Chapter Text
The clock hit five pm on Friday and Shane switched off his computer, eager to get out of the office and start the weekend. It had been a shitty week, preparing for a big presentation he had to give his boss yesterday, which meant today he’d been catching up on all the shit he’d been ignoring. He was ready to forget about numbers and spreadsheets for the next two days and hopefully turn his brain off.
He said goodbye to his deskmate, Jenny, and grabbed his coat as he headed out. He took his tie off as he walked down the street, stuffing it in his bag and undoing the top couple of buttons of his shirt. Really, he wanted to go back home and have a shower and get changed, but it would take him an hour to go home, do all that and then go back out. And Friday was Drinks Night.
Every Friday, Shane, Hayden, Jackie, JJ and Rose met up at a bar to drink and talk shit about their jobs. They had met at college, when all they had was free time and no responsibilities, and had all had to suffer the shock of entering the workforce together. That was when Drinks Night had started, and two years later, it was still going strong.
There were some new additions now. Shane had been dating Adrian for almost a year, so he usually tagged along (although not without some grumbling that never failed to piss Shane off). Rose had recently started dating a woman named Svetlana, she had been in attendance the last couple of times. Shane thought he liked her - she seemed nice, he guessed, although she had this scary sort of energy, and he was still a little intimidated. But she was making Rose happy, so that was good.
He walked the fifteen minutes it took to get from his office to their regular spot, because as much as he liked his friends, he couldn’t go straight from a full eight hours surrounded by people at work to at least another four surrounded by his friends in a loud, busy pub. He needed at least some time to recharge his social battery. He stopped at a coffee shop, buying a tea because he didn’t have coffee after two pm, and put his headphones in, scrolling social media as he listened to music. When he felt a little more energetic, he finished the walk to Hurley’s.
He spotted Hayden immediately, already at their usual booth. Jackie was there too, along with Rose, Svetlana and- fuck. Possibly the most gorgeous man Shane had seen in his life.
He was wearing a black, cotton t-shirt that must have been at least two sizes too small, because his biceps were practically popping out of it. It was honestly a little bit ridiculous, but he was managing to pull it off. His hair was gold, just long enough to start to curl around the ends.
Shane faltered for half a second, and then took control of himself, and continued his walk, going up to the bar and waiting awkwardly to be served before finishing his journey to the booth. “Hey, guys,” he said, sliding in next to Hayden, and opposite Svetlana and Mr Arm Muscles.
“Buddy!” Hayden grinned. “How are you?”
“Not bad. Tired.” Shane glanced across the table uncertainly. “Who’s this?”
“My friend,” Svetlana said, resting her head on his shoulder for a second, the kind of easy affection that Shane had never been successful at, even with the people he was closest to. “I wanted him to meet Rose, and all her lovely group.”
“Oh.” Shane hadn’t known she thought that about them. “Thanks.”
Jackie laughed. “I’m lovely,” she said. “Rose is lovely. Shane is lovely. Hayd and JJ aren’t lovely.”
“Oi!” exclaimed Hayden, prodding her in the stomach.
“It’s true!”
“You're my girlfriend, you aren’t allowed to insult me!”
Shane heard them squabble, but he kept looking at his drink. He could feel the gaze of Svetlana’s friend on him though, and it made the back of his neck heat up.
“Ilya.” The voice was silky smooth, accented like Svetlana’s, but deep in a way that was undeniably masculine.
Shane managed to lift his head enough to look at the man’s face. “Huh?”
“Ilya,” he repeated, the corner of his lip curling upwards. “My name.”
“Oh.” Shane felt dumb. In his defence, he’d never heard that name before. At least it gave him an excuse as to why he was currently bright red, which he was sure he was. “I’m, uh, I’m Shane,” he managed to get out.
“Shane,” Ilya said, the syllable wrapping around his accent. “Pretty name for a pretty boy.”
Shane’s mouth fell open. “Uh-”
“Don’t,” Svetlana said disapprovingly, flicking Ilya’s temple. “He’s taken. Torture someone else.”
Ilya raised an eyebrow, never looking away from Shane. Shane had never been good at eye contact, especially not prolonged. Apparently Ilya didn’t have the same issue. His blue eyes were piercing into Shane’s, unblinking.
