Traditions

An Evgeni Malkin one-shot

Disclaimer: I do not own the Pittsburgh Penguins or any Penguins players. I do, however, own my OC (Katarina Crawford), her mother (Elise), and her best friend (Tracy).

I was sitting in the front row, right behind the home team's player bench. The game hadn't started yet, but I could feel my nerves itching with anticipation. I had waited six years for this day, and I was beyond excited to be in Pittsburgh.

"Katarina, I'll be right back. I'm going to get us a drink from the concession stand."

I nodded at my mom as she stood up and walked to the end of the row. The game wasn't set to start for another two hours, and my curiosity was bursting at the seams. What was a birthday girl to do? I slowly inched out of my seat, glanced around, then made my way towards the entrance where my mom and I had come in.

I stood there for a minute, basking in the glory of actually being inside Consul Energy Center. My girlish fantasies were gradually becoming reality. My thoughts started to overflow with images of the players, mostly Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. It was doubtful that I would meet either of them, but a girl could dream.

I walked around for a little bit trying to pass the time in hopes of maybe bumping into one of the players. I pulled my phone out of my pocket, sent a quick text to Mom so that she wouldn't be worried, and then pulled up a new message to send to my best friend, Tracy. My head was down as I typed away on the little keyboard, and I was hoping that a wall wouldn't claim me as its next victim.

I'd glanced up very few seconds to avoid obstacles, but as I rounded a corner, I hit something hard. My phone clattered to the floor, and I felt my feet come up off the ground. My eyes squeezed shut, waiting for the pain, but I felt a pair of strong hands grab my arms. A few seconds passed before I opened my eyes, which were centered on the ceiling.

"I'm so sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going! I didn't mean to-" My eyes had trailed down from the ceiling to the face of my rescuer. My breath caught in my throat.

Two words, a name, slipped from my lips.

"Evgeni Malkin…" His eyes brightened up a little bit, and he smiled.

"Uh, hello to you." His Russian accent and broken English were surprisingly like music to my ears. My cheeks burned intensely and I tried to look away, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.

"You are okay, yes?" I nodded, then looked down at my arms which were still being held by his huge hands.

"Thank you for helping me. I really appreciate it." He gently let go of my arms.

"You are welcome. What is name?" I paused for a minute, trying to remember my own name.

"Katarina. Katarina Crawford."

Evgeni smiled, "I am Evgeni Malkin. I have not seen you before. I would remember face pretty as yours. Do you live in Pittsburgh?"

My intense blush returned. I shook my head.

"No, I'm from Texas." A confused look crossed the Russian's face.

"Texas? You are long way from home."

I smiled.

"A front row ticket to a Pens home game was my mom's idea of a perfect twenty-first birthday."

Malkin's face got serious. "It is your birthday?"

I nodded, "Yes, sir. I'm officially twenty-one as of today."

The Russian quickly grabbed my hand, and started walking towards a hallway.

"You must come with me and meet team. They would be happy to meet dedicated fan like you."

I laughed, "Okay, okay. I'll go with you. But first, let me get my phone."

With a huge smile on my face, I picked up my phone and slid it into my pocket.

"Alright, we're good to go." Malkin smiled at me before leading me down the hallway.

.

.

"Here we are. The locker room."

My eyes widened. I was staring at the doors that were about to open and reveal everything I've ever dreamed of.

Sidney Crosby, James Neal, Chris Kunitz, Kris Letang, Jordan Staal, Matt Cooke, Pascal Dupuis, Marc-Andre Fleury…

I got more excited by the millisecond.

"Wait here. Must check to see if team is dressed."

My cheeks turned pink at the thought of several good-looking men walking around without shirts or pants on.

Malkin opened the door just a little bit then slipped in, only to return a few minutes later.

"It is safe to come in. Though I warn you, Staal is big flirt." I shrugged my shoulders, letting Malkin know that I didn't really care. He opened the door widely, allowing me to come in before shutting it behind me with a click.

"Here is team." He said as he waved his hand around at all the guys who were getting ready.

"Sidney is there." Evgeni pointed to the best player in the NHL as he slipped on a skate. Sidney looked up and beamed me a gorgeous smile as he laced it up. I felt my heart skip a beat or two as I started to imagine him actually talking to me.

"There is Staal."

I tore my eyes from Sidney to the guy next to him. My eyes widened at the sight of Jordan Staal without a shirt on. A dark blush fired up my cheeks. Jordan caught this and stood up, making his way to me.

"Hello, I'm Jordan. It's so nice to meet you, Katarina. Malkin told us about a little bit about you! Is it really your twenty-first birthday?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. I simply nodded instead.

