The Compromise

"I have a meeting after school until 4, then I'll be home," Jess explained as she drank the last of her coffee before finishing off the bowl of fruit Sid had placed in front her with some toast. He stood near the fridge and finished packing Jess' lunch bag for her.

"I know. I'm meeting with the guys for a few drills then I will be home. Most likely before you." He finished closing up her lunch and set it next to her tote bag and purse.

Jess noted how routine their life was: Sid would get up before Jess did every morning. He would get in a quick workout before he would wake her up. She would get ready while he fixed them some breakfast and they would eat and discuss the day ahead, making plans for their evening whether it was at home or out with some friends. She loved the simplicity of it all, and was sad to think that it will go away once the season started up. Nevertheless, when it does end, it will be for good reason and she can count that Sid will not be bored and breezing through all her school novels for her middle school literature classes.

"What's that look for?" Sid asked snapping Jess out of her daydream. She blinked to focus her eyes and moved to rinse her dishes before placing them in the dishwasher.

"I just really love these mornings we have together. I mean I will be happy when you are playing again, but until then I am just savoring mornings like this one." She walked over to him and leaned against the kitchen island. Sid didn't say anything in response, instead brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear and braced her face in his hands. He studied her features intensely before pulling her lips up to his in a heart stopping kiss. When they finally pulled away they stayed close, Sid resting his forehead against Jess'.

"Be careful," he whispered as he watched Jess slowly open her green eyes. A small grin spread across her face.

"Play nice? Please," Jess begged quietly making Sidney moan in protest. "I want you to be careful too. You made this weekend perfect, you know? Don't ruin my good Monday morning mood by fighting James."

"I'm not going to fight."

"Good."

"I can't promise I will bite my tongue if he says something though."

"Ugh Sid!"

"Okay okay, I'll play nice. If you promise to play nice with me later?"

"You're such a horndog." She pushed away from his embrace laughing. She grabbed her bags, kissed his cheek and walked towards the garage door.

"Love you," she heard from behind her. She turned to find Sid had followed her and placed a soft kiss on his lips signifying her love in return.

*******

"So how did it go?" Pascal asked as he sat next to Sidney in the locker room. Sid was hunched over lacing up his skates when Pascal asked him about the negotiation talks.

"Not good," was all Sid said.

"Ah, a man of many words," Pascal chuckled.

"He's right, it wasn't good. Owners won't budge. They want players to take less money, again. It's getting ridiculous really," Craig piped in from across the room.

"It will come together soon, I have this feeling." Pascal stood up, threw on a plain black jersey and walked away from the group just as Sid finished tightening his skates.

"Glad someone is confident," Sid mumbled to no one in particular. He quickly followed his line mate out onto the ice.

"Who all will be here?" Sid asked when he caught up to Pascal.

"You got me. Kunitz took care of contacting people. I think enough to play a couple scrimmages," Pascal said as he prepared his stick. Sid had his finished before he got dressed so he stepped out onto the ice and waited for his teammates. He couldn't explain it but he felt nervous. He didn't know what to expect from James when they finally come face to face.

He skated a leisurely lap around to get a feel for the ice then grabbed a puck to practice some stick handles. He didn't notice the group double in size as he worked. It wasn't until Pascal was making a crude joke that Sid stopped and realized he was making fun of him.

"Thanks asshole," Sid said as he pushed Pascal lightly. He didn't know what was said nor did he care, but was used to the teasing and generally tuned it out. If it were anyone besides his teammates razzing him then he'd get upset. But they do it because they know how far they can go.

"Alright so what are we doing?" Sid asked. He stood next to Kunitz and took in the group prepared to take on the day.

***********

"Come eat with me!" Sarah texted as Jess dismissed her final class before her lunch break. She chuckled at the message, grabbed her bag and walked in the direction of Sarah's room. She was lucky to have bonded so quickly with her coworker, and she chalked part of it up to her accident and needing some extra help around the school. Nevertheless she was appreciative and found an actual friendship forming between the pair.

She walked into the math teacher's classroom and stationed herself in a student desk nearest her friend's desk and waited. Sarah had hot lunch and ran down to grab it as her class went on to their next period. Jess opened her bag and unloaded a sandwich, a bag of carrots and an apple sliced into pieces. She laughed when she saw he included some caramel dip and dressing making the healthy lunch a little less healthy. And at the very bottom of her bag was an envelope with her name in Sid's scribble across the front. She smiled at his gesture and pulled the card out of her bag to read it. She didn't see him place it in there earlier that morning, which meant he must have done it while she was getting dressed and why he was adamant in packing her lunch today.

She quickly opened the card to read a simple, "Have a great Monday babe! Thanks for another wonderful weekend at home with me. I love you so much. Sid"

"What are you smiling at?" Sarah asked as she walked into the room. Jess didn't even realize she was smiling until she heard Sarah. She felt her ears burn as she was caught reacting to the simple yet sweet note Sid had left her.

