#tanger keeps saying one last job and then doing another job but at least he’s better than Sid who keeps coming in and out of retirement

[coffee-at-annies]

For the Au game- a heist au, sidgenotanger?

Send me a potential AU and I’ll tell you five fun facts that would happen in a story.

Oh man I’m really struggling to come up with things that should happen in the story rather than things that are true about the story. My brain wants to a share big ideas like who does what rather than concrete details. I’m also functionally unable to think about leverage fusions without just wanting to go reread this so have at it, fic rec: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2669645

Because I love that fic so much, I think the focus of this is one last job/training up the next generation instead of Sid’s crew planning a heist. Jake calls Sid in from retirement for one last job. Sid left the crew in Jake’s hands to go idk disappear on the side of a mountain or whatever we think Sid’s gonna do in retirement. Tanger has one foot out the door but is making sure PO can take his place in the crew before he leaves. Idk where Geno is he’s also retired but he shows up because of course he does.

Things that are true and happen in the fic:

This is the third time Sid has come out of retirement for “one last job.” He’s not quite to Jagr’s levels of in and out of retirement but Flower has a betting pool going anyway. Geno meanwhile hasn’t been seen since he retired. Tanger keeps saying he’s going to retire and hasn’t yet.

PO needs to create a distraction and he absolutely either trips all over someone or opens a door in their face or pours soup in their lap and then gives the person a sheepish smile and he’s forgiven immediately.

Kissing to hide from pursuers is all well and good but it’s way less hot when its a former friend with benefits (the benefits being previously sex and currently emotional constipation and a brewing feelings realization) and your other former friend with benefits is in your earpiece critiquing both your kissing and your distraction skills. Somehow he ends up getting worked up anyway.

There’s a moment when they’re all huddled around a map or screen or something when Jake looks to Sid for advice but he just nods his head at the table because he trust’s Jake plan and is willing to follow his play. This is a fic about the ot3 but a subplot is Jake’s confidence and leadership skills without the old guard to lean on

Idk what the heist is but please imagine that one sequence in ocean’s 11 where the have the acrobat do some crazy flexible shit and bend himself into like a drinks cart to hide and junk and also maneuver around lasers. Now imagine Jars doing that. That.

Bonus:

So many easter eggs for current and former pens. My brain doesn’t want to stick with the leverage five man band schema so there’s just so many people in this ocean’s eight/ocean’s eleven situation. Even if everyone isn’t needed they at least get name dropped during the planning phase because I love to be sad about boys. Yes some grudges get brought up too

[mezzopurrloin]

Mezzo Plays Final Fantasy X-2: Part 19

Yuna crosses the threshold. The war machine awaits.

From here on out, the location bar just reads 'Vegnagun'.

Nooj: "Both Baralai and Vegnagun belong to him now."

He noticed that Shuyin needs a body to act through. Thus, he plans to shoot Baralai, aiming to injure rather than kill, and lure Shuyin into his own body. Then, he will die.

Just the sort of plan a Deathseeker would come up with.

Nooj: "Exactly."

"Your plan is awful. Think about it. It's no different than what we did two years ago."

"We didn't have a choice then. We believed that was the only way we could save Spira. Do you know what it felt like to watch them die? Right before my eyes? It was the only thing we could do. It was the only choice we had."

"I thought I'd be able to go through it without ever doubting myself. But I... It hurt so much."

Fayth: "Forgive us."

"There were too many smiles to count. And I know that I was smiling, too. But now...when I look back..."

Jecht: "We had no choice."

"Always 'we had no choice.' Those are our magic words. We repeat them to ourselves again and again. But you know... The magic never worked! The only thing we're left with is regret."

Jecht: "Yuna... I'm sorry."

"No, I don't want this anymore."

"Nooj, I know what you say is what you mean to do."

Paine: "Light?"

Yuna: "That's Plan B. But first... Hey, Rikku."

"So we can take it apart, right?"

Nooj: "What about Shuyin?"

Yuna: "Plan B. Love."

Nooj: "The ultimate illusion."

The colossus begins its activation sequence.

Jecht: "It's just bluffing."

Auron: "This relic's getting rusty."

Braska: "Yuna, you have your friends."

Everyone moves into position.

Rikku: "Time to kick some tail!"

Vegnagun's tail opens with Noli Me Tangere, a tail swipe that hits the whole party and can easily cause a full wipe to the unprepared. Using high HP jobs like Warrior and Dark Knight is a good way to endure it. It can also fire lasers from the tip.

It's a pretty basic fight, and doesn't take long to deal with.

Further ahead, Leblanc's team is in trouble. Time for the Gullwings to lend their support.

Gee, thanks.

Paine: "Leblanc never stood a chance against this thing."

Rikku: "Well, we've got a leg up on her."

Yuna: "Save the jokes for later."

Vegnagun's leg is supported by the three colored nodes on its body. Attacking them changes their color and intent, but they're too far away to be hit with melee. Red nodes have physical immunity and fire missiles, green ones cast healing and support spells, and yellow ones cast attack spells and have magic immunity. I used an item to grant Reflect to the team, as the magic attacks were easily the biggest threat.

It's nothing that a few good casts of Ultima can't solve, anyway.

