Work Text:
“Hey Geno! -------, yeah?”
Evgeni hears Flower’s voice across the locker room and looks up to see his stupid French Canadian face smirking at him. The other French Canadians laugh, so Evgeni knows that he can blame Flower’s French Canadian-ness for whatever it is that just happened.
He still doesn’t know what it was, but chirps are the same, no matter what language they’re in, so he just raises his middle finger.
“ Отвяжись!”
The Russians roll their eyes -- okay so it wasn’t super original, but he’s working with limited knowledge of the insult hurled his way and classics are classics for a reason.
“Come on, guys,” Sid’s voice is muffled from the towel he’s using to dry his face. “You know it’s not ------ Geno when you speak franglay(???).”
“Awww,” Flower makes another stupid face, this time fluttering his eyelashes, “------ tsitami?”
Evgeni knows this was another dig (because however much Flower says he speaks English and French, he really only speaks in insults), but looks to Sid to see how he should respond. Sid’s rolling his eyes, so it can’t be that bad, but he’s also a little flushed. His eyes are doing the scrunching thing they do when he’s embarrassed, and his cheeks get redder when he sees Evgeni looking at him. He makes that smile that took Evgeni a long time to realize didn’t mean he was sad, just worried, and pats Evgeni’s shoulder a little awkwardly.
“Sorry, man,” Sid says, “it’s not fair when they drop the French on you.”
“Is okay, Sid,” Evgeni says, giving Sid a grin in an attempt to smooth out the worry lines on his face, “I just swear in Russian when I not understand French. Stupid French Canadians not know what I say, so we even.” Evgeni shrugs, knocking Sid’s hand off his shoulder and goes back to half-paying attention to the conversations around him as he changes into his street clothes.
He keeps an eye on Sid, though, who’s still a little flushed and keeps making these little frown motions, pulling his eyebrows in together for a few seconds at a time, which Evgeni knows means he’s talking to himself about something.
“Sid okay? Flower jerk,” Evgeni says in a low voice, nudging Sid’s shoulder with his own.
“What?” Sid looks up as if he’s surprised to see Evgeni there, “oh, no I’m okay, Geno. Flower’s just ---- ----- fun.”
“Yes but Flower still jerk,” Evgeni says it a little louder so that Flower can hear (and he knows he does because Flower makes an offended noise and says something that sounds like “pantoute” and who the hell knows what that means).
Sid laughs, high and a little wild, and Evgeni relaxes -- whatever it was that’s bothering Sid can’t be that bad.
They leave the rink and Evgeni mentally goes through his plans for the day. They have a game tomorrow, so he can’t do anything too wild (although he knows he’s getting old because “wild” now refers to things like building deck furniture and not partying). There’s a new recipe he’s been meaning to try out, and he has a bunch of TV queued up on Netflix that he’s been meaning to watch. He turns around to face Sid as they’re walking across the parking lot.
“Plans today? I cook you dinner?”
Evgeni watches as Sid’s face moves through a variety of expressions. His eyes open a little wide -- surprise -- and then crinkle at the corners -- pleased -- and his mouth forms into a lopsided smile -- happiness. That’s good.
“Uh, maybe? I dunno, I’ve gotta --- with Kadar and I’m feeling --- today. I don’t wanna --- you.” As Sid starts talking, his eyes scrunch up, which is not what Evgeni thought was going to happen. He knows Sid was happy he invited him for dinner. It’s not quite a routine of theirs (because there’s no way Sid would refuse a routine), but it’s enough of a habit that he assumed Sid would say yes and offer to bring something for dessert.
“Don’t want to what me?” Evgeni asks, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, half-teasing and half-asking for clarification. Sid’s accent, coupled with his tendency to mumble when he’s feeling awkward (which is all the time) sometimes gets in the way of Evgeni’s ability to translate on the fly.
“I don’t want to trouble you, Geno. I don’t know if I’ll be good company.” He says this with a smile, but it’s definitely the worried-sad smile.
“No trouble, Sid. Cooking already, so easy to ask you to eat with me.”
Sid sighs, and his shoulders are tight, tense, rather than loose and a little slouched. “Maybe. I’ll see how I feel later, yeah? I’ll text you?”
Evgeni nods, even though he knows “I’ll see how I feel” is Sid for “I really don’t want to but I have no idea how to say no politely.”
