Under Contract Part 5

Under contract part 5

PART1, PART 2, PART 3, PART 4.

The moodboard is created by @zhenya71​, you should also check out this amazing cover for this fic. My lovely (and super quick) beta is werebear. Thank you!

I’m sorry it’s taken me a while to finish this chapter. Your comments and love have made things better. I really appreciate your response to this fic. This chapter is around 3,4k words. No PKane, A bit of angst, though.

It’s been four weeks and Sidney is doing great. He’s been closing more clients than the past three months before the weekend conference. He’s doing great, because he spends more time in his office than he has since he was an associate.

He only thinks about Geno when he has time to himself, or when he’s been out drinking.

So he avoids both. It’s easy.

He’s doing great.

Well, up until Sully ambushes him at the coffee machine at 11:30 p.m. on a Wednesday and Sidney is beyond frustrated, because one of his clients keep doing the exact opposite of what he tells them to do.

“We’re hosting a dinner party next Friday. Kate wants to know if you and Geno would like to come?”

“Sure,” Sidney says, before he realizes what he’s responding to.

“I’ve been worried about you,” Sully says and removes Sidney’s coffee mug from the machine. Sidney hasn’t even notices that it’s stopped brewing. “You’re here when I come in for work, and you’re still here when I leave.”

“That’s because I work more hours than you,” he points out. Sully always takes one or two meetings with clients before he comes into the office, and he likes to go home in time for dinner with his wife, except for tonight, that is. Sully is a senior partner. He doesn’t have to prove himself.

“I’ve checked your tag logs, Sid.” Sully shakes his head. “You’re here at five-thirty in the morning, and you don’t leave until after midnight.”

Sidney holds his mug in his hands until his palms hurt from the heat. “Why would you look that up?”

“Because I’m worried. Because I knew something was up and I had to get my facts straight before I came to talk to you. Because I asked you just now, and you lie to me and pretend like you’re just working long days, and not like your life only consist of work.”

Sidney sighs. “I’m sorry.”

“I thought you and Geno had broken up, but now you just agreed to come to dinner next week.”

Fuck.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

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HTF (James Larosa’ thoughts on season 5 & Zude)

After three seasons on VH1 and one season on BET, “Hit the Floor” was canceled for the final time back in December. Creator James LaRosa […] revealed on Monday that the show would officially not be coming back on any network or platform.

Still, he said he’d never want to “leave anyone in the lurch” about what was going to happen to their favorite characters, and he’s keeping to that with his post on Monday. He shared all of the answers about what was to come for the players, dancers and businesspeople of “Hit the Floor.”

The Devils did lose their team, and a new one comes to town, but none of the characters are ready to let that happen […] “Thanks to Jelena, who returns herself to right the ship. But it’s going to take something more to put them over the top. That comes with the arrivals of Zero, Sloane and Terrence.”

[…] Zero shocks Jude by telling him he didn’t return for the Devils, he returned for Jude. He’s overcome his fears about his sexuality once and for all, bares his heart and soul, and proposes. The two get married in front of friends and family, including Zero’s sister, Laura, “who Jude tracks down as his wedding gift.” Zero and Jude have a baby girl, that Lionel carries. The Kinkades thrive.

For LaRosa’s final words about the show, he wrote, “Four amazing seasons, we laughed and cried, we danced, we looked for clues, we rooted for people who played hard and loved hard, and it didn’t matter what their race or gender or sexual orientation was. We wanted them to win. And they did. Devils Nation Rise Up! And we keep rising, forever, together.”

(x)

Update:

Queer Eye

Part I

Sidney unconsciously held Lyosha a little tighter as they neared customs. He was dragging his feet; every inch closer to the exits was another inch closer to his empty little apartment in Laval. He would have offered for Geno to stay there, and then maybe it wouldn’t have felt so empty, but Geno mentioned on the plane that had already rented a place in Montréal. He had talked about how excited he was to finally see it…and Sid had tried not to feel disappointed about how far away it was from his own apartment. It was all pointless, really. No matter how much they looked like a family standing in this line, Sidney had to constantly remind himself that he’d only known these people for a few hours.

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hockey!sid going to the local farmer's market to see tall russian man selling thick, ripe bananas (and other fruits, but sid zeroes on the bananas of course), but he has to know if it is organic?? so he half questions, half flirts the merchant and finds out he's as charming as his well-grown, locally-sourced produce. "when winter come i save best chard and asparagus for sidney crosby," the vendor said. "want to give best food for best hockey for best city."

it goes a little like this - Geno hears a faint, “No, no, I can’t do this–”

“Why?” The guy sounds incredulous. “Come on, we made it this far, go get him.”

“No, I didn’t think this through.” It’s Sidney’s voice, and he sounds completely panicked. “He–He’s going to hate me, and then I can’t buy asparagus from him anymore–”

“Just ask him out!” Sidney’s friend urges, and Geno’s heart skips a beat and falls in the next second as Sidney immediately hisses, “No way! I mean–I–well, look at him!”

