Chapter Text
Shane dropped his keys in the bowl that he kept on the table by the front door before sinking onto the bench nest to it. He was absolutely exhausted. His muscles were sore, his backed ached, and his brain was struggling to keep up with everything around him. He had just gotten home from an excruciating practice, and he wanted to do nothing more than go to bed.
The Voyagers had lost the game the night before and Teirhult made them watch the game footage multiple times and then bagskate as punishment. They had run drills until they were all sick. Shane had pushed himself to the limit. Past it if he was being honest. As captain, he felt that it was his duty to stick it out, especially after the skepticism he had faced from the coaches ever since he started playing for them.
It didn't help that he had woken up tired that day. His muscles had been stiff and his head just a little foggier than usual. Maybe if it had been a different day practice wouldn't have been so difficult. Though if he thought about it, he couldn't remember practices ever being that hard when he first joined the team. Maybe that's just how it goes when your team wins three Stanley cups.
He covered his face with his hands and let out a long groan. Enough of this, he thought. Ilya is coming over tonight and I can't afford to look like I just been put through the wringer. He bent over to untie his shoes, wincing slightly at the movement. Come on, practice wasn't that bad. You've run through drills harder than that.
Shane shook his head slightly to try and clear it from the fog that threatened to settle over him. He forced himself to stand up and get to work. He set about tidying the house, picking up little things and putting them in their proper places. It didn't take long since pretty much everything was already where it needed to be. He thought about what else he could do to keep himself busy and decided to sweep the whole house, including the rooms that he didn't really use. It had to be done eventually, right?
After that, he thought it would be a good idea to clean both of the already spotless bathrooms. Just because. When that was done, he stripped the sheets off his bed and replaced them with fresh ones, even though in hindsight he knew this was a little silly because they were just going to end up being changed again that night. Oh well. He stared at the bed longingly, wishing he could just jump in and savor the clean sheets against his skin. He stood there for a couple minutes before snapping out of it. Nope. I've got things to do.
He took the not-so-dirty sheets to the laundry room and put them in the wash. As he waited for the cycle to end, he moved into the kitchen to see what else he could do. Wiping down the already clean counter, it seemed, was the last straw before he gave in to the urge to sit down. His muscles practically sighed in relief as he sat on one of the barstools at the island. He turned around in it, slowly taking in the house. He tried to think of anything else he could do to make the house more presentable, but he eventually had to admit that there was nothing left to be done. The house was speck and span, as it most often was.
The lasagna they were going to have for dinner was already fully thawed in the fridge, all he had to do was put it in the oven just before they were ready to eat. Maybe after they had....
Shane smiled to himself. Despite being so tired, he couldn't help the flood of excitement that rushed through him as he thought about the time he was about to spend with Ilya. Maybe he shouldn't fuss so much. Ilya had been to his house before. Multiple times. Ilya had been playing with the Centaurs for about half a season now, and they had exclusive for a little over a year and a half. There really wasn't anything to be nervous about. Well, he wasn't nervous, exactly. He just wanted tonight to be perfect. They spent so little time together as it is. He didn't want to ruin everything just because he was tired.
He rested at the counter for several minutes before he heard the little tune the washing machine played whenever the cycle was over. He groaned slightly as he stood up, and made his way to move the sheets to the dryer. God. Everything was sore, and he felt some slight cramping in his lower abdomen. Oh not now. Please not now. He took a deep breath and decided to go take a cold shower. That might help ease some of the soreness in his body.
It did help somewhat, his muscles ached a little less - though he was certain he would feel them in the morning - and his head was a little clearer. That was a good sign. He threw on an old hoodie, a soft pair of sweatpants, and some cabin socks so that he could warm up a bit.
He walked into the living room and looked towards the leather couch. Well, Ilya wasn't going to be here for another couple of hours, maybe it would be okay to sit for just a little bit. He plopped down on the couch and leaned back into it, letting himself relax for a few minutes.
