Chapter Text
Sid was at home when he heard his mother shout for him to come downstairs. It was unusual. Normally, she knocks on the door to tell him something instead of shouting it for all of Nova Scotia to hear.
“Sidney now!” She calls again.
"I'll be down soon!" Sid shouted back. He quickly threw on a hoodie that was several sizes too large for him and quickly looked in the mirror. Feeling weird about himself, he quickly threw his hair up in a messy bun.
He hurries downstairs, clutching the book he was reading; feminist literature. As he stopped at the bottom step, he made a mistake of looking directly into the eyes of..
Mario Lemieux. Mario Lemieux?
He stared at him in confusion. He turned to his mom, looking for an answer as to what the heck Mario Lemieux is doing in their front entrance. He noticed his mother looked anxious.
“Sidney this is Mario Lemieux, we’ve run out of money to pay your sisters hospital bills with. I’m so sorry son but we’ve had to sell you to him” She nervously responded to my look.
His mouth flew wide agape. Why is his mom telling him that Mario Lemieux had personally come to his house to buy him? He was just a normal boy living a normal life. He lives with his parents, and his little sister, Taylor. People say he's always been a little quiet-often kept to himself reading books because he struggled to make friends.
“Mom what… you can’t sell me like that..” Sid whispered, staring at her, silently pleading for her to explain more.
The tears in his mother’s eyes glistened but refused to fall. At least Sid knows she feels some sorrow.
“Sidney,” Mario steps forward, “don’t make this harder than it has to be, I’m so sorry but you’ll be coming with me to Pittsburgh.”
Ah yes, famous Mario Lemieux of Pittsburgh, Captain of the penguins, winner of 2 Stanley cups, although 10 years ago.
Sid stared blankly at the two, this absolutely cannot be happening to him, a million thoughts ran through his mind, will he be able to say goodbye to his sister? What about his dad? Will he be able to bring anything with him? It was all getting him so anxious.
Sidney’s family was the most important thing to him. He was distraught with the thought of leaving without saying anything to his father or sister.. or his best friend.
“Baby go pack your things, Mr Lemieux is a busy man and the preseasons around the corner you guys need to get going” His mom sighs like she’s donating clothes to a goodwill and not selling her own child to pay off her other child’s medical debt.
The tears in his mothers eyes have dried up, she’s grown tired of this back and forth between him and Mario.
“Mom, all this is happening so soon? Don’t I have time to say bye to Taylor and Dad? What about Nate?” Sid blanched.
Nate.
In his 17 years of living here in Nova Scotia he never managed to make a single friend.
For the exception of his best friend Nathan Mackinnon.
They’ve been close ever since they were children, both playing hockey together before his parents couldn’t afford it anymore. Nate was 2 years younger than him but they always got along well, trading books between each other and fantasising about being in the NHL together. Nate would always stare at him with awe in his eyes, looking up to Sid, but he never felt like he deserved any of that praise.
“Sidney, everything will be alright I promise you, once you get settled in Pittsburgh we’ll send you letters and Skype you alright? Now go quickly and pack your things" his mom says as she shoos him up the stairs.
He glances at the front door, then at his surroundings, the entrance to the sitting room, the entrance to the dining room. This is his home, he dreads to leave it. Finally he glances at the stairs and makes his way up them.
Sid walks into his bedroom, surveying it. It would be the last time he would ever see his bedroom in a long time. He grabs his duffle under the bed, filling it with all his favourite books until he realised he needed to pack clothes. He placed his favourite hoodies and his possessions, ehem, the hockey puck from his first game before he had to quit hockey, and Taylor's hockey puck before she also had to quit, into his duffle. Taylor gave them to him for his birthday.
Sid loved hockey. He breathed hockey. Scouts were watching him closely since age 10. He had to quit though. His parents ran out of money to support his career, he understood, but sometimes he wished the circumstances were different.
Sid finished packing and zipped the duffle up, hoisting it onto his shoulder and heading down the stairs back to Mario Lemieux and Mom, watching them finish their conversation.
“Are you ready to go Sidney?” Mario looks at him with pity.
Mario’s eyes showed a hint of only one emotion, but Sid could tell the layer of the rest of his emotions carefully hidden beneath his skin.
He wasn't sure why Mario pitied him. Mario was the main reason he was in this predicament.
Sid nodded and he managed a smile. He beckons through the open front door and he turned to get one last look at my mom who looks back with tears in her eyes.
Alright, it was just him starting today.
He turned away from her to follow Mr Lemieux into his car down the path. Mario opened the boot and motioned for him to hand the duffle, once it’s securely into Mario's hand he gently tosses it in the back of the car.