"Just something Sidney put in my lunch," Jess quickly hid the card back inside her lunch bag and started to open her can of diet Pepsi.

"Little love note?" Sarah teased. Jess nodded and sipped her drink without divulging anymore information.

"I can't lie, I'm in awe that you date him." Jess looked at her friend puzzled.

"Why?" Jess laughed a little.

"Because he is Sidney Crosby. He's a mystery. He's always very professional and reserved in public. He has this air about him. I don't know what I'm saying," Sarah said as she dove into her lunch. Jess chewed quietly contemplating what her friend said.

"I understand what you are trying to say. But honestly, he's a normal guy who likes to play hockey and does it for a living. If he didn't and just had a normal job people wouldn't fawn all over him like they do. Or hate on him like they do."

"Yeah you're right. I'm living vicariously through you since I don't have a boyfriend or the prospect of one. What's it like?"

"What do you mean?" Jess wasn't sure exactly what Sarah wanted to know.

"Being with him, you guys are serious, right? I mean you two live together."

"Yeah but that was more for convenience than want. He was driving so far out of his way to see me when he was doing all the traveling with the team. It just made sense for me to move closer and just that much easier to live together."

"The students don't know, do they?"

"I didn't make an announcement on my first day if that's what you mean. But I think they suspect it now since the accident. I mean I was with the Lemieux's. But we aren't trying to hide it, we just want to be as normal as possible."

"So will you be bringing him to the Halloween trivia night in a couple weeks?" Jess wracked her brain to figure out what Sarah was referring to.

"The parent association is hosting it. You don't remember?"

"No, I don't. Am I supposed to be there?" Jess was getting embarrassed again.

"Oh no! We thought about getting a table together as a junior high team. It's okay if you can't make it."

"I just know his parents are coming in town at the end of the month, what is the date?"

Sarah told her and both learned that it was when Sid's parents would be visiting so they most likely won't be attending. They continued the lunch moving away from talk about Sidney and about the happenings in school, making Jess relax some and feel better to not have to be talking about Sid anymore.

**********

"Miss Wade, inquiring minds want to know, how do you know James Neal?" Chris, one of the sports anchors for the school news team asked during the mandatory after school meeting.

"Inquiring minds, or you guys?"

"We are doing hard hitting news here and this is hard hitting," Timmy, the other sports desk anchor said. Jess scanned the rest of the room where several other students looked back at her expectantly.

"We saw the picture on instagram," Shelby explained.

"This has nothing to do with the school news though," Jess said.

"Come one Miss Wade! You hang out with Pittsburgh Penguins! Why?"

"Because they are my friends, now let's get back to what is important and that is the upcoming prayer chain for respect life month," Jess said.

They finally gave up when they realized Jess wasn't giving up any more information and got back to work on producing the next installment of the school news.

********

Sid rushed into the house at 3:45, later than anticipated and climbed the steps two at a time. He needed to get into the shower and try to wash off the crusted blood on his knuckles and lip before Jess got home. He promised her he wouldn't fight, and he refrained as long as he could but James had the audacity to say something outlandish about Jess when in the face-off circle and Sid lost it. He had never blacked out from anger before, but he did and the last thing he remembered was being pulled off of James and pushed towards the locker room.

He ignored the countless texts he got from his teammates and the few phone calls he received. He didn't want her to worry so he was going to make it disappear. He can blame the busted lip on the game, and he knew his knuckles weren't bleeding. It was blood from James. He tore off his clothes, raced into the shower and turned the knob to hot. His muscles were tense and anger was still prevalent on his face. He needed to calm down and get into the steam filled shower to relax.

Sid lost track of time. He found himself hunched over on the bench seat in his massive shower letting the water pound across his back. He managed to wash away the dried blood and no longer had a metallic taste in his mouth. But he couldn't bring himself to move. He didn't even notice Jess as she walked into the bathroom until she tapped lightly on the glass surrounding him. He flinched and felt his stomach muscles pull indicating he took several blows to the ribs. He didn't realize how sore he was until the adrenaline wore off.

"Oh god Sid what happened?" Jess asked through the glass. She looked frightened and made to come in the enclosed shower. He quickly shut off the water, grimaced and turned to sit back down as Jess walked into the shower and knelt in front of him.

"Sidney, what happened?" Jess asked more sternly than with concern in her voice.

"Nothing, just some battle wounds," he tried to brush it off.

"Bullshit. You got into a fight even though I told you not to!" Sid was quiet for a minute. Of course he let her down and she had every right to be mad at him. He wanted to respect her wishes and be the bigger person, but James just wouldn't stop. Finally he looked at her, tears brimming in his eyes.

"Jess, if you heard what he said you'd have jumped him too." He looked away from her, leaning against the glass and stretching out his back. He knew his ribs weren't broken, but he would be hurting for a couple days. Tears finally escaped. "I'm so sorry." He hunched back over and he felt Jess' fingers brush through his dripping wet hair. Her arms encircling his shoulders.

