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1.
The coffee shop was quiet, caught between morning rush and lunch when Zhenya stumbled through the door. His 8am class was going to kill him. Luckily, Sidney was behind the counter, head bowed over a textbook. He didn’t look up until Zhenya tapped the counter in front of his book.
“Sorry, sorry.” Sidney slid a pen into the book to hold his place. “What can I…?” Then he smiled, as if he was seeing Zhenya for the first time. “The usual? I get kinda caught up when I’m reading.”
Zhenya grinned. “The usual sounds just right.” He glanced across at the cover of Sidney’s book. It looked incredibly dry for some light reading. Later on, Zhenya would blame the early start and the lack of caffeine for the fact he couldn’t put all the clues together, but instead he opened his mouth and stuck his foot right in it. “Seems a bit boring.”
Sidney splashed Zhenya’s hand as he set the coffee mug down on the counter rather forcefully. “It’s not like I’m reading it for fun. It’s required reading.” Sidney looked offended and prickled, like Zhenya’s cat, when Zhenya glanced back up.
“But you’re too old…” Zhenya managed to stop himself from saying any more but Sidney had already worked out what he was going to say.
“I’m a student. I took some time out.” Sidney snapped his mouth shut. “That’ll be $3.11.” He held out his hand. Zhenya mutely handed over a five and Sidney gave him his change with a muttered and insincere, “Have a nice day.”
The silence afterwards left Zhenya plenty of time to contemplate his sins.
He took his empty mug up to where Sidney was reading – and highlighting, and taking notes – and waited patiently. Sidney narrowed his eyes for a moment and then refilled Zhenya’s coffee.
“So, what are you studying?” Zhenya tried to lean casually against the counter to read the title of the book again.
“History and International Relations.” Sidney spoke curtly, just this side of polite. “What do you study?”
“I teach. Russian literature and language. Mainly language.” Zhenya shrugged. “I’m working on paper.”
“I thought you were just Russian.” Sidney had obviously decided to give up on staying on even this side of polite. It was just as well there was only a few other customers, hooked into earphones and laptops. Sidney placed the mug back on the counter very, very carefully.
“I am just Russian.” Zhenya tried a smile. He’d always been teased about the impact his smile had on nice boys and girls. Or, maybe that was just because they’d been subjected to Sasha’s smile first. “Are you from here? Pittsburgh?”
“I’m Canadian.” Sidney held out his hand and Zhenya dug out another bill. “And I’m trying to study.”
Zhenya took his coffee, his change, and his dignity and slunk back to his chair.
2.
Zhenya had started frequenting this coffee shop for three reasons: it was close to his office, his office was shared with three others which included Sasha and the coffee was always strong. Zhenya had need of strong coffee especially when grading freshmen translations.
The reason he continued to frequent it, so much that his students tried there first rather than his actual office? The reason was Sidney and Zhenya’s ridiculous crush on him. And all Zhenya seemed able to manage to actually do with Sidney was insult him and pay for more coffee. He was a disgrace to his homeland, that’s what he was.
“You need to find a boy,” Sasha yelled into his ear, leaning too close and nearly suffocating Zhenya with his beer breath. “A not nice boy.”
“I’m okay.” Zhenya knew better than to let Sasha see any weakness. “I’m here to drink with you.” Zhenya raised his glass in a toast. The bar was close to campus and close to full, what with finals looming ever nearer. This bar was cheap and their beer was cold and, for some reason, they had a stock of decent Russian vodka that Zhenya attempted to support whenever he could.
Sasha had a wild look in his eyes that suggested he wasn’t going to be satisfied with vodka tonight, though. “You move here to be yourself and spend all your time teaching or in that coffee shop. You should date.”
“You got dumped, again.” Zhenya sipped at his glass again, mainly to prevent himself downing it and ordering three more. The liquid flowed down his throat smoothly, suggesting he’d drunk quite a lot already if he wasn’t feel the burn.
Sasha was already scanning the rest of the bar, obviously looking for a likely prospect. Zhenya let his own eyes wander. He wasn’t exactly disinterested but he still burned with his failure at making Sidney understand he was interested. It was bad enough that his crush wasn’t at all dented, bruised or diminished in any way whatsoever. Zhenya’s eyes snagged on a curly black head that reminded him of Sidney. His feelings were spilling over everywhere, everything reminded him of Sidney now, he was imagining…
No. He wasn’t drunk and maudlin. He wasn’t imagining anything. That really was Sidney.
Sasha swayed closer. “That ass!” Zhenya’s eyes slid down the curve of Sidney’s spine until he could imagine his hands following the same path. He downed his drink.
