Chapter Text
When Geno is ready to adopt, the summer before the season starts, he goes through a private agency. He gets a lawyer, just to be on the safe side, and he tells the guys what he’s doing, but the person he talks to the most about it is Sid.
Mostly because Sid doesn’t ever get tired of talking about it. They have long conversations at stupid hours of the night, weighing the merits of private or public agencies, open or closed adoptions, the best age for a first pet. Sid comes over to help him assemble a crib and a changing table and a rocking chair for the nursery, and spends a whole weekend helping him childproof the house.
So when Geno goes in for his interview with the agency, he brings Sid along.
The facilitator walks him through questions on why he wants to adopt, the kind of environment he can provide, his family history. Geno speaks carefully, more articulate than he ever tries to be with the media. Sid supplies a word occasionally, soft and discreet, when he blanks on the correct English.
At the end, she looks up from her notes. She gives Sid a quick, hesitant glance, and then says to Geno, “You haven’t mentioned a partner. I’ll be honest, it would look better if you had one.”
"Ah—" Geno says, and Sid reaches over and takes his hand.
"I’m his partner," he says firmly.
The facilitator smiles, her face relaxing.
It’s not really something they can take back once it’s out there. Geno isn’t sure he wants to anyway, not if it’s going to help get him what he wants.
The agency sets up a meeting with a potential match. Her name is Elena, and she is nineteen and a freshman in college. She likes that Geno is Russian, because her parents were Russian, first generation immigrants, and she likes the thought that Geno’s mother will speak Russian to her daughter, since her own mother won’t be able to.
She likes that Geno and Sid are together, that her baby will have two parents. “It’s hard to do it alone,” she says, one hand on the curve of her belly.
It goes well, or at least Geno wants to think it does. At the end, she shows them an ultrasound picture.
"Oh," Sid says, leaning over Geno’s shoulder. He brushes his fingertips over the picture, and then pulls his hand back quickly, like he’s embarrassed, like he isn’t allowed.
Geno bumps his shoulder into Sid’s chest, and then looks at Elena. “Pretty,” he says.
She smiles, almost shy. “Not yet,” she says.
"But she will be," Sid says, completely serious.
*
It turns out it did go well, because Elena wants to see them again. This time it’s a home visit, early in the morning, before her classes and their practice.
Sid shows up the night before with an overnight bag.
Geno raises his eyebrows.
"It’s not going to be believable if I just come over early," Sid says, like this should be utterly obvious. "Besides what if my alarm doesn’t go off?"
Geno rolls his eyes and lets Sid in. He sticks more chicken breasts in the oven and Sid makes a salad, and they debate gender-neutral versus princess-themed nurseries.
Sid brushes his teeth next to Geno in the master bathroom, and they make faces at each other in the mirror. Sid changes into boxers and a t-shirt for bed, and when he comes out of the bathroom, he looks uncertain for the first time.
Geno looks at him, and— It’s ridiculous, because he sees Sid wearing less than that in the locker room all the time, but something about Sid’s hesitance in the quiet of Geno’s bedroom makes Geno flush and glance away.
"Is this okay?" Sid asks, hovering by the edge of the bed.
"Yes," Geno says. "Yes, is okay."
Sid smiles at him and gets under the covers.
Geno turns out the light. “Night, Sid.”
"Good night, Geno."
Geno thinks it will be weird, that he’ll have a hard time falling asleep worrying about tomorrow with Sid in his bed, but he finds himself matching Sid’s steady breathing without even trying. He doesn’t even notice falling asleep.
In the morning he wakes up curled around Sid. His nose is pressed against the nape of Sid’s neck, his arm slung around Sid’s waist, and in the few sleepy minutes before his alarm goes off, he realizes how much he’s missed this, waking up with someone in his arms.
He lets go of Sid when his alarm beeps, rolling over to bat at it until it goes off.
"Sid, let’s go," he says, and Sid makes a disgruntled noise, burying his face in the pillow.
He shakes Sid’s shoulder. “Elena here soon.”
Sid jerks up at that. Geno laughs.
Elena and the facilitator come over right on time. The four of them sit at the breakfast table and drink the peppermint tea Sid brought over last night (in case Elena wasn’t drinking caffeine). She asks Sid more questions this time, and Sid gives his bland media answers until he starts talking about Taylor. Then his face lights up and he relaxes, and Geno has to hide a fond smile in his mug of tea. Elena gives him a quick, sidelong glance, and whatever she sees in his face makes her little smile soften and get bigger. They trade stories about siblings and childhood memories.