“Sidney you can sit up front with me, yeah? We can chat about how your new life is Pittsburgh is going to go.” Mario said.
Sidney nodded at him, glancing once more at the house he calls home. Taking it in, the two story family home his parents brought when he was 3, he faintly remembers seeing a photo of move in day. He was sitting in a pile of boxes with the largest grin he’s ever seen on his face.
They hop into the car and begin the drive to the airport.
During the ride Mario continues to try and make small talk, Sidney barely responding. The thoughts are running through his head a hundred miles an hour. Filled with anxieties.
They arrive at Halifax and Sid hands Mario his passport so he can get them checked in. Moving through all the airport processes, they finally reach their gate. Sid found them three seats so he didn't have to sit next to Mario and quietly think about what the heck is happening to him
The airport is cold with a certain smell he can’t place. He can hear the rumble of exicted people and as well as people sad to leave.
“Sidney, I know this is very strange but nothing can change now so we’re going to have to get used to each other. When we get back to Pittsburgh you’ll have your own room in the house with a small kitchenette separate from the rest of the house by a hallway. The kids shouldn’t bother you too much but I’m sure you’ll like them.” Said Mario
Mario lists things about his house that would make anyone smile if not in Sidney’s situation. Sid nodded at him again, he's been doing a lot of that recently--close to developing a neck cramp.
Over the intercom he heard them call their flight number as priority boarding started.
Mario stands up and Sid followed him to the kiosk where they get sorted. Following him down the tarmac and onto the plane, they reach their seats in first class and settle in.
—
The plane ride is long and tireing, so Sid is very much relieved when they touch down in Pittsburgh International Airport.
Mario leads them outside, where they meet Mario's wife who's outside to pick them up. “Hi Sidney! I’m Nathalie and I’m so excited for you to stay with us!” She beams with excitement. Sid wondered if Mario told her the truth that he had bought him and took him away from his family.
“Hi..” He shyly responded back.
The Pittsburgh air is different to Nova Scotia, it feels heavier, almost metallic.
They hop into the car, staring at the window, taking in the unfamiliar setting of Pittsburgh as Nathalie drives them to their house. Her and Mario take turns pointing out places on the way to their house, like the corner store or the Point State Park.
They finally arrive in front of a big mansion. It's tall, spanning across widely with a big gate and a high fence-to prevent unwanted attention, he thinks. They get out of the car and Nathalie offers to help him with his bags. A look of pity painted her face as she looked at him take his dusty aged duffle out of the car.
Sid takes in his surroundings before he enters the house. A basketball hoop in the driveway, a street hockey set up on the concrete, their family SUV, Nathalie's beautiful garden, and their front porch. It felt cozy, but to Sid, it doesn't quite feel like home.. yet.
As they enter the house, Sid takes in the immediate warmth of the house. Mario's framed jersey, his medals all lined up in one frame, hockey memorabilia decorated the walls. On the floor, a bunch of toys scattered across the living room. Suddenly, he is immediately overwhelmed with balls of joy and excitement.
“Calm down you 4! Don’t overwhelm our guest!” Nathalie scolds them lightly. They all look sheepish before the oldest looking one moves to introduce herself. “Hi! I’m Lauren and these are my siblings, Stephanie, Austin, and Alexa!” She says pointing to each one of them as she talks. “Let Sidney get settled in first then we’ll talk about how you all can bother him.” Mario chuckles, steering Sid up the stairs.
I follow him until we reach a doorway, then Mario opens it showing me the largest room I’ve ever seen, with a king sized bed, a kitchenette, a couch.
Sid padded behind Mario until they reach a doorway. Mario opens up what seems to be the largest room that he's ever seen>
“This is where you’ll be staying, Sid” Mario said. “Mr Lemieux this is way too much for me, I’ve never had anything this grand in my life… are you sure?” Sid gaped at him with wide eyes. Mario sighed, expecting at least some pushback. “Sidney it’s the least I can do after taking you away from your family, and besides all the other guest rooms are slightly inadequate, and by that I mean they’ve all become storage rooms.”
How has his life come to this? A few hours ago, he was tucked up in the corner of the nook on the window, reading his feminist literature. But now? He's in the mansion of Mario Lemieux, his wife Nathalie and their 4 kids. It all felt unreal.
“Thank you Mr Lemieux for your kindness, this room… I— it’s more than I deserve. I promise I’ll help around the house whoever I can I promise I won’t be a burden to you.” Said Sid.
Mario ruffled his hair, taking a few strands out of his messy bun.
“Don’t worry about it kid, come to me or Nat if your need anything yeah? Don’t be afraid to ask us something like if the paint colour in the room isn’t to your liking.”
