Chapter Text
THREE YEARS LATER
i.
"I can't believe this is actually happening," Claude whispered to Sid who was sitting beside him in the hospital chair, leg bouncing anxiously.
"You've literally said that 100 times already," Phil quipped from his right, "and it hasn't gotten any less annoying."
"I'm nervous, okay?" Claude whined in response, tightening his hold on Sid's hand which was lying on top of his bouncing leg and turning away from Phil.
"I'm nervous too," Sid whispered. "For what it's worth."
"That does make me feel better actually," Claude said with a soft smile, tightening his hold on their hands. Though now that he thought about it, they had, had this exact conversation a few....dozen or so times by now. Maybe more. Okay maybe a few dozen more. Wow, okay, maybe they had done this 100 times already.
"Oh God, I'm not ready for this," Claude muttered to himself, dropping his head into his hands, much to the amusement of the rest of the men in the waiting room who were looking at the pair with fond expressions on their faces.
"First one is always the hardest," Pascal said knowingly, giving Claude a reassuring smile. "Gets easier after that."
"Can confirm," Kris and Flower said at the same time, laughing gently as they cast glances at each other from Pascal's side.
"What I want to know," Simmonds started, "is why you keep saying you aren't ready for this when you've had literally months to prepare. It's not like what's happening is a surprise or anything."
"Hey!" Claude retorted, offense heavy in his tone.
"You'll understand one day," Pascal interjected just as Claude opened his mouth to continue his about-to-be tirade. "They are right to be feeling the way that they do. And who knows, maybe you'll be next."
"Mhmm," Simmonds hummed to himself, leaning back against the wall with his hands behind his back, seemingly lost in thought as he mulled being in the same situation as Claude and Sid and realizing it didn't freak him out as much as he thought it would. Though obviously it would be under slightly different circumstances.
"Did you ever figure out an answer for my 'no Jakub, we aren't talking about this right now' question?" Jakub asked from where he was sitting with a magazine open in a chair diagonally across the room from Claude, not bothering to raise his gaze while he waited, though the corner of his lips did pull up as he recalled the meltdown Claude had, had in his kitchen four nights previous.
"No," Claude said bitterly, allowing a deep frown to settle across his features. "Sid says we will 'just know,' but I have no fucking idea what that means and anywa-."
"All I said," Sid interrupted, "was that I didn't want to have a preconceived notion going in there and then realize it didn't fit with the outcome. As we've learned since the accident, it's better not to have many expectations and just see what happens, right?"
"Yes Dad," Claude muttered stoically under his breath hoping no one would catch him, though the snickers from Phil and Geno on his right let him know that he hadn't been successful.
"Dad," Sid said softly, testing the word softly on his tongue, a gentle smile spreading across his features as he settled back on the chair, effectively melting Claude's heart as he folded into his husband's body. "I like the sounds of that."
"Is some weird sex kink?" Geno whisper-asked into Phil's ear in concern after a moment had passed as he watched as two of his best friends turned to each other to exchange a gentle kiss, paying no mind to the remainder of the people in the room with them.
"Yes," Phil whispered back seriously, never breaking face as Geno sat back in confusion, Russian words spilling off his tongue as he tried to process what he had just heard, Kris shooting Phil a teasing glare as the pair watched their friend's mutterings, both knowing that sex had nothing to do with what was being discussed by Sid and Claude currently.
Well, sex between them anyways.
"How long is this supposed to take?" Claude asked some time later, his own leg having started matching Sid's bouncing rhythm about an hour ago, the pair shifting occasionally in their chairs as the time ticked by.
"Depends," Flower said cryptically, continuing to play Tetris on his phone in complete concentration and immediately going silent, leaving Claude and Sid incredibly confused.
"Depends on what?" Sid pushed, raising one eyebrow in confusion as he looked on at his friend who was still paying them zero attention, Sid looking briefly at Kris who was also staring at Flower's phone, his gaze utterly focused on the score that was climbing higher and higher in the corner of the screen.
"How difficult things are going to be 15 years from now."
"Wait, what?" Claude and Sid said in unison, at the same time that everyone else in the room stopped what they were doing to all look at Flower quizzically, even though he had yet to look up from his phone to address them and appeared to have zero plans to do so.