“Funny,” Ilya said, still smirking as he stared at Shane. “I don’t see anyone else.”
Shane frowned. That was inappropriate. “Well,” he huffed, “that’s the thing about relationships. I’m actually still taken even when he isn’t in the room. It’s kind of an important part, actually.”
Ilya’s face split into a wide grin. It lost its teasing, sharp edge, made him look more boyish. “Ah,” he said, “I wouldn’t know.”
Shane rolled his eyes, his attraction fading with every additional word the man said. “Whatever.”
Ilya continued grinning. “Too bad you are boring,” he said, and turned to Svetlana. “I am going to get shots and find someone who will sleep with me. You want?”
“I’m good,” she said. “Go be a slut.”
“Is what I am best at,” Ilya winked, sliding out of the booth.
“He seems like an asshole,” Shane said plainly.
Svetlana shrugged. “Yes, but it’s part of his charm.”
“Hmph.”
“He grows on you.”
Shane doubted that. But then JJ arrived, and he and Hayden went to go and use the pool table, and Shane got to relax and listen to Jackie talk about what funny shit the kids in her class had done that week. Jackie was the only one of them who had an even somewhat entertaining job, so Shane liked listening to her regale them with her tales.
It was about six thirty before Adrian finally turned up. Shane stood to greet him, pecking him on the lips as Adrian’s hand slid around his waist. Shane pursed his lips, smelling the alcohol on his breath.
“Have you been drinking?” he asked.
Adrian just smiled. “My boss wanted to take me out. Sorry, babe, I couldn’t say no.”
Shane bit his tongue. He didn’t care if Adrian wanted to drink, but they’d have to Uber home now. It wasn’t the end of the world, but it was expensive to do that every week. They’d agreed to take turns being sober on Friday nights to save money. Shane hadn’t had a drop of alcohol last week, even as everyone around him got progressively drunker and stopped making sense.
But it was okay. If Adrian’s boss had wanted to go out with him, Adrian shouldn’t turn that down.
“Okay,” Shane sighed. “Doesn’t matter. How was it?”
“Good. He said I might be up for a promotion come fall.”
“That’s great, babe.”
Adrian’s hand squeezed his hip, once, and then pushed away. “I need another drink,” he announced. “Where’re the boys?”
“Playing pool,” Jackie said.
“Sweet. Catch up with you gals later, okay?” He wandered off to the bar, and Shane slid back into the booth, slightly disappointed.
“Alright, Shane?” Rose asked, frowning at him.
“Fine,” Shane said. “Sorry, Jackie, carry on. What happened next?”
He sipped his beer as the night went on. The groups switched around, as Shane went to play a round of pool and Ilya dragged Svetlana outside for a cigarette. Then Shane ended up talking to Hayden and Rose as JJ and Ilya played darts. Adrian drifted back and forth from Shane’s side, until he finally settled down next to Shane towards the end of the night.
Rose was talking about the set design of her latest play, but Shane got distracted when Adrian’s hand slipped onto his thigh underneath the table, stroking up and down. Shane glanced at him, and Adrian grinned, his hand inching higher.
Shane smiled, leaning closer, letting Adrian continue his touching as his eyes wandered. They fell back on the bar, where Ilya’s mouth was currently attached to the neck of a blonde woman in an absurdly short skirt.
Shane thought, a little meanly, that they made a good pair. Two blondes who couldn’t find clothes that fit them. He didn’t realise he was watching until Ilya’s eyes opened, meeting his as he continued sucking on the woman’s neck.
Shane’s heart skipped a beat. This was definitely weird. He shouldn’t be watching Ilya get it on with some random woman, and now he’d been caught. His face started to burn, but once again, Ilya refused to look away. He held the eye contact as he worked his mouth down the woman’s neck, one of his hands palming at her arse.
Shane wasn’t sure how long they stared at each other, before he realised how insane what was happening was. Adrian was still feeling him up under the table, unaware that Shane’s attention had completely shifted to the man on the other side of the room.
Shane looked away, turning to press his nose into Adrian’s neck. “Take me home?” he murmured.
Adrian looked at him and grinned. “Yeah, babe. Let’s go.”
