Chapter Text
October 2018
The Metros had a home game and it was Ilya's first Thanksgiving in Canada. He hadn't celebrated American Thanksgiving at all when he lived in Boston, didn't have any family to spend time with, and hadn't had any interest in spending time with any member of his team outside the rink. But this time around, it was different. Shane had immediately wanted him to spend time with his parents so that he wouldn't be alone. David and Yuna had even invited him to their house on their own.
Ilya had accepted the invitation, and Shane was thrilled that he would be with his parents, watching the game and having a proper Thanksgiving meal with them. They might not have been out to the public but it was great to be out privately and Shane thought it was great for Ilya to be a part of his family in such a big way, especially with everything he'd gone through with his own family.
It was so foreign to Ilya to be a part of a family like this. Once the initial shock had worn off after learning their son was in love with his rival, Yuna and David had welcomed him into their family like it was the most natural thing in the world. Check ins in the family group chat. Phone calls from Yuna about the business side of his career, asking if he had anyone looking after his affairs.
Ilya had refused her offer to help at first, not because he didn't need or want it, but mostly because he was still in Boston. It wasn't until after he had moved to Ottawa that he finally went to her and told her that he would love to have her help him the way she had always helped Shane.
And Yuna certainly did not waste any time at all.
"Hello, Ilya," came the warm greeting and the hug, "So glad you're here. I actually have something I want to talk to you about."
Ilya gave a sideways glance to David, who just shrugged, before giving him his own hug. "I'll get you something to drink."
"Yes, please," Ilya immediately replied as he released the older man, "Thank you, David."
Without even thinking about it, Ilya found himself collapsing on the couch, where the TV was on. The game was about to start and all he wanted to do was watch his boyfriend play. But he was also grateful that Yuna wanted to talk to him. From what he understood, taking care of his career was a way she showed Shane that she loved him and the fact that she would do the same for him made Ilya feel so loved and cared for.
He assumed it was some kind of brand deal, a commercial to film or something like that. But he wasn't prepared for what Yuna was going to suggest when she joined him on the couch and handed him her tablet and David put a coke on the coffee table in front of him before sitting on his favorite recliner.
"The Ultimate Skate Off…what is this, Yuna?" He was curious and tentative all at once, taking the image in. He recognized retired goaltender Anton Kazakov next to the figure skater, but he still didn't know what he was looking at.
"Five years ago, they created this show, where the premise is that a figure skater teaches a hockey player to figure skate and they compete together as a team to raise money for charity. They reached out back then and asked if Shane would be willing to do it. He said, and I quote, 'No fucking way.' But they reached out again…"
"Let me guess, the answer was still 'No fucking way.' from Shane." Ilya's comment came out as a statement and not the question he had intially intended it to be.
"Well, yes. But he said something interesting to me afterwards. He said, 'Why don't you ask Ilya if he wants to do it? Maybe he'd learn to figure skate for The Irina Foundation?' So here we are…" Yuna's voice trailed off, watching, waiting for Ilya's reaction for a beat before she blurted out, "But there's absolutely no pressure. I just wanted to share this with you. Just in case you might want to do it. It's entirely up to you."
Ilya could immediately see the way her anxiety was reflected back at him in her expressive eyes, much like Shane's, and he was quick to try to reassure her; he knew deep down, she meant well.
"It's okay, Yuna. It sounds like a fun idea. I want to ask Shane what he thinks before I make decisions. But it could be fun." Ilya affectionately draped an arm over Yuna's shoulder to pull her in next to him as the game finally got started. "But for now, we watch hockey."
"We watch hockey," Yuna echoed with a smile, pulling up a blanket to cover both her and Ilya as he happily sipped on his coke.
"So Mom talked to you about it, huh?" Shane asked as he climbed into bed next to Ilya with a book, "Sorry I missed it."
"It was nice to spend time with your parents," Ilya replied distractedly while he was scrolling through his phone, "I never really had Thanksgiving before. They sent me home with so much food. Enough for you to take some back to Montreal too. I'm never gonna eat it all myself."
"So what do you think about…" Shane trailed off, realizing that Ilya was in a very specific YouTube rabbit hole, chuckling in recognition. "I see you're already doing research."
"I told Yuna I would think about it. I wanted to talk to you first." Ilya let out a soft, amused chuckle. "Missed opportunity for you to double the money for the Foundation."
"I'd rather eat rocks," Shane said in a deadpan voice, his attention going back to his book.
