Bleeding Black and Gold (Bruins- Tuukka Rask)

Chicago Part 2

The next morning, I wake up and shower before pulling on my track suit and sliding my phone into my pocket. I walk over to Ryan and Brian's room and knock on the door. A dressed but still half-asleep Ryan opens the door. 

"Morning, Alex," he yawns, his blonde hair sticking up all over the place. 

"Good morning Ryan. Brush your hair with a pillow this morning?" I tease him, stepping inside. 

"You bet," he yawns again, flopping down on his bed. 

"Get up," I sigh, sitting down on the bed next to him. 

"Nooooo," Ryan groans, pulling a pillow over his face. 

"Ryan, get up. Ryan." 

I pick up another pillow from the bed and smack him with it. 

"You're disturbing my sleep!" Ryan sits up, his blue eyes bright as he tackles the pillow away from me. I grab the pillow back, stand up, and hit Ryan in the head. 

"Ow," he whines. 

"Man up," I say with a roll of my eyes, and toss the pillow at him. Brian comes in and looks at us before shaking his head. 

"Come on you two, we need to get going." 

Once Ryan is up and functioning, we all pack into the rental car and drive to the other facility.

-

Once the meeting with the other facility is over, Ryan, Brian, and I go back to our hotel room. We had lunch at the facility, and it went well. They seemed to really like our training style. I decide to go over to Patrick's, and Ryan tags along. 

Patrick left a key for me under the doormat, so we let ourselves in. A note on the counter reads: Alex, if you come here while I'm gone, feel free to make yourself at home. I'll be back at around 5. See you then! Signed, Patrick Kane. 

"Well, we have run of the place until 5," I sigh, turning to look at Ryan. 

"Sweet, a whole half hour in an NHLer's house!" Ryan exclaims. 

"Don't go crazy, Ryan," I caution him. Ryan rolls his eyes at me, but doesn't go crazy. My phone goes off, and I pull it out of my pocket to check it. It's a notification for the Bruins game. I scan the starters, and am shocked to see Chad starting against the Panthers. 

"Oh, God, I hope he's okay," I mutter, dragging a hand down my face. 

"Who?" Ryan asks curiously. 

"Tuukka. He isn't starting." 

Ryan's only response is a meaningful glance at me before he shakes his head. 

"What?" I ask him. 

"Nothing." He shakes his head, exploring the huge speakers in Patrick's living room. He presses a button, and the radio starts playing. 

Later that night, after dinner, I'm relaxing on Patrick's couch, watching him and Ryan go head to head in NHL 18. I wander over to the speakers, and hit the satellite radio for Taylor Swift, seeing as she's the first artist I recognized. 'Mine' by Taylor Swift starts playing, and I listen to it, nodding along. Then I freeze. Somehow, I've got to get back to Boston. Tonight.

<Tuukka's POV>

I told Claude I didn't want to play tonight because I couldn't focus, and he gave me a strange look but obliged. I can't imagine being able to play my best if Alex isn't here, isn't even my girlfriend let alone my friend anymore. All I know is that she ran to Chicago with Ryan and Brian for some business trip, but I bet she's going to see Patrick while she's there. I lean my head back against the glass and close my eyes for a second. 

I remember Alex in such clarity, it hurts. I remember her birthday, back at my apartment, where we had our first kiss. I remember her lips, soft on mine, but yet unyielding, her hands winding through my hair... 

"Tuukka!" 

Torey shouts, and my eyes fly open. I just barely get my glove up to catch the wild shot flying at my face. 

"Where were you, man?" Torey asks quietly after I give the puck to the ref. 

"With Alex," I reply, just as soft. 

"You really miss her, don't you?" 

"I do," I sigh. 

"I don't know what got into me. Just this- this- rage that came from thinking she has someone else in her life she cares about as much as me." 

"Relationships need a fight; to see if you're both as crazy for each other as you think you are," Torey says seriously. 

"All I know is that I've barely slept the past two nights, and I'd walk to Chicago right now if it means I can see Alex," I sigh. 

"Then I think you need to find her and tell her that," Torey gives me a knowing smile. 

"Thanks, man. I appreciate it." 

"Anytime. Now, how about you open that door for me and let poor Bart off the ice?"

-

Five hours later, after the game is over and Claude finished talking to us and the media left, I'm left alone in the Garden. I pick up the skater's stick I'd had made for me, and just absently stickhandle. I'm not very good, but who says I have to be? An image of Alex floats to the top of my mind. It was her that night in Sochi when Teams USA went out to dinner, and I'd stupidly decided to take Noora there. 

I saw Alex, her hair pulled back from her face in some sort of bun, her lashes long and dark in accordance with her glowing chocolate eyes, looking beautiful. I shove that memory away before I can remember anything more painful, like her holding hands under the table with Patrick. 

"Alex, I miss you!" I shout into the empty arena. 

"I-I miss your smile, your laugh, your grin, your smirk, your lips, your eyes, your hair, your face, your hands, your touch, your love. I miss holding you in my arms, the only thing steady in a racing world. I miss kissing you, holding you close, protecting you, loving you. I miss you, Alex!" I howl, almost dropping to my knees from the sheer pain of heartbreak. Tears gloss my vision, threatening to overflow from my eyes when a pair of arms wrap around my waist from behind. 

"I missed you too, Tuukka," a voice chokes into my back. 

I don't dare to hope it's Alex, don't dare to hope only to come crashing back down, but as I look at the hands and arms wrapped around me, I know it's her. Her hands are lined in the same places, the few freckles on her wrist in the same spots. 

"Alex," I breathe, turning around. Alex looks up at me, her chocolate brown eyes glowing with pain, love, desire, and determination. 

"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you like that and then just left, I don't know what got into me! I've spent two whole days and nights regretting what I did, and feeling this ache in my heart that I don't know how to fill, because it can only be filled by you." 

The words tumble out of me in a torrent, but I can't take them back, can't shove them back inside my mouth. 

"I've spent the past two days thinking it was right for me to be mad at you for everything, but I was wrong," she chokes out, tears slipping from her eyes. I gently wipe some of them away with the pad of my thumb, but more keep coming. 

"I was wrong. I can't be mad at you. I love you too much," she sniffs. 

"I love you too," I tell her, folding her shaking body in my arms as she cries into my chest. I rub her back until she stops crying and shaking. 

"Come on," she whispers, sliding her fingers through mine. 

"We've got sleep to catch up on before our trip to Finland in two days."

 *************

Author's Note

Hey my readers! Thank you so much for 8.8k reads!

I'm really sorry I haven't updated lately, but I've been really busy.

Read, vote, and don't forget, you can comment!

Bleed black and gold my goalies,

Kat