Work Text:
The Penguins are flying home after finishing a roadtrip, and Taylor decides it is time to let her brother in on the secret. She had been speaking to David for months at this point, slowly getting to know more about the older man she now knows to be her uncle. They had a scheduled time to call every week, it being specifically organised so it wouldn't clash with either of their busy schedules or social lives. During these calls, Taylor got the chance to get to know David, to meet her uncle and learn what he was like. He worked in Canada, in some sort of government job, he was married and had a son, obviously, though she was yet to meet either of them. She had heard his wife's, Yuna, he had told her, voice before on a couple of occasions, but she was yet to speak to her or to even hear his son. Apparently her son worked in a different city to them so seeing him was rare. She felt for him, knowing how it felt to have a family member live far away for work, and they often shared commiserations about attempting to organise visits to their loved ones. Even when she tried to keep conversation on it to a minimum, trying to keep the connection to famed Canadian hero Sidney Crosby a secret, they would not be Canadian without speaking about hockey. It turns out that they had both played goalie, which led to them trading stories of the crazy things that had happened while they were between the pipes. The best saves they ever performed, the craziest deflections they have ever seen.
While speaking on hockey, Taylor decided now was the perfect time to check if it would be possible to bring her brother onto the phone some day, and so she attempted to get a feel for David's hockey knowledge, asking him if he followed the league closely. He said that he is a casual fan and that his wife and son follow it much more religiously, he is happy to just be along for the ride. It is that knowledge that pushes her to finally make a plan on how she is going to tell Sidney that they have an uncle.
She had planned to tell Sidney much earlier than this, but she had realised that she didn't know David that well, and the idea of bringing her extremely famous brother into this without truly knowing David's character left her uneasy, so she had decided to hold off until she could both get to know him better but also speak to her brother in person.
Finding out your parents lied to you about your own family for your entire life is not a conversation to be had over text or on the phone. And so, as the Penguins plane soars across the sky, Taylor herself is making her way through Pittsburgh International Airport, through the city and then onto her brother's home.
She lets herself in and makes herself at home in his house. Her brother has owned this house for almost his entire time in Pittsburgh and throughout his time here it has changed with him. She always found the house to be very homey and personal, very different from the clean cut and almost clinical look a lot of player's houses go for, with bright white cabinetry, stark lighting and art pieces that would be found in an architecture and design magazine. Her brother's house in Pittsburgh had never been like that. Sidney refused to let cameras follow him home, they already got so much of his life, from his everyday life to his beloved cottage, they could deal with not having this. And the lack of being perceived showed in how he decorated.
Nothing was perfect, everything being just slightly off, but in that worn and comfy way. The comfiest couch in the world, covered in non-matching cushions, throw blankets and clear definition where people had sat in the same spots for years. Random art work he had found and loved over the years, from no name artists who's stuff he had come across by chance, hung framed on his wall. Dark cabinets, none of which matched, DVD towers filled with everything, from his own games, to tapes of his favourite NHL games as a child, to war and medicine documentaries and niche movies you only find on planes. A TV unit filled with gaming systems, some of which are likely older than his rookies. And the centrepiece of his living room, the accent wall. Wall to wall, a collage of pictures. Formal shots of every team he has played for, candid pictures throughout the years, of teammates long gone, new and upcoming, and of constant and always. Family pictures, pictures he had from Shattuck, pictures from behind the scenes with Team Canada, and more. All of them combined together to create a wall of dedication, of everyone Sidney Crosby ever let into his life. Physical proof of his love for his people. Every time someone visited his house, they ended up in front of that wall, spotting themselves, spotting other faces. It was the centrepiece of his living room, his house, just as the people in them were the centrepieces of his life.
Taylor was hoping if this conversation went well, there may one day be some more pictures to add to it, featuring new family members.
Sidney Crosby doesn't know what he is expecting when he comes home from the Penguins road trip, but his sister sat on his couch in the dark, scrolling on her phone is not it.
"Surprise Sidney."
