardly to Evgeni’s parents, who were sat on his couch comfortably. Evgeni’s mother, who looked so much like him, sat looking unamused; Sidney was beginning to create a paranoia for himself. He caught eyes with Evgeni, feeling as though the exact same questions were running through both of their minds: Was it too late for a teammate to come over? Was it weird for Sidney to just come to his house uninvited? Was it weird for Evgeni to be ignoring calls on his phone from Sidney?

Sidney shook it off, replacing his thoughts of curiosity with a grin on his face. He knew he had a charming smile, there was no way he was going to freak himself out in front of Evgeni’s parents. They were going to like him, they were going to like him a lot.

“Did you guys have a nice flight?” asked Sidney politely, watching as neither of Evgeni’s parents made much of an effort to understand him.

“Он спросил, имели ли Вы хороший полет.” Sidney was impressed how quickly Evgeni translated his sentence.

“Это было прекрасно.” Sidney watched as the words quickly fumbled roughly out of the woman’s mouth.

“She say it was fine.” muttered Evgeni.

Sidney looked over at Evgeni, raising his eyebrows. Evgeni shrugged at him, a sign for him to ‘not take it personally’.

“Скажите ему, что я надеюсь, что он получает другую уловку шляпы.” Sidney and Evgeni were equally surprised to hear the words come loudly out of his father’s mouth.

“Я уверен, что он будет пробовать.” Evgeni laughed, then looked back over at Sidney. “He said he hope you get hat trick again, I say you try.”

Sidney made an ‘oh’ with his mouth, nodding at Evgeni’s father. He continued to sit there, listening to Evgeni make an occasional comment to his parents; he didn’t feel so nervous anymore, mostly out of place and awkward. He kept wondering if he should leave, but decided to wait.

“Разве Сидней не имеет подруги, к которой он должен возвратиться домой?” Evgeni’s mother sounded slightly annoyed.

“Он не датируется в течение решающих встреч.” stated Evgeni, glancing over at Sidney.

Sidney felt uncomfortable, for once feeling the same way Evgeni must have when he’s sitting amongst the team. Every word flew in and out of his ears, he wouldn’t have been able to decipher the language if they’d repeated themselves a million times.

“I think I’m going to go.” said Sidney, pausing before standing up and nodding his head to both of Evgeni’s parents. “See you at practice, Geno.”

Evgeni stood up, following Sidney as he left the living room and made his way back to the front door. There was a tension between them, a tension that seemed to be built up higher than the language barrier.

“What’d your mom say?” asked Sidney curiously, his hand on the doorknob.

“She ask about girlfriend.”

“And what’d you say?”

“I tell her truth, Sidney Crosby does not date in playoffs.” Evgeni shrugged carelessly, but Sidney could tell that Evgeni was equally annoyed with the uninviting response his parents had given Sidney.

“Mario’s out, and- I’m home alone, for now.” whispered Sidney, his eyes darting around occasionally to see if he could spot Evgeni’s parents creeping around. “If you want to come over… you can.”

“My parents-”

“I know, I know.” Sidney looked defeated.

Evgeni gave Sidney an apologetic look, still chewing on his lips. Sidney wonders to himself how Evgeni can sometimes give off such an emotionless vibe, yet still be the one to randomly throw him up against a wall with the biggest surge of passion he’s ever felt. It didn’t make sense, it’s not possible for it to make sense.

“Bye, then.” muttered Sidney, feeling unusual as he heard Evgeni shut the door loudly behind him.