With that down, we can see how the torso team is doing.

Sounds like they could use some assistance.

Gippal fires a blast from his cannon at it.

And receives an appropriate response.

Paine: "We'll finish it."

Yuna: "It's so big!"

Rikku: "Woohoo, no more climbing!"

Paine: "Can we please focus?"

The core is accompanied by two more legs, but they're just distractions. If you attack the core with a physical hit, they'll counterattack. If you use magic, they'll drain MP. Use a special ability, and they'll do both. They can also cast status spells such as Bio, Doom, and Break.

Nuking the field is always a good strategy though.

The core has its own special that it'll use later on.

Ouch. Boy am I glad this game has an autosave function.

Let's try that again.

Got you this time.

Is that it?

Okay, that's a no then.

The Gullwings climb up the legs to reach the head.

"Come, Vegnagun. Let us purge this repulsive world."

If you lose this fight, a special scene plays.

Welp. So long, Spira.

Okay, now let's do this fight for real. The left and right redoubts need to be taken down first, then we can go for the face.

Meanwhile, they'll blast us with powerful magic attacks. I used another item to grant Shell to the party, which helped quite a bit.

And of course, we have powerful magic attacks of our own.

As its health gets low, it unleashes its final attack, Nemo Ante Morten Beatus.

Ouch. Shell helped everyone live through this one too.

Shortly after, the machine was brought down.

"Shuyin."

"And I'm grateful... grateful that you stayed with me until the end."

Lenne & Yuna: "Rest."

Shuyin walks closer to Yuna, leaving Baralai's body.

"You are not Lenne!"

Looks like we're fighting him after all. Shuyin doesn't just look like Tidus, he fights like him too. He uses the same attack animations, and his specials are based on Tidus' Overdrives, though they have slightly different names.

Unfortunately, this also includes the endgame multi-hit Overdrive I never got for him in X-1.

Apart from that, though, he doesn't really have much else.

If you have Yuna as Warrior, it becomes a bit of a mirror match, since she also uses some of Tidus' animations. He can be a bit frightening, but overall, he's pretty easy to take down.

"This moment's enough. I don't need anything else. Just knowing how you feel is enough. Shuyin, let's end this. Let's go home. That was all a thousand years ago. We've come too far to look back now. Rest, Shuyin. Rest with me."

They fade away together.

Yuna walks back through the Farplane Abyss.

"We would sail a ship, with me as its captain. In time, I became that captain. I found a new ship with new friends."

Gippal: "You know, I realize I'm like a lot of you people. We want a captain. And we want a ship to ride, but more important than that..."

Baralai: "There are some things you can't do alone. But they become easy with friends beside you."

Nooj: "This was the lesson that we learned when we launched those ships."

Baralai: "It was power... And we misused that power. We turned our friends and followers against each other."

Baralai: "Somehow we forgot. There's a much larger ship out there. One that we've been riding since we were born."

Nooj: "No one knows just where our voyage will lead us. But we do know one thing: One way or another, we will get by. We'll go on living. The Calm will continue."

Gippal: "Just one more thing:"

The crowd cheers.

Gippal: "Yeah, you all know who I'm talking about. We really hoped that she could be here today."

Gippal: "So farewell, but not goodbye."

The Celsius takes off.

"So much has happened. And I'm sure it's only the beginning. Through the smiles and tears, through the anger... and the laughter that follows. I know that I'll keep changing."

"It all began when I saw this sphere of you."

We get to listen to an orchestral version of 1000 Words as the credits roll past.

And there you have it. I know I didn't do everything, and there are plenty of events and dresspheres I missed, but I think this is still a good conclusion to Yuna's story.

Beating the game unlocks New Game Plus, allowing you to carry your items, dresspheres, abilities, and story completion to a new run. I probably won't go through with that, since it'd be pretty dull. There's also a subgame called Last Mission, which I also won't be doing because it confuses me to death.

This marks the end of Yuna's story, and of Spira's, for now at least.

[sevenfists]

Glasses Geno is Sid's sexuality now too...🤓❤️l

Geno was predictably enthused about the glasses, because he was enthused about everything. There was only one pair, and so after Sid was done filming his part, he had to go down the hall to find Geno, who was having his hair artfully arranged by the makeup lady. He already looked stupid but undeniably good in his grandpa sweater, and it got worse when he slid the glasses onto his face.

“How I look?” he asked, grinning at Sid. “Good, right?”

Jesus. “You look like a nerd,” Sid said, which was true.

“Like sexy nerd,” Geno said, still grinning.

“You’re a sexy librarian,” Rusty said, halfway into his Santa costume. “You work at the reference desk, and you’ve got the whole Dewey decimal system memorized.”

“That’s, uh, that’s a pretty specific fantasy there, Rusty,” Sid said.

“Rusty likes nerds!” Geno crowed, and then yelped as the makeup lady got too aggressive with the comb. He had a tender scalp and was always a baby about it.

Sid was technically done for the day, but he hung out to watch Geno film his bit, goofing around with the bar of soap and giving the camera guys a hard time. He had—okay, maybe sort of a crush on Geno, and also a lifelong appreciation for glasses, and the two were colliding now in a pretty unfortunate way.