“Okay. Have fun with Kadarov,” Evgeni pats Sid on the shoulder and shoves him lightly toward his car. “See tonight, I hope.”
“See you, Geno.”
Evgeni drives home, turning off the radio when the ads get distracting and frustrating, tapping out a rhythm on the steering wheel as he plays through the morning to try and figure out what’s got Sid all worried. By the time he pulls into his driveway, he’s got a good idea of who to blame even if he doesn’t really know why. Sid and Flower are friends, he’s pretty sure. Flower teases Sid for a lot (like his inability to speak French to Flower’s standards), but Sid throws right back with complicated jokes about Quebec that Evgeni has no idea how to decode. Judging by the laughter that follows, it’s clear that Sid can hold his own and that he and Flower get along.
But Sid was loose and smiling during their morning skate and Evgeni heard his laugh a few times while they were working out in the gym. It wasn’t until Flower said whatever it was he said that Sid started getting twitchy.
What you say to Sid , Evgeni texts Flower as soon as he’s out of the car.
He gets the reply a few seconds later:
Nothing!
you say something . Sid lie about more training so not talk about it.
calice
shit sorry french i forgot
all i did was make fun of him for always coming to your defence
hes yr knight in shining armour
Evgeni rolls his eyes and sets his phone down, knowing he won’t get anything else out of Flower. Once he starts using emoticons, there’s no point continuing the conversation.
After a quick nap, and some aimless puttering around the house that includes a brief play-fight with Jeffrey, Evgeni sets to making dinner -- enough for two if Sid does end up showing -- and decides to make it a little harder for Sid to avoid joining him for dinner by sending him pictures of the prep.
Miss out on taste food if you sit at home
He knows Sid won’t reply right away (or maybe at all -- he’s really bad at texting), but he keeps sending shots of chopped vegetables and simmering sauces in the hopes that he’ll annoy Sid into forgetting why he’s upset. When he checks his phone an hour later, he realizes he missed the ding of the reply, because there are two missed messages from Sid.
Not fair Geno I’m so hungry
ugh that looks delicious
Why ugh if delicious? Evgeni replies, smug because he knows he’s hooked Sid and he’ll see him tonight for dinner, bad mood aside.
because i’m mad how good you can cook
It’s upsetting
Only upsetting if not eat....))))))
okay i’ll come for dinner fine twist my arm
I not hurt you, i feed you
Evgeni doesn’t get another reply, so he texts a time and knows that Sid will show up exactly then.
On the dot, Evgeni hears a knock at his door. He’s told Sid to just walk in -- he has a key for exactly this reason, but Sidney is a polite Canadian boy who waits to be invited in no matter how annoying it is for Evgeni to get up off the couch to let him in when he could do it for himself. But Sid is Sid, so he goes over and opens the door, hand on Jeffrey’s head to stop him from jumping Sid the second he gets in. When he sees Sid, though, he drops his hand and pulls Sid into a hug. It’s almost instinctive, and Evgeni’s not sure he could have stopped himself if he’d tried.
Sid had looked lost in thought, surprised that Evgeni had opened the door despite having knocked only seconds before. His shoulders were pulled in and his lips looked chewed, a habit that Evgeni is afraid Sid picked up from him. Normally, Evgeni tries not to overwhelm Sid with casual touching. Sid is prickly when it comes to personal space, but he’d looked so defeated, like he’d given up... something .
When Evgeni wrapped his arms around Sid, he’d tensed -- as expected -- but now he’s relaxed into the hug and lets his forehead fall onto Evgeni’s shoulder.
Sid sighs, loudly and a bit shaky, like he’s letting go of whatever something is bothering him.
“You okay, Sid?”
“Yeah,” Sid’s voice is muffled, but Evgeni can hear the undertones of stress and worry, so he doesn’t believe him.
“Sid.”
“It’s fine, G. I’ll be fine.”
“Not letting go till you talk.”
He feels more than he hears the small huff of laughter this pulls out of Sidney, and braces his arms in case Sidney tries to wiggle out of the hug.
But he doesn’t.
“Can hug more long than you,” Evgeni mumbles this into Sid’s hair, which is (somehow? When did that happen?) pressed against his lips.
“Yeah, I guess I need the hug.”
Evgeni lets out a mock gasp.
“Sidney Crosby need hug?? Is world ending?”
He realizes he’s made a mistake when he feels Sidney’s arms twitch and his back tense as he readies himself to pull back from Evgeni.
