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Unsurprisingly, it all started at a bar. It was right after a Boston VS Montreal game. Usually, Ilya would most definitely be in some expensive, luxurious hotel room with Hollander. Right after their games against each other, that's just how it went. It was protocol. A text or a whisper about some four digit room number; that's all it took. No matter where they were.
This time however, they were in Montreal; which, normally wouldn't cause any disruptions. A few of Ilya's team members knew about a certain Montreal girl, and hence had stopped inviting him out for post-game drinks whenever they were playing in Montreal long ago. As for Hollander, his team knew that he was just plain old boring. They asked him out to hang out or for drinks, surely; but he never seemed to join them. Then again, the boring Canadian didn't even drink during the season. It wouldn't be a surprise if he swore by "ginger ale only!" as his life motto.
Ilya might as well get that printed on a T-shirt and gift it to him for his birthday. Not that they ever celebrated birthdays or even acknowledged it, let alone exchanging presents. Anyways, back to the point.
Today, Pike had somehow managed to coerce Hollander into heading to the bar for a few rounds of drinks. He'd tried to get of it, but something or the other was brought up and he was apparently left with no choice but join his team to some sports bar. No worries, Ilya was the captain of his team. He'd managed to migrate the Raiders' party to the same bar.
He didn't have an ulterior motive, alright? Well okay, maybe a blowjob or so in the bathrooms out back but that's about it. Besides, he was flying out early next morning. This was his last chance to, well, see Hollander at all. Or at least, that was the plan. But then, thanks to some weird coincidence, the night ender up like this. Hollander was in a booth with Pike talking, away from the others in their team. As for Ilya, he somehow ended up in the booth right next to them, in a seat adjacent to Hollander, his team members right across him. He wasn't sure if his rival knew of his presence nearby, but then again, it wasn't too important in the moment.
Some time in the three hours Ilya was at that bar, back against Hollander's, he overheard an absolutely absurd, heart-stopping, stomach-dropping conversation between the two Canadian hockey players behind him. While Hollander was infamous for keeping very quiet about his personal life and feelings and all that, even from his close friends, that apparently wasn't true when he was four beers in.
(How the heck had Pike managed to convinced him to indulge in alcohol?!)
Pike asked, "Hey so, summer break is soon, yeah? What are your plans? Heading back to your parents'?"
Hollander sounded pretty tipsy when he responded, "Huh? No, no. Normally, I would but this time I want to do something different. Something, uh, special?"
"Oh, for real? That sounds great, man. What do you have in mind?"
For a minute or so, the silence screamed of hesitation. Then, a response, "Well... Okay, you have to keep this a secret from everyone. Yes, including Jackie. Can you do that?"
Pike sounded indignant, "Uh yes, obviously. I'm offended you'd think I can't keep a secret for you! After years of being best friends!"
Hollander laughed out loud, "Sorry, sorry. Okay so, here's the deal. I'm... Planning on asking someone out. To be in a relationship with me. This summer. I've been planning it for a while; been thinking about how and where and all that, you know?"
"Aww, Shane! That is so sweet, man; I didn't even know you were into someone. I'm sure she'll say yes, like, you're the Shane Hollander. Plus, you're genuinely a great guy. She'd be lucky to be with you."
A quite huff, "Well, I'm not too sure about that. I mean, she doesn't really care about the star status, you know? Besides... We have a lot of history. After everything that happened, I'm not sure she'd want to be with me. It's complicated."
Pike spoke, "I'm sure it'll be fine. If you of all people are planning on asking someone out, I know for a fact that she'd have to be the best person in existence. Right after Jackie, of course. But yeah, you know? It'll work out."
Hollander sounded uplifted and happier than before when he next spoke, "Thanks, Hayden."
Ilya couldn't stay in his second a second longer. He would have got up and left immediately, if not for Marlow staring at his expression. So, he forced a smile, finished his drink, made some small talk with his teammates before excusing himself and heading out. He was fine, he just had a lot to think about.
The Raiders played the Metros again in three weeks. That gave Ilya plenty of time to rethink his relationship with Shane Hollander. The first step to that was reduce contact; Ilya stopped texting Shane. As expected, his rival didn't text him either. For the next three week, for some reason, the Russian couldn't stop thinking about that one conversation he'd overheard without meaning to.