Well. That’s a confidence killer. He hadn’t ever thought Sidney to be mean, but–

“Excuse me,” an old woman asks from the carrots. “How much are these?” The price sign is literally two inches away from her hand, but Geno doesn’t have the heart to point it out.

“Two dollars a bunch,” Geno says, trying to not sound sullen. 

“What’s wrong with him?” Geno hears Sidney’s friend again. “I’m looking–”

“Don’t–” Sidney makes another distressed sound, trying to stand discreetly behind his friend. “Tanger, no, he’s–he’s out of my league, I can’t–”

Out of his league? Geno blinks, then feels his own chest swell with uncertain hope. 

“Go talk about the weather and romance him, Sid,” Tanger says. “If I have to listen to you talk about how you want him to make love to you in his barn–”

“I didn’t say that! He doesn’t have a barn, I think!” Sidney yelps, as Geno coughs to hide how red his face is turning. “Tanger, this was a bad idea, I need to think of a better–”

“Hi,” someone says–it’s a kid, eyes bright as he holds out his hand to shake. He’s probably in his early twenties, but nowadays, everyone feels like a kid to Geno. “I’m Jake. You single?”

Geno huffs out a surprised laugh. “Think I’m too old for you.”

“Oh, no, I’m asking for my Captain. Sidney, over there? He buys asparagus from you.”

“I know,” Geno says, voice turning soft. “Best hockey player in the world, who not know?”

“He’s still freaking out with Tanger about asking you on a date. You wanna go on a date with him?”

“You sure he want go on a date?” Geno purses his lips. “This isn’t for, like, prank? Like for TV?”

“God, no. Look, if you don’t want to, could you do me a favor and like, let him down gently? He’s really head over heels for you. There’s so much asparagus in his fridge at this point because he keeps trying to come up with pick up lines for you but he chickens out at the last second.” 

Geno glances back at Sidney, who looks like he’s still arguing with Tanger. Then he makes a decision. “Hey, Sid!” he calls.

Sidney startles and turns his head so fast towards Geno, Geno’s almost afraid Sidney might’ve twisted something. “I–oh! Hi! Geno, hi! Just…just looking at these uh–” He picks up the closest thing, an especially unfortunately-shaped eggplant. “This. Yep. Really nice. They’re, uh, really fresh.”

Jake wasn’t kidding, Geno thinks. Sidney is really bad at this. But nonetheless, it’s making Geno’s heart flip twice over. “Sid, come talk here one second, if you not busy?”

“I’m not!” Sidney zips over so fast, Tanger completely forgotten. He joins Geno a few feet away from the stand, near the truck. “Hi, G,” he says, in this wonderfully earnest tone. “What’s up?”

“You wanna get dinner? Tonight? I know this place, lots of veggies, you probably like. Or maybe I cook, figure out some way to use all that asparagus.”

Sidney’s cheeks dusts with pink. “Oh my God, how did–”

He goes out on a limb and reaches out for Sidney’s wrist, rubbing at it with his thumb when Sidney doesn’t pull away. In fact, Sidney almost seems hypnotized as he steps closer. Close enough for Geno to see just how thick his lashes are. 

“You already so cute and funny, don’t have to buy all that asparagus to talk to me. I’m worth like, five asparagus, max.”

“You’re worth fifty bunches, man. Fuck, I bought so much, I don’t know what to do with them,” Sidney says, then backtracks in confusion as he bursts out in this helpless giggle. “What are we even saying?”

“I don’t know.” He loves how infectious Sidney’s joy is; he can barely keep from grinning as his hand slides from Sidney’s wrist to grasping at Sidney’s fingers. “So. You let me make you dinner?”

“I’d let you make me breakfast,” Sidney says, then freezes as he realizes the implication. “Oh, my God, I’m sorry, I don’t know why I–”

“If you good, I make breakfast too.”

He tries to not relish how good it feels when Sidney’s face becomes positively scarlet.

-

(“Breakfast in bed,” Sidney murmurs, still groggy.

“Well. You really not joke about too much asparagus,” Geno tells him, setting the omelet aside in favor of kissing Sidney’s bare neck.

“So. Fucking. Much.” Sidney opens the covers just a smidge, enough for Geno to happily slide back in.)

In Twenty Minutes Time

The rain seems to be inescapable even as they descend the stairs into the train station. The water rushes around their feet, soaking their shoes even further until they step further onto the platform.

Sid closes his umbrella and points it away from himself before he shakes out the extra moisture. Beside him Flower shakes like a dog and says “at least it’s not snow.”

“Oh, god, I wish,” Sid says back and Flower rolls his eyes and takes his cap off his head so he can slick back his hair.

“You say that now but just you wait. This isn’t your tiny hometown, Sidney. Here, you get maybe an hour, maybe, before the plows fuck it all up and all that pretty snow turns to muddy slush.”

“You make Montréal sound so beautiful.”

Flower grins. “We’re happy to have you.”

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