"Explain," Kris said in French, pleased when Phil repeated him a moment later, this time in English, the two sharing a knowing look as the latter had been practicing learning French specifically for the sake of being able to swear at Claude in multiple languages. And hey, it gave him something to do instead of being sad all the time, so it was a win-win all things considered.
"Oui, mon cher," Flower responded, lapsing into silence immediately after as he trapped his tongue between his teeth and lips, the tip sticking out as his brows furrowed while he started intently at his phone, going so far as to physically move the phone closer to his face as if that might help, his thumbs aggressively tapping on the screen while everyone waited.
Still without answering, Flower finished placing the last block that he could, watching as the screen in front of him lit up with the words "HIGH SCORE" scrolling across in bold neon letters, leaning back triumphantly, stretching his toned arms above his head before turning his body to make eye contact with Kris who was staring at him with an exasperated expression, before his eyes turned down to Flower's phone and then promptly rolled to the back of his head.
"Why do I even put up with you?" Kris asked in French, a large majority of the room's occupants laughing as he said it.
"Because you love me," Flower said simply, a mischievous grin spreading across his lips as he dared Kris to deny the truth.
"He does know he hasn't answered the question still, right?" Wayne asked Pascal in the background, leaning closer so as not to be overheard, his own brow raised to match the confused look on Sid's face on the other side of the room.
"Absolutely," Pascal responded, equally as quietly. "And also he's enjoying every second of it. Just wait, it'll come out eventually."
"Why 'do' we put up with him?" Claude asked Sid under his breath, looking at his husband fondly who was still trying to figure out exactly which direction his friend was going to go with his eventual next comment.
"He's family," Sid said simply, not taking his eyes off of Flower who had turned to see Sid's reaction and was now daring Sid to blink without ever having said anything.
"Ha!" Flower shouted triumphantly a moment later when Sid's resolve wavered and he inevitably blinked, causing Kris to jump in surprise and reflexively slap Flower across the back of the head much to the enjoyment of Phil and Geno who started urging on a fight as Flower reached out and pinched Kris' closest nipple.
"Oi!" Pascal said sternly and at just the right volume, stepping forward to separate the pair if it came to that as they tussled on their chairs. "We are in a hospital and no longer twelve you two, keep your hands to yourselves."
"Wow, how to tell a man has four daughters," Wayne said with a nervous laugh, sliding along the wall where he was standing and sinking into the chair beside Jakub. "That was seamless."
"And also why he now bosses us around on the ice," Phil said with a knowing smile, putting Wayne at ease instantly as he returned the rueful smile, the two men watching with amused grins as Pascal continued to scold his two grown sons in very fast French.
"But actually, is no one going to ask wha-"
Claude stopped abruptly just as he started to inquire whether anyone had planned to ask Flower what the hell he was on about when the door to the waiting room opened and Dr. Leslie Myles stepped into the room with a gentle expression on her face, effectively silencing all nine men in the room.
"Sid. Claude. It's time," she said with a smile on her face. "If you'll come with me."
"O-o-oh my God," Sid stuttered out loud to no one in particular, eyes unfocused as he looked dazedly through the doctor standing in front of him.
"Holy shit, this is actually happening," Claude said in awe, his jaw dropping open as he felt distantly as a hand rested gently against his arm, slowly turning his head to look at Phil who for the first time in their friendship was looking at him with an encouraging expression.
"You guys were meant for this, Claude," Phil said with a squeeze of his hand on Claude's arm. "You're going to do great."
"Phil, this is actually happening!" Claude repeated, turning to face his friend completely and placing his hand on Phil's leg who didn't flinch from the touch, though he did have to stop himself from doing so. Out of the corner of his eye Phil noted that Pascal was crossing the room as Sid stood from his chair, pulling the younger man into a strong embrace in his arms as Leslie looked on with a bemused expression from the door.
"Claude, you won the Stanley Cup last year and no one ever thought that was going to happen, let alone-."
"Hey!" Three voices yelled at the same time, causing Phil and Geno to burst into laughter.
As Phil's laughs subsided, he quickly checked to make sure Claude hadn't been offended by his words (he hadn't) before he continued.
"If you can do that, be a Stanley Cup champion that is, you can handle this next part of your life with ease," Phil continued honestly, his lips turning up just at the corners as he saw Claude digesting his words. "You two can do anything together. Just go, whatever comes next, you'll always have each other. You'll be fine."