“Everyone need hug sometime, Sid. Is ok if you need hug.”
Sidney relaxes again but whatever kept him calm in Evgeni’s arms is gone and he starts to shuffle awkwardly. Evgeni lets him pull back a little, but keeps his hands on Sid’s shoulders.
“Always happy to hug when you need,” Evgeni says, trying to catch Sid’s eyes, trying to get across how this is not trouble at all.
“Yeah, ------ you say,” Sidney says, mumbling and reaching for Jeffrey as though it’s not obvious he’s avoiding Evgeni’s eyes.
“No. Sid. Look me.” Evgeni waits until Sid complies, watching his cheeks flush and his eyes dart from Evgeni’s face, to Jeffrey, to the floor, and back to Evgeni.
“Always. Will hug all the time if you need.”
Sidney opens his mouth to say something, but can’t find the words, or changes his mind at the last minute. Evgeni doesn’t need Sid to talk, though, because he speaks Sid’s Face. He’s still sad. There’s still a cant to his lips like Sidney’s mocking himself, and his eyes are a little distant, but he’s getting the crinkle (rather than the scrunch) around his eyes and the tight line of his lips is slowly relaxing.
“Why make you sad? I do something wrong? Say something?” Evgeni lets Sid go, but Sidney doesn’t step away, is still standing in Evgeni’s space, still less than an arm’s length away.
“I’m not sad, Geno.” Sidney stops talking when he sees Evgeni’s eyebrow raise in the perfect expression of skepticism. “Okay, okay. I’m a little sad, but it’s not your fault. Not Flower’s either,” he finishes when he sees Evgeni about to interrupt. “I’m just ----- ---- some shit. Stuff.”
“I help?” Evgeni’s suddenly feeling lost. He’s not used to getting answers from Sidney’s mouth -- well, not from the words he’s saying. Having Sidney actually respond is surprising enough to throw him off.
“You always help, G.” Sidney takes a breath and Evgeni watches as he puts on his Sidney-Crosby-Face-of-the-NHL-Suit. It hurts, he realizes, when he sees Sidney square his shoulders and put a smile on his face, because that’s what he does when he’s talking to press. Not when he’s talking to Evgeni.
It’s normal for Evgeni to see one thing in his friends’ body language and understand (or not) something different in their words, but this feels different. Sidney’s not lying (he does this jaw clench thing when he lies that’s obvious if you look for it), but if he’s not lying, why isn’t he comfortable? Evgeni considers calling Sid out on it, but when he sees Sidney smile -- a real smile -- when Jeffrey bumps into his legs, he doesn’t want to ruin it more than he already did.
They eat dinner in companionable silence, interrupted occasionally by Sid complimenting Evgeni on the meal. Evgeni can’t stop the giant grin when Sidney scrapes his plate clean, grabbing the last of the flavour like he’s worried he’ll never get to taste it again.
“I make again next week,” Evgeni says, not bothering to keep the “I told you so” from his voice.
Sidney laughs -- loud and unrestrained again, but Evgeni doesn’t trust it entirely. “I will eat that any time you make it, Geno.”
Evgeni preens a little as he carries their plates to the sink. He rolls up his sleeves and starts to fill the sink with water, then he feels Sidney’s presence beside him. Sid nudges him with his hip and holds out his hand for the sponge.
“I’ll wash. You dry.”
Evgeni furrows his brow a little and shakes his head. “Guest.”
Sid rolls his eyes and mutters something Evgeni can’t parse, then he snatches the sponge from Evgeni’s hands.
“It’s polite,” Sid’s mouth is set in a firm line that’s obviously meant to be his ‘I am serious’ face, but even Sid can’t stop the quirk of a smile from peeking out.
“Oh well, if polite then can’t stop. Can’t make Canadian not be polite.”
So Evgeni moves over to let Sidney stand in front of the sink and they clean off the plates and cutlery. Evgeni laughs when Sidney accidentally sprays himself with water from a rogue spoon-back and is glad when Sidney laughs with him.
Evgeni is about to invite Sid to stay and watch something on Netflix, but Sidney’s restless once he doesn’t have anything to do with his hands and decides against it.
“I, uh, think I should head home. Gotta ----- ----- sleep. Not that you’re boring, just the game ... you know.” Sidney trails off, eyes scrunching and mouth twisting as he hears himself talk.