Shane realized that he must have dozed off because he startled awake when he heard the rattle of keys at the front door. He bolted up and made a beeline for the door, opening it just as Ilya as about to turn the handle which pulled him forward slightly. Ilya seemed a little surprised, but only for a second before he smiled in delight. Shane felt a smile spread across his own face at the sight of his boyfriend. It was a rough day so far, but nothing that some time with Ilya couldn't fix. Without thinking he just surged forward and pulled Ilya into a tight hug, unable to stand any distance between them.
Ilya let out a small surprised laugh before folding his arms around Shane and squeezing him back tightly. After a couple minutes in each other's embrace, Ilya finally spoke up. "I missed you too Shane, but we should probably go inside."
Oh, right. Ilya gently nudged Shane backwards until he could set his bag down and closed the front door without letting go of him. "You look cozy," Ilya said, still smiling at him. Shit. He had planned to change into something a little more presentable before Ilya arrived. Before he could respond, however, Ilya just cupped his face in both of his hands and kissed him. Shane melted into the kiss, covering Ilya's hands with his own.
It didn't take long for the kiss to escalate as their hands moved to clutch at each other's hair and clothing. Ilya must have noticed that Shane's movements where slower than usual, because he pulled away slowly and looked at Shane. "Are you okay?"
Shane moved in to kiss him again. "Yeah, I'm fine."
Instead of kissing him Ilya gave him a look that asked, are you sure?
"Hey, are you going to fuck me or what?" Shane said, trying to push Ilya towards the bedroom.
Ilya chuckled. "First the hug, and now this? Someone is definitely excited to see me."
"Fuck you."
"Soon, moya lyubov," Ilya teased, gently booping Shane on the nose before turning to race up the stairs.
Shane snorted and chased him to the bedroom, barely able to keep up. He felt the cramping in his lower belly again and winced, grateful that Ilya had is back to him and didn't see it. He crashed into Ilya and worked as fast as he could manage to get their clothes off. Ilya let him set the pace. He glanced to the floor where Shane had just tossed their clothing, but only for a second before Shane pushed him backwards towards the bed then shoved him down onto it. Shane quickly climbed onto the bed, straddling Ilya. Ilya instantly grabbed his hips and pulled him down, causing Shane to tense, an almost imperceptible grimace flashing across his face. But because Ilya is Ilya, he noticed. He immediately loosened his grip on Shane's body so that he was just resting his hands on Shane's sides instead of applying pressure.
Shane tried to lean in for a kiss, but Ilya stopped him by gently placing a hand on his chest. "Are you sure you are okay?"
"Yes, Ilya. I'm fine," Shane said, rolling his eyes. "I'm just a little tired. Rough practice."
"Bagskates?" Ilya teased.
"Yeah..."
Ilya sobered instantly. "Really? Your coaches make you do bagskates?"
"Uhh, yeah! Don't yours?"
Ilya shook his head. "No. We have never done bagskates."
"Well maybe that's because you're not three time Stanely cup winners."
Ilya's eyebrow quirked up. "You cannot be serious."
Shane just rolled his eyes again. "Can you please fuck me now??" Shane was not above begging if he had to. He didn't want to talk, he just wanted to have the stress of the day fucked out of him and then have a nice, long cuddle session with his boyfriend.
"Hmm," Ilya hummed before he flipped them with one smooth movement and quickly had Shane pinned under him, giving him a look that said be careful what you wish for. He kissed him hungrily and Shane's hands flew to his hair, slightly pulling at the curls. Ilya started planting a trail of bruising kisses from the underside of Shane's jaw all the way to his belly. Shane felt his lower abdomen cramp up again and he instinctively flexed his muscles at the pain. Ilya paused and looked up at him, but instead of saying anything,
"Please," Shane whined, gently shoving Ilya's head back down. Ilya continued licking and kissing from Shane's belly button to the crease between his hip and crotch until he felt Shane's hips tense under his touch. He stopped completely, sitting up and gently removed Shane's fingers from his hair.
"Okay. That is it. I do not touch you until you tell me what is going on."
"Ilya...." Shane whined, propping himself up on his forearms.