"I can't believe I am about to say this," Claude half-whispered after taking a moment to think through what Phil had just said, "but thank you. I..."
"You?"
"I love you, Phil. Thank you."
A wave of emotions washed over Phil and instead of answering he leaned forward and pulled Claude into a tight hug, holding the other man for a few long moments before releasing him and placing his left hand on Claude's shoulder.
"Love you too, I guess," Phil retorted, causing a wet chuckle to escape Claude's lips as both men refused to acknowledge the wetness behind their eyes. "Go get 'em tiger."
Standing slowly, Claude turned to Geno who was stepping forward to wrap Claude in a warm hug, whispering a few words of encouragement into his ear before releasing him and stepping around to Sid as Flower took Geno's spot, pulling him in to yet another tight hug.
"I can't wait to be apart of the rest of your lives," Flower said in emotional French, pulling a soft whimper from Claude who had screwed his eyes shut in order to keep the tears that were at the forefront from spilling over.
"Love you Marc-Andre, thank you," Claude whispered back, before stepping away and continuing down the line of their friends, laughing as Kris threatened to hide Flower's body if he had been bothering him.
"No i'm good," Claude said with a smile as he pulled away, sharing more heartfelt exchanges with the rest of his friends before turning to wait for Sid who was having a hushed conversation with Geno off to the side.
Noticing him looking, Sid quickly gave Geno one last hug before pulling away and stepping forward to grab Claude's hand and giving it a strong squeeze, before he leaned forward and placed his lips against his husband's, the rest of their friends smiling through the tears that they swear weren't there.
"Are you ready?" Sid asked softly, not sure if he even knew the answer for himself.
"No," Claude answered honestly. "But let's do it anyways."
"Alright Mr. and Mr. Crosby-Giroux," Leslie said from the door with a warm smile on her face. "Let's go introduce you to your daughter, shall we?"
ii.
Claude wasn't sure if they were breathing as they entered the room where their surrogate was resting up after finishing giving birth a few hours previous, a small bundle in her arms as she gave the men entering the room a tired, but content smile.
Claude and Sid had decided after Claude had won the Stanley Cup the year prior that they had both completed what they had needed to in their careers and were ready to officially start expanding their family.
The two and a bit years after the accident had gone much smoother after Sid's admission of needing help after the party at Phil's late in April that year. The pair had signed up for therapy the following day and with Phil's surprisingly unwavering support, spent the coming months training or with Dr. Myles who helped them work through ways they could come to terms with their new soulbond status and accept it so they could live happily.
Ironically, the term 'faded' that Claude had concocted on a whim one day had stuck and after some time had even been deemed legitimate by the Institute of Soulbond Relationships and later recognized by the major dictionaries, though no cases of faded's had popped up anywhere in the world since Claude and Sid's.
Though the pair still had a fair amount of arguments over games against each other after they had both gone back to playing or Sid's lack of memory, more often than not because Claude kept forgetting that Sid might not remember something, the fights were short lasting and usually resulted in epic make-up sex (which was not to say that Claude had started a few of those fights on purpose in order to initiate said make-up sex, but he also wasn't going to deny doing it either because damn. That ass).
Sid had met Cheryl at one of the few therapy sessions that he took without Claude, as for the most part they liked to do that kind of stuff together. Cheryl was a fellow shade like Phil who had lost her partner to a surprising form of cancer which was for whatever reason, incurable using modern medicine practices. She was in therapy with her fellow shades (and said faded) trying to come to terms with her sense of purpose moving forward as her partner and her had been in the daycare business together when she had gotten the crazy idea of being a surrogate so she could pass on her love of children to those who couldn't have children themselves. This realization came conveniently around the time that Claude was set to win the Stanley Cup and after a steamy night of celebratory sex two weeks later, Sid had raised the idea of having a kid with his husband.
Now, nine (and a half, thank you very much) months later, Claude and Sid were standing around their dear friend who had shifted with only minimal pain in front of them so she was sitting more upright so she could present them with their newborn daughter, entirely real and entirely theirs.
"I feel like I'm dreaming," Claude whispered in awe, not moving any farther into the room in case he disturb his child, smiling widely as the words "his child" echoed on repeat inside his head.
"Would you like to meet your daughter, Sid?" Cheryl asked knowingly, having agreed privately with Claude a few days prior when she had started to notice a change in her body that Sid should be the first one to hold their baby girl. Sending Claude a wink in acknowledgement of this, Cheryl turned her full attention to Sid who was slowly moving forward, completely focused on ensuring not to disturb the intense feeling of love that seemed to be swelling in the room.