“Okay. Want hug before leave?” Evgeni asks knowing the odds of a yes are low, but he holds his arms open anyway, just in case.
Sidney doesn’t answer, and there’s a moment when Evgeni thinks he’ll turn around and head out the door -- sees it in the slight shift of his feet as his body prepares to move backwards, but suddenly he’s got an armful of Sid, so he’s glad he asked.
It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster, so Evgeni has no idea what to say -- no idea what will make it better and what will make it worse, so he settles for holding Sidney close and hopes that’s enough. He tightens his arms, silently encouraging Sid to rest his head on Evgeni’s shoulder again and lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding when he does.
“Talk when ready, Sid?”
“Yeah,” Sidney replies. Or, at least, Evgeni thinks that’s what Sid says, muffled as it is coming from the crook of his neck. “Tomorrow, ok? After the game?”
“Okay. Sleep good, Sid.”
“You too, Geno.”
Evgeni expects Sidney to pull back from the hug -- again -- but it’s still a couple of seconds before Sidney steps back and drops his arms. Sidney won’t look at him, although that’s not that weird, and his smile doesn’t reach his eyes when he says goodbye. Evgeni closes the door and turns around to see Jeffrey staring at him.
“What?” He snaps, then sighs and gives Jeffrey a pat on the head. “Sorry, Jeffrey, not your fault Sid weird.” Jeffrey huffs and walks to the cabinet where he knows the treats are kept. When Evgeni digs one out and throws it at him, Jeffrey whuffs happily and goes to the den to chew on it.
Evgeni manages to get a mostly restful night in preparation for the next day’s game, but his mind keeps coming back to Sidney. Something’s bothering him, and no matter what Sid and Flower say, it has something to do with what Flower said in the locker room. In the safety of the darkness and his bedroom, Evgeni can admit to himself that he probably knows what it is, even if it makes his chest feel tight and something coil in his stomach when he thinks about it. No one ever accused Evgeni of having a good relationship with his emotions, but he knows what a crush feels like, thank you very much. He thought he’d been pretty good at keeping it to himself, but maybe not. Maybe Sidney knows and feels awkward about it.
Of course he feels awkward about it.
Evgeni rolls over and pulls out his phone, hesitating briefly when he pulls up his conversation with Flower.
is big secret that i like sid?
He waits for a few seconds and is about to put the phone down when he sees the little animation that tells him Flower’s typing.
By big secret you mean not a secret?
Evgeni rolls his eyes.
Yes that what big secret mean: secret too big, all world knows.
you LIKE sid? Tu veux l’baiser?
Not know what that means but i like sid more than you
You like sid more than anyone?
Evgeni pauses before replying -- he could get out of this with his dignity mostly intact if he plays this off as a joke, but he thinks maybe this is something he needs to do.
yes. big secret?
The typing animation pops up and disappears a few times before Flower finally replies.
I think not the whole world knows
Evgeni frowns at this -- obviously he doesn’t mean the whole world. He’s about to send a snarky response about how French Canadians obviously don’t know how to speak poetically when another text from Flower shows up.
Sid doesn’t know
And another:
You should tell him
Evgeni’s fingers hover over the keyboard, but doesn’t actually know what to say to that, so he puts the phone down and rolls back over in bed.
He’s able to put all non-hockey related thoughts in the back of his mind on game day, even when Flower makes a face at him that’s probably supposed to say something or ask something, but Evgeni has no idea what it means so he just sticks his tongue out at him. He’s pleased that he’s not a massive failure on the ice. He nets a few assists, but it isn’t until the last period that he gets the power-play goal. When Sidney rushes up to wrap him in a jubilant hug, it all comes rushing back and he feels his own face flush when he catches Sid’s eyes, which widen when they see the expression on Evgeni’s face. They both shake it off, but there’s an unspoken promise in the squeeze of Sid’s hand on Evgeni’s shoulders.
They skate off to the bench and let the third line take their shift. He gets separated from Sidney when his teammates crowd around him on the bench congratulating him and knocking his helmet with theirs in thanks, and then they win and all of the post-game interviews and rituals mean that it’s hours before either he or Sid head home. Evgeni’s anxious -- worried simultaneously that Sid’s forgotten that he said they’d talk tonight and that he hasn’t. He’s relieved and terrified when he gets to his car and sees Sidney waiting there for him.
