Chapter Text
Montreal tried to make some noise about Shane’s comments after that first game, trying to accuse him of cheating or trade interference, even going so far as getting the NHL Commissioner, Crowell, a well-known conservative asshole, to attempt to intervene. He basically demanded that Shane and Ilya be benched, to which the “Sibs” happily responded with the equivalent of a corporate middle finger. Farah, Yuna, and the Cen’s lawyer, Sarah, requested a meeting in return with the league and Montreal to sort everything out.
Crowell tried to intimidate the three women that walked into his office, Montreal’s front office looking smug as he blustered his way through his demands. The smug looks vanished from their faces as Sarah took out the dossier Shane, Yuna, and Farah had compiled over the last season with timelines, play stats, meeting records, and social media metrics. She informed them that based on everything she had seen Shane had every reason to file a discrimination lawsuit against his former team, that he was likely to win. They were welcome to keep trying to slander her clients, however, they should know that it would likely aid in proving intent in any case that was brought.
The old-fashioned group of white, wealthy men tried to argue that much of this evidence was circumstantial, and so Sarah pulled out her trump card, playing the recording of Shane coming out to Montreal’s management. The three women looked at the ashen faces of every man in the room, including the panicked faces on Crowell and Montreal’s lawyers as they listened, clearly unprepared for their despicable behavior to be thrown back in their face in such an admissible way. She nodded at Yuna and Farah who laid out their demands, for the league to refrain from interference with Shane, Ilya, and the Cens, an order for Montreal to cease and desist in their libel against Shane and Ilya, and an external review of inclusion and diversity practices of the league which would be overseen by former and current players as well as relevant non-profit organizations for safety in sport for people of all identities.
The dumbfounded room could do nothing but agree to their demands. They stood and turned to leave, before Yuna turned back around, pulled her phone out of her pocket, and showed the room the screen, which clearly showed a live audio recording in progress. Before stopping the recording, she nonchalantly told them that she would be watching their behavior, and if anyone tried to do anything to harm her sons she would make this meeting look like a friendly get together between friends. She grinned, with the ferocity of a mother that would do anything to protect her kids, thoroughly enjoying the looks of abject fear on the men who had made her son feel so unsafe, before she turned on her heel and walked from the room.
—
After that historic first game, the season proceeded fairly normally. Of course, there was a lot of scrutiny on the two of them and the team, but Shane felt that it was only slightly more than they would have gotten if they hadn’t come out. It was just that now whenever the team had a slight slump or a bad game, the media could point to their romantic relationship, rather than their rivalry as the cause. Neither would have been accurate, it was a long season, and while the team was talented, it was young, fairly untested, and still building chemistry. Losses were expected. They just needed to learn from them.
One of the biggest challenges was figuring out the balance between two stars on the team. This was not something Shane and Ilya had ever dealt with, always being the biggest name on their teams up until this point and it took a bit for them and the coaches to figure out how to use their star power synergistically rather than having the spotlight oscillate between them. Once they figured it out though, teams struggled to keep pace, as their first two lines were a one-two punch of power and speed that was hard to counter. One line would wear them down, the other would strike. Then on the power play, or the times that they needed to bring the hammer down, Ilya would line up on Shane’s wing and they would demoralize teams. They had one of the best power play efficiencies in the league, which made it a simple task to beat the more homophobic teams as they tended to draw the most penalties against those teams.
Shane felt like the season raced by, but in a good way. He felt so fulfilled and supported. He loved going to work everyday, and it was absolute bliss to go home with Ilya every night. The team had quickly cemented themselves as some of the most important people in his life. Outside of Hayden and maybe J.J., he had never felt close to anyone on his previous teams. Now, he felt like he could trust each of these men with his life and genuinely liked each of them. He quickly bonded with Wyatt, both of them more naturally quiet, with Bood and Dykstra, who loved to wind Ilya up with him, and with Troy, the two of them implicitly understanding the precious gift this team and each other were.
He stood next to Troy when he decided to come out to the team and then the world, proud that he and Ilya, and Scott before them, had opened this door. While the world was shocked, the locker room was not. They had all seen how Troy and Harris had been looking at each other and they were all thrilled they could stop trying to set them up on nights out. They all relished in the jokes about the Cens being the gayest team in the league and wore it like a badge of honor whenever they were asked.
As playoffs approached, Shane expected to feel his normal wave of nerves and the weight of expectation that had always plagued him at this time of the year. Some of that was there, deep down, but the prevailing feeling was just anticipation and hunger. This team was ready. He and Ilya were ready. It wouldn’t be easy, but they could do it.
Two months later, he proved himself right as he watched Ilya lift the Cup over his head, eyes never leaving Shane’s, mouthing “Я люблю тебя(Ya lyublyu tebya) [I love you]”.
Shane felt Bood urge him to take the cup, even though by rights, Bood should have been next. He smiled gratefully at his friend, before skating over, stretching up to kiss Ilya as he took the Cup from him. “I love you too, so much.”
He handed the Cup off to Bood, and skated back to Ilya and put his arm around Ilya’s waist as they watched the rest of the team celebrate.
“This is only the beginning of the life I want to build with you, Ilya. Thank you for loving me so loudly and helping me be brave enough to seize this with both hands.”
“You are brave all on your own, дорогой(dorogoy)[sweetheart], I am so glad I could win this with you, for us, for our team. Is better than anything I could have imagined.”
“We won, and it’s only the start of everything we are capable of, we have so much to show the world about who we are. I can’t wait.”