Ten Ways To Sunday

Gabriel Landeskog couldn't help but smile as he walked up the pathway to his apartment complex. Despite it only being a week, to him it felt like forever since he last laid eyes on his beloved girlfriend. Sure they called each other every night and constantly texted one another but it wasn't the same. He missed every single thing about her, right down to the little quirks and habits, and he wanted so badly to hold her in his arms. He ached for that broken smile she had and that infectious laugh that sounded so musical. Yet, it was that sparkle in her dark blue eyes that he craved. One look in her eyes and it felt like nothing could ever go wrong in his word. Simply put, Alexei Blake Lombardi was perfection.

The only light was the flickering of the television in their room, all other windows were dark. It was almost midnight and Alex had most likely fallen asleep with the TV on. Gabe told her that he would be arriving the next day so there was no reason for her to stay up. That and she had work the next day so it was expected that she'd be sleeping. When he was given the chance to take an earlier flight back to Denver, he jumped at the opportunity. The desire to surprise her instantly filled him, especially after her murmur told him over the phone that she missed him. It was different than the previous times she told him that and for the first time in his NHL career, he considered skipping the game to go home. But as soon as Gabe told her that, Alex instantly scolded him. It was always like that with her. She never wanted to be the girl that got too clingy or upset that he was gone. No, Alex wanted him to think of his career first rather than her.

But that was never possible. Gabe considered her to be one of the most important aspects of his life, if not the most important.

It seemed like an eternity for the elevator to get to the first floor and Gabe considered running up the ten flights up stairs. Sure he had his luggage but that didn't matter to him. The need to see Alex was greater. Luckily, the soft ding of the elevator was heard and he knew that he wouldn't have to do that dreaded climb with his bags. Instantly, his finger moved to the close button as soon as it left the number ten button, pressing it repeatedly in hope that it would go faster. Yet, it wouldn't. He started pulling at his fingers as the elevator slowly rose, heading the tenth floor.

"Hurry up you stupid thing," he muttered impatiently, watching the sign for the sixth floor light up, "Hurry up."

Another eternity had passed and finally the doors to the tenth floor opened. The apartment he shared with Alex was just down the hall and he ran as fast as he could. His hand instantly fished out his keys from his pocket and shoved them into the lock, turning it. As if he knew that Gabe was trying to surprise Alex, the large grey husky known as Mycroft watched silently with those ice blue intelligent eyes. He was primarily Alex's dog but he had grown to accept that Gabe as his mother's boyfriend and in return, Gabe referred to Mycroft as his "adopted puppy son".

"Hey, buddy, where's mommy," Gabe quietly asked as he crouched down and scratched Mycroft behind the ears.

A low growl of content erupted from the dog's throat and that bushy tail wagged happily as he closed his eyes. Gabe chuckled to himself as Mycroft laid his head back down and closed his eyes, resuming his slumber.

Putting his bags down by the couch, he headed straight for the bedroom door, opening it quietly to hopefully not wake Alex. On the television, [i]Duck Dynasty[/i] was on. It was one of his girlfriend's favorite shows and Gabe had to admit, it was a funny show. But she wasn't watching the TV. As expected, Alex was curled up on his side of the bed, sound asleep and wearing one of his old shirts and a pair of his boxers. Of course, Alex would be wearing his clothes. He was well aware of the fact that whenever he was gone, she would wear his clothes to give her the feeling of him around. Although Gabe had no idea what exactly he smelled like, Alex had openly admitted that his scent was one of her favorite smells in the world. She once tried explaining to him what that smell was but she ended up getting frustrated and just said that she liked the way he smelled, plain and simple.

Alex had kicked the comforter to the side, displaying those slender legs that Gabe loved running his hands on. Her arms were tucked underneath the pillow which got the shirt she wore to ride up a bit. Despite it being rather large on her, he got to see a bit of her slim stomach. The smooth skin was just begging him to touch it. His eyes then travelled to her chest, watching it rise up and fall down so slowly like her breathing. Gently, his hand reached towards her face, brushing a brunette lock out of her face and pressing a light kiss to her forehead.

As his lips touched the soft skin of her face, Gabe thought about all those memories he shared with Alex. They had gone through so much together and honestly, he wouldn't change it for the world. Alexei Lombardi was worth every single moment and he'd do it again as long as he ended up with her in his life. Instantly, another smile crawled onto his face as his thoughts went back to the first day he ever laid eyes on her. He could remember her standing there, yelling about how she wasn't a terrorist.

Notes

Got rather inspired after being at the Pens vs. Avs game a week ago