It wasn’t, like. A fetish. He didn’t watch glasses porn or anything like that. He just liked how glasses changed a person’s face. Geno in glasses looked like someone who had a bunch of cats and houseplants, who would be interested in the podcasts Sid listened to instead of making fun of him for being boring. Like maybe he would want to spend the night and let Sid make him breakfast in the morning.

He was so screwed. He had known Geno forever, but they’d never been single at the same time before. He kept waiting for his crush to go away, but instead it was just getting worse, and after three months he was starting to feel like he needed to maybe say something to Geno, so he could get shot down and move on with his life.

“Okay, let’s do one last take from a different angle,” the director said.

“My jaw hurts!” Geno complained, laughing. “This soap’s too big, give me smaller.”

“Open wide, G,” Sid said, trying not think about other circumstances under which Geno might complain about an aching jaw.

“You think you do better? Okay, come here,” Geno said to him, holding out the soap.

“Sid’s already done his filming,” the director said.

“One take,” Sid said. “Guess I’m better at acting than you are, eh?”

Geno stared at him, eyes and mouth wide with outrage. “You—Sid!”

Nobody else was looking at him. Sid succumbed to impulse and stuck out his tongue.

Geno grinned and shook his head, and unhinged his jaw once more for the soap.

+ + +

Jen emailed them some of the raw footage a week later, when they were on the plane heading out to Vegas. Sid watched it on his phone as soon as he got the notification. Geno was really cute on a day-to-day basis, and in a playful mood, and wearing those glasses, he was custom-designed to push Sid’s buttons.

He really needed to get over this.

“You watching the Christmas video?” Tanger asked him from across the aisle. “I look great, don’t you think?”

“Hideous,” Sid said, and barely managed to dodge the pack of peanuts Tanger threw at him.

He wasn’t at all ready to play Flower, but he knew the other guys were taking their cues from him to some extent, and he had to keep it together. He managed pretty well until two-touch right before the game, when it hit him all at once. He excused himself and went to find a dark corner where he could focus on his breathing for a few minutes and get his emotions under control.

He was a little surprised when Geno came to find him. Geno was usually pretty oblivious to people’s meltdowns and didn’t offer much in the way of support. Sid didn’t have a problem with that; Geno’s job, as far as he was concerned, was keeping his own colossal emotions in check. But Geno was here now, hovering at a safe distance, frowning, his sleeves pulled down to cover his hands.

“You leave game,” Geno said.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” Sid said. “Just, uh. Needed to take a breather.”

Geno drifted closer. “You upset about Flower?”

Sid exhaled shakily. “I’m fine. Just another game, eh?”

“I’m upset, too,” Geno said. He tugged on the brim of Sid’s cap and then slung an arm around Sid’s shoulders. “It’s okay to be sad. We play hard, do our best. Okay?”

“Yeah,” Sid said. Geno was so warm. Sid leaned against him, just a little.

“Come back to game,” Geno said. “Horny is cheat, we need captain for yell at him.”

Geno didn’t take his arm away as they walked back toward the two-touch commotion. Sid enjoyed it a lot, too much. His crush wasn’t easing up. He needed to say something. He knew Geno well enough that he was pretty sure Geno would let him down easy and without freaking out, but things would probably be awkward for a while. But Sid refused to pine away foolishly for months. He could handle rejection.

He would tell Geno before Christmas: get it over with, and then go home for a few days to eat his mom’s cookies and feel sorry for himself. And then he could put it behind him at last.

+ + +

Sid had decided to throw a casual holiday party for the team and his local friends. It had seemed like a great idea when he sent the invitations around before American Thanksgiving, but the day before the party, bleary after a late-night flight home from Colorado, he was tempted to text everyone and cancel.

He didn’t, and he regretted it immensely when Geno showed up for the party half an hour late and wearing glasses.

“Wow,” Hags said when Geno came into the den with a plate of food in one hand and a glass of punch in the other. “What’s going on here?”

“It’s not my fault, okay,” Geno said. “I get new contact lenses, they’re not right, I don’t know.”

“So you decided to go all Revenge of the Nerds on us?” Phil asked.

“You make fun? Fuck you, Phil!” Geno said. “It’s hurt my eyes, okay—”

Sid stopped paying attention. The glasses didn’t look much like the ones Geno had worn for the holiday video. The frames were smaller, black and square. But the effect was the same and just as devastating. Geno was wearing an ugly Christmas tree sweater that probably wasn’t ironic in the least. Sid wanted to heavily spike his punch and try to lure him beneath the mistletoe.

He wouldn’t. But he really wanted to.

He was a terrible host that evening. Geno’s sweater was probably really soft. He had taken off his shoes when he came into the house, and his socks had reindeer faces on them, Geno’s long toes stretching out the red noses. Sid kept the punch bowl filled and set out more food when the trays got depleted, but otherwise he was a distracted mess. He kept going into the laundry room to give himself a few minutes to calm down. His guests were going to think he’d picked up a stomach bug.

Geno was in the kitchen the third time Sid emerged from the laundry room. He flashed Geno a tight smile that probably looked more terrified than happy and sidled on through to the living room. But Geno followed him, and sat down on the sofa beside him, and stretched out his arm along the back of the couch, behind Sid’s shoulders.