"No," Ilya said, crossing his arms. "Something is wrong, and I do not feel comfortable continuing this until you well me what it is."
"There is nothing wrong, Ilya! I just-" Shane was cut off as he felt a jab of pain his belly and pelvis. His squeezed his eyes shut, grimacing as he rolled to his side, curling up in the fetal position and clutching at his stomach, betrayed by his body.
"Shane! What is the matter?! What is wrong?" Ilya asked, panic rising in his voice as he knelt behind Shane and gripped his shoulder, unsure of what else he should do.
"Just- Just give me a minute," he gritted out, placing a hand on top of Ilya's. Ilya did, waiting as Shane did his best to take deep breaths. He willed himself to breathe too, trying not to panic as he waited for whatever this was to subside. He felt so useless, unable to do anything as his boyfriend laid there in pain. He rubbed his hand up and down Shane's arm, hoping that it was in some way soothing. After a few minutes Shane's breath seemed to come easier, and Ilya could feel his racing heart beat slowly come down to its normal pace. Eventually, he felt Shane's body relax under his hand and saw as the tension slowly drained out of him. Not completely, but enough that he didn't look like he was in agony.
"Fuck," Shane whispered under his breath as he slowly sat up, leaning against the headboard and pulling his knees to his chest. His breathing was steadier now but still somewhat labored, and Ilya felt like he, himself had stopped breathing.
"Shane?" he asked cautiously, placing a hand on Shane's knee.
"Shit, I'm sorry Ilya," Shane said, looking down at his hands. "You shouldn't have had to see that. I'm so sorry." He would have loved to lean forward and hug his boyfriend who now looked so frightened, but he did't seem to have any energy left to move.
"No," Ilya felt his throat tighten slightly. "Don't..." he cleared his throat. "Don't apologize," Ilya said, rubbing his thumb over Shane's skin. "Can you just tell me what is going on? Please."
Shane let out a small sigh and looked up at the ceiling. Sweat beaded on his forehead and ran down in salty tracks along his now pale face. "Umm..." Words seemed to fail him. "I uh... You know how girls have their time of the month?" He looked a him with pained and tear-filled eyes, and Ilya nodded slowly, maintaining eye contact. "Well, I um.. I don't-" Shane fought the thickness in his throat. "I don't bleed, I never have since I transitioned when I was really young, but I still get some of the same symptoms. Cramping, some pelvic pain, fatigue..."
"You go through this every month?" Ilya asked, unable to hide the worry in his voice.
"No! No... It's not always this bad. It was only some discomfort for a long time. It was mostly bad the first few years after I started transitioning, and then it got better after that. I did have to make some changes with my hrt though because the league is, well, the league, and has regulations on..." Ilya pursed his lips and gave him a sympathetic look, squeezing his knee slightly. "I think that did cause some of the cramping to come back, but it usually isn't this bad."
"Is there anything I can do?" Shane turned his head away from Ilya, looking at the floor instead. Ilya leaned forward and cupped his cheek, gently turning Shane's head back to him. Shane's eyes were still glassy from tears that threatened to spill onto his cheeks.
Slowly Shane nodded then swallowed before answering. "I uh.. I have some medicine. It's in the medicine cabinet."
"Okay. I will get it." Ilya kissed him softly before getting up and going to the en suite bathroom. He opened the medicine cabinet to find some bandaids, ointment, cough drops and a small assortment of pill bottles one might find in any household and... ah hah. He found the bottle of midol and read the label. He recognized seeing a similar bottle at Sveta's home a few years ago. He still struggled at reading some english words, but he understood plenty to know that this was what Shane had been talking about.
He walked back into the bedroom to find Shane staring blankly at the wall in front of the bed. "Shane?"
"Huh?" Shane turned to look at him. "Oh," he said as Ilya sat on the side of the bed and handed him the pills and the bottle of water that was sitting on the night stand. "Thank you," he said in a small voice as he took two of the pills out of the bottle and swallowed them.
Ilya ran his hand through Shane's hair. "Of course. Is there anything else I can do?"
