The Raging Bull (Evgeni Malkin X OC)

A confession

It has been a couple of days since the team celebration and you are getting ready to travel to Washington DC for the next game. You are struggling to find your phone charger. You are about to give up when you notice it underneath your bed. You bend down and grab it. At least you don't have to worry about it anymore. You quickly shove it in your backpack. You are impressed that you beat Evgeni to the Kitchen. You make a quick start on getting breakfast ready. It doesn't take long for Evgeni to join you.

"Good morning Evgeni," You remark as you pass him one of the dishes of breakfast.

"Thank you Mia. Are you ready for the trip?" Evgeni responds with a question. You double check your mental checklist. He gets to work on devouring his breakfast.

"Yes I am," You respond. It will be interesting playing against the Washington Capitals. The thing you are looking forward to the most is playing against Alex Ovechkin. The thought makes you giggle.

"What you thinking about?" Evgeni asks. You can tell that he is worried that he did something wrong.

"I'm just thinking about what it would be like playing against Alex Ovechkin," You respond. It doesn't take long for the both of you to finish your breakfast. Ten minutes later you have made it to the meeting point. This time it is Jake and coach Mike Sullivan who has beat you to the meeting point. They both look up from their respective tasks.

"Morning Geno, Mia," Jake greets you both.

"Hey Jake, Mike," You respond. You are not surprised that Evgeni acknowledges with a nod. Your arrival is soon followed by Sidney and Iggy. You can tell that Iggy is ready to play. The annoying thing is the game is two days away and the first day will be spent on traveling.

"Hey Mia you seem ready for the game," Iggy remarks.

"Yeah I'm ready," You reply. Sidney and Evgeni Get to work with helping you and Iggy with getting your stuff on to the bus. It doesn't take long for the rest of the team to arrive and follow suit. You soon find an empty seat on the bus. You soon get comfortable. You are not surprised that Evgeni has taken the seat next to you.

"Would you like me to take you around DC," Evgeni whispers.

"It depends on whether or not I'm feeling tired," You reply. Hopefully you will feel good after the bus trip. It will be interesting going to a city you don't know much about. After four hours of traveling you have made it to the hotel. Now that you have made it to Washington DC you find yourself wanting to go get something to eat with Evgeni. You head towards the room he is staying in. You are about to knock on the door but Evgeni opens it anyway. He looks up with a stunned look.

"Oh I was just going to look for you," Evgeni remarks. The fact that he was looking for you didn't come as a surprise.

"So I was thinking that you and I could get something to eat," You suggest. Evgeni's face brightens at the suggestion. He quickly ducks back into his room. It doesn't take him long to make a reappearance.

"Let's go," He remarks as he offers his hand. You take it with a smile. It doesn't take Evgeni long to take you to his favourite café in Washington. It doesn't take long for you two to be seated.

"Thank you for doing this with me," You decide to thank him before you forget.

"Don't worry," He responds. You quickly glance at the menu. It doesn't take long for you to find something that you want. The waitress soon approaches the table. It doesn't take her long to get the orders down. She shuffles away.

"I have an awkward question. What are we going to tell the others?" You ask. It's because you feel like this is a date and Evgeni wouldn't want to tell the others. He just shrugs.

"I think the only ones that would ask are aware of privacy," Evgeni guesses. Hopefully he is correct because you really don't want to tell anyone. You are glad you weren't spotted leaving. You are glad that Evgeni thought of you. You soon get your food. Like the team celebration you start nibbling on your food while Evgeni tells you a story about one of his junior games. You can tell that he misses playing in Russia. It is a feeling you understand.

"You bored?" Evgeni cuts his story short.

"No I can tell that you miss playing in Russia," you reply.

"Da," He hangs his head. You can tell that it is the one thing that he has been struggling with.

"Hey Evgeni we can help each other," You try your best to cheer him up. You both soon finish your food. Again he extends his hand out to you. He pays and you both leave.

"Sorry I ruin mood," Evgeni apologises.

"Don't worry Geno. It helps to have a good listener and plus I'm in a county that I know very little about so we can help each other like I said before," You respond. It feels odd using his nickname but you do want to make the conversation less formal. You are finding it a little awkward but you are happy that you can help. After five minutes of walking back to the hotel Evgeni pauses and he turns to face you.

"Can I confide something to you?" Evgeni asks. Hopefully there is nothing wrong.

"It depends on what you want to tell me," You respond. You are suddenly worried about whether or not he is going to talk about his feelings towards you. He mumbles something in Russian.

"Извиняюсь (Sorry) I...I think...I...sorry my English suck," Evgeni tries his best to speak English but he is struggling. That can only mean one thing. He is trying to talk about his feelings.

"It's ok Geno I know. It's kinda easy to tell because you kept glancing at me during the team celebration then you chose to sit next to me on the bus," You cut him off with an explanation. He gives you a thoughtful nod. It seems to be the only response he can give you after failing wonderfully at English. You now understand why your dad got you to learn English. After ten more minutes of walking hand in hand you finally make it back to the hotel. You head to your room. You dump your stuff on the bedside table. You flop onto the bed. You are glad that Evgeni has the same feelings. It is odd how love works. Four hours later you are lost in your thoughts about the game against the Capitals. Your thoughts are interrupted by yelling. You timidly poke your head out of the door.

"Careful," Iggy calls out as she sends a little rubber ball flying your way. You quickly doge out of the way. You are not surprised that there is a game of mini sticks going on. Jake snatches it from Iggy. Jake is somehow nimble enough to get the ball around Matt Murry.

"Hey Mia would you like to join?" Evgeni asks as he offers you a stick. You take it.

"So whose team am I joining?" You ask.

"It's a free for all," Jake replies. It sounds like an interesting idea. Matt throws the ball towards the players. You grab it before anyone else can get to it. Evgeni tries to get it from you but you are somehow able to get around him.

"Nein, you are not getting it that easily," You tease him. You get lined up for the shot. Thankfully you are able to get it through Iggy's legs and over Matt's arm. After thirty minutes of play you are ready to head back to your room. You pass the stick back to Evgeni.

"I will see you all tomorrow," You head back to your room. Today has been one of the best days you have had in the NHL. Now that Evgeni has confessed about his feelings towards you, you get the feeling that there will be more days like today. Hopefully there are no incidents like the last game. You will find out when you take the ice tomorrow. There is a timid knock on the door. You can tell that it belongs to Evgeni. You let him in.

"What can I do for you?" You ask. You quickly try to glance over Evgeni's shoulder but he is a little tall.

"Thank you for everything today," He responds.

"Don't worry about it. I'm happy to help," You say. Helping people has always been a skill of yours. The thought makes you smile.