Bleeding Black and Gold (Bruins- Tuukka Rask)

Finnish Friends

{Two Days Later}

"You ready?" I whisper to Alex as we approach my parent's front porch.

"Ready as I'll ever be," she whispers back, squeezing my hand.

"Here we go."

I reach out and press the doorbell. The sound resonates within the house, a sound I grew up hearing. Alex tenses as she hears footsteps patter quickly to the door. [A/N: all of this will be made up. I don't know anything about Tuukka's parents.]

My mom throws open the door and shouts in English: "Tuukka! And this must be your girlfriend Alex!"

She pulls us into a huge hug as my dad comes to the door and hugs us as well.

"Mom," I say as she pulls back, her hands on my cheeks.

"Oh, you've gotten so big, my boy," she sighs, patting my cheeks.

"I'm still Tuukka," I smile at her.

"You're all grown up, now. And you have a wonderful girlfriend over here who is willing to do almost anything for you. Keep her close, Tuukka. She's as special as they come."

My mom gives Alex a warm smile, and I see Alex's cheeks flame red.

"Thank you, Mrs. Rask," she says, flustered.

"Please, call me Nora." My mom ushers us inside, and my dad takes our coats.

"Tuuk, come here for a second," he calls, walking down the hallway. I follow him to the coat closet.

"She's a keeper, eh?" He asks with a wink.

"I think so, Dad," I say firmly.

"Hold on to her. Girls like her don't come around often. She's as in love with you as you are with her. Got a date set yet?" He asks, sliding the coats onto hangers.

"What?" I ask, taken off guard.

"Have you proposed yet? Got a date in mind?"

"No, and yes, I have a main plan, but I'm not sure about the reality of it, so I have a backup plan as well."

"That's my boy. It took me forever to get up the guts to ask your mom, so don't be shy."

My dad and I begin to walk back to the kitchen, where my mom and Alex are laughing while finishing up dinner.

"All right, table's set, let's eat!" My mom declares.

-

After dinner, we all stay around the dinner table and talk about embarrassing childhood stories of me are told, like the time I put all my hockey equipment on backwards, I forgot to take off my skateguards when I was 14 and faceplanted into the ice, I asked a girl out at Sunday school and she turned me down in front of everyone, and many more.

"You sounded so cute as a kid!" Alex exclaims, looking at me with huge brown eyes. God, she's so pretty right now, without even trying.

"My childhood was made of many non-thinking moments," I sigh with a roll of my eyes.

"Well, its still cute," she smiles.

"It's embarrassing," I half mumble.

"No, it's cute!"

"Embarrassing."

"Cute!"

"It's embarrassing, Alex," I groan.

"Tuukka, it's cute," she says, mimicking my tone.

"Hearing stories of everything I did in my past is not cute." I sigh.