“Okay, Sid?” he murmured, and knocked their knees together. “You quiet tonight.”

Sid forced a smile. “Fine.” Geno’s glasses really complemented the shape of his face. He looked like a good person to curl up with in front of a fireplace to drink some hot chocolate and maybe exchange a few chocolatey kisses.

He was tormenting himself. He needed to stop.

He sat stiffly beside Geno for a few minutes, holding himself carefully still so that his thigh or shoulder wouldn’t accidentally brush Geno’s. Geno was sitting really close. He didn’t move his arm away. Sid drained his glass of punch and said, “Refill,” and made his escape.

He drank enough to get giggly, which was always embarrassing, but at least it helped the night go by faster. People started to trickle out at a reasonable hour, because they had a game the next day, and Sid started cleaning up in the kitchen to hustle the stragglers along.

“You need help?” Geno asked, and Sid turned to see him in the doorway, the sleeves of his sweater pushed up to his elbows, a stack of dirty plates in his hands like he was Sid’s hot and thoroughly domesticated boyfriend and wanted nothing more than to help Sid clean up after their joint holiday party.

“I, uh,” Sid said. He was too drunk for this. “I’ve got it. I’m fine. Thanks. You don’t need to help.”

“Hmm,” Geno said. He came into the kitchen and started scraping the plates into the trash. “You sure you okay?”

“Yeah,” Sid said, and then, “No.” He only had three days left before his self-imposed deadline. He might as well get it over with. “Geno, uh. I have something I need to tell you.”

Geno set down the plate he was holding and turned to face Sid, slouching against the counter. His legs were so long. He raised his eyebrows. “Okay?”

Sid’s stomach felt tight. His heart was pounding, and he felt it mostly in his belly, the artery there throbbing heavily. This was going to be so fucking embarrassing. He was grateful for the punch. “I, uh. I’m interested in you. Romantically. And I just need to tell you so I can get over it.”

“What?” Geno said. He straightened up. His face looked—

Sid ducked his head. He couldn’t bear to watch Geno’s expression. “It’s only been a few months, I haven’t been—I didn’t want it go on too long. I won’t be weird about it. But I thought I should tell you, in case I’m a little weird about it.”

“It’s glasses?” Geno asked.

Sid risked a quick glance at him. He didn’t look mad. Maybe he was smiling a little, but that wasn’t possible. “What?”

“You like glasses,” Geno said. “That’s why.”

“No,” Sid said. “I mean—I like the glasses.” His face was so hot. He was thirty, for Christ’s sake. This shouldn’t be so difficult. “But it’s not just the glasses.”

They weren’t standing too far apart. Sid’s kitchen wasn’t that big. Geno took a few steps and then he was right there. Sid felt like he was underwater, everything slowed down and refracted as Geno reached toward him and put one big hand on Sid’s shoulder. His thumb brushed the side of Sid’s neck.

“I see you look at me,” Geno said. “When we make Christmas movie. And maybe I wonder a little.”

Sid squinted at him. “Did you wear glasses tonight just to fuck with me?”

“Maybe,” Geno said. He smiled. His thumb moved again, and this time Sid couldn’t tell himself the touch was accidental. He raised his other hand and cupped Sid’s jaw. “Sid,” he said, hushed.

Sid didn’t know if there were still other people in his house. He didn’t fucking care, not when Geno was looking at him like that. He tilted his face up and hoped his expression conveyed exactly how desperate he was for Geno to kiss him. Geno was too tall for him to take matters into his own hands.

Geno breathed something that might have been Russian and bent his head, angling down toward Sid in the perfect position for kissing. But a kiss didn’t come. Geno hovered there, breathing against Sid’s lips, his long fingers so careful on Sid’s face.

Sid was shaking a little. He lifted his chin that last little bit and pressed their mouths together.

“Sid,” Geno murmured, and Sid hooked one arm around Geno’s neck to hold him in place so they could kiss for real, slow and soft. Geno’s lips were full and a little rough and nothing had ever felt this good, nothing.

When they broke apart at last, Sid turned his face against Geno’s neck and clung to him. Reckless joy welled up inside his heart. “I never thought, uh.”

Geno held him tight and close and pressed kisses against his hair. “I never think. Oh, Sid.”

“Let’s go on a date,” Sid said. “After Christmas. I’ll take you out.”

“Okay,” Geno said. He drew back and touched Sid’s cheek. His expression was as open and awed as Sid had ever seen it. Christmas had come early, and maybe every day would feel like Christmas for the rest of Sid’s life.

It was too soon to say any of that. He pressed a kiss to Geno’s jaw. “I won’t even make you wear the glasses,” he said.

[rain-drop-sky]

Do you know Sid? (Part 2/?)

First off, thank you so much for all the love that’s been shown to my first attempt at hockey rpf fic! Y’all are so kind and wonderful :) Sorry about the delay for this chapter - I struggled a lot with how I wanted certain events to be conveyed and actually wrote around 4 different versions of this chapter. Hopefully this doesn’t disappoint. 