After sleeping on it, he came to a pretty solid conclusion as to what Shane might be planning. Obviously, he was going to ask Rose Landry out again. Like, think about it. It made sense. He'd clearly said that she didn't care about his star status. If there was anyone in Canada or America who didn't care about star status, it would be Rose Landry. She was such a famous actress. True, she got kidnapped in every other movie she's been in, but her talent was the real deal. She has been nominated for a bunch of awards every year since she started her career, plus she was basically every American man's hall pass.
Then, Shane had clearly said that she might not want to be with him because they have a lot of history. If there was anyone Shane publicly had history with, it was Rose Landry. The fact he'd talked about this entire situation and his plan to ask her out to Hayden Pike; that was proof enough that this was serious and that it was definitely about the actress.
So, it was clear what Ilya had to do. He had to end things with Shane before he did so himself and basically broke his heart. Oh right, all that thinking had also led to Ilya coming to a very unfortunate conclusion. He was, in fact, in love with Shane Hollander. But he could never speak of this out loud, not to anyone. He would die of embarrassment and a broken heart. But still, he wanted to be with Shane again.
A greater man would hold his dignity close and turn away immediately, but unfortunately, Ilya wasn't that. He wanted to see Shane again, to kiss him, to be with him and to see the way he looked in his most vulnerable moments. But it would just have to be one last time, unless Shane ended things before that. Ilya would be with Hollander one last time after their game in three weeks, and then he'd have to step back. For his sake, yes, but more importantly, for Shane's.
Ilya was fully prepared for things to change drastically after that game. Just not in the way it did.
Halfway through the game, Shane crashed into Marlow and within seconds, he was on the ground. Ilya could've sworn his heart stopped. One moment, he was making eye contact and smirking at Shane, and the next, he was being carried out of the rink in a stretcher and loaded up into an ambulance.
Hayden Pike was yelling at Marlow and furiously talking to the referees and the ambulance staff. Ilya wanted to do that too; he would've punched Marlow. But he couldn't take his eyes off Shane. He realised he was hovering around him, desperately looking at him, trying to figure out if he was still breathing. It took everything in him to not demand answers from the hospital staff right away. But he had to calm down, had to apologize to the opposing team as the captain, and get back to the game.
The Raiders won, but it genuinely didn't feel like one. Ilya's mind was hyper focused on Shane, and the same held true for the Metros. They'd been too concerned to play their best. A win was usually a win, but apparently not in this case. It took everything to not rush to the hospital immediately. But he couldn't do that, he didn't have the right.
Instead, he gave his usual post-game talk to his team, and tried his best to not punch Marlow in the face. He did however give Marlow a stern talking to, some bullshit about being more careful and that they were in the game to win fair and square, and not by carelessly taking out the opposition's captain and putting him in the hospital.
A few hours later, however, Ilya Rozanov was in the hospital, standing right outside Shane Hollander's door. A kind nurse had shown him the way, and he was grateful. But as it turned out, she'd also kindly forgotten to mention that the patient wasn't alone. Ilya walked into a hospital room that had both Hollander, and Pike in it.
Shane noticed him first, "Ilyaaaaa."
Pike whirled around to stare at him, "Rozanov. What are you...?"
Ilya swallowed, "Um, I just wanted to... Are you okay?"
"A concussion and a fractured collarbone. Out for the playoffs, but..."
"Could have been worse," they said together.
Ilya nodded, "Marlow feels terrible. He did not mean to hurt know."
A nod, "I know. Part of the game. We all get our bell rung eventually."
"Right."
Pike looked between them before nodding as if he'd gained some newfound wisdom, "I gotta say, this is good sportsmanship, Rozanov. Good for you, not being an absolute asshole."
Before Ilya could roll his eyes, Shane snickered a bit. Two seconds later, he held his hand out, "Heyy. Heyyy. Come here."
Ilya's eyes flitted to Pike before he spoke up, "I should go. You should, um, rest-"
Shane's eyes widened in horror, "No! Ilyaaaa, heyyy!"
Well, the other one; he was Russian not heartless. He couldn't stop himself any longer, stepping forward to take his rival's hand in his, "I'm here. I'm here."
A dopey smile, "Yes. Better."
Ignoring the protective best friend for now, Ilya spoke softly, "You scared me."
"I'm sorry I didn't text you last night. I was excited; I'm mostly mad at Marlow for fucking that up."