"You rewatched Scream recently, didn't you?"
"Fuck off."
Both of them broke into laughter, Taylor pulling herself off the couch and making her way to her brother, while he dropped his bag by door to welcome her into his arms.
The two stood there for a few minutes, soaking in each others presence before separating.
"Well, this is a surprise." Sid began, "Not an unwelcome one, mind you. Just wasn't expecting to see you. Or to get the shit scared out of me by you sitting here in the darkness. What, were you gonna make me an offer I couldn't refuse or something?"
"You need to stop with the movie quotes."
"Oh shut up, you love them." When she continued to look on unconvinced, "You love me?"
She nodded, "Yes I do."
Her tone immediately caught Sidney's attention, a serious undertone that carried in what she was saying. When he looked at her he could see something in her eyes, something that said he was probably not going to like whatever conversation had made his sister leave Nova Scotia.
The two of them moved towards the couch, sitting beside one another, Sidney taking the left side, where he always sat, and Taylor taking the opposite side.
"So, why do I get the feeling this isn't a social visit?" He began.
"Because it isn't."
Taylor seemed to gather herself, having some sort of internal struggle before seeming to come to a consensus within, stealing herself before continuing.
"I have something tell you..."
"And he's our uncle?"
"Yep, mum's brother."
Her words sat with him as he seemed to process them.
"What the fuck?"
She nodded her head in solidarity and echoed his thoughts, "what the fuck, indeed."
"And you found out about this when, exactly?"
"...Christmas."
"And you didn't think to tell me sooner?"
"Ok, so I know it sounds bad, but I had a plan."
"I'm waiting"
"Your plan was make sure he's not a psycho hockey fan before you introduce him to your famous hockey brother?"
"...yes?"
He pinched the bridge of his nose, "I hate it, but, fair enough."
"Yeah man, you've got a pretty distinctive voice. Anyone would hear you and go, eh, is that Sidney Crosby?"
"Only thing more famous than my voice is Hollander's face."
"Hah! Yeah, that man ends up on ads for everything. No idea how he does it."
"Ah! I knew I had forgotten something!"
"There's more?"
"Yes!"
"...and the more is?"
"We've got a cousin."
"What?!"
The two Crosby siblings sit together on the couch in Sidney's Pittsburgh house and absorb everything that has happened over the past couple of hours of conversation. Sitting beside one another, the two of them simply exist in each other's presence, Sid staring forward as he seems to be going over all the information Taylor has given him, and Taylor sits scrolling on her phone, waiting for her brother to right all the information in his head.
Their silence is disturbed by a ringing. Sid looks to his sister, who herself is looking down at her phone as it rings out.
"Ah, yes...so, last thing."
"...Go on."
"The other reason I picked today to come and tell you? Well, today is the day me and David talk, How'd you like to talk to our uncle?"
"What?"
Taylor doesn't answer Sid's question, instead she answers her phone, putting it on speaker so Sidney can hear.
"Hey David."
"Good evening Taylor."
He sounds nice, is the first thing Sidney thinks. It's an older voice, with a comfortable cadence and a polite Canadian tone, it reminds him of Mario and how meeting him for the first time felt, after the draft. Of the invitation to live with him and his family as a rookie.
Zoning back into the conversation, Sidney hears as his sister and this man, their uncle, ask after each other's wellbeing, talk about the weather and ask how work is going. Its a perfectly normal conversation, just two people catching up. Like an uncle calling to catch up. Something catches in Sid's throat as he watches this unfold. They could have had this from the start, a family member who would ask after them, see how they were doing. Ask after him, as a person, not just someone who plays hockey.
The emotions he is feeling must be obvious as Taylor looks up from where she has been looking at her phone and sees her brother getting teary eyed.
She gestures towards the phone, and then raises her eyebrows at her brother, seeming to ask him a question. After a small moment he nods, and with that, she gives him a small smile before turning back to the conversation with David.
"Hey David, can I introduce you to someone?"