"I...wow," Sid muttered to himself as he got closer and closer to his daughter, her face obscured in the way Cheryl was holding her. "My daughter."
"Yes, and she's beautiful," Cheryl stated with feeling, proud of her own work, though knowing in her heart that even though she had birthed her, the small bundle of flesh in her arms was not inherently "her" daughter, something she was more than okay with considering the look of love on both Sid and Claude's faces, knowing they would be great parents.
"H-how do I hold her?" Sid stammered nervously, seemingly forgetting all of the eight thousand parenting classes that Claude had made them go to in the previous months before their daughter's birth. "C-can, can you pass her to me?"
"Of course Sid," Cheryl said with a gentle laugh, Dr. Myles watching in fascination from the door, always impressed that Cheryl and Phil seemed to be the only two people she knew who seemed to be able to get Claude and Sid to listen to whatever they said.
"Okay, turn your arms like this," Cheryl instructed, using one hand to gently shift Sid's arms into position, curling up the side of her lip in a barely-there smile when she registered the sniffles coming from Claude who was watching on with pride. "Okay, perfect, you ready Sid?"
"I think so," Sid responded, his heart beating so fast he could hear it in his head as Cheryl motioned him closer so she could place his daughter in his arms.
The soft bundle in his arms couldn't have weighed more than eight pounds and Sid later learned that his daughter had been born at seven pounds, four ounces which made sense for why she seemed so light. As he tightened his hold, he rolled her over in his arms, surprised when the little bundle of joy opened her eyes briefly, her light chocolate brown eyes making contact with his before they fluttered closed and everything around him came into shining bright contrast.
Claude would never be able to explain what it felt like in that moment, even years later when his daughter and son would ask him to try, words escaping him entirely no matter how hard he tried.
Sid stumbled back in surprise, having the sense at least to ensure he had a strong grip on his daughter before sinking into the chair that he had seen beside the bed when they had first entered.
Claude, on the other hand, dropped ungracefully to the floor in surprise, legs sprawled to the side of him as he leaned back against the wall, his breath coming in short gasps as Dr. Leslie ran to his side, asking him if he was alright though Claude wasn't capable of processing her questions.
Cheryl, equally as confused as the doctor, was whisper-shouting frantically at Sid, trying to get his attention though Sid was sitting still in absolute shock staring at Claude who was sitting still in absolute shock staring at Sid.
"Okay, I'm getting worried," Cheryl whispered nervously as Leslie agreed silently with a nod, reaching down to her belt to pull out her pager, her fingers still firmly pressed against Claude's neck to monitor his heart rate when Sid blinked and shifted his gaze only slightly, effectively breaking the spell on them.
"Sid?" Cheryl questioned, her brows tightly knit. "A...are you okay?"
"I..." Sid started, seemingly lost for words, turning to look at Cheryl with eyes that were as wide as saucers before slowly retracting his gaze back to Claude who's eyes were as wide if not wider than his own.
"Gentlemen, what is happening here?" Leslie pushed, her eyes tracking back and forth between Sid and Claude, occasionally looking down at the bundle in Sid's arms to make sure everything was okay, though their daughter seemed to be oblivious to whatever was going on around her.
"Claude," Dr. Myles pushed earnestly, turning her full attention to the man beside her. "Please, you are scaring me. What's happened?"
"I..." Claude echoed, eyes wide still as he turned to look at her. "Your eyes are blue."
"Yes?" Dr. Myles said with a frown, not understanding his point. "But you knew that, you saw my eyes many, many times before you lost your colours."
"Yes," Claude acknowledged, looking down at her shirt before slowly raising his gaze back to hers and taking a deep gulp. "But that's a new shirt."
"Okay?" Leslie pushed further, shooting a look at Cheryl very briefly who at least appeared to be confused as she was.
"But your shirt is magenta," Sid said after another moment of silence, realization dawning on both females faces at the same time as their heads whipped back and forth between the two men as they tried to process the ground breaking information that had just been dropped on them.
"Are you saying what I think you are saying?" Cheryl asked, also going into a little bit of shock as she stared with an open-mouth at Sid.
"Y-y-y......yes," Sid whispered finally. "I am."