Shane shook his head. "Can you just hold me?" Ilya gave him a soft smile and nodded. He helped Shane get under the covers then crawled in after him. He arranged the pillows so he could lean back into them with Shane curled up into his side, resting his head on the soft spot between his chest and his shoulder.
"Are you comfortable?" Shane sniffed quietly and nodded. "Good," Ilya said, kissing the top of his head. Shane nuzzled into his chest, breathing him in.
After a long moment of silence Shane spoke again. "I'm sorry."
Ilya looked down at him. "Why are you sorry?"
Shane didn't move to look at him. "That we couldn’t... you know..."
"Shane," "It is not a big deal. Really. I am more worried about whether you are okay or not than if we can't have sex."
"But you came all the way over here so that we could."
"I came all the way over here to spend time with you. That just usually means that we have sex."
"But-"
Ilya cut him off. "Shanya," he said with a mix of exasperation and fondness. "We do not have to fuck every time we see each other."
"That's kind of our thing though, if you think about it."
"True, but you are in pain right now, and I do not want to have sex with you when you are hurting."
"I really wanted to though."
Ilya held him a little tighter. "I know sweetheart."
"I didn't mean to ruin tonight."
"Shane, nothing is ruined. We still get to be with each other, yes? We have been together for over a year now. Our relationship is more than just sex. You do not have to be perfect for me," Ilya felt as tears fell onto his chest. "Heyheyey, sweetheart, look at me." Shane turned his head so that he was looking up at Ilya with watery, red-rimmed eyes. "Oh, solnyshko," Ilya said, pulling Shane in as close as possible. "You did not do anything wrong. You are just tired after long practice and your body is doing something that is out of your control. You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for. Okay?"
Shane nodded slowly. "I'm so tired, Ilya, " he said weakly.
Ilya felt a small twinge in his chest at the words. "I know, sweetheart. I know. Just try and get some sleep. We have all day together tomorrow, yes? Just get some rest. Everything will be okay."
"I love you."
"Ya tebya lyublu"
Shane settled back into Ilya's side and let himself go limp in Ilya's warm and steady arms. He felt the tension in his body slowly ebb out with every breath as he just let himself be held.
Ilya was so scared when he saw Shane collapse into himself with pain. His usually tan skin had gone so pale and when the fit was over he looked completely wiped out. Ilya had never seen Shane look so defeated. What also scared him was how hard Shane tried to push through the pain in order for them to have sex. He could feel something in him crack when Shane apologized for them not being able to get very far.
Ilya soothed himself by running his fingers through Shane's hair and gently scratching at his scalp. Shane let out a soft moan and burrowed deeper into his chest. Ilya placed a kiss on the top of his head and watched as Shane breathed in and out.
Shane had said that the coaches made them do bagskates. Ilya had heard rumors that Montreal used bagskates to punish players, but he didn't really know if that was true until now. No wonder Shane was so exhausted. Ilya definitely wasn’t an expert by any means, especially when it came to Shane's experiences, but he did know period cramps could be debilitating. He had seen Svetlana suffer through them plenty of times. He knew that everything was more exhausting at that time of the month, and he couldn't even begin to imagine how Shane had been dealing with it.
He would learn more later. For now, it was enough that he could just hold his boyfriend. Even though tonight scared him, he was happy that he could be there for Shane when he needed it most.
Ilya woke up to Shane stirring beside him.
"Are you okay? Do you need anything?"
"I'm fine. I'm just a little... hungry."
"Oh yeah, we did not eat anything."
"I have a lasagna in the fridge. I was planning on putting it in the oven when you got here, but we know how that turned out."
"Stay. I will go put it in oven."
"Isn't it a bit late for lasagna?" Shane looked at the alarm clock on his nightstand and Ilya followed his gaze. It was 11:30. They had been asleep for a little more than an hour.
"Oh, sweetheart," Ilya said sweetly, cupping Shane's cheek with one hand. "It is never too late for lasagna."
"Pfft," Shane snorted and shoved at Ilya's shoulder. They both laughed and Ilya felt a little lighter after seeing his boyfriend smile.