In the background, Hayden just raised his eyebrows in surprise. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he didn't want to interrupt. Either way, it seemed that whatever was unfolding was going to be funny, and that just meant more gossip to share with his wife. Which, he was totally and always down for.
Rozanov shook his head, "No, it's okay. Um, he feels terrible. And, I should go."
Shane looked horrified yet again, "What, already?! You can't do that! Then I'll be all alone."
Hayden sounded offended, "Hey man! What am I? Pickled liver?!"
Ilya almost laughed aloud, "He is right. He is decent hockey player, but he is good friend. He will stay with you after I go."
Pike gasped in affront, "Hey?!"
Ignoring him yet again, Shane shook his head, "He's great, but he's not you. I want you to stay, Ilya. I had this whole plan to ask you something."
If Hayden wasn't suspicious already, was definitely by now. His eyebrows shot up as he witnessed the greatest scene ever unfold between two hockey rivals.
Rozanov looked at him yet again before speaking softly, "Shane, you are... What's the word, loopy, yes? We can talk tomorrow, once you are better."
"No! We can't. You have your flight, and you'll go away and then you won't text me again, for weeks and then my plan will be ruined. I meant to ask you this elsewhere, but this will have to do."
"Shane, see, your friend is here, yes?"
Once again, the injured man on legal drugs chose to ignore that. It was truly incredible how legal, hospital-grade drugs bestowed him with the power of selective hearing. A miracle, truly.
Hayden just laughed, "Hey Rozanov, it's fine really. I don't really know what's going on, but you can be assured that whatever happens in this hospital room stays in this hospital room. Unless Shane wants otherwise. I've long come to terms with the fact that he is extremely high on the good stuff."
Shane gave his best friend a thumbs up, "Nice assist. Thanks, Hayden." Turning back to his rival, he continued, "Yes, where were we?
"Yes. Ilya, will you cometomycottage this summer? Don't go to Russia. Come to my house. We'll have so much fun. We can have a whole week together, or even two."
For some reason, Ilya was shaking. He shook his head fervently, "Hollander, you know I can't do that."
"Please just tell me you'll think about it."
Ilya nodded, "Maybe. Maybe."
Before this conversation could continue, however, the nurse walked in. She made some joke about Rozanov smothering Shane in his sleep, before shooing the two visitors out; claiming she needed some tests done or what not.
Ilya was just about to get into the elevator when he was stopped by Pike, "Hey, Rozanov. Wait up."
Exhaling to calm down his nerves, the Raiders player spoke, "Pike. Hollander is loopy, yes? Doesn't know what he's talking about."
Hayden raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, I'm sorry, buddy. But I don't think that' what it was. You guys have a thing going on, yeah? Complicated, with history?"
"That's..."
Hayden threw up his hands, "I'm not going to tell anyone. As much as I dislike you greatly, Shane is my friend and I trust his taste in, well apparently, men. It's just, a lot of things make sense now."
Ilya laughed bitterly, "They don't. You know this better than anyone. Shane is going to be with Rose Landry and you know it."
Pike's jaw dropped, "What?! Did he tell you that?! What the fuck would give you that idea?"
The Russian looked like a kicked puppy when he mumbled his response, "I... heard you guys talk. At sports bar, three weeks ago. I was in next booth."
Pike's eyes widened further, "Okay first of all, rude. Secondly, from that exchange, you somehow came to the conclusion that Shane wanted to ask out Rose Landry?! Hey, do me a favor and tell this to Shane when you guys talk, yeah?"
Ilya just huffed, "I did not mean to hear! Also, yes, Rose Landry is perfect, why would he not want to ask her out?"
The Canadian player just shook his head in disbelief, "You know what, Rozanov. You should talk to Shane. I'm out of this now. Bye then."
With that, he spun on his heel and marched off towards the cafeteria, leaving a poor pining boy in absolute confusion. Ilya did not understand Hayden Pike before, and he understood him even less now. For one, he was expecting him to react way more than he did in the hospital room. He didn't seem surprised or mad, he was just... There. Besides, he was civil to Ilya Rozanov, which was a first coming from a Metro. Ilya just did not know what to believe anymore.
Then, within the next few weeks, there was the season final. The Admirals won the cup for the first time in years, and Scott Hunter kissed his boyfriend on national television, in front of everyone. Seeing that on his TV was what it took for Ilya to make the call to Shane, confirming that he'd be coming to the cottage. Ilya just did it, before his brain could interfere in any way.