"Jesus fuck," Dr. Myles said rather eloquently, saying out loud what everyone had been thinking. "Well, this is certainly a new development."
"Oh my God Sid," Claude whimpered, finally breaking out of the shell of shock he had just been in and raising to his feet slowly, Dr. Myles spotting him in case he collapsed again, though he made it upright just fine. "Can you see it too?"
"Yeah babe," Sid said in awe as the tears he had been holding back started to spill over. "I can see it too."
With those words, Claude strode across the room, grabbing Sid's face with both hands and plunging in for a kiss, pulling his face towards his as the two grabbed onto each other, holding each other so tightly that later they would recognize the bruises they had left as being from that moment, but for now, as their worlds shifted back to a place they thought they had lost, the slight shots of pain were nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
"I can see you again," Sid whispered against Claude's lips, wet from the combined tears spilling down both of their cheeks.
"I can see you too," Claude replied with a wet laugh, wiping at his cheeks and realizing it was useless as he couldn't imagine being able to stop crying anytime soon. "I can see you too."
Both females in the room sniffled, once again at the same time, wiping at their eyes to rid the tears that were pouring over, Dr. Myles stepping forward to hand the box of tissues to Cheryl which had been just out of her reach. Raising her hand, Cheryl reached out and grabbed one of the other woman's, pulling it tight against her body as they watched the show of love unfolding before them.
"Do you want to see her?" Sid said after another moment of kisses, wanting to show Claude their daughter, but more wanting to get her out of his arms which were shaking so severely that Sid had no idea how he had managed to keep hold of her.
"Please," Claude whispered, placing his arms in the same position that his instructors had shown him in all their parenting classes before letting Sid gently place their daughter in his arms.
"She is the most beautiful thing in the world," Claude said out loud after a moment as he stared down at the sleeping bundle of joy in his arms that he already loved more than anything in this world outside of Sid. "Oh my God, she's real."
"Yes, she is," Cheryl said wetly, sniffing loudly and causing a surprised laugh to escape through Claude's lips, though he didn't take his eyes off of his daughter. In the background, Dr. Myles was staring worriedly at Sid who seemed to be dealing with something far beyond just getting his colours back based on the look of shock and fear that was present on his face.
Before she had a chance to go and make sure he was okay, Cheryl regained her composure, wiping at her eyes one more time before looking up at Claude who was at least looking back at her now.
"Do you have a name for her?" Cheryl asked softly, smiling encouragingly at Claude who seemed to be running on auto-pilot currently. "You don't need to have an answer right away of course."
"Sid?" Claude pressed, turning to look back at his husband who covered his expression of shock just before he and Claude made eye contact.
"Sorry, I missed that," Sid responded quietly. "Can you say that again?"
"Do we have a name for her do you think?" Claude asked. "Or did you want to wait?"
"No, let's name her now," Sid said a little unsteadily, standing to his feet and joining Claude at the side of the bed, looking down at his daughter who's tiny sprinkling of hair appeared to have a slight orange tint to it.
"I don't think I like Valerie after all," Claude said a moment later, breaking the warm silence that had filled the room. "She doesn't seem like a Samantha either, as much as I loved that name before."
"I..." Sid started, regaining his composure before pulling his gaze from his daughter and making eye contact with his husband. "I was thinking we could maybe name her something different than what was on our list."
"Different?" Claude questioned, puzzled at where his husband was going with this.
"This might sound stupid," Sid said lost deep in thought. "But I have this inexplicable feeling that our daughter's name should be Renee."
"Renee," Claude pondered out loud, looking back down at the bundle in his arms, at the wrinkles on her forehead and her baby nose that was wiggling in her sleep and feeling an internal peace as he did. "I like that. But on one condition."
"Which is?"
"That she be named Renee Marie. Middle name self explanatory," Claude suggested hesitantly, anxious to see what Sid would think.
Sid beamed for the first time since this whole ordeal had started, stepping forward and placing a kiss on his husband's lips before nuzzling their foreheads together and responding sincerely.
"Claude. Renee Marie Crosby-Giroux sounds perfect to me."
iii.
Several hours later, Marc-Andre, who had been really rather patient and well behaved in his opinion (as long as you didn't ask anyone else in the room who at one point during the wait had created a group chat amongst themselves to discuss various ways in which they could murder the man discreetly) finally asked the question that had been on everyone's mind for the past few hours.