“Next round is mine.” Escape seemed like a good decision, even though Zhenya was fairly sure he had ordered the last round as well. He leaned on the bar to prevent himself from smacking his head against the sticky wood, clasping his hands in front of him as he waited for the bartender to notice him.
He felt a firm body buffet him and reached out to steady the obviously drunk person. His hand landed low on Sidney’s hip. Zhenya snatched back his hand as if he had been burned.
“Um.” Sidney was adorably dishevelled, a flush visible high on his cheek and his usually neatly ordered hair tumbled in rough, sweaty curls around his face. Even his collar was askew and Zhenya’s hands itched with the need to smooth it into place.
“Hello, Sidney.” Zhenya tried pasting on a calm smile, reassuring and respectable. He was probably too drunk to make it work. “The vodka is good here.”
“I just drink beer.” Sidney looked along the bar but the bartender was mixing some really complicated concoction down the far end.
“I should buy you.” Zhenya hoped the words were in English. “I would like to buy you. Beer.” His tongue felt clumsy in his mouth.
Sidney shook his head even before Zhenya managed to stumble out his meaning, obviously turning him down. A body slammed into Sidney’s other side, an arm familiarly slinging around his chest.
“What’s happening, Sid? Where’s the beer?” The guy squeezed Sidney tight against his chest as the bartender finally shuffled up to their end of the bar, taking note of Sidney’s raised hand. Zhenya waited until they were served and had shuffled off, arms around each other, to order the rest of the bottle of vodka.
3.
Zhenya avoided the coffee shop for four days after his drunken encounter. He found embarrassing stalker-esque photographs on his phone that he couldn't remember taking which were either because Sasha had stolen his phone (probable) or that Zhenya was a disgrace to his ancestors and Russian winters and all that (possible) and had been too drunk to remember.
Sid looked good in them, curls slicked down by sweat, mainly from the heat of the bar rather than dancing. Although Zhenya had run into him on the dancefloor and felt that ass accidentally ground into his crotch as Sid had jumped back to avoid one of his friend's flailing. Zhenya was sadly, sadly unable to think about the whole situation without embarrassment or an inappropriate boner.
He was glad when Sasha fell through the office door, yelling about skates.
There was always a moment when he stepped onto the ice when Zhenya wondered if he would forget to skate, when his feet would go out from under him and he would be unable to stay upright. After he pushed off from the side, however, he remembered he had been skating forever and had years and years of muscle memory to propel him forward. After a quick lap, he felt like he was flying.
Sasha shot a puck in his direction but Zhenya let it ricochet off the boards before snagging it on his stick and sending it into the empty net.
Sasha crashed into him, pawing enthusiastically at Zhenya’s helmets. His enormous grin and patent good mood soon lifted Zhenya’s spirits. “Staff versus students matches, always good times.”
At the opposite end of the rink, the student team had gathered, wearing black jerseys. The staff had a mixture of red – some Washington Caps, some Flames and Zhenya’s own Russian jersey. Most of the students were in plain black, though, something which smelled of organization and practice. Zhenya wondered about this as he made his way over to the rest of the staff team, some of who even stretched out on the ice. Eric from the English Faculty was glaring at the other end of the rink.
“My fucking brother is on the student side this year,” he told Sasha, pointing with his stick. “He’s been telling us all about this insane freshie that’s been like teaching them drills.”
“We’ll still beat him.” Sasha puffed his chest out, although it was barely noticeable under all his padding.
Zhenya left them to discuss strategy and looked more closely at the student side. They were all gathered around a single figure who pulled off his helmet and ran his hand over his hair. Then Zhenya understood what was going on. Sasha didn’t even have the grace to look guilty.
Swallowing his nerves, Zhenya skated over to the blue line and waited until Sid noticed him. Zhenya waved, awkwardly, unsure of what kind of reception he was going to get. Sid finished up whatever hurried instructions he was giving and smoothly skated over to Zhenya. He looked at home on the ice, gleeful and happy in a way he never was in the coffee shop.
“Hey,” Sid said, adorably out of breath, as he skidded to a stop. “I didn’t know you played. Although I should have, with the whole Russian thing.”
“We are not all…stereotypes,” Zhenya said rather reluctantly as Sasha let out a yell from the other side of the rink. “But I play. Since kid.”
“Me too.” Sid’s smile faded a little. “Are you sure you’re up to the challenge?”
“Challenge?” Zhenya scoffed, before grinning to let Sid know he was joking. “Students get younger, we get older and sneakier.”
Sid shook his head. There was something nice about the fact they were on equal territory here. Zhenya wasn’t a teacher or a customer here. He was an opponent and a match. Perfectly it turned out. Zhenya swung into position for the first face off to see Sid’s fierce and reckless grin under his face shield.