"I will be right back," he said, kissing the tip of Shane's nose.
After several minutes had passed, Shane realized that it was taking Ilya longer to put the lasagna in the oven then it should have, and as he made to get out of bed to go check on him he could hear Ilya's footsteps on the stairs. Shane settled back into the pillows as he watched Ilya enter the room holding... a bowl.
"What's that?" Shane asked as Ilya approached the bed.
"I washed some fruit for you," Ilya said, handing Shane the bowl so that he could get into bed. "The box said the lasagna has to bake for 45 minutes to an hour, and I did not want you to be hungry for that long."
Shane smiled softly at him and looked at him with what could probably only be described as heart-eyes. "Thank you."
Ilya smiled back at him. "It was nothing." Then a small mischievous grin spread across his face. "I did it for me. I know how grumpy you get when you don't eat anything."
Shane scoffed and shoved at Ilya's shoulder, almost causing him to fall off the bed. Shane's eyes went wide and he reached out to Ilya's arm, nearly dumping the bowl of fruit over the bed. They both stared at each other for a second before laughing in each other's arms. "And you call me the asshole?! I am not the one who almost knocks his boyfriend who lovingly brought him fruit off of the bed."
"Oh, shut up," Shane said, bumping his head into Ilya's collar bone, still laughing. Ilya pulled him close into his side and kissed the top of his head, happy to see Shane laughing after the rough day he has had.
They sat tangled up together, feeding each other fruit while talking about everything and nothing as they waited for the lasagna to be ready. The hour seemed to fly by in each other's company, and soon enough Ilya's phone went off, signaling that it was time to get the lasagna out of the oven.
Ilya got out of bed and offered his hand to Shane. "Come on, let's go eat." Shane took his hand and led them to the closet where he put on a pair of his softest boxer briefs and a hoodie as Ilya threw on a pair of sweatpants. They held hands as they walked down the stairs into a kitchen that smelled deliciously of warm tomato sauce, garlic, and cheese.
Ilya pulled Shane in for a hug and kissed the outer corner of Shane's eyes. "Go, sit on couch. I will bring the food."
"You don't have to, I can-"
"No. Go pick a movie and take it easy. I can handle everything else tonight."
"Okay," Shane nodded, giving Ilya a tight squeeze before he let go so he could make his way to the couch.
After a few minutes Ilya stepped in front of the couch holding two plates loaded with lasagna and a slice of garlic bread and a can of coke and ginger ale tucked between his forearm and chest.
"You made garlic bread too?"
"Yes, was easy. What is lasagna if you don't have garlic bread with it?" Shane eyed the garlic bread on his plate, grimacing slightly as he about the likelihood of crumbs on the couch and the floor. "Don't worry, I will vacuum tomorrow. Tonight we eat." Shane let out a small huff and took a bite of the garlic bread, then tried and failed to suppress a small moan as the taste of the butter, garlic, and salt flooded his mouth. "Good?"
"Mhm," Shane hummed as he took another bite.
Ilya smiled at him. "Good." He scooted closer to Shane so that their shoulders and thighs were touching as they watched some action movie and ate their food.
When they were done, Ilya placed their plates on the coffee table and Shane leaned into him, and Ilya instinctively wrapped his arms around him. "Do you want to go to bed or stay here a little longer?"
"Stay here. I think I'm too full to lie down."
"Okay. We will stay here then." Ilya pressed a kiss to Shane's temple and they simply sat and breathed together as they watched the movie.
Shane woke up with his cheek pressed to Ilya's chest and Ilya's chin hooked over the top of his head. He groaned slightly as tried to blink away the sleep from his eyes. He squinted at the clock on the wall. 6:23. The sun wasn't even up yet. Some time during the movie they must have laid down on the couch to get comfortable and fallen asleep. Shane smacked his lips lightly, grimacing at the taste in his mouth. They had forgotten to brush their teeth last night after eating. He thought he should get up and do something about it until he felt Ilya stir beneath him.
"What time is it?" he asked, voice and accent thick from sleep.
Shane reached up and brushed a curl from his forehead. "Almost 6:30."
