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rsadelleSummary: Geno places a word in the right ears, nudging a little here and there, easy as a pass across the ice, until Flower stands up in the middle of the locker room after practice and says, "Listen up, boys. Tomorrow night, we are throwing Sid a housewarming party. Every one of you is bringing something."
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icanbreakthesky, who wanted Sid and touch. (I veered a little from that.) Title from the Collins English Dictionary definition of "self-contained."
Story on AO3
The word Geno usually uses to describe Sid when people ask him is "best." It fits, and it's one he knows in English. The best way to describe Sid, Sid the person, not Sid the hockey player, is probably "self-contained." Geno doesn't know the word for that in English, hasn't ever heard anyone describe Sid that way, but it is, he thinks, true. Sid is perfectly happy to just be himself, to practice without outside direction, to sign things for kids as long as anyone will let him. He sometimes seems less happy to do the press part of it, but he does it easily and uncomplainingly, and it takes pressure off of the rest of them when Sid will steadily repeat the right words for the press over and over again when some of them can't.
The thing that doesn't fit is Sid living with the Lemieuxs for so long, but even that makes sense. Sid was necessarily close to adults and older players growing up, and it's probably comfortable for him to stay that way.
Also, Geno thinks, he's probably lonely. That's not how anyone ever describes Sid either, but that doesn't make it any less true.
*
Geno places a word in the right ears, nudging a little here and there, easy as a pass across the ice, until Flower stands up in the middle of the locker room after practice and says, "Listen up, boys. Tomorrow night, we are throwing Sid a housewarming party. Every one of you is bringing something." He turns around in a circle pinning each of them under a look as sharp as his nose. "Do not bring shitty beer. You will be sent out to get something better."
Geno looks at Sid, who's just laughing at them.
"And if you do, you have to take the shitty beer with you," Sid says. "I'm not having that in my house."
Flower goes over to him for a fist bump and a quiet word that looks to Geno like a good one. It leaves both of them smiling anyway.
Geno turns away to get his gear off, and is therefore startled enough to drop his pads when Sid appears at his shoulder.
"Sorry," Sid says, picking them up and handing them over. "Flower says the housewarming was your idea."
Geno puts on his best innocent look. "No," he says. "Flower's idea."
Sid's lips twitch, and he aims a light punch at Geno's arm. "Thanks."
"Not thank me when Paulie bring worst beer he can find," Geno says.
Sid laughs, his loud honking noise that invites everyone around to join in.
Geno grins at him and shoves him away to get to the showers.
*
Sid's already had a couple of beers by the time Geno gets to his house with a couple of bottles of good vodka and a platter of pelmeni, going by the way his cheeks are flushed and he's giggling almost nonstop.
"Geno!" he says. He wrinkles his nose at the vodka but takes one of the pelmeni before Geno can even put the tray down. "You have to see the rink."
Geno ignores Sid tugging on his arm long enough to put the vodka in the freezer behind the ice cream everyone knows Sid keeps in there. Then he lets himself be tugged through the house and down the stairs, exchanging waves with everyone they pass.
"Look," Sid says, skidding a few inches onto the rink in his socks.
"It's a rink," Geno agrees.
"Geno," Sid whines, and Geno breaks into a smile.
"It's nice."
"We should go skating."
Geno points down at his socked feet. "No skates."
Sid looks down and frowns at him. "Do you have a pair in the car?"
Geno shakes his head, and Sid heaves a sigh of frustration. "Next time," he says, "you have to bring skates so we can go skating."
Geno laughs. "We go skating every day."
Sid sighs at him again. "That's practice," he says with exaggerated patience.
Geno laughs again. "You love practice."
Sid looks hilariously conflicted. "But this is different."
Geno saves him from his confusion by bumping their shoulders together. "Beautiful rink, Sid."
Sid brightens up and steps off the rink without sliding, which would be a concern in anyone else this drunk.
"Crosby," Duper yells down the stairs, "you're being a bad host."
"You're the ones throwing the party," Sid yells up at him.
"It's your house!"
Geno laughs and pushes Sid toward the stairs. "Go," he says. "I need food."
That activates Sid's polite Canadian guilt, a trait that only becomes more pronounced when he's drunk.
"Oh my God, I'm sorry," he says. "Let's make sure they didn't eat all the pelmeni already."
They didn't, and Geno makes himself a plate filled with a little bit of everything spread across the kitchen. He also accepts a beer from the fridge. He can make everyone do shots after he eats.
There are a lot of conversations going on, and Geno drifts into one Lazy is having with Paulie about housewarming gifts.
"Like any of us would ever be able to come up with something that would fit with Sid's perfect idea of his house," Paulie says.
"Exactly!" Lazy says. "And he'll be polite and keep it all anyway. It'll drive him crazy."
Geno snorts, and Lazy's face falls when he sees him. "Shit," he says, "now we can't do it. You'll just tell him about it."