“Yeah.. alright thank you, Mr. Lemieux.” Sid gave him a brief smile as Mario turned away to walk back down the hallway.
Sid enters the room, looking around in awe at the size of it, it’s the size of the whole top floor at his house, his old house, actually. The walls are painted in grey, with white trim on the floor to give it a bit of dimension. There’s a bed in the centre of the room, with white linens and a dark grey duvet, two side tables on either side adorned with lamps. The kitchenette is separated from the rest of the room by the countertop with 3 barstools sided up. It looks equipped with all the things needed to make a kitchen, he thinks.There’s a couch on the opposite side, facing a tv on the wall, below it on the stand there seems to be a few DVDs and games.
He places his duffle on the desk in between the couch and the bed, placing his clothes in the drawers next to it. He chucks on a hoodie and one of the pucks Taylor gave him falls out. She gave it to him as it was the first ever shot she blocked in her first game as a goalie. She loved hockey, still does but she’s unable to play due to her medical condition leaving her bed ridden in the hospital. Placing the puck on the desk securely, he gets back to work. He finishes unpacking his stuff and sits on the bed, questions clouding his brain.
what did Mario bring him here for? Why did he buy him? He was so busy with his thoughts that he didn’t even notice the younger Lemieux' creeping through his door. “HI!” The youngest one named Alexa announces with her toothy grin, “Do you wanna kick a ball around outside wif us?”. The one next to her perks up, Austin, “Pleaseeeee Lauren says she’s too old to play with us and Stephanie’s sulking about not being able to go to a sleepover in her room.” It’s hard to say no when 2 kids are pleading with him. “Yeah alright I’ll come play” he flashes them a grin and gets up to follow them down the stairs and outside to the backyard. They get a circle going, passing the ball back and forth between each other, Alexa keeps dropping it and Austin keeps passing a bit wide but they're only kids.
“So Sidney..” Austin starts and Sid moves to correct him. “You can call me Sid, Sidney’s for my mom to call me yeah?". Austin nods in acknowledgment. “So Sid, why are you here? I mean this morning, my mom told us over breakfast that we’re getting a guest and to be nice to him, sometimes we have guests but they're some of dad's younger teammates that live here when they were in their early years at the NHL”
Sid pondered the question for a moment, in truth he's not all that sure himself, all he knows is that Mario bought him and now he's here but that’s not the sort of thing he should tell to a child.
“I’m not sure to be honest, my family and struggling and your dad was kind enough to help them out and take me here.” Sid carefully responds. Austin accepts that answer and they go back to passing the ball between them. An hour later, Nathalie pops her head out the door to call them in for dinner.
—
After dinner, Mario takes him into his study. It smells of old book and guy. It’s a dimly lit office, most of its light coming naturally through the windows. It’s a tense atmosphere, Sidney can sense. “Sidney take a seat, I know you have some questions and I’m prepared to answer them.” He motions his hand out for Sid to sit across from him. Sidney takes the seat, its seat plush. Definitely comfortable for the taut situation that he feels brewing. Mario pours himself a drink out of a fancy crystal glass. It’s a deep brown color, whisky probably. “Why did you buy me?” Said Sid immediately, not going for any small talk
Mario’s been expecting this, preparing a way to say it without making Sidney’s family sound… crappy
“Sid.. I am an old friend of your dad’s, we met through hockey and have emailed each other and kept in touch over the years. A few years back he confided in me about feeling inadequate about not being able to pay for your hockey anymore, that’s when I started getting interested in your potential.” Mario takes a sip of whisky, leaving a pause between his words, carefully chosen. “I watched a few of your games that I had sent to me on tape, you could be an incredible player with just the right training, and when your dad confided in me about the growing debt, well then I knew I had my chance.”
He takes another sip. “We made a deal, I’d pay him more than enough to cover the medical debts and in return you were to come live with me so I can train you up.” Sid stared at him, he couldn't believe it was the truth. It sounded simple, really. Like billeting with another family for hockey, instead, the billet family is the one paying his family instead.
“That’s it..” He said to Mario, quietly. “I was taken from my home because you wanted me to play hockey." Mario nodded at Sidney. “You took me from my family, from my country which I’ve never left before this because of hockey.” He stared at him, tears brimming with hatred and anger. “I barley even remember how to play it! It’s been ages since I’ve touched the ice and honestly I don’t care all that much for it! So I’m sorry but you’ve wasted your money.” He stood up from his chair and walk to the door.
The atmosphere was grim, heavy with pain and sorrow.
Mario stopped him before he could leave. “Sidney you really don’t have a choice, if you don’t play hockey I’ll have no choice but to send you back and your dad will have to pay back the money I gave him.”
Mario gives him no other choice but to accept.
“Fine.”