They stood up, and Shane hurried them through their goodbyes, not turning back to see what Ilya was doing. He practically dragged them outside to order their Uber, and as soon as they were back at Shane’s apartment, Shane was all over Adrian, tugging at his clothes as he kissed him.
“Fuck,” Adrian said, as they walked to the bedroom, “what’s got into you?”
“Nothing,” Shane said instantly, shoving down the pang of guilt. “Just want you.”
“Yeah? Come on then, get on the bed.”
Shane stripped, getting on the bed, and it wasn’t long before Adrian was thrusting into him. He wished he found it more satisfying than he did.
~~~
Shane woke up the next day to Adrian snoring at his side. He let his boyfriend get a lie in, and snuck out of bed quietly before showering and going to the gym. He tried to put last night behind him. It had just been a weird moment after having a few drinks. And obviously Ilya was trying to just wind him up. He wasn’t going to let that happen.
It helped to work out for an hour, get his skin sweating and muscles aching until he forgot about everything else. He drove back home, and Adrian was up when he got back.
“Hey,” Shane said, putting his gym bag in the laundry room. “You okay?”
“Bit hungover.”
Shane nodded, and didn’t make a comment. “I’ll make breakfast,” he said. “Then Hayden wants us to go over to his for a bit, play video games. Want to come?”
Adrian pulled a face. “I hung out with your friends all last night.”
“Okay,” Shane said. “Well, you don’t have to be there. We can get dinner tonight instead?”
“Sounds perfect.”
Shane nodded, and set about putting bread in the toaster and scrambling some eggs. They ate, and watched TV for a couple of hours until Shane started getting ready to go, and Adrian went back to his place.
Hayden and Jackie were the only ones who had an actual house, rather than an apartment, in the Montreal suburbs. Perks of getting to combine incomes, Shane supposed. He had a crappy one bedroom apartment in a shitty area of the city, but he’d rather that than a nicer place where he’d have to get roommates. He needed his own space.
He knocked on the door, and was greeted by Jackie.
“Hiya, Shane,” she smiled. “The others are already here, just through in the living room.”
Shane nodded, giving her a brief hug because Jackie always liked that, even if it felt a little unnatural. He walked through, and slumped immediately, when he spotted a pair of broad shoulders planted in his normal seat on the couch.
He hadn’t realised Ilya had already got the invite to Saturday gaming as well. He rounded the room to stand in front of him.
“You’re in my spot,” he stated plainly.
Ilya looked up at him, grinning. He was just wearing a vest, showing off his arms again, and his legs were spread unnecessarily wide, like he was trying to take up as much space as possible.
“Hello, Shane,” he said.
“Hi. That’s my spot.”
Ilya grinned even wider. “You can still use it,” he said, and patted his thigh.
Shane’s mouth fell open at the brazenness. “Fuck off.”
“You fuck off, I was here first.”
“Okay, okay,” Hayden interjected, “it’s fine, Shane you can take my spot. I don’t mind taking the floor.”
Shane snatched up a controller, taking Hayden’s spot on the other side of the couch. Now he was on one end, Ilya on the other, with JJ stuck in the middle and Hayden relegated to the floor.
“Who even invited the asshole?” Shane grumbled.
“I did,” JJ said. “He’s funny.”
“He’s an asshole.”
Ilya snorted. “What is American expression? You are what you eat? I could show you first hand.”
“Oh my God!” Shane snapped. “You know I have a boyfriend!”
“Hm. Okay.”
“Alright, everyone shut up!” JJ yelled. “It’s time to play, stop fighting!”
Shane glowered, but turned his attention to the TV.
Ilya was annoying - he was loud, and brash, and frustratingly good at Mario Kart. Shane’s shoulders were tense the whole time, as he fought to not show his irritation. He only got a break when Ilya left to have a smoke, at which point he jumped up and reclaimed his usual spot. He didn’t care if it was petty. It felt like a matter of pride.
When Ilya came back in, he just looked at Shane and smirked, like he had won some sort of game. Shane glared at him.
Ilya just walked past him and JJ and took the other spot instead. Shane was glad he had his friend in between them, so he didn’t have to look at Ilya.