Ilya groaned. "Too early. Let's go back to sleep."
"I need to brush my teeth."
"Of course you do," Ilya said, sighing.
"Then we can go to bed and get comfortable?" Shane asked, placing a quick kiss to Ilya's cheek.
Ilya grinned up at him. "That's an idea." The both got up from the couch, groaning from the stiff position they were sleeping in. They smiled sleepily at each other as they intertwined their fingers and made their way upstairs. Surprisingly, Ilya followed Shane to the en suite bathroom and brushed his teeth as well.
They fell into bed together and kissed each other in a lazy, sleepy haze until they fell asleep in one another's arms.
Ilya hated leaving Shane's house the next morning. He hated it everytime that he or Shane had to leave, but he especially hated it today. The day before had been wonderful. Shane seemed a little tired throughout most of the day, and for once he gave in to just lazing around the house and letting Ilya take care of him by brining him snacks, cuddling him, and peppering him with kisses whenever he felt like it. They ended up not having sex this time, which definitely felt different, but it didn't seem to matter much. In fact, it felt almost luxurious to just spend the day in each others arm, just taking it easy and basking in each other's presence and warmth.
But, Ilya had afternoon practice, so he had to leave. It was early in the morning, and the sun just just barely beginning to rise. The goodbye had been long. Despite the sleep still in his eyes, Shane had gotten up with Ilya and followed closely behind him as he moved around the house to get ready to leave. He had been clingy for those hours and was unable to keep his hands off of Ilya, using every opportunity available to steal a hug or a kiss. Ilya loved it.
He was usually the one clinging on to Shane, unable to spend any time away from him whenever they were in the same house. The weeks in between their meetings seem to stretch on forever and he couldn't help his need to have Shane all to himself. He felt as if he would die if he wasn't able to have Shane. To see him. To smell him. To feel him. To taste his skin on his tongue. He was like a drug addict. and he always felt so lucky when he was reminded that Shane felt the exact same way. All of his touches were so, so welcome and felt like a balm to the sting Ilya felt as the time to leave got closer and closer.
They eventually made it to the door, and before Ilya pulled the door open to leave, he set his bag on the ground and pulled Shane into a firm, soul melting hug. They kissed, slowly and sweetly, only breaking apart to Ilya could place soft, tender kisses to the corners of Shane's eyes, his cheeks, the bridge of his nose as if he was trying soak up every ounce of this he could as if that could make him need him any less in the time they spent apart. Shane clung to him, and it almost broke Ilya's heart to have to pull away from him.
"I have to go sweetheart. I'm so sorry I cannot stay with you."
Shane let out a long exhale. "I know. You have to. You've got a job to do and so do I."
Before he could stop himself, Ilya brought a hand to Shane face, cupping it gently. He placed a kiss to Shane's forehead as he brushed his thumb over Shane's freckled cheek. "I know. But I will never stop hating when I have to leave you." Shane closed his eyes and leaned into the touch, making it even harder for Ilya to want to go. Ilya lowered his hand and picked up his bag. "We will be together in two weeks, yes?"
"Yeah. We'll see each other then."
"I love you." Ilya leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss to Shane's lips before turning to open the door.
Shane gave him a sad smile. "I love you too."
"Go back to bed, yes? You can go one more morning with out going on run."
"I really shouldn't."
"You really should. Go back to bed and dream of me, your very handsome boyfriend."
Shane sighed and rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
"You need rest," Ilya said, more seriously.
"Okay."
Ilya made to step outside, but he was stopped as Shane rushed forward and pulled him into one last hug. Ilya held him tightly, kissing the top of his head. "We will see each other soon, moya lyubov." Shane nodded and reluctantly removed arms from around Ilya's waist. To an outsider looking in it probably looked like Ilya was going off to war instead of to a different city that was only two hours away.
Shane had stayed by the door and waved Ilya off. It was too early for anyone to see them, and Ilya knew that he wouldn't go back inside until his car was well out of view. He felt a kind of heaviness in his heart despite the wonderful day they had just spent together. No matter how many times one of them had to leave, it never seemed to get any easier. The more time they spent together, the harder it was to walk away. They would still call and facetime of course, but it just wasn't the same.