Geno shrugs, not sorry in the least.
"You're too nice," Lazy says.
Geno reaches out and messes up his hair. "Not nice to you," he says cheerfully.
Geno mingles while he eats, and when he's finally full, he gets out the vodka and digs through Sid's cabinets until he finds the shot glasses he knows are in there somewhere.
He sets out glasses on the counter and fills them all. "Everyone," he calls, holding up one of the glasses. "Time for toast." He waits for it to ripple through the party, everyone gathering around and passing shot glasses back until everyone who will take one has one. Sid gets pushed to the front next to Geno, a process that involves back pats and ass slaps and high fives from everyone between Sid and the front of the room. Geno shoves a glass into his hand.
"What are we toasting to?" Tanger asks.
Geno waits for the yelled suggestions to die down before he says, "To Sid. To new house. To new season."
There's a ragged cheer, followed by clinking glasses, and then swearing as people take the shots. You'd think they'd never had real vodka before.
Geno uncaps the bottle to pour a second round for himself and anyone else who will take one. Most of the boys wimp out, but Sid is one of the ones to accept.
"New house, new season," Sid says, and he stands shoulder to shoulder with Geno while they look at their team spread around Sid's new house. Neither one of them is going to jinx things by saying it, but Geno knows what Sid's seeing in his mind's eye, all of them back here at the end of the season, the Cup sitting on the counter or the couch with them.
"Good season," Geno says, nudging Sid to get his attention enough to toast to it.
"Good season," Sid says. He toasts with Geno and throws back his shot.
"Another?" Geno asks. It's not often Sid lets go, but this is as safe a time and place as he's ever going to have.
Sid looks at the shot glass and at the rest of their team, everyone engaged in their own pursuits, no one paying attention to them.
"One more," Sid says.
They do a third shot standing at the counter, the bottle almost empty between them.
"Thank you," Sid says.
Geno shrugs. "It's just vodka."
"Not the vodka," Sid says. Then he giggles. "Well, yes, the vodka. But thank you for the party."
Geno's pretty sure he doesn't manage to pull off the innocent look. "The party was not my idea."
Sid laughs and bumps their shoulders together. "Shut up. Thank you."
Sid is self-contained enough that he would have been fine without a party, wouldn't have even thought to miss his team gathering around like this, but Geno's glad to have given it to him anyway. Sid might be used to alleviating his loneliness in ways he's not even conscious of, but he shouldn't have to, should have other people in his life who can do it for him.
Geno grins and bumps back. "Welcome."
Notes: Snippet for
icanbreakthesky, who wanted Sid and touch. (I veered a little from that.) Title from the Collins English Dictionary definition of "self-contained."Story on AO3
The word Geno usually uses to describe Sid when people ask him is "best." It fits, and it's one he knows in English. The best way to describe Sid, Sid the person, not Sid the hockey player, is probably "self-contained." Geno doesn't know the word for that in English, hasn't ever heard anyone describe Sid that way, but it is, he thinks, true. Sid is perfectly happy to just be himself, to practice without outside direction, to sign things for kids as long as anyone will let him. He sometimes seems less happy to do the press part of it, but he does it easily and uncomplainingly, and it takes pressure off of the rest of them when Sid will steadily repeat the right words for the press over and over again when some of them can't.
The thing that doesn't fit is Sid living with the Lemieuxs for so long, but even that makes sense. Sid was necessarily close to adults and older players growing up, and it's probably comfortable for him to stay that way.
Also, Geno thinks, he's probably lonely. That's not how anyone ever describes Sid either, but that doesn't make it any less true.
*
Geno places a word in the right ears, nudging a little here and there, easy as a pass across the ice, until Flower stands up in the middle of the locker room after practice and says, "Listen up, boys. Tomorrow night, we are throwing Sid a housewarming party. Every one of you is bringing something." He turns around in a circle pinning each of them under a look as sharp as his nose. "Do not bring shitty beer. You will be sent out to get something better."
Geno looks at Sid, who's just laughing at them.
"And if you do, you have to take the shitty beer with you," Sid says. "I'm not having that in my house."
Flower goes over to him for a fist bump and a quiet word that looks to Geno like a good one. It leaves both of them smiling anyway.
Geno turns away to get his gear off, and is therefore startled enough to drop his pads when Sid appears at his shoulder.
"Sorry," Sid says, picking them up and handing them over. "Flower says the housewarming was your idea."
Geno puts on his best innocent look. "No," he says. "Flower's idea."
Sid's lips twitch, and he aims a light punch at Geno's arm. "Thanks."
"Not thank me when Paulie bring worst beer he can find," Geno says.
Sid laughs, his loud honking noise that invites everyone around to join in.
Geno grins at him and shoves him away to get to the showers.
