Prelude - [2/5]
title : Part II - The Temptation Has Existed
author : russian torque
pairing : Ovechkin / Semin ; Malkin / Semin
words : ~1,800
note : and this second part is for fakekitten because she's the only person I know who says "Aboot" and "Hoose" and I give her constant grief for it.
II. The Temptation Has Existed
“Where’s Alex?”
Sasha doesn’t have to turn around and look to know it’s Geno standing behind him. He also lacks the energy to dislodge the hands that come to rest on his back, massaging gently at his sore muscles.
“I’m not his keeper,” Sasha replies, sounding more tired than bitter. “It’s got nothing to do with you.”
Geno’s arms wrapping around his middle are far more comforting than they should be, especially since they’re in public and there are people that know Alex at the bar. The last thing Sasha wants is some sort of scandal but after last night, he isn’t really sure anything he does will have an impact on the tempest brewing between his lover and Geno.
It doesn’t matter whether he talks to Geno or not, whether or not they have a friendly drink together at the bar, because Alex will always find something to get upset about.
“You don’t look like you don’t care, Sasha,” Geno says and his chin comes to rest on Sasha’s shoulder. “You’re a bad liar.”
Sasha bristles when Geno's fingers brush along the red spot on his neck. They both know what it means, all of the implications, but Geno isn't dense enough to bring it up. Or at least, Sasha hopes he isn't that clueless.
“I might be lying,” Sasha replies, flagging down one of the bartenders and trying to ignore how close Geno’s getting to him, “But at least I’m making an effort.”
Geno doesn’t have a chance to respond because the bartender, a young guy who’s been slipping Sasha free drinks every here and there all night, arrives and Sasha’s leaning over and ordering a round of drinks for the both of them.
“I don’t need a drink,” Geno says once the kid is gone, “Unless they were both for you, in which case I’ll take one.”
It’s presumptuous of him, but Sasha likes that in Geno. It’s one of those qualities that Geno pulls off perfectly. In Alex, it just makes him seem like an asshole. Not that Sasha’s spent a lot of time comparing them- that simply wouldn’t be proper. But right now he’s too drunk to really care and he’s got no problem drawing parallels between them, noting the way Geno keeps his attention focused on him rather than straying to the half naked women dancing on stage.
“Very funny,” Sasha says, hiding a small smile behind his hand, “Why are you here?”
“I could ask you the same thing.” Geno is quick with his comeback and Sasha resents it. “Shouldn’t Alex be with you? He’s like a dog, following you around. Must be hard never being alone. I bet he calls all the time.”
There’s a vague line between playfully presumptuous and unacceptable and Geno is tiptoeing that line right now. He’s getting dangerously close to pissing Sasha off, in fact- not because he’s going out of his way to be rude, but because what he’s saying is true.
“Why are you here?” he repeats dryly and this time he wants an answer- none of that evasive bullshit.
“I should think the answer to that would be obvious.”
The bartender comes back and places two drinks in front of them. Sasha digs a large bill out of his pocket and slides it across to the kid with a wink and the gesture doesn’t go unnoticed.
“I’m here because you’re here. Because I miss you.” Geno finally takes a seat next to Sasha and collects one of the drinks. “It didn’t used to be like this.”
This again. This is an old argument, one that Sasha isn’t particularly fond of- even less so now that he, Geno, and Alex are all in the same city.
“It’s like this now,” Sasha says, taking a long drink from his glass, “It isn’t going to change just because you’re talking to me, and taunting Alex only makes it worse.”
Geno has the decency to look slightly ashamed, but not enough to be convincing.
“He saw the text?”
“It was a stupid thing to do.”
They sit in silence for a moment, drinking in the music and the darkness and they’re both completely fucked. They’ve always been fucked.
“I’m sorry Sasha,” Geno says and Sasha almost doesn’t hear him. “It’s hard for me, you know that.”