Ilya spent the whole ride back to Ottawa thinking of nothing but how he only felt like half of a whole without Shane by his side.
Shane had texted saying that he was on his way almost two hours ago, meaning that he should arrive at any minute. A small part of Ilya (or maybe not so small) was buzzing with excitement. As soon as he got home from that afternoon practice two weeks ago, Ilya had scrolled online and searched for ways that people who menstruated dealt with cramps. Afterwards had spent several minutes (more than he would like to admit) looking for the perfect heating pad. Eventually he found it. It was a microwavable one that didn't need to be plugged in and the fabric was covered with pictures of kittens. He had laughed when he saw it and instantly purchased two.
Ilya already had everything set up for when Shane arrived, dinner was pretty much ready, a salad, roasted potatoes that were being kept warm in the oven, and steaks that just had to be grilled. He was just putting the plates in place on the table as he heard the front door open. He rushed to greet Shane, unable to hide what had to have been the widest, goofiest grin on his face.
"Oh, hey!" Shane said as soon as he Ilya flew into view. Ilya just ran to him and hugged him tightly then picked him up and spun them around once for good measure. "Hey! Put me down!" he exclaimed, giggling. Ilya laughed to and put him down, showering his face with kisses. "You seem very excited."
"Are you not?! I have not seen you for two weeks! I missed you," Ilya said pouting.
"Pfft," Shane laughed gently pushing at Ilya's chest. "I missed you too."
"Come," Ilya said grabbing Shane's hand and leading him to the dining room. "Dinner is almost ready. I just have to cook the steak." Ilya let Shane sit at the kitchen counter as he set a cast iron skillet on the stove to let it heat up.
Shane looked at him sweetly. "You make dinner already?"
"Yes. Wanted to have something kind of nice."
"Is there a special occasion?"
Ilya shrugged his shoulders. "No. Is not much, but I still hope it's good."
Shane reached across the counter and squeezed Ilya's hand and smiled at him. "I'm sure it will be perfect."
Once they had cleaned up after dinner, Ilya led Shane to the living room. Shane tugged him closer to kiss him, but as he tried to escalate things, Ilya put his hands on his shoulders.
"Wait, wait, wait. I have something for you first."
Shane furrowed his eyebrows. "Something for me?" Ilya nodded and picked up the plain cardboard box that was on the coffee table. Shane took it reluctantly. "This isn't another sex toy is it?" Ilya only grinned at him. Shane shook his head and pursed his lips to hide his smile as he opened the box to find... a small cushion-looking thing with a cat pattern. He took it out of the box and it felt heavier than it looked, it must be filled with rice or beads of some kind. "What is this?" as he wore what Ilya called his scrunched-confusion face.
"It is a heating pad. For when you are cramping. You put it in the microwave to heat it up. I looked it up and a lot of people said that they use a heating pad and that it can help with the pain."
"You got me a heating pad for menstrual cramps?"
"Yes, I thought it might help."
Shane looked at him with an expression that could probably only be described as sappy. "That's so sweet, Ilya. You didn't have to do that."
"I wanted to. I know I can't always be there when you get them, so I thought maybe this could... you know.. help comfort you when I can't."
Shane felt his eyes sting. He placed the heating pad in the box and put it back on the table, freeing his hands so he could wrap his arms around Ilya's shoulders and bury his face in the side of his neck. "Thank you."
Ilya gave him a light squeeze. "Of course, I hope it helps. If not..." Shane shut him up with a kiss. After they broke apart he let out a small giggle. "What?"
"I just wanted to ask, what's with the cat pattern?"
Ilya gave him a cheesy smile. "They are kittens! Kotenoks for my kotenok!"
Shane sighed and rolled his eyes. "I should have guessed."
"Do you like it?"
"It was very thoughtful, Ilya. It means a lot that you... thank you for thinking about me."
"I always think about you."
Shane smiled and hugged him again. "I always think about you too."