Zhenya lost the face off.
By the end of the period, he seemed to be playing keep away with Sid more than trying to actually play some kind of game. Every time they were out on the ice together, Sid challenged him, kept up with him, with what seemed like the same breathless excitement Zhenya felt.
Then they lost. Zhenya wasn’t sure how it happened, but the students seemed to be on fire, and the scoring soon reached ridiculous level of disparity. Zhenya was shocked into a kind of numbness, unable to do anything but mechanically skate as the final whistle blew.
“Fuck me,” Sasha muttered, leaning over and breathing heavily. “I should have known Crosby would be good, but fuck me.”
“What?” Zhenya watched the celebrations of the students dully, wondering if he had enough energy to skate for the bench or whether he could persuade Sasha to push him.
“Crosby. Your crush.” Luckily Sasha had dipped into Russian and Zhenya didn’t have to worry about being overheard. “He was a real prospect but some family tragedy…” Sasha shrugged. “He would have been professional.”
Zhenya looked at Sid with new respect. Or, perhaps, more respect. He also added the fact Sid was into hockey into the ‘reasons he is perfect’ column. It was getting to be frighteningly large. He should go over and speak to Sid, congratulate him. But the idea of forcing his way through the knot of jubilant students made him sick. “Fuck,” Zhenya muttered, unable to come up with any other response.
Sasha towed him to the bench in the end, mocking him every moment. Zhenya probably deserved it.
4.
There was a certain pleasure in being able to chatter away to the dog and not have anyone judge what he was saying. Although, upon reflection, Zhenya reckoned his tone probably gave it away.
The park was mostly empty as dusk swiftly gave way to darkness, but Zhenya knew he and Millie could toss the ball a few more times before they needed to head back to the University. Of course, it was after he'd sent Millie racing across the grass that he heard a soft "Hey" from behind him.
Zhenya spun around to see Sid, dressed in running gear with earphones dangling around his neck, one hand raised in an awkward wave.
"Sid!" Zhenya wasn't sure what else to say. He also kept his eyes firmly on Sid's face rather than letting himself look down at where Sid's thighs strained at the constraints of his running shorts or the way his t-shirt clung to his arms with sweat. "It's a nice night."
"Sure." Sid tried to put his hands in his pockets before realizing he didn't have any. "I thought I'd say hello."
"Yes." Zhenya rapidly tried to think of anything to talk about to keep Sid here, with him, voluntarily interacting with him. Luckily Millie came back and dropped her well-chewed tennis ball at his feet. "This is Millie."
"Your dog?" Sid bent to scratch between Millie's ears, earning himself a dog on his sneakers. "She's cute."
"Professor Whithall's dog. He has late class and Millie used to have to stay in the car." Zhenya thought there was nothing wrong with running his hand across Millie's fur again, until he tangled his hand with Sid's. "I miss my dog back home."
"Me too," Sid admitted. "They set up this puppy cuddle thing on the Green during Finals for, like, stress relief and I basically spent more time there than in the library."
"That's because you study hard all the time. Best student." Zhenya grinned to show Sid he was teasing. Sid smiled back after a few moments. Zhenya took a deep breath. "Are you meeting your boyfriend later?"
"Boyfriend?" Sid reapplied himself to ear scratching when Millie nudged against him. "You mean Flower? In the bar?"
"And at the rink." Zhenya wished he'd not said that as Sid looked up at him thoughtfully.
"He's a friend. A nuisance but a friend." Sid straightened up and grinned, widely. "He's French Canadian. But he's also nuts. He's a goalie."
"I know goalies," Zhenya groaned. Then he realized that Sid wasn't running away, wasn't dismissing him or even shooting him down. "So you don't have a boyfriend? Or a girlfriend?"
"I'm very single." Sid's eyes slipped down Zhenya's body, making him feel as if Sid was estimating how long it would take for him to get Zhenya naked. Zhenya could tell him it would not be long.
Suddenly Millie darted off, barking loudly. Zhenya swore as he saw her take off after a squirrel. Squirrels were her nemeses and needed to be chased up trees and Zhenya would have to chase Millie down and physically drag her back to campus.
"I need to go-" Zhenya pointed in the direction Millie had ran off in. "She won't come back for anything now."
"Dogs, huh." Sid snagged his earphones, obviously getting ready to run off. "So. Guess I'll see you next time you get coffee, Dr Malkin."
"Geno." It slipped out before Zhenya could censor it. "It's what my friends call me. I'm Evgeni, Zhenya in Russian. Geno in English."
"That's cool. I'm just Sid." Sid shrugged, sliding one of his earphones in.
Before he could run off, Zhenya shouted after him, "Not 'just'. Sid best!"