“I’ll follow you home?” Sidney’s shifting his weight from one foot to the other, like he does when he’s excited and nervous about something, and Evgeni can’t tell if it makes him feel better or not to know that Sidney’s just as conflicted about whatever’s going to happen tonight.
“Okay,” Evgeni feels like he should say more, and it looks like Sidney’s expecting him to say more, but he can’t find the words. He’s bad enough at this stuff in Russian.
“Okay.” Sidney nods, then frowns, then takes a step and pauses before moving again and walking to his car.
Evgeni stands there, holding his keys in his hands and looking at the spot where Sidney was standing. He does his best to shake off the feeling that something big is happening and somehow manages to get home without crashing into anything.
Sidney gets to Evgeni’s house five minutes after he does, since Evgeni has very liberal interpretations of speed limits, so Evgeni is sitting at his dinner table when he hears Sid’s knock. He considers shouting at Sidney to let himself in, but his chest is too tight and he’s not sure he can speak louder than a whisper right now, so he walks to the door and pulls it open.
This time, Sidney doesn’t look surprised to see him, but he does look like he’s got a speech prepared, so before Sidney launches into whatever he has to say, Evgeni ushers him inside. He’s holding the door open, waiting to close it behind Sidney, so he isn’t paying attention to where Sid is standing. When he turns around to follow Sid into the house, he walks right into him, and gets pulled into a hug. It’s a surprise -- he doesn’t think he’s been hugged by Sidney off the ice -- and it’s also tight and a little desperate. Evgeni thinks this might be the last off-ice hug he gets, so he doesn’t pull away until Sidney does.
But Sidney doesn’t. He keeps his arms around Evgeni and steps forward so his whole body is pressed against Evgeni’s.
“Sid,” Evgeni starts, but pauses when he doesn’t know what to say next. “Sid, tell what’s wrong, please. I’m worry now.”
Sidney lets out a long breath and Evgeni can feel him steel himself before he speaks, but he doesn’t try to get out of the hug -- Evgeni’s not sure it’s possible but it feels like he pulls Evgeni closer.
“I lied about what Flower said.”
Evgeni waits for Sidney to continue, but when he shuffles a bit, Evgeni realizes that Sidney’s waiting for him to reply.
“Obvious, Sid. Why lie?”
Sid pulls his head back from Evgeni’s shoulder and frowns at him. “How do you always know when I’m lying?”
Evgeni grins. “Secret. If tell, you do different thing when lie.”
Sidney squints at Evgeni, as though trying to decide if he’s going to press for more information or not, but eventually lowers his forehead back onto Evgeni’s shoulder.
“He made a stupid joke about how I was always standing up for you and treating you like my --- my girlfriend and I kind of panicked not because ----- -----treating you like a girlfriend is bad or like ----- ----- you like my girlfriend or that I don’t ---- ----treat you--”
Evgeni interrupts so that Sidney doesn’t talk until he runs out of breath. “He say you my knight in shining armour. That make me princess, yes?”
Sidney doesn’t reply, so Evgeni starts stroking Sidney’s back to calm him. “Not mind being princess. Nice life, lots of food.”
He says this with a grin that he hopes Sidney can hear, but doesn’t know what to say next. They stand there silently, Evgeni stroking Sidney’s back for longer than Evgeni thought Sidney could handle being touched.
“I don’t want you to be my girlfriend ,” Sidney says finally, “but Flower wasn’t wrong.”
Evgeni replays the sentence in his mind, trying to figure out what words he misunderstood, because it doesn’t make any sense.
Sidney sighs as he pulls himself out of the hug and moves back to stand out of Evgeni’s reach. He sets himself into his Sidney Crosby suit and says, “I didn’t want to say anything, G, because I don’t want to ruin our,” he pauses, and gestures to the space between them, “our hockey. But even though Flower didn’t -------- and he was just being an ass, I couldn’t stop thinking about him calling you my--- that.”
Evgeni is about to say something, anything to get the tremor out of Sid’s voice, to smooth the worry lines on his face, to soften the clench of his jaw, but Sidney shakes his head.
“No, let me finish, please, Geno?”
Evgeni nods, afraid that if he talks his voice will crack.
“I, um, god ---- ---- so stupid,” Sidney looks down at his feet then takes a breath and looks up at Evgeni. “I have ------ ------ you.” He says the last bit in a rush, and Evgeni can’t make out the words that he’s pretty sure are the important ones.