Sasha blames himself for this even though he knows it isn’t entirely his fault. The relationship between the three of them has always been so tense and it was always just a matter of time before everything went to hell and honestly? He’s surprised they all lasted as long as they did.
He’s always been good about keeping Geno at arms distance until now.
“Enough of this,” Geno suddenly says after downing the rest of his drink in one hard swallow, “Finish your drink. Let’s go.”
When Geno drags him off his bar stool, Sasha thinks he’s about to be carried out of the bar. He is, after all, exceedingly drunk and under normal circumstances he wouldn’t drink this much without Alex around to take care of him. But Geno makes him feel safe for some reason and he has no problem allowing himself to be pulled through the thick crowd, presumably to the door.
He’s genuinely surprised when Geno suddenly turns around to face him and suddenly there are hands resting on his hips and Geno’s swaying them both to the heavy beat. Dancing is unexpected, but not entirely unwelcome and now that he’s standing, all the alcohol is rushing to his head and dancing with Geno is actually kind of romantic.
Alex doesn’t dance like Geno, he’s all hips and hands and they don’t really dance- they fuck with their clothes on until they’re both too frustrated to keep going. They always end up in the bathroom, rutting against each other in a stall that’s too small for comfort.
But Geno is different, he’s smooth, gentlemanly. He lets Sasha choose the speed, the rhythm, takes him by the hand and spins him around every now and then and they laugh about that. Sasha laughs more when he’s with Geno, he’s happier and he feels sick- because it used to be like this with Alex before this dreadful thing between the three of them started pulling them to pieces.
“I wish we had more time,” Geno says against Sasha’s neck, pulling his arms tighter around him. “I could fall in love with you.”
Sasha’s too shocked to be angry and he has every right to be angry. They both know he’s with Alex- it isn’t fair to anyone involved to throw this kind of wrench into their relationship. The worst part is that Sasha has thought about this situation before. There’s always been something awkward and playful between them. Geno’s always been like that kid on the playground pulling Sasha’s hair and putting frogs in his desk.
Falling for Geno isn’t really a question at this point. Sasha knows for a fact that he fell for him long, long ago. But he can’t let his feelings get in the way of his life- being with Geno would never work, not anymore. Not ever.
“What are you saying?” Sasha bites back, “Don’t start with this again, Geno. It’s a waste of time.”
The way Geno smiles at him makes Sasha nervous, but he remains pressed against Geno, swaying to the beat regardless.
Dancing with him is more relaxing and enjoyable than it should be. He’s warm, like a human space heater and that’s through his clothes. The places where his skin is touching Sasha’s bare skin are unbelievably hot, but not uncomfortably so and Sasha finds himself leaning on Geno more than dancing with him and he could fall asleep like this- with his cheek resting on Geno’s shoulder and he isn’t drunk any more as much as he is tired.
“You know what I mean. Come back to my room with me.”
Sasha’s heart catches in his throat. He wasn’t expecting Geno to be so forward.
“I can’t-” he mumbles out, pushing away from Geno harder than necessary.
The world spins for a sickening moment and Sasha thinks he’s going to fall over because his feet feel like they’re made of concrete and the floor is inches away from his face when Geno’s pulling him back to his chest, arms wrapped protectively around him and they’re so close- if Sasha tilted his face just a little bit, they would be kissing.
Sasha really wants to kiss Geno. He wants to know what he tastes like, and if he’s as good at kissing as Sasha’s imagined him to be.
But the moment’s gone and Geno isn’t really in romance mood anymore, he just looks worried. All three of him.
“Are you okay?”
Sasha blinks a few times, his head still swimming and now there are only two Genos floating about in front of him, but that’s still one more than there are supposed to be.
“I’m fine,” he finally says, “I’ll be fine.”
Geno clicks his tongue skeptically, but his lips curve into that trademark goofy grin of his quickly.
“You really do drink too much,” he scolds, tapping Sasha once on the nose. “Does Alex know you drink this much?”