Some more weeks later, Ilya was finally there. At Shane's cottage, in his living room. It was a fine house, very suited to the wannabe real estate investor's tasted. It was comfortable, private and felt so, so intimate that Ilya wanted to squeeze his eyes shut and stay there forever. Then, he would be a part of Shane's life forever.
That evening, sitting on the sofas, the talk was brought up.
Shane reached out and took the other's hand in his, "Ilya. I wanted to talk to you about something."
Ilya yanked his hand back immediately, "Don't. Not when... Not when-" He was too choked up to continue.
A confused blink, "What are you talking about?"
His rival changed tactics, "I heard you talking to Pike in a bar a while ago. After our game in Montreal."
For a few seconds, Shane looked confused but then he blushed immediately, "Oh my god. You heard that?!"
A nod, "Yes. So, you can spare me the break up speech." It's not like he hasn't been obsessing over this for months.
Shane's jaw dropped, "What? Huh?"
Ilya scrunched his nose, the way he does when he's emotional about something, "I know you mean to ask out Rose Landry again. Even though Pike did not believe me when I told him."
An extremely confused sound, "What?! You talked to Hayden? I'm so confused. Ilya, can you please help me out here? What are you talking about?"
A dramatic sigh, "Fine. I heard you tell Pike you plan to ask someone out; someone who doesn't care about your star status and someone you have complicated history with. Rose Landry is the only one who is this, yes? How do you say this, she fits the description. Pike talked to me outside your hospital room that day, he did not believe me when I told him this. Said I should talk to you."
Shane couldn't help but burst out laughing. Still laughing, he leaned forward and pulled in his rival closer, pressing a kiss to his hair, "You are ridiculous. Did you maybe think that you also fit the description? Zero fucks about star status, complicated history. Besides, I told you. I'm gay."
Ilya scoffed, "You not so gay you can't fuck Rose Landry."
"Oh my god, shut up. Even Hayden didn't believe you!"
A grumble, "What does he know!"
Shane laughed some more, "He knows that I've been planning to ask someone to my cottage for the summer and ask them to be in a relationship with me. I think he put two and two together when I asked you to my cottage in front of him."
"What is put two and two together?"
Ignoring that completely, the Canadian looked at his person, "You're focusing on the wrong thing. Ilya, will you be my boyfriend? I know it's not easy, and there will be a lot of things to figure out, but. But. I love you."
Ilya scrunched his nose again, "So you do not want to fuck Rose Landry?"
A comical gasp, "Ilya! You jealous little-"
The Russian chuckled, "I joke. I love you too. Yes, I will be your boyfriend."
"Alright, good!" Shane huffed before leaning in and kissing his partner,
-
Extra
One random day, Hayden was driving Shane back to his place after practice. He'd invited him to come have dinner with Jackie and the kids, but the latter had denied, insisting he had some important plans or whatever. This was kind of the reason why Hayden decided to ask this now,
"Hey, so did you end up asking Boston Lily out over the summer?"
Shane blinked, "Oh, you... Knew it was about her? But well, yes. I did. She said yes."
Hayden rolled his eyes, "Oh come on, Shane. You can drop the act now, yeah? You and I both know that this is about Rozanov."
His friend groaned before burying his face in his hands, "Oh my god, Hayden. Don't just say it like that!"
"Dude, you have been the most obvious person in the world since I heard you guys talk in the hospital."
"Can you please forget about that already."
"What, no way. It was very funny. So what, you and Rozanov are together now?"
Shane nodded, "Well yes. I heard he told you that he thought I was going to ask out Rose Landry."
Hayden snorted, "I have no idea why he'd think that. See I told you, Rozanov is definitely a little stupid."
"Something about Rose being the only one who doesn't care about star status and has complicated history with me. He didn't even consider that could have been about him!"
Hayden asked curiously, "Oh yeah, I wanted to ask. When you say complicated history, you mean you guys have been a thing for a while, right? How long?"
Shane was quiet for a moment, before he spoke, "Uh, since our rookie season. Although, Ilya would insist that it was the summer before that."
And well, it was a good thing that Hayden was no longer driving on the main road and had just turned into an empty street. He hit the breaks hard as soon as he heard that,
"So, eleven years?!"