He thought Ilya was horrifically rude. Shane had been in a committed relationship for almost a year now. People didn’t just blatantly hit on those who were taken. It was just plain disrespectful. Ilya probably wasn’t used to ever hearing the word no, not looking like that. Well, tough shit, Shane thought. He was perfectly happy, and it didn’t matter if it looked like Ilya would be able to throw him around the way Adrian never did.
After a couple of hours, Ilya stood up again. “Okay,” he said, “was fun beating you all, but I must go now.”
Hayden glanced up from where he was sitting cross-legged on the carpet. “You do?”
“Yes. Have work.”
“What do you do?”
“I am bartender.” Ilya’s eyes swivelled over to Shane’s. “You should come by sometime,” he said, low and intentionally, excessively sultry. “I will give you free drinks.”
Shane pursed his lips. “Can Adrian get free drinks too?” he asked snarkily.
“Him? No, he gets charged double.”
Shane flipped him off. “Fucking asshole. Fuck off.”
Ilya beamed, like Shane’s anger amused him.
~~~
Shane was already in a bad mood the next Friday. They weren’t going to their usual bar, they were going to Ilya’s bar. It wasn’t Shane’s choice. But Shane had been outvoted. JJ liked Ilya. Svetlana liked Ilya. Rose liked Svetlana, Jackie liked Rose, and Hayden liked Jackie. So, no one cared when Shane had complained. And now he was stuck taking the bus to a swanky bar on the other side of town to go and get harassed all night.
He walked in, and already didn’t like it. The music was too loud, and everyone was dressed in much fancier clothes than their regular spot. Whatever. He’d put up with it, this time.
He was the last one to arrive, and found his friends sitting round a table in the back, sans Ilya. He saw the man behind the bar, pouring a drink, and decided he wouldn’t go over if he didn’t have to. He headed for the table instead, sitting down in the free seat next to Adrian.
“Hey guys,” he said, leaning over to kiss his boyfriend hello. Adrian smiled at him, lifting an arm to lay it over Shane’s shoulders.
“Okay?” he smiled.
“Mhm,” Shane hummed. “Dunno why we had to come here.”
“I like it. Nicer than where we usually go.”
Hayden snorted. “Shane just doesn’t want to put up with Ilya’s flirting.”
Adrian frowned, his eyes flickering towards the bar, and then back to Shane, questioning. “Oh?”
“It’s nothing,” Shane said. “He’s just a rude asshole. Trying to get a rise out of me.”
“I’d say,” JJ muttered.
Shane shot him a dark look.
“He’s been flirting with you?” Adrian pressed.
“Kind of,” admitted Shane. “I think it’s mostly a joke.”
“Did you tell him you have a boyfriend?”
“Yep. He doesn’t seem to care.”
Adrian’s eyes narrowed, and then he shrugged. “Shouldn’t be surprised,” he said, “who wouldn’t be interested in you, hm? I’m a lucky man.”
Shane smiled, glowing warm, and kissed Adrian again. “You are,” he said. “And there’s no one else I’d rather be with.” He nestled under Adrian’s arm, feeling mollified.
He did enjoy being Adrian’s boyfriend. Adrian was smart, sensible, career-focused. A couple of years older than Shane, but sometimes it felt like decades, the way Adrian ran his life. He wasn’t interested in playing video games or any of that shit, but he had a savings account with more than a hundred dollars in it, and a five-year plan, and he wore a watch even though everyone just used their phones to tell the time. He was sophisticated, and made Shane feel sophisticated too, like he wasn’t a lost twenty-four year old stuck in a dead-end job who still had to get his mum to do his taxes for him.
It was his turn to stay sober this week (although Adrian hadn’t held up his end of the deal last time) so Shane let the others drink themselves silly, as was tradition on a Friday night, and the conversations started making less and less sense.
After a couple of hours, he excused himself to go to the bathroom, and then went outside to get some air. The Montreal weather was chilly in March, especially now the sun had gone down, the wind biting, but inside the bar had gotten too loud and overstimulating. Shane needed a break.
He stood out on the sidewalk, shoving his hands deep in his pockets. He was feeling a little ticked off. He hadn’t wanted to come to this bar. He’d wanted Adrian to offer to be the designated driver this week. He’d wanted Adrian to maybe, just maybe, be a little more possessive at the idea someone else was trying to sleep with him. That probably wasn’t, like, a healthy desire or whatever, but still. Sometimes it felt like Adrian didn’t really care all that much about Shane.