Evgeni looks at Sidney, trying to figure out what he said because he can’t find the words to ask what he meant. He stands there for a few seconds, not responding, when he sees Sidney’s face start to fall -- he realizes that there’d been hope there, and that hope is disappearing as Evgeni stays silent.
“What you have? I not --” Evgeni gestures at Sidney, hoping that it will get across that his limited knowledge of English is letting him down.
“Shit,” Sidney laughs a sad little laugh, “I have to say it again?”
Evgeni nods and waits for him to repeat himself.
“I,” Sidney pauses, but this time he keeps his words clear and unmumbled. “I have feelings for you, Geno.”
Evgeni looks at him, shocked, and before he puts his words together, Sidney -- flustered -- explains, “I, um, it means I like you, like more than a---”
“Know what feelings are, Sid. Not stupid, just bad at English.” Evgeni says this with a roll of his eyes to let Sidney know he’s not really offended and he can tell that Sidney’s grateful that Evgeni stopped him from babbling again.
“Like me more than anyone else?” Evgeni continues when it’s clear that they’re both just going to stand there until something happens, and Evgeni is always happy to just make something happen if it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen on its own.
“Yeah,” Sidney says, scrunching his eyes, “I feel like I’m in elementary school. Jesus.”
“Like you more than anyone else too. Thought was big secret but Flower say you don’t know,” Evgeni says, taking a step towards Sidney, slowly like he’ll spook him if he moves to fast.
“What?” Sidney’s eyes widen and suddenly his face flushes a bright red. “You what? Flower said what? What?” His voice goes high and a little squeaky, but he doesn’t move back when Evgeni steps into his space and brings his hand up to his face.
“Forget Flower,” Evgeni says when his hand finally reaches Sid’s jawline. “I kiss you?” He doesn’t mean to make it a question, but it comes out that way and the time it takes Sidney to nod feels like eons. But he does nod, and Evgeni almost misses it because his heart is beating so fast his vision’s going a little blurry. Sidney must see it in his face, because he doesn’t wait for Evgeni and instead pushes himself up onto the balls of his feet and presses his lips against Evgeni’s.
It’s brief, chaste, but it makes Evgeni’s knees weak and he lets Sidney pull back from the kiss only because his body isn’t responding to his orders at the moment. Sidney smiles, though, and all of a sudden Evgeni’s body wakes up. He moves his hand from Sid’s jaw to the back of his neck and pulls him in for another kiss. This time, he opens his mouth and captures Sidney’s lower lip, and then he takes a breath through his nose and all he can smell is Sid’s --- deodorant? Cologne? Shampoo? -- and his brain stutters to a stop. Sidney’s must too, because he lets out a low moan that sounds almost like he’s saying “Geno,” but nothing makes sense any more except for the taste of Sid in his mouth and the feeling of his body against Evgeni’s.
They stand there, pressed against each other and then Sidney returns the kiss just as intensely and pushes Evgeni backwards. When Evgeni’s back hits what he assumes is the wall because it’s holding him up, Sidney lifts his face up to look at Evgeni.
“Is this okay?” He’s breathless and his eyes are a little wild. Evgeni must have moved his hand from the back of Sidney’s neck because his hair is all mussed. His lips are dark and wet and something else short-circuits in Evgeni’s brain because he thought he could talk but it just comes out as a breath of air. He nods and pulls Sidney into him, pushes his face into Sidney’s hair.
“Always okay. Want this, Sid.”
“Fuck.” Evgeni would be worried that Sidney’s had a sudden change of heart, but he hears the laughter in Sidney’s voice. “I’m gonna have to thank Flower for this.”
“No, this not because of Flower. This because you. Thank you .” Evgeni knows that Sidney’s joking, but he doesn’t want anyone else to be a part of this moment, be a part of what they’re starting.
Sidney pulls back again so that he can see Evgeni’s face and lifts up slowly to kiss him again, lightly again, but with an undercurrent of something heavier, something harder, so that it’s easy for Evgeni to let himself get swept into the kiss.
He will think about getting Flower some Canadian Whisky, but he’ll do that tomorrow, after ---
“You stay tonight, Sid?” Evgeni stops the kiss, surprised at how worried he is that the answer will be no.
“Yeah, Geno. I’ll stay. As long as you want.”
It feels like a promise.