Sasha can do little more than scowl at him. How much he drinks is no one’s business, not Alex’s and certainly not Geno’s.
“On the other hand, if you’re drunk it’s easier for me to take advantage.”
Those words have a sobering effect on him and the two Geno heads become just one Geno coming a lot closer than he should be comfortable with and it hurts that their lips press together so briefly- he doesn’t even have the chance to reciprocate because Geno captures his lower lip in a kiss, tongue darting out and sliding against his skin ever so slightly before he’s pulling away again and Sasha should feel guilty for this, but he doesn’t. Not yet.
“Why-”
Geno presses his finger to Sasha’s lips and shakes his head, “Don’t ask. You won’t remember tomorrow anyway.”
The night comes to a rolling end when Geno leads him slowly out of the club and hails a taxi and they’re back at Sasha’s hotel in a few minutes but Sasha doesn’t even remember getting in the taxi, much less getting out and walking wobbly to the elevator and pushing one of the buttons.
Geno leaves him outside his door, presses the key card into his hand and says, “Do us both a favor and don’t tell Alex,” before leaning in and kissing him once on the cheek and again on the mouth. He pulls back long enough to eyeball the bruise on his neck, brows furrowing and he's obviously disturbed and Sasha's been hoping he won't say anything all night but this is the moment of truth.
"Don't let him do that to you anymore," Geno says, leaning in one last time and kissing the spot, "It isn't attractive, Sasha. You're beautiful the way you are."
He’s gone before Sasha can count to three and he’s smiling wide, knows his cheeks are flushed with both happiness and an awkward sort of arousal but he can’t acknowledge it. He isn’t supposed to acknowledge it.
Alex isn’t in the room and Sasha figures he’s probably still partying somewhere and that’s perfectly fine. It makes stripping down to his underwear and falling into bed a lot easier. There will be questions tomorrow- lots of them. But they can just face that tomorrow. Or is it today already?
[ back | forward ]
X x X x X
author : russian torque
pairing : Ovechkin / Semin ; Malkin / Semin
words : ~1,800
note : and this second part is for fakekitten because she's the only person I know who says "Aboot" and "Hoose" and I give her constant grief for it.
II. The Temptation Has Existed
“Where’s Alex?”
Sasha doesn’t have to turn around and look to know it’s Geno standing behind him. He also lacks the energy to dislodge the hands that come to rest on his back, massaging gently at his sore muscles.
“I’m not his keeper,” Sasha replies, sounding more tired than bitter. “It’s got nothing to do with you.”
Geno’s arms wrapping around his middle are far more comforting than they should be, especially since they’re in public and there are people that know Alex at the bar. The last thing Sasha wants is some sort of scandal but after last night, he isn’t really sure anything he does will have an impact on the tempest brewing between his lover and Geno.
It doesn’t matter whether he talks to Geno or not, whether or not they have a friendly drink together at the bar, because Alex will always find something to get upset about.
“You don’t look like you don’t care, Sasha,” Geno says and his chin comes to rest on Sasha’s shoulder. “You’re a bad liar.”
Sasha bristles when Geno's fingers brush along the red spot on his neck. They both know what it means, all of the implications, but Geno isn't dense enough to bring it up. Or at least, Sasha hopes he isn't that clueless.
“I might be lying,” Sasha replies, flagging down one of the bartenders and trying to ignore how close Geno’s getting to him, “But at least I’m making an effort.”
Geno doesn’t have a chance to respond because the bartender, a young guy who’s been slipping Sasha free drinks every here and there all night, arrives and Sasha’s leaning over and ordering a round of drinks for the both of them.
“I don’t need a drink,” Geno says once the kid is gone, “Unless they were both for you, in which case I’ll take one.”
