Chapter Text
Hayden has an infant screaming bloody murder in his ear and a toddler clinging to his leg when his best friend answers the phone on the second ring. “Shane-“
“Jesus, Hayd, what’s going on?”
“Listen, the twins have a doctor appointment Jackie and I need to take them to and the babysitter canceled last minute.” He grimaces as Amber’s cries somehow turn up a notch, “I hate to do this, man, but can you look after Amber and Arthur? It’ll only be like one hour, two, tops.”
“Uh-“ there’s a rustle, then the line is quiet and Hayden realizes he’s been put on mute. “Can I bring someone with me?”
Hayden frowns, then shrugs. “Sure, man, yeah.”
“Oh, hell no.”
“Hello to you, too, Pike,” Ilya fucking Rozanov says with a too bright grin and a wave. He stands just behind Shane, and Hayden has to admit it’s a smart move because he’s this close to decking him.
“Shane,” Hayden says through gritted teeth, “kitchen. Now.”
Rozanov raises an eyebrow, turns to Shane. “You let him talk like that, Captain?”
His best friend just rolls his eyes, ignoring him. The familiarity in this small moment strikes Hayden as off but he lets it go in favor of storming off into the house.
“Ilya Rozanov? Really?”
Shane hovers awkwardly by the door before he comes to lean on the counter. “I told you about the charity, Hayden.”
“Not really,” he counters, “you just said that you and Rozanov are working on it, not that you’re somehow a package deal now?”
Shane turns an interesting shade of red. “We’re not a package deal! We had a meeting set up. Then you called and- look, we thought we’d just move the meeting to your house, that’s all.”
Hayden can’t help it. He laughs.
“What? What’s so funny?”
“You want to have a meeting while babysitting an infant and a toddler? Good luck with that, buddy.”
Shane huffs. “Do you want us to babysit your kids or not?”
He groans. “I can’t believe I’m about to let that heathen babysit my babies.”
When they eventually make it out of the kitchen, said heathen has somehow managed to charm his wife and his two youngest children. In the span of ten minutes.
He hates him.
“I hate him.”
Jackie laughs at him. “He’s not so bad. The kids seem to like him.”
“They don’t know any better.”
She hums, waving out the car window at their babies, their friend, and his-whatever.
The last thing he sees is Ilya fucking Rozanov bouncing his baby girl in his arms as she giggles, while his best friend holds his son’s hand and watches on fondly.
When they get back, the house is quiet. Jackie beats him to the living room by a few seconds, so when he enters, she’s got a hand on her mouth and her phone in the other. “This is adorable,” his wife murmurs, grinning.
He has to admit she’s kind of right. Rozanov is sitting on one end of the couch, feet on the coffee table. He’s got Amber on his chest and Arthur curled into his side. Hayden’s best friend is curled up beside them.
Hayden walks over and can’t resist kicking at Rozanov’s feet. They hit the floor with a thud just as Jackie hits him with the back of her hand. He rubs at his chest and watches Rozanov jolt awake, eyes flying open and quickly scanning the room. His movement is thankfully minuscule and doesn’t wake the kids. “Pike.”
“Rozanov.”
“How were they?” Jackie asks, setting her purse down on the coffee table. “Hope they weren’t too much trouble.”
He shakes his head. “Were perfect angels.”
“Thank you for doing this, Ilya,” his wife says softly, sincerely.
Ilya. His wife was on a first name basis with Ilya fucking Rozanov.
This is his worst nightmare.
“Was fun.” Rozanov’s lips quirk in a smile that’s different than the ones Hayden’s usually on the receiving end of. He looks down at Amber, then Arthur. His smile disappears when his eyes land on Hayden’s best friend, but there’s something soft in the way he looks at him. It’s gone before Hayden can identify it.
He gets up, deftly maneuvering Arthur so he lays him down on the couch while still holding his sleeping daughter. It looks like he’s done this before. “Her bedroom?”
“I’ll show you,” Jackie volunteers. Rozanov follows her without a word, and Hayden is left with his sleeping son and best friend. He shakes Shane’s shoulder. “Buddy. Hey, Shane.”
Shane grumbles and moves away from his hand. He mumbles something then, “stop.”
“Shane,” Hayden snaps, a little too loudly.
Shane’s eyes snap open, then narrow. “The hell?”
“Morning sunshine.”
“Morning?” His eyes widen. “Did we sleep-“
Hayden bursts out laughing. “No, you did not sleep the whole day away, stupid. Come on, get up.”
“Hey, where’s I-Rozanov?”
Hayden looks at his best friend over his shoulder. “Putting Amber down for her nap. Jackie’s with him.”
When Hayden finishes setting up the coffee machine, he turns around to find his best friend’s head turned toward the living room.
“So, what was he like?” At Shane’s confused look, he elaborates, “Rozanov. What was he like with the kids?”
A soft smile. A faint blush. Oh, god, is this what I think it is?
“Fun. They loved him.”
Do you?
“Baby, where are you?!”
Shane rolls his eyes at Jackie’s antics. Hayden grins. “In here!”
Rozanov comes in, followed by his wife. Jackie immediately slips into Hayden’s arms, and Rozanov goes to stand stiffly beside Shane. “Ready?”
Shane nods, stifling a yawn. “Yeah.”
“Ruby, Jade, come say bye to Uncle Shane and Ilya,” Jackie calls out, and it only takes a few minutes for them to hear the patter of small feet, long enough for them to say their own goodbyes- Shane gets a hug from both Hayden and Jackie, while Rozanov gets a handshake from him and a hug from his wife that has Hayden side-eyeing her.
His little terrors come tearing down the hall and run straight into Shane’s legs, making him laugh as he bends down to hug them both at the same time. Then it’s Rozanov’s turn.
He crouches down to their level and holds out his hands patiently. He’s not phased by their unblinking stares. “Hello, girls.”
Shane, Jackie and Hayden hold their breath. Hayden doesn’t use the word terrors to describe the twins lightly. His daughters are ruthless, cutthroat-
Ruby giggles.
“You talk funny,” Jade says as she, too, giggles.
He fakes offense. “I do not!”
“Yes, you do!”
“No!”
“Yeah!”
He looks up at Shane. “Tell them I do not talk funny.”
Shane shrugs helplessly. “You kinda do.”
He gasps. “Betrayed by my own-friend,” he stumbles over the word a little, but Hayden doesn’t think much of it until he gets a look at Shane’s face- the terror is only there for a second, but Hayden sees it. He sees it and it breaks him.
Rozanov’s attention is back on Ruby and Jade. He wiggles his hands and they each take one. He shakes them, a little too vigorously, but the girls absolutely love it.
When he gets up, everyone, but most of all Rozanov, is surprised when the twins hug his legs tightly.
“Will you come back?”
It’s an innocent question, and the way Rozanov very pointedly doesn’t look at anyone in the room is telling. “Maybe,” he says honestly, then looks at Hayden, shit eating grin back on full display, “if your daddy asks nicely.”
The twins turn their attention onto him immediately.
Jackie walks his best friend and his friend to the door. “Thanks again for doing this, you guys.”
“You’re welcome.”
Just before they leave, he hears Rozanov tell his wife, “you have wonderful children.”
At least they can agree on one thing.