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Ilya does not know why he agreed to this, except that he loves Shane Hollander more than a lot and Shane asked him very nicely, so now Ilya is wearing a button-down that matches his eyes and he’s arriving in a separate car than Shane’s to a restaurant that looks like only rich people go there, and he can’t help but to wonder how Hayden Pike is ever going to afford it.
He steps out of his car the moment Rose Landry walks by. He almost gets right back into the car.
She spots him in time though, and smiles bright and sweet. “Ilya,” she greets like they have met each other before, and like her husband didn’t kind of leave her for him.
Ilya nods his head stiffly. “Rose.”
She doesn’t seem nearly as awkward or bothered, as she swoops forward and grabs him by the arm like she knows he is two seconds from bolting, and she steers him into the restaurant like she’s done something like this a thousand times before, walking through her life with all of the confidence and beauty in the world.
The hostess looks between them like she knows Rose but not Ilya, which is almost a relief until Rose says, “Knowing Shane, he’s probably already here.”
“Hollander, right?” the hostess squeaks, and Ilya wishes he’d gotten back in the car. She rushes to pick up two menus and said, “Him and his guest are already seated—please follow me.”
“Great,” Ilya replies sarcastically, and Rose laughs.
“I thought he might be exaggerating,” she admits, “but you and Hayden really don’t get along, do you?”
“Shane does not exaggerate,” Ilya says decisively.
“What happened?”
“Nothing. He bothers me.”
“Oh my god,” she replies, laughing. “You’re just as funny as he says you are.”
Ilya is not given room to answer when the hostess finally brings them to the table at the back of the room, far enough away from the windows that they are hidden and tucked away so no one will see them. Hayden and Shane have both looked up from the menu to watch them approach, Shane smiling when he sees Ilya, and Hayden scowling when he sees them both.
Ilya nearly rolls his eyes.
“Hey,” Shane greets and scoots over slightly, even though he has left plenty of space for Ilya on his side of the booth. Ilya likes that they can save spots for each other now, little by little, even if it is only sometimes.
Ilya takes a seat once Rose settles down next to Hayden, looking between the two of them. They are a study in contrasts—a stunning Hollywood starlet and a half-baked hockey player sitting shoulder to shoulder—and Ilya can’t help but to smirk in amusement.
“I feel like you’re being an asshole,” Hayden says perceptively, “even when you’re not saying anything.”
Ilya gives him his favorite smirk that he uses on the ice, the one that gets plenty of players to drop their gloves. Hayden’s eyes narrow.
Shane grabs Ilya’s wrist and squeezes hard. “Behave.”
“Am an angel,” Ilya disagrees, but does as Shane says, reaching for one of the menus on the table. “What are we drinking, because I am definitely drinking.”
“Wine,” Rose agrees and looks around for a waiter. “A strong one.”
Ilya appreciates that he is not the only one aiming to drink the awkwardness away, even though Shane is sitting next to them sighing in disappointment, and Ilya hates to think that this was something he has done with both Ilya and Rose. Ilya knows he needs to get used to it, that Rose will not disappear as a big part of Shane’s life, but he cannot shake the discomfort in his chest. He cannot shake the way his stomach twists every time he thinks about it.
Ilya decides to be a bit of an asshole about it and says out loud, “This is weird.”
“Super weird,” Rose agrees, but she’s grinning like she’s glad someone else was saying it for once. “It’s a good idea, though, even if it’s weird. I think Hayden and I are ready to understand.”
“Crazy to have a situationship since rookie year,” Hayden replies, and Ilya almost kicks him hard under the table.
“It was complicated,” Shane sighs. The hand on Ilya’s wrist squeezes again. “I had a lot of lies I was telling myself and it wasn’t fair to anyone. I took it way too far.”
“I’d say eloping with me was a little far,” Rose agrees but she’s still grinning, looking between the two of them. She puts her head on her hand, gazing at them, and says, “I think I get it, though. You’re a really hot couple.”
“Gross,” Hayden comments.
“They are,” she argues, nudging him. “You’re biased.”
“You shouldn’t like him either.”
“I am sitting right here,” Ilya reminds them.
