Chapter Text
Sidney wakes with a start, disoriented and head throbbing. He blinks rapidly, trying to get some moisture back into his eyes and reaches out blindly for a bottle of water on his bedside table, but only manages to knock it over onto the floor. Unlocking his phone, he winces at the bright light and is surprised to see that it’s almost three o’clock in the morning. He remembers getting home from the beach, face tear-streaked and nose running, and just bundling himself in some blankets before drifting off to sleep.
He looks down at his phone again and is shocked at the number of notifications he has. Twenty-seven text messages and ten missed calls. With shaking fingers, Sidney scrolls down to read the texts. Most of them are from Geno, starting out worried and getting increasingly panicked.
-sid ok?
-sid where ru?
-sid get worried pls call
-sid? u safe? something happen?
-pls tell me u ok
There were some messages from Flower and Kris as well. Geno must have reached out to them when his calls weren’t getting through.
-Sid, where are you? Geno says you guys were supposed to meet up tonight but you didn’t show. Is everything okay? Do you need me to come pick you up?
-Hey Sid, got a call from Geno just now. Is everything ok? Are you at your house?
Sidney winces in guilt. He had meant to send a quick text to Geno last night, a small lie saying that he couldn’t make it, but he got home exhausted and couldn’t stop crying. He must have fallen asleep before he had the chance to send anything. Sidney wasn’t brave enough to open any of the voice messages. Just hearing Geno’s voice asking where he was, asking if he was okay would be enough to make Sidney start crying again, out of shame and guilt.
He sends a quick text now, knowing how inadequate it is, but he figures it’s better than nothing.
-Hey Geno, I’m so so sorry. I got really sick and ended up falling asleep. I’ll talk to you soon. Sorry again.
Sidney reluctantly rolls of out of bed and heads to his bathroom, where he flinches at his reflection in the mirror. His eyes are red-rimmed and swollen from all the crying he did last night. The hollows in his cheeks are more pronounced and his lips are bitten and slightly red. He looks like someone just broke up with him. Which is stupid, Sidney thinks, because he and Geno were never together in the first place. He doesn’t have the right to feel pain over something that was all in his head.
The coffee machine starts sputtering and Sidney helps himself to a large mug, breathing in the sweet smell of his hazelnut creamer. He decided to take a shower and change in to his work clothes, thinking that since he’s up, he might as well head to the shop and get to work early. He’s in the middle of taking his second sip when he hears a loud thud? tap? against his front door. Startled, Sidney spills the scalding coffee all over his hand and cursing himself, gathers a bunch of paper towels to sop up the mess.
What the hell was that? “Maybe an animal?” Sidney thought. But it wasn’t like the neighborhood squirrels tended to crash into his front door. Heart thumping, Sidney suddenly wondered if there was a robber trying to break into his house. The community was usually a very safe one, but be it his luck to have a robber target where he lived.
Times like this, Sidney wished that he didn’t live alone. When he allowed himself to daydream, he thought of what would happen if he wasn’t alone, if he had Geno living with him. He wouldn’t have to scream and panic every time he saw a spider. Geno would gently trap it with a glass and set it free outside, like Sidney saw him do so many times at the shop. He always gives a little shy smile and says “They have feelings too, Sid. Can’t kill.” And Sidney pretends to not be completely charmed by hiding his face in a large mixing bowl.
But another thought fills him with dread. Geno is instead lying in bed with the beautiful woman from the beach. And hearing a similar thump in the night, he gently extracts himself from her arms and gives her a kiss on the forehead. “I’m check up on noise baby, go back to sleep.”
Sidney doesn’t get to have that. So heart thumping for a different reason now, he looks around for a weapon and picks up the closest thing near him: a large balloon whisk that still has dried bits of caramelized sugar stuck to the end. He heads slowly to the front door and presses his ear against it, but hears nothing except for the familiar sound of crickets. Gripping the whisk tightly in his hand, Sidney starts to open his door a crack but is suddenly pushed back by the weight of something heavy leaning against the doorframe. Startled, he jumps and flings the whisk away from him, hearing it clatter against the hardwood floor somewhere near him. Geno, who had apparently been sitting down and leaning against the doorframe outside, tilts back as the door opens, and hits the back of his head on the floor.
Dazed, Sidney looks down at Geno who, having been startled awake, is now wincing and gently rubbing at a spot on his head.
“Geno, what the actual fuck?!” Sidney shouts. “You scared the shit out of me! What are you doing here? Were you sleeping outside my house?”
And in the span of two seconds, Geno goes from looking sheepish to absolutely furious.
“What about you, Sid?” he fires back. “You promise we meet at spot! But I go and wait and wait and you never show up! Never even say anything! I call and text you but no answer. I was so worry, Sid! Thought something happen to you so even call Flower and Tanger. What the fuck you doing?”
At this, Sidney immediately deflates. Ducking his head in apology, he stammers out “I’m so sorry Geno, I really am. I didn’t mean to abandon you at our spot, I promise.” Geno looks unconvinced at this so he continues saying “I… was feeling unwell for a while. I ended up just falling asleep so I didn’t see any of your texts and didn’t hear any calls. I really didn’t mean to abandon you. I’m so sorry.”
And Geno, being the kind of man Sidney fell in love with, immediately panics. “Sid, you sick? Feel sick? Where it hurt?” He presses the palm of his hand against Sidney’s forehead and it takes all of Sidney’s will to not lean into his touch. His hand is cool from being outside and he pulls it back after a moment, saying contemplatively “Hmm… no fever. Maybe you work too hard, Sid. Not sleep and eat enough.”
Sidney feels incredibly guilty about lying to Geno and is thinking about what he could possibly say to make up for it when he thinks about how cold Geno’s hands are. “Geno…” he starts. “Why were you sitting outside of my house?”
Geno ducks his head sheepishly, looking embarrassed. “Was worried about you. Scared that something happen so I come to your house. Want to make sure that you okay. But I keep ringing doorbell and bang on door and no answer. So I think that Sid have to come home sometime and I wait near door but must have fell asleep. Sorry Sid.”
And Sidney is suddenly struck with the realization that he truly is in love with Geno. A man who is always willing to put others before himself, someone who’s willing to sit outside Sidney’s door all night to make sure that he’s okay. A man who is also taken. So of course the only logical course of action is that Sidney bursts into tears.
Even through his tears, Sidney can see Geno’s confusion and panic. “Sid? Why you cry? Did I say something bad? Sorry Sid, so sorry. Please don’t cry.” He envelops Sidney into a bear hug, pressing Sidney’s face against his chest and smooths a hand down his back, trying to comfort him. But this makes Sidney cry even harder because Geno is finally touching him, but for a different reason than what he always wanted. Sidney wraps his arms around Geno’s neck and lets himself be comforted. “I’m sorry,” he thinks to the woman from the beach. “I promise I’ll stay away from him now on. I’ll stop thinking about him and wanting more. Just please let me have this one moment.” Sidney matches his breaths to Geno’s and feels warm in his embrace.