"Is it just me," Flower started innocently, ignoring the glares that were shot his way as the other men had only just managed to get him to stop singing the baby shark song as loud and as obnoxiously as he could for an hour on end, and weren't exactly thrilled to hear him speaking again. "Or did all of us take significantly less time to be able to come show off our babies?"
"Very less," said Geno with a thoughtful expression. "Nicky is like one hour. Scarlett is like two hours. All Pascal kids like...three or four tops."
"It's been eight," said Wayne in despair, collapsing back against the chair. "How much longer can they take with this baby? I could have left and come back again and the baby still wouldn't have been here."
"I imagine," said Pascal, though he really wasn't sure himself, "that they have to run extra tests on her considering all of the medical issues with Claude and Sid.
"Is not like it's Sid baby," Geno retorted, still thinking. "Is Claude sperm for first baby since Sid head still do weird things from now and time."
"True," Pascal conceded. "But Claude's still a faded too."
A quiet hush fell across the room as everyone took stock of what Pascal had just said, as the gravity of the situation settled heavily on their chests. As time went by it had certainly gotten easier to overlook that one tidbit about their friends, but it was still a sobering topic when it was brought up all the same.
"Is think baby going to be faded too?" Geno questioned the room at large. "Doctor say no, right?"
"They don't believe so," said Danny, who had shown up a few hours previous after his mother had shown up to take over the kids so he could come to the hospital. "But really there's no way to tell since one parent is a shade and the other is a faded, not until that kid is like...12 or 13 really."
"Wait, is that when you met your partner?" Jakub asked in surprise, having met his own wife at 19.
"Yes," Danny said with a forced smile, the rocky parts of their marriage not needing to be shared as he and his wife shared a more platonic, rather than romantic, soulbond. "Definitely on the younger side of things."
Geno opened his mouth to ask another question, gently elbowing Phil who's head was lolling onto his shoulder again where he kept dozing off, when suddenly there was a knock on the door, yanking everyone's attention away from the conversation so that it was fixated on the seven foot piece of wood between them and their brand new baby Flyer-Penguin.
"Please be good news," Kris said without thinking, catching the attention of everyone in the room though he himself was still fixated on the door as it began to open and a mop of red curls popped through the door.
"Hey guys," Claude said quietly, his red, tear-stained eyes prominent on his pale white visage. "Can I come in?"
A heavy feeling settled in the guts of the eight men in the room as they nodded, no one daring to say a word as the fact that Claude had been crying indicated that something had clearly gone wrong. Not wanting to ask the question floating ominously in the air, everyone instead remained silent while Claude straightened up and awkwardly shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Um," he started eloquently, stuttering and then clearing his throat before allowing a large sniffle that managed to echo in the room. "I guess I have something to tell you?"
"Is that a question or a statement?" Danny asked gently and Claude, despite himself, allowed himself to smile at the sight of his friend.
"Danny, you made it!" He said softly, stepping forward to wrap his friend in a hug that Danny allowed to go on until a full 90-seconds later when Claude pulled back, his eyes once again damp. "I'm so glad you are here."
"I wouldn't be anywhere else in the world right now," Danny said in French, reaching out and cupping his friend's face with one hand. "Now tell us, is everything alright?"
"More than alright," Claude whispered, so quietly that Phil and Geno had to nudge Kris who had been in closer proximity until he would repeat what Claude had said for them as they were standing at the back of the group.
"Wait, so nothing's wrong?" Pascal inquired, not sure he was following since Claude looked absolutely devastated standing in front of them all.
Clearing his throat one more time, Claude allowed himself to straighten up before speaking more firmly as he continued.
"No, nothing is wrong, I am just in shock that's all."
"Shock at what?" Kris asked hesitantly, not sure he wanted to hear the answer. "At your daughter?"
"No," Claude said with a wet laugh, tears having started to leak down across his cheeks once more, frightening everyone in the room. "Though she is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
"Then what?" Kris pushed, his heart rate getting higher and higher the longer this was drawn out.
Instead of answering, Claude sniffed and wiped at his cheeks, taking a moment to evaluate the room, looking around at everyone, at the walls, at the magazines and then back at his friends, making a mental note of what everyone was wearing before deciding how to break the news.
"Jakub..."
"Erm, yes?" Jakub responded, everyone turning to look at him with the same looks of confusion on their faces.