*
Sid's already had a couple of beers by the time Geno gets to his house with a couple of bottles of good vodka and a platter of pelmeni, going by the way his cheeks are flushed and he's giggling almost nonstop.
"Geno!" he says. He wrinkles his nose at the vodka but takes one of the pelmeni before Geno can even put the tray down. "You have to see the rink."
Geno ignores Sid tugging on his arm long enough to put the vodka in the freezer behind the ice cream everyone knows Sid keeps in there. Then he lets himself be tugged through the house and down the stairs, exchanging waves with everyone they pass.
"Look," Sid says, skidding a few inches onto the rink in his socks.
"It's a rink," Geno agrees.
"Geno," Sid whines, and Geno breaks into a smile.
"It's nice."
"We should go skating."
Geno points down at his socked feet. "No skates."
Sid looks down and frowns at him. "Do you have a pair in the car?"
Geno shakes his head, and Sid heaves a sigh of frustration. "Next time," he says, "you have to bring skates so we can go skating."
Geno laughs. "We go skating every day."
Sid sighs at him again. "That's practice," he says with exaggerated patience.
Geno laughs again. "You love practice."
Sid looks hilariously conflicted. "But this is different."
Geno saves him from his confusion by bumping their shoulders together. "Beautiful rink, Sid."
Sid brightens up and steps off the rink without sliding, which would be a concern in anyone else this drunk.
"Crosby," Duper yells down the stairs, "you're being a bad host."
"You're the ones throwing the party," Sid yells up at him.
"It's your house!"
Geno laughs and pushes Sid toward the stairs. "Go," he says. "I need food."
That activates Sid's polite Canadian guilt, a trait that only becomes more pronounced when he's drunk.
"Oh my God, I'm sorry," he says. "Let's make sure they didn't eat all the pelmeni already."
They didn't, and Geno makes himself a plate filled with a little bit of everything spread across the kitchen. He also accepts a beer from the fridge. He can make everyone do shots after he eats.
There are a lot of conversations going on, and Geno drifts into one Lazy is having with Paulie about housewarming gifts.
"Like any of us would ever be able to come up with something that would fit with Sid's perfect idea of his house," Paulie says.
"Exactly!" Lazy says. "And he'll be polite and keep it all anyway. It'll drive him crazy."
Geno snorts, and Lazy's face falls when he sees him. "Shit," he says, "now we can't do it. You'll just tell him about it."
Geno shrugs, not sorry in the least.
"You're too nice," Lazy says.
Geno reaches out and messes up his hair. "Not nice to you," he says cheerfully.
Geno mingles while he eats, and when he's finally full, he gets out the vodka and digs through Sid's cabinets until he finds the shot glasses he knows are in there somewhere.
He sets out glasses on the counter and fills them all. "Everyone," he calls, holding up one of the glasses. "Time for toast." He waits for it to ripple through the party, everyone gathering around and passing shot glasses back until everyone who will take one has one. Sid gets pushed to the front next to Geno, a process that involves back pats and ass slaps and high fives from everyone between Sid and the front of the room. Geno shoves a glass into his hand.
"What are we toasting to?" Tanger asks.
Geno waits for the yelled suggestions to die down before he says, "To Sid. To new house. To new season."
There's a ragged cheer, followed by clinking glasses, and then swearing as people take the shots. You'd think they'd never had real vodka before.
Geno uncaps the bottle to pour a second round for himself and anyone else who will take one. Most of the boys wimp out, but Sid is one of the ones to accept.
"New house, new season," Sid says, and he stands shoulder to shoulder with Geno while they look at their team spread around Sid's new house. Neither one of them is going to jinx things by saying it, but Geno knows what Sid's seeing in his mind's eye, all of them back here at the end of the season, the Cup sitting on the counter or the couch with them.
"Good season," Geno says, nudging Sid to get his attention enough to toast to it.
"Good season," Sid says. He toasts with Geno and throws back his shot.
"Another?" Geno asks. It's not often Sid lets go, but this is as safe a time and place as he's ever going to have.
Sid looks at the shot glass and at the rest of their team, everyone engaged in their own pursuits, no one paying attention to them.
"One more," Sid says.
They do a third shot standing at the counter, the bottle almost empty between them.
"Thank you," Sid says.
Geno shrugs. "It's just vodka."
"Not the vodka," Sid says. Then he giggles. "Well, yes, the vodka. But thank you for the party."
Geno's pretty sure he doesn't manage to pull off the innocent look. "The party was not my idea."
Sid laughs and bumps their shoulders together. "Shut up. Thank you."
Sid is self-contained enough that he would have been fine without a party, wouldn't have even thought to miss his team gathering around like this, but Geno's glad to have given it to him anyway. Sid might be used to alleviating his loneliness in ways he's not even conscious of, but he shouldn't have to, should have other people in his life who can do it for him.
Geno grins and bumps back. "Welcome."