Part 1

Sid hums as he checks the dough. It has been a long hard year getting Harbour Bakery up and running. So much time and money was spent on negotiating, cashing in on favours, researching, renovating, and hiring. Not to mention packing up his life and starting over in a brand new city where no one knew who he was.

“Are you being emo again, old man.” Olli chirps from where he’s icing a cake for little Maria Wheeler’s sixth birthday. Sid laughs. Well, a new city where almost no one knew who he was.

But it was all worth it. Despite having been open for only a little over three months, reviews have been excellent so far and they are slowly building a decent fanbase and steady flow of clientele. Sid goes to take out the last batch of cookies for the day when Conor pokes his head through the door.

“Hey Sid? Geno’s back and is asking for you up front.” He smirks and gives his boss a thumbs up.

Olli laughs loudly but Sid smiles and steps away from the ovens. “Okay, could you take out the cookies for me and set them out to cool? Thanks.” He pushes through the door and the smile drops off his face as he gets a good look at one of his new favourite customers leaning against the cash register.

“Oh my God, what happened to your face Geno.” Sid blurts out.

Geno looks up, surprised, and reaches up to touch his cheek and hisses. He had forgotten about the neat row of stitches there, a remnant of an earlier capture and interrogation of a double agent who thought he could get away selling information on the Lemieux family.

“Is nothing, little accident at work.” He reassures Sid.

Sid looks at him dubiously but lets it go with a lingering look. “Well, good thing you got here before closing, I nearly sold out of all the bulochki.” Geno perks up despite wincing internally at Sid’s heavy Anglo-accented pronunciation.

“Look so good Sid!” He cheers as Sid pulls out two sweet sticky poppy seed buns. He feels a rush of soft affection as Sid pushes over the plate and ducks his head with a small smile. He takes a deep breath. “Sid, was wondering if you free--” A loud door slam and jangling chimes interrupt him.

“Is this it? Is this the famous Harbour Bakery we’ve been hearing about all week? It must be, Geno’s over there.” carols a mischievously grinning dark haired man with a soul patch while holding the front door open. Another dark head, this one with long locks, pops up behind the other with an equally cheeky wide grin and drags the other man forwards to squeeze up beside Geno and beam at a bemused Sid.

“Hi Geno. And you must be Siiid?” He dragged out Sid’s name cheerfully before hip checking a disgruntled Geno to the side and sticking out his hand. “Hi, I’m Kris. And that’s Marc-André.” He points with his thumb over his shoulder.

“Hi! We’ve heard so much about you and your bakery from Geno that we just had to come see where all the delicious food he brings in comes from.” Marc-André smiles and shakes Sid’s hand while Kris tussles with Geno off to the side.

“What are you doing here?” Geno hisses at his soon-to-be-dead friends. “Go away, no one likes you, you smell bad. Out!”

“Aw, Geno, are you going to turn away your friends? And here I thought you were introducing new customers for me.” Sid lets out a small goose honk giggle.

Two pairs of brown eyes zoom in on him. “You sound different.” Kris says.

“You sound right.” Marc-André follows.

“And you two sound Québécois, is this now a grand Canadian expat reunion?” Sid muses.

Marc-André’s mouth drop opens. “You said Québécois!” He says joyfully before grabbing Sid’s face and giving him two quick pecks, one on each cheek.

“FLOWER!” Geno shouts, outraged.

“This is how we say hello, Geno, stop being an uncultured swine. Parlez-vous Français, mon ami? Do you speak French my friend?” Marc-André coos while petting Sid’s hair fondly. Kris holds Geno back with one arm around his waist while furiously texting with the other. Sid’s eyes crinkle as he holds back laughter.

“I’m sorry to say that I’m one of those terrible Canadians who isn’t really bilingual.” He apologizes. “I do okay with my listening comprehension though.”

“Ah, well, we can’t all be perfect.” Marc-André sighs. He gives Sid a one-armed hug and grins at him. “Call me Flower! You’re Canadian and a baking god so we’re going to be wonderful friends. All my friends call me Flower.”

“I’m Tanger.” Kris’ reply is slightly raspy as Geno finally got him in a headlock and is dragging him towards the till.

“Geno, no, you’re going to scare away my other customers.” Sid scolds gently. The other three jolt guiltily and look around and see a few tables eyeing them warily. Geno immediately lets go of Tanger and starts to apologize when a muffled “Sid? Sid!” is heard through the kitchen door.

Sid frowns and disappears back into the kitchen. Geno, Tanger, and Flower look at each other, shrug, and scuttle around the pastry displays and poke their heads through the swinging door.

“Olli? Conor? What’s going on?” Sid strides over to the propped open back door where he can see his two employees huddled outside on the ground.

They look up and Sid sucks in a breath as he sees what they’re crouching around. A small cardboard box filled with tiny mewing kittens, so young their eyes still haven’t opened. “Where did they come from?” He asks, crouching down to inspect them.

“I heard them crying when I was throwing out the garbage.” Conor volunteers. “I don’t know how long they’ve been out here though.”

“At least it’s not raining.” Olli mutters as he lightly strokes the head of a ginger kitten. “Then this would really be some terrible rom-com cliché.”