"I just wanted to say that your shoes are the most vibrant shade of red that I have ever seen."
All motion stopped the second Claude's words finished leaving his mouth, no one even daring to breathe as they looked on at Claude who was smiling softly, the corner of his lips pulling up as he waited with baited breath to see how everyone reacted. So silent, was the room, that all nine men could hear the beeping sound of a monitor from two rooms down, only able to be heard due to the fact that the door was still partially ajar.
"Claude..." Kris whispered, his eyes wide. "Are you saying what I think you are saying?"
"Yes," Claude said after a long moment had passed, lifting his head to look at Kris directly. "I am. I got my colours back."
What happened after can only be repeated to a few people as a room with nine hockey players who dissolved into puddles of tears as they hugged and rejoiced at the news from their friend was far too embarrassing for any of them to speak about freely, especially not to their kids who somehow (we see you Marc-Andre) had heard this story from one of their many uncles (Flower) and refused to stop asking them for all of the juicy details that none of their fathers would give. What they would say, however, was that the following ten minutes of celebrations were the most special moments of any of their lives outside of getting married and seeing their own children for the first time, even for Phil who had none of that and still, despite his best efforts, could not see in colour.
"I'm so happy for you mon cher," Danny said in between his sniffles, patting Claude on the back. "And Sid too?"
"Yes, Sid too," Claude said with a large smile, relief having set in after telling their friends the entire story of what had happened when they had seen their daughter and the many tests that he and Sid had, had to go through afterwards to ensure that medically they were okay. "Though he didn't take it very well."
"What you mean?" Geno asked quizzically, looking at Claude and tilting his head in confusion. "Why Sid not happy?"
"We aren't sure," Claude answered honestly, which at least explained part of why his eyes didn't seem as bright to his friends, as he was clearly worrying about his husband. "Dr. Myles said she thought he was still processing and that there might be some deeper emotional reaction going on there, but both of us think there's something he hasn't told us yet."
"Like what?"
"Not sure honestly. Maybe it's not all of his colours?" Claude suggested. "Or maybe he's worried they will leave again? I'm really not sure, I just sort of want to take them both home and go to sleep and then deal with that all tomorrow."
"Excuse moi," Flower said indignantly, having gone rather quiet (by his standards anyways) during the emotional exchanges from earlier. "But you still haven't even shown us your daughter! Daughter first, sir!"
Claude laughed as he agreed with Flower's demand, shaking his head fondly before holding a finger up in a "one moment" signal and then stepping out of the room, allowing the other men to take a deep breath and also take a step back from where they had all congregated around the door.
"She's going to be so fucking cute," Wayne said to no one in particular, shaking his head and wiping at his eyes again. "I hope she's ginger."
"She'll definitely be ginger," Jakub said proudly. "Gingers unite!"
"What about gingers uniting?" Sid asked as he stepped into the room with Renee in his arms, Claude following closely behind him. Passing Renee off, Sid stepped forward to give his friends a hug as they cheered silently so as to not wake the baby, though all of them were craning their heads to try and get a look at her.
"Um, so I guess Claude told you about our colours?" Sid asked the room who were all looking at him, though he knew the answer since Claude had told him he had when he had gotten back to the room.
"Yes," Wayne affirmed, smiling at Sid who returned the smile, though it didn't quite reach his eyes, Phil watching him like a hawk and frowning as he tried to parse out what was going on in Sid's mind.
"Well, I mean, I guess we have to talk about that at some point, but for now I was hoping we could just introduce you to our daughter?" Sid suggested hopefully, looking around the room with an anxious expression.
"That sounds great Sid," Pascal said reassuringly, turning expectantly to Claude who had just stepped forward with their daughter.
"Wow, this is so tough," Claude said nervously, laughing awkwardly before casting a look at Phil who was a bit surprised at the attention. "Our daughter kind of named herself when we saw her, but her name has a lot of meaning."
"Okay?" Phil retorted, looking at the bundle in Claude's arms with squinting eyes.
"Everyone," Claude said before taking a big gulp of air and then continuing to look at Phil as he waited for his reaction. "I'd like to introduce you to Renee Marie CG. Our first born."
Phil felt as the air was punched out of his lungs, the oohs and aahs from his friends being drowned out as he said their daughter's name on repeat in his head. Renee Marie. Renee Marie. Renee Marie....Marie....