That wasn’t fair. Adrian was being mature. That’s what Shane liked about him - he was mature, unlike Shane’s friends, he didn’t get mindlessly possessive. They had a serious, adult relationship that didn’t get threatened by things like this. Maybe Shane was still immature. He should work on that.
“You are not having fun?” The deep voice cut through Shane’s thoughts like a blade.
Shane sighed heavily, as Ilya came to stand next to him. “Aren’t you supposed to be working?”
“On break,” Ilya said, popping a cigarette into his mouth and flicking his light.
Shane sniffed distastefully. “Don’t blow that on me,” he warned.
Ilya took an inhale and smiled, turning his head away to blow out a cloud of smoke. “I saw you leave,” he said. “What, boyfriend isn’t keeping you interested?”
“I just wanted some air.”
“You haven’t come up to the bar. I said you would drink for free.”
“I’m not drinking tonight.”
Ilya hummed, taking another drag of his cigarette. Shane couldn’t help but track the way his cheeks hollowed, the way his lips pursed, the way his chest expanded just slightly around his tight t-shirt as he breathed in. Really, it was unfair that he was so attractive. The worst people always were.
“I talked to your boyfriend a bit, last week,” Ilya said.
Shane didn’t bother with a reply.
“He talked a lot about foreign exchange, currency trading sector in Canada.”
“That’s his job.”
“I figured. I think he is a dick. I don’t like him much.”
Shane rolled his eyes. “It doesn’t really matter if you like him. I’m the one dating him, and I do like him.”
“It doesn’t really matter to me if you’re dating him.” Ilya dropped his cigarette, stamping it out, and stepped in front of Shane, invading his personal space.
Shane’s breath caught in his chest. They were suddenly only inches apart, and Shane could see in excruciating detail each one of Ilya’s eyelashes, the day-old scruff decorating his jaw, the slight cracks on chapped lips. Shane was forced to look up a little, to meet Ilya’s eyes, and it made him feel trapped.
Ilya’s lips twitched, when Shane didn’t take a step back. “I want to fuck you,” he said.
“Fuck off,” Shane replied weakly.
Ilya didn’t fuck off; he was remarkably self-assured. “I don’t think your boyfriend fucks you like you need,” he continued. “I could ruin you.”
Shane scoffed, as his heart hammered in his chest. “You don’t know shit.”
“No? He shoves you into mattress and forces you to take it? He has you crying over his cock? He has you begging to come?”
Shane inhaled shakily. In all honesty, no, Adrian did none of those things. And now all he was thinking about was if Ilya really would do all that, and his brain was flooded with images of Ilya’s mouth in his neck like it had been on that girl’s last week, his hand around Shane’s dick, around Shane’s neck.
“...He’s fine,” Shane breathed.
Ilya grinned smugly. “Fine. That is what I thought. Let me fuck you, Shane, I promise it will be so much better than fine.”
“Why are you so obsessed with me?”
“You are pretty. And I like a challenge.”
“Asshole,” Shane spat.
“I get off at eleven. Come home with me tonight.”
“Fuck you. I’m not cheating on my boyfriend.”
Ilya hooked his lip between his teeth, looking Shane up and down like a predator. “...Okay. Let me have your number.”
Shane hesitated. He really, really shouldn’t.
“Is not cheating for me to have your number,” Ilya said. “Lots of people have your number.”
If Shane ever got to the pearly gates, and they replayed this moment for him, he was going to say it wasn’t his fault. He didn’t choose to hand over his phone. His arm acted completely independently of his brain, moved without permission as he reached into his pocket and gave it to Ilya.
Ilya’s tongue poked between his teeth as his face lit up, triumphant. Shane watched as Ilya texted himself from Shane’s phone before he gave it back. “I’m going to have you, Shane,” he said calmly. “The quicker you realise that, the quicker I can give you best sex of your life.”
“You talk a big game.”
“Think I’m bullshitting? Find out.”
Shane shook his head. Ilya carried on smiling, undeterred.
“I need to get back in.”
“Go then,” Shane said.
“I’ll text you.”
“Whatever.”