Sid jogged backwards for a couple of moments and waved before turning and running off. Zhenya let himself enjoy the sight for a few moments before chasing after Millie.
He dropped back into Russian to tell her she was a terrible cockblock. But Sid knew his name. Maybe he wasn’t entirely doomed.
5.
It was with satisfaction that Zhenya marked the last of his finals, flipping the page over and adding it to the done pile. He wasn’t expected the clapping that followed it.
Somehow, in the middle of his panicked marking, he had missed the fact that Sid had taken over at the counter and that the coffee shop had emptied out around him. Sid was the one clapping, softly, grinning at Zhenya lopsidedly.
“I’m done,” Zhenya told him, knowing he was smiling back stupidly. “No more.”
“Until next year.” Sid shook his head at Zhenya’s groan. “Are you going away for the summer?”
“Don’t know yet,” Zhenya said, getting to his feet and groaning as every one of his vertebrae protested at the stretch. He rolled his head on his neck and grabbed his empty mug, wandering across to Sid. “I’ve got research.”
Sid nodded as he took Zhenya’s mug and stuck it into the dishwasher. He didn’t immediately offer to make another. Instead he toyed with his pen for a moment. “I’m staying here too.”
Zhenya nodded, wondering what he was supposed to say to that. “Nice.” He wondered if he was supposed to say something else but Sid’s tongue dipped out and moistened his lips and Zhenya got rather caught up in that for a moment. “Good.”
Sid grabbed for a clean mug but didn’t get any further, looking a little lost. The door slammed open and a customer hurried up to the counter. Sid put the mug down and made up the order as Zhenya moved to one side of the counter and tried to remember how words worked.
The customer threw him a funny look as she grabbed her cup and headed for the far corner of the shop. Zhenya stopped watching her and turned back to Sid.
“Okay, so.” Sid scrubbed at the back of his neck with his hand for a moment. “How about dinner tonight?”
Zhenya took a moment to check he understand what those words meant. “Yes. Yes.”
“Meet me here at seven?” The door banged open again and Sid turned his attention to the group coming in. His cheeks were flushed pinker than they had been a few seconds earlier.
“Yes.” Zhenya looked down at himself. “I’m going to change. And shower.” Zhenya almost forgot to return to his table and grab all the marking he’d finished. He waved at Sid as he left then started walking faster and faster to get back to his office. He had a date to get ready for.
+1
Zhenya stretched out on the messed up sheets, feeling where Sid’s hands had pressed hard into him. He even thought he could sense the paths where Sid’s mouth had kissed down his neck and across his chest.
Sid was asleep next to him, rolled onto his stomach, arm holding the pillow firm under his face. Zhenya spent a long time watching the rise and fall of his shoulders before wondering if he needed to wake Sid up. Perhaps he had work to go to. Or commitments. Zhenya had nowhere to be and nothing to do. In fact, he would be perfectly happy to stay here with Sid.
Sid’s phone alarm went off before Zhenya had to come to a decision about what to do. Sid flailed out a hand, patting at the side of the bed before remembering where he was. The alarm was a boring chime but it was getting more annoying by the moment. Sid sat up, taking most of the sheets with him, before he stumbled across to his discarded pants and stopped the noise. He was (sadly) clutching the sheets around him as he looked back at Zhenya.
“Do you work today?” Zhenya asked, trying to casual drape his hand over his cock.
“Nope. No plans.” Sid started moving back towards the bed, letting the sheets slip a little.
Zhenya used his hand to start stroking at his growingly interested cock. “Stay with me? Dinner again?”
“Nope.” Sid finally gave up on the sheets, dumping them in a pile at the base of the bed. “We’re not going out to dinner.”
Zhenya felt a sudden worry but he was easily distracted by Sid coming to straddle his thighs. It was only right for Zhenya to help him closer by cupping Sid’s ass in his hands. It felt even better than it looked and Zhenya squeezed a little just to show his appreciation.
“I have a plan. We’re going to stay here and order in, because I’ve waited long enough to get you naked and I don’t like the idea of clothes.” Sid tried to sound flirtatious and cool, but the way he bit down on his bottom lip betrayed a little nervousness.
Zhenya couldn’t let that go. “You have best plans, Sid. Best.” Then he hauled Sid closer into a kiss.
He just had to make sure he didn’t screw up asking Sid to marry him as much as he seemed to have screwed up asking Sid on a date, if everything worked out the way he hoped it would and Sid didn't realise how much of a loser he was. Sid probably already knew that, now that Zhenya thought about it. He had time to plan properly, though. Right now, he had a new boyfriend to satisfy and Sid groaned as Zhenya pulled him close. Lots of satisfying to do.