It’s presumptuous of him, but Sasha likes that in Geno. It’s one of those qualities that Geno pulls off perfectly. In Alex, it just makes him seem like an asshole. Not that Sasha’s spent a lot of time comparing them- that simply wouldn’t be proper. But right now he’s too drunk to really care and he’s got no problem drawing parallels between them, noting the way Geno keeps his attention focused on him rather than straying to the half naked women dancing on stage.
“Very funny,” Sasha says, hiding a small smile behind his hand, “Why are you here?”
“I could ask you the same thing.” Geno is quick with his comeback and Sasha resents it. “Shouldn’t Alex be with you? He’s like a dog, following you around. Must be hard never being alone. I bet he calls all the time.”
There’s a vague line between playfully presumptuous and unacceptable and Geno is tiptoeing that line right now. He’s getting dangerously close to pissing Sasha off, in fact- not because he’s going out of his way to be rude, but because what he’s saying is true.
“Why are you here?” he repeats dryly and this time he wants an answer- none of that evasive bullshit.
“I should think the answer to that would be obvious.”
The bartender comes back and places two drinks in front of them. Sasha digs a large bill out of his pocket and slides it across to the kid with a wink and the gesture doesn’t go unnoticed.
“I’m here because you’re here. Because I miss you.” Geno finally takes a seat next to Sasha and collects one of the drinks. “It didn’t used to be like this.”
This again. This is an old argument, one that Sasha isn’t particularly fond of- even less so now that he, Geno, and Alex are all in the same city.
“It’s like this now,” Sasha says, taking a long drink from his glass, “It isn’t going to change just because you’re talking to me, and taunting Alex only makes it worse.”
Geno has the decency to look slightly ashamed, but not enough to be convincing.
“He saw the text?”
“It was a stupid thing to do.”
They sit in silence for a moment, drinking in the music and the darkness and they’re both completely fucked. They’ve always been fucked.
“I’m sorry Sasha,” Geno says and Sasha almost doesn’t hear him. “It’s hard for me, you know that.”
Sasha blames himself for this even though he knows it isn’t entirely his fault. The relationship between the three of them has always been so tense and it was always just a matter of time before everything went to hell and honestly? He’s surprised they all lasted as long as they did.
He’s always been good about keeping Geno at arms distance until now.
“Enough of this,” Geno suddenly says after downing the rest of his drink in one hard swallow, “Finish your drink. Let’s go.”
When Geno drags him off his bar stool, Sasha thinks he’s about to be carried out of the bar. He is, after all, exceedingly drunk and under normal circumstances he wouldn’t drink this much without Alex around to take care of him. But Geno makes him feel safe for some reason and he has no problem allowing himself to be pulled through the thick crowd, presumably to the door.
He’s genuinely surprised when Geno suddenly turns around to face him and suddenly there are hands resting on his hips and Geno’s swaying them both to the heavy beat. Dancing is unexpected, but not entirely unwelcome and now that he’s standing, all the alcohol is rushing to his head and dancing with Geno is actually kind of romantic.
Alex doesn’t dance like Geno, he’s all hips and hands and they don’t really dance- they fuck with their clothes on until they’re both too frustrated to keep going. They always end up in the bathroom, rutting against each other in a stall that’s too small for comfort.
But Geno is different, he’s smooth, gentlemanly. He lets Sasha choose the speed, the rhythm, takes him by the hand and spins him around every now and then and they laugh about that. Sasha laughs more when he’s with Geno, he’s happier and he feels sick- because it used to be like this with Alex before this dreadful thing between the three of them started pulling them to pieces.
“I wish we had more time,” Geno says against Sasha’s neck, pulling his arms tighter around him. “I could fall in love with you.”
Sasha’s too shocked to be angry and he has every right to be angry. They both know he’s with Alex- it isn’t fair to anyone involved to throw this kind of wrench into their relationship. The worst part is that Sasha has thought about this situation before. There’s always been something awkward and playful between them. Geno’s always been like that kid on the playground pulling Sasha’s hair and putting frogs in his desk.