Elena rolls her mug between her palms and asks, “Do you want to adopt more children? I mean, not just one.”
Geno looks at Sid automatically, even though he doesn’t know why. Sid looks back, face neutral. “One is—” Geno stops, frowns.
"A miracle," Sid says softly.
Geno nods. “Sister good, brother good, but maybe never lucky enough again.” The words feel clumsy and awkward in his mouth, and for the fifth or sixth time in this whole process, he wishes he’d listened to Gonch when he left and worked harder on his English.
Sid bumps his knee against Geno’s under the table, and Geno lets out a breath. “So. See house?”
Elena and the facilitator agree, and Geno has to admit that Sid was right. It looks better with the guest room still pristine from the cleaning service and the master bedroom tidy but a little rumpled around the edges, clearly used, Sid’s toiletries mixed with his on the vanity.
In the nursery, Elena runs her finger over smooth, heavy wood of the crib and nods along while Sid explains that the mobile over it is black and white because research shows it’s better for newborns’ brain development than colors.
Elena and the facilitator are both smiling when they leave, which has to be good, right?
Sid squeezes his shoulder.
*
Elena picks him, them. Geno gets the voicemail after practice, and calls the agency back to schedule a time to start the paperwork. He’s smiling so hard his face hurts, but he makes himself speak slowly and seriously.
When he goes back to the locker room, he doesn’t even have to say anything. Sid takes one look at him and his face lights up.
"Elena say yes," Geno says, and Sid whoops and throws himself into Geno’s arms like he just scored a goal.
The rest of the guys cluster around, offering hugs and backslaps and congratulations.
Geno shakes his head. “Is still paperwork,” he says, and it’s as much to himself as to them, but nobody wants to listen. Flower’s already making plans to take him out.
He looks at Sid, and Sid grins at him, huge and luminous, and Geno laughs again.
*
His mother makes a high-pitched noise of delight when he tells her, and then bursts into tears. His dad offers gruff congratulations, voice suspiciously thick.
"This is going to be like Geoffrey, isn’t it?" Denis says. "You’re going to bring home a baby and then leave her with mom and dad."
Geno knows that he’s joking, but his voice still comes out too sharp when he says, “No.”
"Ahhhh, shit," Denis says. "I know. You’re going to be a great father."
"Thanks," Geno says, rubbing a knuckle against his own eye. "Thanks."
*
Sid signs them up for a bunch of parenting classes. Sid is focused, intent, taking copious notes. He still laughs so hard he almost falls over when Geno drops the little plastic baby three times trying to change a diaper.
"Slippy," he hisses to Sid, but Sid only laughs harder. Geno really hopes actual babies aren’t this slippery.
They go to some of Elena’s doctor appointments with her. It’s usually in the morning, so it’s just easier for Sid to stay over at Geno’s. Geno likes sharing a bed again with someone, with Sid.
(Sometimes he likes it a little too much, but that’s what long showers in the morning are for.)
*
Before they go out onto the ice for the first playoff game, Geno bumps Sid’s fist and says, “Have to win Cup, put baby in it.”
Sid honks with laughter and Geno swats his ass, and they follow the rest of the guys out of the locker room.
They win the Cup.
*
Elena goes into labor a week early. The wait is agonizing, but in the end, Elena has a tiny, perfect baby girl.
When the nurse brings her back, scrubbed clean and wrapped in a blanket, Geno gets to hold her. She is red and wrinkly and a little squished, and she is the most beautiful human being he has ever seen.
"Ekaterina," he says, looking up at Elena. It’s her mother’s name, and his grandmother’s. She nods, smiling faintly, tiredly.
Sid is watching them, his hands shoved in his pockets like he’s worried about what to do with them.
"Sid," Geno says. "You hold."
"Oh," Sid says. "I, yes, please."
He takes her carefully, looking down at her with a soft, awed expression, and it makes something strange and warm clench in Geno’s chest.
"Hello, beautiful," Sid says. "Katya, right?"
Geno clears his throat. “Yes.”
Sid glances up at him and then flushes, ducking his head. “Here, you should—”
The nurse takes her back then, and Sid and Geno have to go home. They don’t talk about it, but Sid stays over.