“Because that’s really our main concern here.” Sid responds dryly. They all turn around at a strangled “Oh my God, kittens” and see Geno rushing over towards them while Tanger and Flower sigh.

“Who are you?” Olli says Geno carefully lifts up one kitten, whispering gentle nonsense as he carefully inspects its tiny limbs.

“That’s Geno.” Sid supplies. “Those two are his friends, Flower and Tanger. Guys, this is Olli, my assistant, and Conor. He works up front.”

“Someone abandoned kittens on your doorstep eh?” Flower sighs. “Don’t worry, Geno really does know what he’s doing. He rescues a lot of strays.”

“Sounds like Sid.” Olli shakes his head. “Conor here got his bike stolen not long after he started working here and looked so sad Sid would drive home the big mooch every day until he got a new one.” Olli smirks when Conor squawks indignantly.

“I’m not a mooch! You’re a bigger mooch, you still live at Sid’s! Sid says you keep saying you’re going to move out but it’s been more than a year since you guys moved down to Pittsburgh.” They start shoving each other, laughing.

“Children, please.” Sid sighs.

“Need round the clock care.” Geno interrupts firmly, laughter colouring his words. His insides feel gooey when he looks over and sees Sid shushing the tiny kittens and tucking his apron around them as a makeshift blanket. Under the cover of noise, he hooks a finger gently in Sid’s rolled up sleeve. “Hey Sid,” he starts. “Do you think--”

Bzzt. Bzzt.

He looks down at his pocket with a frown. 

“Hey G, it’s work.” Tanger’s voice is serious as he looks at his own phone.

Geno stands up and pulls out his phone.

Found the two extra rats Madri confessed about. Come back now. M wants all leaks eliminated tonight.

“Geno?”

He looks up and sees Sid standing, cradling the box of kittens to his chest and a slight curl to his lips. He looks so sweet and gentle. Soft. A regular civilian. Geno’s gut twists as he thinks about his job, a job he’s very good at and likes, and what it will seem like to someone like Sid. What he will seem like to Sid. His gut ices over.

“Geno? You were saying something?” Sid’s brow furrows.

“Nothing, sorry. Um, have work thing, need to go fix.” He waves vaguely only to remember he’s still holding a sleeping kitten. “Oh. Here, give me kittens.”

“Don’t you have work? I can bring them to a shelter.” Sid responds.

“No, most shelters can’t take care of kittens properly.” Shit, he has to complete those hits tonight though.

Flower steps in. “Let me take the kittens. Vero’s friend rehabs abandoned kittens and strays so she can take care of them. Vero is my wife,” he adds for Sid’s benefit. “You should come over sometime, have dinner with my family. An ‘A Canadian Has Been Found!’ party.” He laughs.

“You can meet my family as well as Duper and Kuni and their families. They’re also Canadian.” Tanger adds, clapping Flower on the shoulder. “We need to head out now.” He murmurs into Flower’s ear. He punches Sid in the shoulder gently. “Good to finally put a face to all the swooning we hear all the time.”

“Tanger.” Geno growls.

Flower juggles the box of kittens as he pulls out his wallet. He hands a card over with Marc-André Fleury, IT, Lemieux Intl. printed on it. “My personal number is on the back.” Flower explains. “Call me and let me know when you’re free. I’m serious about the Canada dinner!” He waves and walks away briskly with Tanger, following Olli around the building.

“Swooning, eh?” Sid looks up at Geno with a teasing smile.

“Sid.” Conor slips a small waxed paper bag into his boss’ hand and disappears back into the bakery with a smile.

Sid looks down and laughs quietly. “Here. Something sweet before you get back to work.”

Geno peers into the bag and feels his resolve weaken at the sight of two fluffy bulochki. “Give me your number.” He can’t help blurting. Sid’s face goes pink. “New to town, yes? Come meet my friends. We have barbecue next week.” If Geno can’t date Sid, Geno will be the best friend Sid has ever had instead.

“Oh. Um, I still don’t know my new number and my phone’s inside.” Sid laughs awkwardly.

“Geno!” Tanger beckons urgently from the corner.

“Okay, wait. Here.” Geno paws through his pockets and gives Sid a matching business card. “My private cell on the back.” He calls over his shoulder as he hurries towards Tanger. “Call me!”

----

Later that night, Sid taps the card on the table as the Skype ringtone trills. Evgeni Malkin, Security Advisor, Lemieux Intl.

“Hey, Squid.” Jack grins at Sid. “It’s Saturday, so tell me about your week, you boring old fart.” He cranes his neck. “Is Olli there? Hey Olli!” He yells.

Sid jerks back“Shut up, he went out.” He laughs. “God you’re loud. And to think I missed you.” He smiles fondly.

Jack squints through the camera. “What’s going on, why are you smiling like that. Sid.” He warns jokingly.

Sid ducks his head. “So there’s a cute guy who comes basically everyday to the bakery,” he starts. “His name’s Evgeni Malkin but everyone calls him Geno…”

[malkkins-blog]

sometimes goodbye is a second chance

The news of the lockout comes as a surprise, but it means that Geno won’t be forced to make a decision on a timeline. He wants to play hockey, he wants to be with Sid on the ice in Pittsburgh but he doesn’t know if he’s ready to come out yet. ship: sid/geno words: 2.2K ao3 A/N: this is my first sid/geno fic so any constructive criticism is welcomed. also the italics is what is said in russian.