"Shh, it's alright, come on you are soaking wet and shivering." Jess started to stand and pulled sidney to his feet in the process. Silently they walked into the bedroom, sidney wrapped in a towel and Jess changing out of her wet clothes.

He collapsed on the bed, the towel pulled tightly around his thighs and covered his face with his arm. Jess sat at the edge of the bed with her back to Sid, lost in thought. She felt The bed shift and a pair of arms circled around her. Sid rested his chin on her shoulder and Jess leaned against his embrace.

"Maybe it would be easier if I was taken out of the equation," Jess hesitated. She felt Sid tense and squeeze her closer to him.

"You leave the equation and I won't have anything to live for," Sid whispered against her neck. He kissed her earlobe and the small scar on the side of her head from the accident.

"I'm that important to you?" She leaned into him.

"You're that important to me."

Jess turned so that she could see Sid's face. Aside from the crack down the middle of his bottom lip, his face was untouched. "You're pretty beautiful."

"I'm supposed to say that to you." Jess ignored Sid, moved from his arms and stood in front of him. The way he was sitting the towel he had around his waist barely covered anything and she got to digest his nearly naked form.

"Where does it hurt babe?" Jess asked. Sid smiled and pointed to his lip. Jess leaned over and gently touched her lips to his then pulled away slightly, "Where else?"

"My ribs," Sid said. He leaned back on his palms and watched as Jess moved down his chin and across his neck. She dragged her lips along his collarbone, down the center of his chest and across the upper portion of his abdomen. Sid watched lustfully as she continued to torture his body in an entirely different way than it was before. Sid shuddered at the feeling of her lips on his abs. His eyes drifted closed and he took a deep breath to try to control the urge to throw her down on the bed and do the same to her.

She stood up straight and gently tugged at the offending piece of material wrapped around Sid's waist. He lifted his hips to allow for her to move the towel away from his body. "What are you doing Jess?"

"I am making you feel good. I want you to forget all about the pain," Jess explained.

He made a whining sound in the back of his throat, scrubbing a hand over his face. She kneeled between his legs. His pulse sped up as her warm breath washed over him; her face was so close. His cock swelled even more at the thought of her lips around him and he watched the top of her head anxiously.

She met his gaze again, the tip of her tongue wetting her lips. "Sidney," she hummed, and he felt his balls tighten at the tone of her voice. "I really want you to forget all about the pain." His jaw dropped, and when her tongue swirled around his head, he gasped, crushing the sheets in his fists. She tongued the slit teasingly, flicking her tongue back into her mouth to swallow the taste. Then she licked the shaft of his cock with the flat of her tongue, wetting it with her saliva; he made some sort of horrifying choking sound as he watched her.

Jess paused, lifting her face to look at him. He was sure the look on his face was laughable, but she only smiled at him, taking his hands and threading his fingers through her hair so he was grasping both sides of her head. Her hands came to rest on his hips, and when her mouth engulfed the head of his cock, he inhaled sharply, his fingers digging into her scalp. She lingered there, her tongue circling the sensitive flesh, but, slowly, she descended farther onto his cock, her hand coming up to grip the base.

And then she began to bob her head up and down. Her mouth was so wet, so warm. He groaned, an embarrassingly loud sound in the quiet of their room, and when she moaned around him, the vibrations caressing his heated flesh, he turned his head to try to bury his face in the discarded towel, sure he was going to explode if he continued to watch her. Jess sucked harder, and, unbidden, he found his hips lifting off the bed to meet her mouth frantically. Her head only seemed to move faster, her hand stroking in tandem with her mouth, her tongue laving the underside of his dick. Intense pleasure coiled low in his gut, and he knew his release was quickly approaching; he started to squeak out a warning, a plea—something—but when her hand tugged down on his balls, he lost it.

Sid grunted, an almost pained sound, as he jerked against her face, but Jess held him down, flattening her hands over his hips as she eagerly swallowed his semen. Groaning at the sight, he struggled to keep his eyes open; she locked eyes with him as she continued to suckle gently, her lips tugging on his head before she released him. Licking her lips predatorily, she sat up between his legs. He didn't even realize he was holding his breath until he gasped for air, and he ran a hand over his face, his fingers slipping through the sheen of sweat on his forehead.

She pulled the towel back over his lap, then crawled up his body; her face just inches from his, she quirked an eyebrow. "You looked like you enjoyed that a lot," she said smugly, and he laughed weakly for lack of a better response. His first instinct was to blubber his thanks, but he managed to hold his tongue. She dropped her mouth to kiss him, and his body tensed, hesitant at the first touch of her tongue on his.

When she pulled away, he cleared his throat, tentatively touching her arms. "That was...I just...wow," he exhaled breathlessly, annoyed with his inability to articulate his feelings and she smiled at him.

"You better remember this the next time I piss you off," Jess chuckled. Sid laughed, grunted at the pain he felt and threw his arm around her pulling her clothed body against his naked one. "And that wasn't cool, what you did." She rested her head against his chest.

"Thanks for making me forget the pain for a bit."

Notes