"Oh my god, Geno," he says, staring up at the ceiling. "This is, she’s amazing."
Geno lets himself roll over and throw his arm across Sid’s stomach, press his smile into Sid’s shoulder. “Yes,” he says. “Yes.”
*
Because Katya was early, Geno’s parents won’t be there for a couple of days. It’s fine, they handle it, but Geno is still really glad when they show up.
There’s a lot of hugging and kissing and hauling in luggage, and then his mother demands, “Where is she?”
Sid comes out of the living room then, Katya curled asleep against his shoulder, and his mother claps her hands over her mouth like she is physically holding in her delight.
"Hi," Sid says quietly.
His mother tiptoes around so she can see Katya’s face.
"If you want—" Sid starts, but she shakes her head.
"No, no, sleep," she says, and makes a shooing motion at him.
Sid smiles at them all, soft and sleepy, and takes Katya upstairs. He’s wearing pajama pants and one of Geno’s old Metallurg t-shirts, and his hair is sticking up all over the place.
His mother watches them go, her eyes narrowing. Then she turns and smacks him in the shoulder.
"You didn’t tell us you were dating Sidney Crosby," she says.
"Mama, no—" Geno starts, and then stops, because it suddenly occurs to him that saying We lied about being together to get a baby might actually be worse than letting his mother think he’s been hiding things. “It’s hard to say over the phone,” he says lamely. “I thought maybe you guys had already guessed.”
She gives his father a vindicated look. “See, I told you so. Ever since he came to this city, it’s Sidney this and Sidney that, and even more once you started talking about babies. I told you they were more than teammates.”
His father sighs heavily. “And I said, no, Zhenya would tell us if he was dating this boy, if they were going to adopt a baby together.”
"Sorry," Geno says, rubbing the back of his neck.
"You are a terrible son," his mother says, and pulls him down to kiss both his cheeks. "But I forgive you because you’ve gotten me a granddaughter."
*
At dinner, his mother asks Sid when his parents are coming to meet Katya. Geno translates for Sid and Sid blinks.
"Oh," Sid says. "Um, later, probably, after you guys are gone?"
Geno relays this to his mother and she purses her lips. “They don’t want to come sooner?”
Geno hesitates, glancing at Sid, and his mother drops it. “Well, that’s more efficient anyway — more time before you have to get a nanny!”
Later, when they’re getting ready for bed, Geno says, “Is okay, is good, you parents come, see Katya.”
Sid’s smile is a little tight around the edges. “Sure, I mean, the next time they’re in town, they can come over.”
Geno frowns, but it’s true, Sid’s parents don’t need to make a special trip to see Geno’s daughter. He just doesn’t know why that thought bothers him.
Geno wakes up in the middle of the night and the bed is empty. The baby monitor is quiet, but he goes down the hall to the nursery anyway.
Sid is sitting in the rocking chair with Katya, an empty bottle at his elbow. The only light comes from the penguin nightlight that Nealer gave them. Sid looks up when Geno closes the door behind him. He smiles, and even in the dim light it looks tired and a little sad.
"Do your parents think we’re together?" Sid asks.
Geno nods. “Is better, I think—”
Sid looks back at Katya. “No, yeah, Elena will want to meet them, and they shouldn’t have to—” He stops, bites his lip. “Sorry. This was a dumb idea. I didn’t think it through.”
"It work."
Sid’s mouth twists. He stands up, lays Katya down on her back in the crib. She snuffles, but doesn’t wake up. “But now we’re lying to your parents, and Elena, and you’re going to meet someone else, someone you want to marry and raise kids with, and—”
Everything in Geno’s head goes quiet and distant, and oh. Oh. How could he be so stupid? How did he not see this before?
"Not want other person," he says thickly.
Sid nods, not looking at him. “I know, you can do this by yourself, but—”
"No, Sid." Geno crosses the room and catches Sid’s elbow, pulls him around to face him. "I want you."
Sid’s eyes go wide, and Geno leans in and kisses him. Sid is perfectly still for a heartbeat. Then he inhales sharply and kisses Geno back, and all Geno can think is yes, yes, this.
When they break apart, they’re both breathing fast.
"I want this," Geno says, waving his hand between them, at Katya. "I want us — partners."
"Partners," Sid says, soft and breathless, his face lighting up in a smile. "Yes, always."