"Sure you can, dear."
"Well, ok then...come here!" She whisper shouts at him, pulling him towards her so he is resting in the centre of the couch as opposed to the opposite side.
"I'm with my brother, he can hear you, you're on speaker, I...should probably have said that from the start, shouldn't I?"
"Yes Taylor, you probably should have. But it's alright. Hello nephew who's name I don't know."
"Hi..." Sid quickly drifts off the sentence, leaving an awkward silence momentarily before David fills it again in that comforting tone that has already wrapped Sid up in a blanket of comfort.
"If your not comfortable, you don't have to speak. You don't even have to give me your real name if you don't want to. I know this is a weird situation. I hope to get to meet more of you over time, and I hope you get to know more of me. I don't know what Taylor has said about me, but I'm just glad I get to know either of you at all."
"Darryl," he blurts out before he can think any more, "You can call me Darryl."
Taylor laughs at that, Sid swatting her on the head as she continues to laugh.
"Well, from that reaction, I'm sure there's a story, but I don't need to hear it, not unless you want me to. It's a pleasure to meet you Darryl. I'm glad to finally meet you."
After that, David and Taylor pick back up into their conversation, catching each other up on everything that had happened in their lives. Sid spends most of the conversation by Taylor's side, listening to them speak. But ever so often, out of the blue, Sid would chirp up into the conversation, adding a random fact or anecdote about a place they were talking about. Sid is an incredibly well travelled athlete, who has been to countries all across North America and beyond, and he collects a gold mine of facts about them. From local monuments to food spots, he's had almost 15 years of travelling to get city trips down to an art form.
But it is towards the end of the call that Sidney truly comes out of his shell, and it is all thanks to his favourite pesky Russian teammate.
"I obviously speak good English and my French is pretty good, but I've been thinking of taking up learning a new language. Russian is currently tickling my fancy but all I've heard is absolute horror stories about it." David begins the conversation
"Yeesh, talk about a hard choice. Ay, I bet you know your fair share of Russian, don't you Si-Darryl." Taylor catches herself at the end.
"Not as much as your probably expecting. He mostly practices his English on us, if he's speaking Russian, most of the time now, he doesn't want us to know what he's saying." Sid continues, "To be honest, I have always wanted to learn properly. He's my best friend and I can't hold a proper conversation with him."
It is in that moment that David pipes up, "I...feel like I might be missing something?"
Its in that moment that they remember that the two of them aren't just chirping each other, but that they actually had been having a conversation with someone.
"Sorry." "Sorry!" Two voices announce.
"My best friend and close coworker at work is Russian, he learnt English when he came over so its pretty rough at times." Sid goes on, "He tries his best! Its just really hard."
"I'd love to be able to speak Russian, for him, to know what he's saying all the time. It'd be nice, for both of us."
David listens to all of that and responds, "that's lovely, truly lovely." He then continues, "My son's partner is Russian, and while their English is pretty good, I know that having to speak a second language can be hard, especially when tired or hurt. I don't want something to happen and no one can communicate with them, so" He seemed to shrug. "I guess I've taken that on as my task."
"That's...that's beautiful." Taylor speaks.
"Well," He shrugs his shoulders, "It's nothing."
"It's not nothing," Sid interjects, "It shows you care. About your son's partner. About their relationship. About everything. You're a good dad David."
The silence hangs over them all, Sid and Taylor on the couch and David on the other end of the phone. It's not a heavy silence, instead it is one of contentment.
"Would you like to learn Russian with me?" David breaks the silence.
"For our Russians? It would be my pleasure." Sid responds.
"For our Russians. Get Taylor to give you my number and we'll see about organising ourselves a learning experience."
"For our Russians!!" Taylor yells, jumping up and punching Sid in the shoulder, getting a yelp out of Sid and a laugh out of David. "I just wanted to participate."
"I think this is gonna be the start of a beautiful friendship, eh, David?"
"I think you're right."
And as she watches them chat, Taylor knows her work here is done.