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Taylor was going to kill whomever was calling her this late. She squinted at the clock in her bedroom. It was two fucking am which meant the only person who would be calling was Geno. Sometimes Taylor hated Geno. Like right now. And all the other times he’s called her at ass o’clock in the morning over the last five years since he started dating Sidney.
“I hate you and I’m going to change my phone number and never tell you what it is,” Taylor mumbled into the phone. “Seriously, Geno. It’s 2 am.”
“Need help,” Geno said, talking fast and low. “Want to propose but don’t know what ring and need permission from you and not sure how to ask.”
Taylor rolled onto her back and opened her eyes, trying to process everything Geno had said. He had been back in Russia long enough speaking only Russian that his English was even harder to understand.
“Back up for me. You want to propose?” asked Taylor. Ryan snuffled into the pillow next to her and she patted his shoulder until he settled back down.
“Yes,” Geno hissed into the phone. “Need to marry before transition.”
Taylor sighed and got out of bed, slipping on a pair of slippers and grabbing a hoodie. “Geno, do you want to marry Sidney only because of that?”
“No! Sidney not transition for a while. Want to marry now because I love her,” Geno said before politely saying something to someone else in Russian. “Please help.”
“Isn’t this something that can wait until the morning when I’m awake and have had coffee?” asked Taylor, flopping on the couch.
“I at jewelry store now. Very fancy. Feel like going to throw up because I not know what to get her,” Geno huffed. “Don’t want to make sad.”
“Are you looking for a public or private ring now?”
“Private,” Geno confirmed. “Not going to propose with wrong ring.”
“Get something tasteful, not a huge honking diamond that she’s going to hate. Do Russians do tasteful jewelry?”
“You awful sister-in-law.”
“Lies and falsehoods,” Taylor said easily. “Buy her something that looks antique. Or buy her some antique ring that’s going to cost more than your first house did.”
“My first house cost a lot,” Geno said cautiously.
“I wasn’t being serious! Look, I’ll stay on the phone with you. Walk around the store, take some pictures of rings you like and send them to me.”
Taylor closed her eyes, trying not to drift off to sleep again as Geno wandered through some unknown ‘very fancy’ Russian jewelry store. There was a lot of Russian in her ear and while she understood very little of it, she kind of understood why Sidney found it soothing to listen to Geno speak his native tongue.
“Okay I send,” Geno said after awhile. “Still awake?”
“Kind of,” Taylor yawned and pulled up the pictures on her phone. “Alright the first one is a huge no. It’s like some gigantic diamond surrounded by lots of other tiny diamonds in a horrible pattern. It’s an engagement ring, not a Cup ring.”
“Not look at second picture then.”
“I said tasteful,” Taylor sighed, pulling up the third picture. She flipped through the next couple. “None of these really scream Sidney.”
“I know,” Geno sounded desperate. “I can’t find right one.”
“You don’t have to buy right now,” Taylor reminded him. “You have time.”
“This eighth store I go to this week.”
“Take your mom. I’m sure she’d love to help you pick out a ring.”
Geno was quiet for a moment. “Mama okay with Sid. Not okay with Sidney.”
“Oh,” Taylor said softly. “Maybe Ksenia?”
“She and Seryozha on vacation. Sasha no help in matters like this. Never calling Ilyusha again for help on gift for Sidney. Oksana think I silly for panicking over ring and keep hanging up. Only Sanja and Masha around and they not know.”
“Ovi can never know,” Taylor said fervently. “I do not want to deal with an Ovechkin related breakdown.”
“What I do, Taylor?” asked Geno. “Sidney coming in four days.”
“You’re going to propose when she comes over?” asked Taylor, sitting up straight. “Like, now now?”
“Yes. Why I need help with ring!”
“Okay. Here’s what we’re going to do. I am going to go back to sleep. You are going to sit down and google fucking wedding rings and find something you like. Send me links. I will tell you what I like and what I think Sidney will like and then you find some unsuspecting salesperson and beat them into submission until they provide you with a ring.”
“And that work?”
“You’re Evgeni Fucking Malkin and you are in Moscow. Did you or did not win Worlds for Russia again last month? Of course it’s going to work!”
“Maybe not worst sister-in-law,” Geno said grudgingly. “You give permission?”
“Permission for what?” asked Taylor.
“Permission to marry Sidney. I can’t ask parents to marry Sidney since they not know. I ask permission to marry Sid already and they give. Only you can give permission for me to marry Sidney.”
“Geno,” Taylor breathed out. “Of course you have my permission to marry her. How could I ever say no?”
“Maybe not think marriage best thing for her. Not while she still not woman.”
“You don’t plan on going anywhere when she does transition, right?” asked Taylor seriously.
“Never,” Geno said just as seriously. “I been waiting too. Want my Sidney forever.”
“Then my answer is yes. Now let me go back to sleep and I’ll call you in a few hours.”
“Love you,” Geno said. “Sorry I wake. Again.”
“Yeah well at least this time I was just sleeping.”
Geno made a noise of displeasure. “That boy there now?”
“Yes, Ryan is here now. He has a name.”
“I know, I know. I suppose it okay.” Geno huffed. “Go sleep. No sex. Think about ring.”
“You think about rings,” Taylor said as she shuffled back into the bedroom. “Goodbye, Geno.”
Taylor hung up the phone, yawning wide enough for her jaw to crack. Ryan opened one eye as she climbed back into bed. “Geno again?”
“I keep hoping he’ll learn about time zones,” Taylor yawned again and curled around Ryan. “Go back to sleep.”
“M’kay. Tell me in the morning,” Ryan said as he drifted off back to sleep. Taylor wasn’t that far behind.
And she didn’t dream about engagement rings. Not a one. Nope.
Sometimes she really hated Geno.