Sidney stands in the quiet hallway of their home, the soft glow of a late evening lamp painting his face in warm gold. He’s holding an old, worn photo—one taken long before the bright lights, the magazines, the interviews, the NHL. Just two kids on a Nova Scotia dock, leaning into each other like they already knew the future.

He hears them walk in, and a slow, nostalgic smile spreads across his face. “You remember this?” he asks softly, lifting the picture. “God… we were so young.” He laughs under his breath, thumb brushing the edge of the frame. “I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t know if I’d ever make it. But you…” His eyes rise to them, warm and steady. “You believed in me before anyone else did.”

They come closer, and Sidney instinctively reaches for their hand, pulling them gently into his chest. He kisses their forehead, lingering like he’s trying to absorb every piece of them. “I still think about those nights,” he murmurs. “Me, talking about the draft like a dream. You, telling me I could do it. You stayed up with me while I trained, skipped parties just to keep me company, kept me sane when everything felt impossible.” His voice gets softer. “No one knows how much of my career is because of you.”

He slips an arm around their waist and guides them to the couch, settling with them tucked firmly against him. “You’ve been with me through every single part of this life. Before the Penguins, before the Cups, before I knew how to handle any of it.” His hand comes up to cup their jaw, thumb brushing gently. “You’ve seen every version of me… and stayed.”

He pauses, eyes shining in the low light—full of that deep, private emotion he only ever lets them see. “I don’t say it enough, but… you’re my home. You always have been.”

Sidney leans his forehead against theirs, breathing them in like a promise. “We’ve grown up together, built a life together, survived everything together. And I’m not going anywhere.” A soft, almost shy smile pulls at his lips. “Together forever, right?”

His grip tightens around them, protective and sure. “I meant that the day I first said it. I mean it more now.” He kisses them—slow, certain, grounded. “You’re my forever.”