"Well, I think this is the best way to spend your birthday! Maybe I can take you out tonight after we win for some celebration drinks?" I gulped. I couldn't say no to Jordan Staal! He was just so hot and blonde and built…

Luckily, Evgeni butted in and put a hand on my shoulder, "She already has plans with me after game. I want to take her out for drink after win."

Jordan scowled at Evgeni.

"Oh, well, that's alright! Maybe some other time, then?"

Evgeni gave him a look before Jordan turned and made his way back to the bench to lace up.

"I am sorry for behavior. He is big flirt."

I blushed, "Oh, it's okay! You don't have to apologize for him."

Evgeni smiled at me before turning back to the guys. He pointed at each of them and introduced them.

"Cookie. Duper. Flower. Kunitz. Eric. Simon. Letang. Neal…" They all waved at me or nodded when he said their names.

"Wow, this is awesome! I just personally met my favorite sports team of all time!"

Evgeni grinned before going to his stall.

He patted the seat next to him, "You must sit while I prepare for game!"

I nodded and slowly walked over to the bench, still looking around in awe as I soaked in the sight of the locker room that I had only seen on television.

"This is really great, Evgeni! I can't thank you enough!" I said animatedly as I plopped down on the bench next to him.

"You thank me by wearing jersey during game, and you must say yes to drink after win!" I smiled brightly at the adorable Russian.

"You want me to wear one of your jerseys? Oh, that would be so cool!" He picked up his bag and rifled through it before pulling out his away jersey.

"It is for good luck. Old tradition." I slipped it over my head without hesitation. It smelled like a mix of an expensive cologne and strong laundry detergent. I inhaled deeply, not being able to get enough of the scent.

"It look good on you!" I blushed again.

"How about drink after win?"

I smiled, "Of course! I would love to!" This made the Russian very happy.

"Meet me outside locker room after game over. Once press is gone, we leave and go to favorite bar." My heart skipped a beat again. Nothing could possibly be better than getting asked out on a date by Evgeni Malkin.

"There is only hour before game. I must get ready, but I see you after. Yes?" I nodded in agreement as he stood up.

"Yes, of course. By the way," I started to say, "My seat is literally the first row behind your bench. Just in case you were wondering…" This caused him to smile.

"I keep that in mind."

My mind started to race. What could he possibly have in mind? Was he going to throw me a puck, or was he going to do something everyone would see? A blush crept across my face again.

"You blush often, no?" He jokingly said as he nudged me gently with his elbow. It crept up again and I put my hands up to cover my face.

"Oh, stop that! You did that on purpose!" I faked a pout and lightly pushed his shoulder. We both laughed as we walked out of the locker room and into the hallway.

"You know way back to lobby?" I looked around nervously.

"Um, I'm sure I could find my way. I think." He laughed at me before pointing at a door at the end of the hallway.

"That is first door you take. After that, go down next hallway until you see other door. Open that, follow hallway, and you will be in lobby. Don't get lost or you miss game!"

I laughed nervously and straightened out the jersey I was wearing. Suddenly, a light bulb in my mind flickered on and I pulled out my phone from my pocket. I immediately pulled up my translation app and selected Russia. Before typing in my words, I looked up at Evgeni.

"I took Spanish in high school, but I hope this is right." I typed in my words and clicked enter. The electronic voice told him thank you and good luck. Evgeni smiled brightly at me.

"You are welcome, Katarina. No one has tried to speak to me in native language. It makes me happy. You are, how you Americans say, very sweet. I am glad I bumped into you."

My heart skipped a beat again, "I just wanted to show you how thankful I am! But, um, I should probably let you get ready. Win for me, okay? That way we can go get drinks and celebrate!"

We both smiled and I started to turn, but Evgeni grabbed my hand.

"Wait. I must do something."

He pulled me into a tight hug.

"It is for good luck. Old tradition," He muttered in my ear as he held me close to him.

"I'm starting to like your traditions, Evgeni." I said with a laugh as he pulled away from me a little.

His hands were now holding my arms and we both looked at each other for a few seconds. I started to lean in, slowly closing the small gap between us. I closed my eyes and suddenly felt a pair of surprisingly soft lips on mine. I felt a huge jolt go through my body, like a massive spark had hit me.

'That is so cliché and stereotypical!' My inner thoughts yelled as my lips moved with his.

After a minute or two, we both pulled away and took a deep breath.

"That's for good luck. It's just an old tradition." I casual said as I shrugged a shoulder.

We both laughed and I hugged him again.

"I'll be cheering really loudly for you, I promise! You better score a goal for me!" Evgeni scoffed and pretended to dust dirt off his shoulder.

"You know who you are talking to? One of NHL's best! I score goal for you!"

I held up a pinky, "Pinky promise, Evgeni?" He held up a pinky and promised.

"Go get 'em, tiger. After all, you're playing to win!"