August

It’s the middle of the night, the sun has been gone for hours and Geno can’t seem to stop twisting and turning. He doesn’t know what’s going on with him, but he can’t help but think that it’s about Sid’s recent inquiries. Sid wants them to come out and Geno’s not quite sure if he could handle all that entails for him. He knows that Sid has very little to lose, he’s still great on the ice and his parents will adore him no matter what, while neither of them really care what the league believes- they’re too valuable for their sexual orientation to be any sort of issue.

It’s not the same for Geno. He has a lot to lose.

He’s from Russia, which means coming out risks his place on the Olympic roster, his ability to go home, to see his parents and Dennis- he’s getting married next year and Geno needs to be there. His parents know that he’s dating Sid, they have for the past three years, but it’s still awkward between the three of them whenever the topic comes up.

Geno signs. He sits up and throws the comforter off of him before he quietly goes downstairs to the living room. He settles into the couch, staring at the darken television while he tries to figure out what he wants to do. Geno tries not to focus on the pictures that line the mantel next to him, but he can see them out of the corner of his eye. All of them are Sid and Geno together, his favorite is the one closest to the corner armchair, to the untrained eye, it looks like they’re hugging, but in that moment, Sid is kissing his neck, whispering what he wants to do to him once they’re back home in Pittsburgh. The picture next to it is from the day they adopted their German Shepard, Dixie- Sid had called it their first family photo.

With a soft grunt, he pulls out his laptop and quickly books a ticket on the next flight to Magnitogorsk. He needs to get away, time to clear his head. His decision would be easy here, in their home together, where moments of their lives together litter every room of their house. He needs to be reminded of what he’s going to give up by agreeing to it.

He doesn’t go to sleep that night. After the confirmation flashes across his screen, he quietly goes back upstairs and disappears into the closet, packing his road trip bag by randomly grabbing the first clothes he can finds. He might even grab bits and pieces of Sid’s clothes, all of their items are intermixed nowadays. He hides the bag in the back of the closet and lays back down next to his boyfriend.

He looks down, Sid looks so happy and content while he’s sleeping. His eyelashes rest against his cheeks and Geno wants nothing more than to lean down and kiss them, the way that his curls spreads across the pillow that makes Geno want to run his fingers through it, but he settles for a light kiss on Sid’s forehead before getting under the covers and pretending to be asleep once Sid’s alarm rings at 7:45 on the dot.

They spend the day together, Sid’s oblivious to the knowledge that once he goes to sleep, Geno won’t be there.

That night, Geno presses a soft kiss to Sid’s forehead, pats Dixie’s head, and then calls a cab to pick him up from the neighbor’s address. He doesn’t want anyone to know that he’s leaving, so taking his car to the airport was out of the question. He quickly sends a text to his Mama ‘I’m coming home’ before turning his phone off. He’s aware that in a few hours, Sid will be blowing up his phone before enlisting the rest of his teammates.

He goes through check-in and security without being recognized, which is a plus but at three in the morning, the Pittsburgh International Airport is relativity empty and Geno has a hat pulled over his eyes. Once he’s settled into his seat on the plane, he quickly falls asleep. He dreams of Sidney, of their life together. He wakes with a jolt as the plane touches down in Russia- he turns his phone on, it flooded with texts from Sid, Flower, Tanger, Horny, and even a few rookies, but he ignores all of them, trying to find the one from his Mama. He sends her another text saying that he just touched down and he’ll be home soon. While waiting for the plane to taxi into the gate, he takes the time to change his phone background- it was a photo of Dixie and Sid, both of them curled up on the couch while Sid rested from the concussion he suffered during the series against the Capitals. He looks at it long enough to want to go back home, but he quickly changes it to the Pens logo and turns it back off.

September

The news of the lockout comes as a surprise, but it means that Geno won’t be forced to make a decision on a timeline. He wants to play hockey, he wants to be with Sid on the ice in Pittsburgh but he doesn’t know if he’s ready to come out yet. Geno hasn’t given himself any time to really think or talk about it. Natalia keeps pressing him about it, keeps asking why he’s come home so close to the start of the pre-season but Vladimir refuses to listen to any talks about Sid so Geno keeps his mouth closed and spends time at his old club, taking on a small coaching job.

It’s a night while Vladimir is at work that Natalia finally get her son to open up. Geno tells her all about how Sid wants them to come out, how Geno is so scared about the backlash that would come from both his father and his country, how he wants to keep his spot on the Olympic roster because he’s Russian through and through and he doesn’t know what he would do if he can’t play for his country.

“Do you love him?”

“Yes.”

“Does he make you happy?”

“Yes.”

“Does he make you happier than Russia?” The question stumps him, it’s the entire reason he’s come to Russia, to figure out if he could give up home to be with Sidney.

“I don’t know, Mama. That’s why I’m here.”

Natalia sighs and picks up her son’s dinner plate and starts to clean it. “I want you happy, little bear.”

