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"Was worth it, Sid?"
The slow movement of Geno's bare feet through the water sends ripples across the surface of the lake.
They only have a few days left before Geno flies home to Russia for the summer.
To Anna and Nikita.
They get him in the summer, Sid has him throughout the season.
It works for them. It's enough.
Sid leans in, Geno's body a long, warm line beside him.
"Of course it was."
"Even though we lose?"
Sid thinks of the raw, gutteral sound he'd made when he found out Geno was leaving.
He thinks of the hoarse shout torn from his throat.
From his soul.
He remembers the muted thud of his knees hitting the grass and the wetness on his cheeks.
The sheer, desperate intensity of the helplessness he'd felt in that moment.
He thought of the strange light appearing over the lake. The dim, flickering shape that made his stomach twist and the whispered hiss of an offer too tempting to refuse.
A devil's bargain.
A trade off to stop a trade.
The weight of the disappointment of the men on his team, bewildered by a ruined season, an era ended, a fan base heartbroken.
But he also remembers the soft brush of Geno's thumb on his bare hip as they fell asleep in hotel room after hotel room, just like they'd always done, year after year.
He thinks of Geno's laugh and his open, expressive face.
Sid's bones still reverberate with the slam of Geno's body against his on the ice and his chest warms at the way their eyes always find each other, no matter how far apart they are.
He remembers Geno's and Tanger's thousandth game ceremonies, whole and complete.
Three men.
Three milestones.
The way it was always meant to be.
Plane rides. Bus rides. Breakfasts, dinners, drinks. Stolen kisses and lingering hugs.
Rough and painful and disappointing as it was, another season together.
Another year growing old together.
Only for Pittsburgh, always with Sid.
Sid slips his hand into Geno's as they sit quietly on his dock together, bellies full of the lunch they'd eaten, thinking of their plans to while away the afternoon in his bed.
He nods, smiling. "Worth it."