"Is that okay?" Claude asked hesitantly, everyone in the room having turned to look at Phil who was working through a myriad of emotions at once and who's breathing was really rather ragged considering the situation.
Without saying anything, Phil looked up at Claude with wide eyes, seeing the sincerity in his expression and knowing that he had made that choice with love, nodding finally a moment or two later before looking back down at the bundle in Claude's arms.
Stepping forward, Claude tilted his body so that Phil could get a look of their daughter, her beautiful serene face deep in slumber warming his cold heart instantly, even though he would never say it out loud.
Still having not heard Phil say a word, Claude continued, worried he wouldn't be able to if he didn't.
"I know that there's a lot to digest there," he started gently. "But you've been incredible to us these last few years and really even before that with your acceptance of us."
"So," Claude said, turning to Sid who stepped forward to join his husband, placing his arm around Claude's waist. "We also wanted to ask whether you would do us the honour of being Renee's godfather."
While Phil had not cried during any of the events of the last 24 hours (though he had gotten teary eyed several times, even if he didn't want to admit it), tears started to flow freely down his cheeks as he looked up at Claude and Sid and realized the gravity of what they were asking him.
"You...you'd really want that?" He asked in surprise, sniffing loudly as the other men continued to try and figure out just what exactly was going on currently as no one had any idea.
"We wouldn't have it any other way Phil," Sid said gently and with that, Sid reached forward, placing a hand on Phil to move his arms into position before Claude gently passed over their daughter for Phil to hold.
"She's so precious," Phil stated in awe after a few seconds had passed, his eyes locked on the face of his goddaughter while everyone else's eyes remained locked onto him. "I'd be honoured to be her godfather."
"Good," Claude said definitively, sniffing himself and then turning to look at everyone else who were smiling softly, though still confused.
"Can I ask what the significance of her name means?" Wayne asked after a few minutes of silence had gone by, Phil gently rocking and bouncing baby Renee in his arms, completely content to just stand there and hold her which was the only time any of the men had ever seen even a trace of Phil being paternal.
"Marie is her middle name," Phil said after another long while, looking up at Wayne with a soft smile. "They gave her the same middle name as Stella."
"Awe," Geno said out loud despite himeslf, cheeks colouring as everyone burst into laughter at the hulking Russian with a heart of gold. "What?! Is most special, don't laugh!"
"It's sweet, Geno," Pascal said knowingly, patting his friend on the back. "What a beautiful name Sid and Claude and what a beautiful baby girl. I can't wait to hold her."
"Here," Phil said looking up, realizing that he had been hogging his goddaughter from the rest of their friends. "Sorry."
"No apologies needed," Pascal replied with a smile, expertly removing Renee from his arms and placing them into his own before starting to whisper to the little girl in soft, sweet French. "You precious gift to the world. Our baby miracle."
"Our baby miracle is right," Kris said with tears in his eyes, equally as emotional at the birth of Sid and Claude's baby as he had been at his own children's births. "You did good guys."
"Thanks," they both replied at the same time, turning to look at each other and placing their heads against one another's.
"I couldn't be happier," Claude continued, though there was still a dullness to his eyes that worried the other men as he didn't seem to quite believe that, confirming their suspicions when he shot a side eye at Sid who had gone to sit down looking overwhelmed and lost.
"You okay, Sid?" Geno asked, pulling Sid from his thoughts.
"You look like you got hit by a truck," Phil said as teasingly as he could, though his voice was still wet from earlier and rather nasally from all the crying that he swear he didn't do.
"I...I have to say something," Sid said gravely, reaching out and grabbing Claude's hand, pulling him down into the chair beside him and turning their legs into each other, Claude's heart having stopped as he waited in utmost concern for what his husband was going to say as in the background Kris took Renee out of Pascal's arms and tucked her into his own.
Nobody moved for what felt like eternity as the seconds continued to tick by, Sid working through several layers of emotions as everyone waited patiently for what Sid was going to say. Finally, Sid raised his eyes, looking at each of his friends individually in turn, before looking at Claude and smiling, allowing the cloud around his head to lift as he revealed his long held secret from the last several hours.
"I remember," Sid said simply, staring directly into Claude's eyes, waiting for him to understand what he was trying to say. Realizing he hadn't been direct enough, he spoke once more, bringing their story finally full-circle.
"I remember you."