Chapter Text
“This place is awesome,” Kane enthused tossing his duffle beside one of the sleek white chairs in the great room of their suite.
Looking around at the polished wood floors, elegant furniture, baby grand piano, electric fireplace, and, of course, the view of the ocean off their private balcony, Sidney had to agree. What the NHL had told them of the Emerald Star when they’d agreed to be part of this charity cruise hadn’t done the cruise liner justice.
“Mm,” Toews made a noncommittal noise without looking up from the pamphlet of the ship’s layout he was studying.
Kane rolled his eyes at Toews then grinned. “Hey, dibs on the king sized bed.” He turned and bumped into Malkin who had just come in and was standing directly behind him.
Malkin looked down at him. “I get big bed,” he said like it was a fact. He smiled and gestured at the sofa. “Small Americans sleep on foldout.”
“I can’t sleep on that,” Kane objected looking at the sofa like it was a bed of nails. “My back will be a pretzel by morning.”
Sidney started to offer to take the sofa so Kane could have one of the two upstairs rooms but Toews broke in before he could say anything.
“You can share with me.” Toews shoved the pamphlet into his back pocket, grabbed Kane’s bag along with his own and headed upstairs.
Sidney couldn’t help thinking Kane looked a little smug as he followed Jonny up the stairs, like he’d planned for Toews to offer.
“Do you think the other guys rooms are this nice?” he asked Malkin to distract himself from wishing he’d thought of a way to get Geno to share with him.
Malkin nodded. “Is very nice boat.”
“Yeah,” Sidney agreed as Malkin carried his duffel bag into the king sized room. He sighed and headed upstairs to put his stuff away.
“Why didn’t you just ask to be put in the same room in the first place?” Tyler asked, exasperated as Nugent-Hopkins followed him across the crowded floor of the ship’s lounge—a place called Blue for reasons only apparent to whoever named the lounge—to the bar. He smiled at the cute girl working at the end of the bar and sat down on the nearest stool while she finished with her current customer.
“I didn’t think they’d put us in separate rooms! Come on Seguin, please switch with me?”
“So you’re in a different room from your teammates, what’s the big deal?"
“Hey,” the girl said reaching his end of the bar. “What can I get you guys?”
Tyler smiled charmingly. “Can I get an Imperil Stout,” he said seeing the dark label on the shelf behind her. “Four Budweisers and a Bud light please.” His mother had taught him to be polite. Especially to the people responsible for providing him with alcohol.
She turned and reached up to pull the stout from the shelf, her white shirt riding up above her black pants just enough that he could see the black cat tattooed on the small of her back. She smirked at catching him looking, grabbed the Buds from the small refrigerator and set them on the bar, twisting the caps off the bottles.
“Anything else?” she asked leaning against the bar so he had a good view down her shirt.
“That’s it for now.” He pulled out his wallet but she shook her head.
“Keep it. Mr. Bourke said you and your friends can have free drinks.”
He thanked her and they headed back to the table.
“Did you boys make a new friend?” Ovechkin asked with a bit of a leer towards the bar as he took his stout.
Tyler laughed and passed Pavelski, Malkin, and Crosby their beers. “I can’t help it if I’m a chick magnet. You know it’s the off season, the extra calories in regular beer aren’t going to hurt.” He saw Kane walk into the lounge with Toews, Eberle, Hall, and the two Staals, and waved them over.
Crosby shrugged. “I like the taste of light beer better.”
Malkin took a sip of his beer and said almost sadly, “Not as good as Kvass.”
“What the hell is Kvass?” Kane dropped into the chair the chair next to Malkin and peered at the Russian’s bottle of beer as though it would give him the answer.
“Sort of like beer right?” Toews asked taking the chair next to his teammate far more sedately.
Malkin nodded proudly. “But Russian, so better.”
“How the hell did you know that?” Kane asked looking at Toews.
“God Kaner how long were you in Russia?” Toews asked fondly.
“Long enough,” Kane answered with a sleazy grin then hopping out of his chair. “I’m going to the bar. Anyone want anything?”
“Should send Seguin, he’ll get free drinks from his girlfriend,” Ovechkin said.
Nugent-Hopkins rolled his eyes. “She’d give free drinks to any of us, the cruise director told her to.”
“I’ll go with you,” Toews said standing up and following Kane to bring beer for those that didn’t already have a drink in front of them.
“Anyone seen the mysterious Mr. Bourke yet?” Tyler asked pointedly ignoring the conversation of stares the Oilers were having.
Toews and Kane returned to the table and passed the beers around.
“He has to be here somewhere,” Crosby said continuing the conversation. “It’s his ship right?”
“He’s probably busy getting the cruise under way,” Eric Staal said grabbing a pretzel from the bowl in the middle of the table. “Can you imagine organizing this whole thing?”
“You guys are forgetting the important thing here.” Kane looked around the table then ticked the words off on his fingers, “Free drinks.”