Chapter Text
It’s the little things that nag at him, until they add up to something greater.
We have to do something Sasha!
The text from Sergei is unexpected but Alex can practically hear the frustration vibrating through it. The only thing is he’s not quite sure what it is they have to do. He has an idea though, given who it’s from.
About what? he texts back.
He’s going to classical music concerts now! Sergei replies. Fuck, really why does Sergei have to be so cryptic? And what’s wrong with classical music anyway?
Who is? Please can’t Sergei just give him a break and explain?
Zhenya. He’s taking Sidney to a classical music concert. We have to do something about this pining!
Alex’s eyebrows disappear into his hairline and he’s calling Sergei two seconds later.
“Geno’s taking Sidney to a classical concert in Pittsburgh?” he says by way of greeting.
Sergei groans. “I just told you that! It’s getting ridiculous!”
“Maybe it’s a good thing. It sounds like an overture on Zhenya’s part?” he says hopefully.
Sergei makes a noise of exasperation. “It might be, if Flower hadn’t arranged it.” Alex is just becoming more confused, not less.
“Marc-Andre Fleury arranged for Zhenya and Sidney to go to a classical concert together?” That does sound odd. Strange. Out of character for all of them.
“Apparently Flower’s wife is making him go, so he invited Sid and Zhenya along,” Sergei finally starts to explain something. Alex narrows his eyes as he thinks. It still sounds strange, something not fitting.
“I didn’t think Zhenya liked classical music,” he says thoughtfully. “He’s certainly never talked about it before.”
“Exactly. I mean, it’s something you listen to if you have to, but you don’t go to listen to it. “ Alex would beg to disagree with Sergei, but he keeps that carefully quiet. “But Flower got Sidney to agree so how could Zhenya not go?”
“Sounds like we don’t actually need to do anything then. It’s not Zhenya pining more than usual; he’s just going out with some of his team-mates,” Alex tries to say reassuringly. Sergei snorts; it’s an old argument between them.
“We do need to do something. They’re idiots.” Sergei is short and forceful.
“I agree they’re idiots, but they’ve been idiots for years now. Besides, what can we do from here?” And there goes the old argument again. It’s not like Alex doesn’t want Zhenya to get together with Sidney; he’s just not as convinced they’ll be able to do anything about it, given the pair’s apparently wilful blindness about their situation and Zhenya’s pig-headedness and inability to listen to those around him who know better.
Sergei sighs. “I’ll let you know if I hear anything else.”
“I’m not going to hold my breath.”
0--0--0
Alex is sufficiently intrigued to google the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s forthcoming concerts. The most plausible explanation seems to be an evening of Russian romantic music. Alex blinks at that. Fleury is taking Zhenya and Sidney for an evening of romantic music? That doesn’t sound like a casual concert to be enjoyed amongst team mates, particularly not with Fleury’s wife going. In no way, can he make that particular group work with that particular music. Unless of course Zhenya, Sidney and Fleury have fooled the entire league and things are a lot more complex than anyone realised in Pittsburgh. But having sat through enough drunken evenings (and nights) with Zhenya….. no.
Inexplicable things annoy him.
0--0--0
It’s over a week later when he gets another cryptic text from Sergei:
Finally!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Alex sighs, wonders why it is too difficult to actually explain things by text. There’s nothing showing on NHL alerts to give him any guidance to what the text is about.
Finally what?
THE PINING IS OVER! Sid and Zhenya are a thing!!!! Sergei’s text seems to arrive in a millisecond.
Behind the inherent grumpy complaint of wondering why couldn’t he have said that in the first place, Alex kind of can’t believe that text. They’ve been waiting years for it. Through what has now become known as the six phases of Zhenya; the ‘I have deepest respect for his hockey’ phase, the ‘I have deepest respect for his hockey and he is a really great person’ phase, the ‘I have deepest respect for his hockey and he is a really good friend’ phase, the ‘no of course I don’t find his hockey sexy’ phase, the ‘no, I’m not totally in love with him’ phase, to the seemingly stuck at ‘I’m totally in love with him but he just seems me as a friend and team mate’ phase it seems like they may have reached the seventh, and hopefully final, phase: ‘Yes we love each other very much’ phase. It has been a long time coming and surely, Sergei wouldn’t get his hopes up?
He hits call.
“Are you sure?” he says, not even bothering to introduce himself.
“I heard Sid complaining in the background when I was speaking to Zhenya that he had been out of bed for too long and that he should get back to bed right now - does that count as verification enough?” Sergei is grinning, he can tell. Alex laughs, a wave of relief and pleasure sweeping through him.
“I”m glad that was you, not me! Oh, they’re going to carry on not being subtle, aren’t they?” He grins. They’ll think they are being subtle. They’ve always thought they were being subtle. “But how.. I mean it’s been years!”
“Apparently it was at the concert Flower dragged them to. Zhenya was waxing lyrical about Sidney suddenly seeing him blah blah blah, but yeah, something at the concert finally made them realise.”
Alex shakes his head. “Whatever are we going to do with all the free time we will have now we won’t be discussing Zhenya’s inability to get together with Sidney?” He’s still grinning.
“Probably complaining about how obvious and lovestruck they are!” Sergei laughs, before ending the call.
So… Sidney and Zhenya… now a thing. Finally. And at a classical concert of romantic music of all places. Thinking about it, he realises it’s got to have been a deliberate ploy now; a go big or go unnoticed approach. He hadn’t realised that Fleury was such a romantic. Having played with a lot of Canadians, he didn’t think they generally had a romantic bone in their body. Maybe the French-Canadians… or maybe there’s a Russian emigre or two hiding in Fleury’s ancestry.
The more he thinks about it, the more he sees how annoyingly good it was as an idea. If it hadn’t worked, the pair would never have noticed. If it did work, if all that passionate romance got to them - and it seems to have done, bless them, then they still probably wouldn’t realise they’d been set up. Only the Fleurys would appreciate what they’d done. It seems wrong to leave such a clever move to go unremarked.
He texts Sergei.
Do you have Fleury’s number?