“Hockey make me happy. Sid make me happy. Russia make me happy.”

“You can’t have all three. Hockey and Sid or Hockey and Russia. You’ll always have hockey, no matter which you chose.”

He wants to say the conversion helps, but in reality, it only complicates things. He wants all three, he wants Hockey, Sid, and Russia.

October

Sid only texts him once a week now and Geno never answers, but he always reads them. Sid mostly texts only about Dixie now, about how she still runs around the house looking for her Papa but sometimes, it’s Sid asking to at least text him and tell him that he’s okay. Geno feels bad, he shouldn’t have left like he did, but he didn’t know another way to do it. Today, Sid had sent a picture of Dixie in their closet, laying on top of one of Geno’s jerseys. Geno misses her, he knows that much, and he misses Sid, but he still not sure.

He knows that Sid would be there for him, no matter what Russia said to him, that Sid would hold him while he cried and would tell him that Russia is who is losing by banning him, but it doesn’t comfort Geno as much as he thought it would. He knows that Russia isn’t someone he can come home to, someone who can support him and hold him and love him, but he could always find someone in Russia who did.

But who would love him like Sidney does?

It’s a daily struggle, and each day it’s getting harder and harder to see the end line. Geno knows that lockout is going to end soon and he’s going to have to face Sid, either to break his heart or to tell him that he means more to Geno than his homeland- he still doesn’t know that answer.

November

He’s planning for New Year’s already, planning on going out with friends from his childhood-like he’s going to be here in late December. He doesn’t want to think about the end of the lockout, about the fact he will have to go back to Pittsburgh at some point.

Natalia is still yelling at him every chance to go home and makeup with that boy. He gets a text at least once a day from a teammate, telling him how upset Sid is, about how he hasn’t left the house since Geno left, how he needs to come home.

Geno feels alone.

It’s a new thing. It felt it when he first moved to Pittsburgh, but it’s nothing he’s felt recently. He hasn’t known anyone who has been in his position before, torn between the love of his life and his country. He will figure this out, just not this month.

December

It’s almost Christmas when he get a text from Sidney. It’s the first one in nearly a month- Geno was starting to get worried he was going to forget about him. It’s a picture of the Christmas tree, set up where they’ve had it every year since moving in together, in the corner where the armchair goes. Dixie lays at the base of it, chewing on a toy that Geno hasn’t seen before, and Sid’s feet are resting on the coffee table. Geno stares at the photo- trying not overanalyze it, but it does notice that their picture are still up on the mantel- he can see the cup picture in the corner of the photo.

He misses Sid.

Sid still thinks he’s coming back.

Geno doesn’t respond- just like the hundreds of texts before hand, but he does go downstairs to find Natalia.

“I go home.” He states upon entering the kitchen, where she’s making dinner.

“You are home, little bear.”

“No. Pittsburgh, home. Sid, home.” Natalia nearly drops the potatoes she’s peeling to look at her son.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Natalia throws her arms around her youngest son, holding him close to her. She knows that this might be the last time she sees him, the last time that she gets to hold him in her arms.

“I love you.” Geno presses a kiss to the top of her head.

“I love you too.”

December 24th

It’s Christmas Eve and maybe landing back in Pittsburgh on this day was bad planning on his behalf, but he wants to be back home for Christmas, so here he is, in the freezing cold, standing on his own doorstep, trying to find the courage to knock. Once he finds the ability to move his hand, he rings the doorbell, listening to Dixie’s barking as she inevitably runs towards the front door in an effort to find out who is breaking the silence of the house. It’s early, Geno knows that, but he’s not sure if Sid’s awake yet, what if Sid’s asleep and he’s forced to stand out---

“G?” Sid said as he rubs his eyes in an effort to try and wake up. Once Sid is able to look up with both eyes, he wraps his arms around Geno’s neck, pulling him as close to him as possible.

“I sorry, Sid, I so sorry.” One of them is crying, and Geno’s not sure which one of them it is. He drops his bags and pulls Sid even closer to him, reminding himself of what he missed for five months. “I love you. Love you much.” He can feel Sid nod against his chest and Geno just holds him for even longer.

Neither of them says, do or move for what feels like hours, but eventually, the cold gets to both of them and Sid pulls Geno into the house- their house. It’s the first time Geno’s gotten to look at Sid. He looks awful. He hasn’t shaved in what looks like months, he’s lost weight, hasn’t kept up with his normal workout routine and definitely hasn’t been on the ice for at least two weeks.

Sid pulls him into the living room and it looks just like the picture Sid sent- everything looks the same as it did when he left. They both settle into the couch, sitting hip to hip but Geno knows that they need to have this conversation before tomorrow.

“Why?” It’s the only word Sid has said since Geno arrived home, but it’s the only one he needs to say.

“Got scared. Knew that if you want to come out I choose between you and Russia.” Sid looks over at him, his eyes wide as he takes in the reason the Geno left so quickly.

“G, no, you don’t have to- we don’t have to come out.” Geno holds up his hand, taking a deep breath while he did so.

“I choose you. I choose Sid. Russia don’t love me like Sid love me.”

The get the phone about the lockout being over two weeks later and they come out after their home opener that season.