Falling for Geno isn’t really a question at this point. Sasha knows for a fact that he fell for him long, long ago. But he can’t let his feelings get in the way of his life- being with Geno would never work, not anymore. Not ever.
“What are you saying?” Sasha bites back, “Don’t start with this again, Geno. It’s a waste of time.”
The way Geno smiles at him makes Sasha nervous, but he remains pressed against Geno, swaying to the beat regardless.
Dancing with him is more relaxing and enjoyable than it should be. He’s warm, like a human space heater and that’s through his clothes. The places where his skin is touching Sasha’s bare skin are unbelievably hot, but not uncomfortably so and Sasha finds himself leaning on Geno more than dancing with him and he could fall asleep like this- with his cheek resting on Geno’s shoulder and he isn’t drunk any more as much as he is tired.
“You know what I mean. Come back to my room with me.”
Sasha’s heart catches in his throat. He wasn’t expecting Geno to be so forward.
“I can’t-” he mumbles out, pushing away from Geno harder than necessary.
The world spins for a sickening moment and Sasha thinks he’s going to fall over because his feet feel like they’re made of concrete and the floor is inches away from his face when Geno’s pulling him back to his chest, arms wrapped protectively around him and they’re so close- if Sasha tilted his face just a little bit, they would be kissing.
Sasha really wants to kiss Geno. He wants to know what he tastes like, and if he’s as good at kissing as Sasha’s imagined him to be.
But the moment’s gone and Geno isn’t really in romance mood anymore, he just looks worried. All three of him.
“Are you okay?”
Sasha blinks a few times, his head still swimming and now there are only two Genos floating about in front of him, but that’s still one more than there are supposed to be.
“I’m fine,” he finally says, “I’ll be fine.”
Geno clicks his tongue skeptically, but his lips curve into that trademark goofy grin of his quickly.
“You really do drink too much,” he scolds, tapping Sasha once on the nose. “Does Alex know you drink this much?”
Sasha can do little more than scowl at him. How much he drinks is no one’s business, not Alex’s and certainly not Geno’s.
“On the other hand, if you’re drunk it’s easier for me to take advantage.”
Those words have a sobering effect on him and the two Geno heads become just one Geno coming a lot closer than he should be comfortable with and it hurts that their lips press together so briefly- he doesn’t even have the chance to reciprocate because Geno captures his lower lip in a kiss, tongue darting out and sliding against his skin ever so slightly before he’s pulling away again and Sasha should feel guilty for this, but he doesn’t. Not yet.
“Why-”
Geno presses his finger to Sasha’s lips and shakes his head, “Don’t ask. You won’t remember tomorrow anyway.”
The night comes to a rolling end when Geno leads him slowly out of the club and hails a taxi and they’re back at Sasha’s hotel in a few minutes but Sasha doesn’t even remember getting in the taxi, much less getting out and walking wobbly to the elevator and pushing one of the buttons.
Geno leaves him outside his door, presses the key card into his hand and says, “Do us both a favor and don’t tell Alex,” before leaning in and kissing him once on the cheek and again on the mouth. He pulls back long enough to eyeball the bruise on his neck, brows furrowing and he's obviously disturbed and Sasha's been hoping he won't say anything all night but this is the moment of truth.
"Don't let him do that to you anymore," Geno says, leaning in one last time and kissing the spot, "It isn't attractive, Sasha. You're beautiful the way you are."
He’s gone before Sasha can count to three and he’s smiling wide, knows his cheeks are flushed with both happiness and an awkward sort of arousal but he can’t acknowledge it. He isn’t supposed to acknowledge it.
Alex isn’t in the room and Sasha figures he’s probably still partying somewhere and that’s perfectly fine. It makes stripping down to his underwear and falling into bed a lot easier. There will be questions tomorrow- lots of them. But they can just face that tomorrow. Or is it today already?
[ back | forward ]
X x X x X