Rose is looking at Hayden, though, and says, “It’s not fair to Shane to keep hating him, you know.”
“I shouldn’t be surprised,” he suddenly says, rolling his eyes, “because you and him are shockingly alike.”
Rose and Ilya both make doubtful noises.
“Oh god,” Shane says despairingly. “Please stop talking.”
The waiter shows up at the perfect time, and Ilya and Rose both buy a wine for the table, both probably too expensive and strong for what they need but Ilya is beginning to think that he will not survive without it.
Brutally, before they can be served said drinks, Rose looks at Ilya and says, “I’m not mad, if that’s what you think. Obviously had my fair share of heartbreak but I know we both saw the writing on the wall. I think Shane is a great friend, and I have no idea what made me think he would be a good husband to me, when looking back I can clearly see that he was thinking about you.”
Shane makes another wounded noise. Ilya, though—relaxes, just a bit.
He had no way of knowing what Rose Landry would be thinking when they walked into this dinner, if she still held resentment or sadness or disappointment. He thinks all of them would be fair, considering the mourning period he knew he went through when he heard the news, so he was braced for it. He was ready for her ire. He thought he would be able to meet it with some of his own, if the time came.
But maybe Rose Landry is exactly as good of a person as Shane has been swearing she is, because there is no hatred in her eyes. There isn’t even that much sadness. Ilya realizes that Shane must have been a little right—the relationship had been so fraught by the end that Rose and Shane had plenty of time to mourn it while they were still in it, and they had moved on by the time they actually called it quits.
It helps Ilya relax by inches. Ilya didn’t realize how much he didn’t want to make an enemy of Rose Landry until right now. He might not want to be friends, but he did not want to be hated by Shane’s ex, especially knowing how close they have remained.
Hayden, meanwhile, does not look convinced. Which is fine, because Ilya is not too convinced about him, either.
The waiter with the wine finally arrives. Ilya barely waits the polite amount of time before taking a too-large sip. Rose holds a cheers up for him and does the same, and grins at him when she sets the glass down.
“Okay,” she says, “so we can stop being weird now.”
“Will always be weird,” he confirms.
“True,” she says, “but now I want to talk about hockey, because I’m actually a big fan of you and nearly lost my shit when Shane told me who he was banging the whole time.”
Hayden makes a noise, and Shane does too, but Ilya barely hears it over the laugh that leaves his chest.
“Am best player at table,” Ilya confirms, and Shane scoffs, leaning into his shoulder.
“Keep lying to yourself,” Shane tells him.
“I am still here,” Hayden reminds them, rolling his eyes. “Cannot believe that this guy is the Boston hookup.”
“Now I am the Ottawa hookup,” Ilya confirms. Shane pokes him.
“Not a hookup anymore,” Shane reminds him as if he could have ever forgotten that this man is his. “And would very much like it if we could change the subject to something more normal, please. I think I have hives.”
“Dinner was your idea,” Ilya reminds him.
“I know,” Shane says, long-suffering.
“We’re getting along,” Rose confirms. “Isn’t that what you wanted?”
This is too much of a big question for this dinner table in this public space, where they can only be as honest as they dare. It is clearly too big of a question for Shane, too, who looks like he is actually really thinking about it in the serious way he thinks about everything. Ilya touches his back and offers a small smile. Shane offers one back, but his eyes still hold some stress, like he doesn’t know how to process all of this. Ilya knows it will take him some time. He thinks they will all take some time.
“It is,” Shane finally admits, shoulders relaxing.
“Good,” Rose says softly, seeming to understand—and then promptly makes it worse again by whipping out her phone and going, “Say cheese!”
Ilya grins extra big.
~*~*~*~*~*~
@RoseLandryOfficial
[photo]
@childofdivorce24 WHY IS ILYA ROZANOV THERE SNDSBFSDKDGH
@sadottawahockeyfan1 NO SERIOUSLY WHAT
@IlyaRozanov [glasses clinking emoji]
@ShaneHollander It was good to see you!
@HaydenPike wtf Rose my eyes are literally closed
@RoseLandryOfficial lmao