Ilya shook his head with a signature smirk. "Too bad," he quipped before his eyes widened at a specific video.
There was a comfortable quiet pause before Shane spoke again. "I was asked twice to do it, and I said no both times. But…" He rubbed his thumb along Ilya's cheek. "I think that you deserve for the world to see who you really are, underneath that bad boy persona of yours. Even if your Dad never did."
Ilya was moved by the sentiment but the urge to make a joke took over. "And hey, everyone will be too distracted by me shaking my ass on figure skates to suspect us, right?" he pointed out with a shit eating grin on his face.
"I would be lying if I told you that didn't occur to me," Shane admitted casually as he put his book down on the nightstand next to him. "You don't have to come out, I know that's tricky, but you also don't have to be the asshole everyone else expects you to be. Especially if we're going to sell our friendship to the world."
"I know. And I think I want to do it. I will talk to Yuna before practice tomorrow."
"Hmmm...I probably should actually see my parents at some point tomorrow but do you wanna grab breakfast and coffee? We only have about a month left to prep before we launch the Foundation."
Ilya smiled. "I'd like that. And I guess it wouldn't be terrible to be seen in public with you," he teased Shane with both his words and his hand down his boyfriend's sweatpants.
November 2018
"No."
It was a complete sentence and Elena hadn't always been liberal in its use but in the last eight months since she'd decided she was done competing at elite levels, she had been a lot more selective with the professional opportunities in front of her. She became a lot more willing just to speak up for herself, her wants and her goals.
"Give it a chance, Elena, I think you'd do really well. It's a competition for charity."
If she was going to upend her entire life for the opporunties to entertain instead of compete, she had to make it worth her time. And two and a half months in Toronto seemed like the least appealing offer, even if it meant she could skate. She didn't want the competitive life anymore, even if this competition was about giving back, raising money for charity.
"Your job is to help me figure out the next chapter of my life. I want to entertain."
She was only half paying attention to her agent when her brother's voice caught her attention.
"Holy shit!"
"Listen, Wes, I appreciate you but I've already made up my mind. It's Thanksgiving. I'm gonna spend time with my family. We'll finish this conversation later."
After hanging up with her agent, she walked over from the dining room to the living room to see what her younger brother was going on about.
A press conference on ESPN. Of course.
"Lenushka, look! It's Rozanov and Hollander!"
Of course. Nikolai was a huge hockey fan, followed the MLH quite intensely. Elena had been indifferent for years, highly focused on her own sport. But she loved how much joy it brought her younger brother to watch the games with her parents, who were also huge fans. While both their parents were huge San Franscico Missions fans, she knew that Nikolai was a huge Anaheim Hammerheads fan himself. But they were clued into the Eastern Conference as much as they possible could, following the coverage. The media made it hard to ignore the Rozanov-Hollander rivalry since their rookie season so everyone knew about them, even her.
"And what about them, Kolenka?" she asked casually, completely unimpressed.
Her brother was ranting about how annoying it was that Canadians had to have everything in both of their official languages. Not bothering to correct Nikolai about the fact that it was only necessary because the press conference was being held in Montreal, Elena realized that she had an edge in this situation, that she could pick up the French as well as the English. Not that it was much of an edge since the English came first in the speech, but Shane Hollander was a clear and confident bilingual speaker, she had to give him that. And she was at least able to pick up some of what the francophone press was saying and Hollander's responses to them.
But it was what Ilya Rozanov said at the end that got her attention.
"And this summer, I will be participating in The Ultimate Skate Off to raise money for The Irina Foundation. Because this Foundation is named after my mother, who died when I was twelve years old. She battled depression without help for many years. She had no support, no medical treatment. And I will learn to figure skate for her, to raise money to help people like her, so they do not have to fight alone.”
…
Without really thinking about it, she stepped out of the living room and went to her childhood bedroom to dial up her agent again, just fifteen minutes after ending the previous call.
"Hey, Wes, I need more information on The Ultimate Skate Off. What do I need to do to get in on this?" she immediately blurted out as she settled onto her bay window.
"That was quick. What made you change your mind?"
"Ilya Rozanov did."
There was a pause and Elena could sense that Wes had no idea how to respond to her.
"He and Shane Hollander did a press conference that just aired on ESPN. They started a charity together to support mental health organizations and suicide prevention and Rozanov has already signed on for the competition. I want in."
"Well, I know they were putting together a short list of interested figure skaters but they weren't going to be making final selections until at least April. I don't know what kind of pull Rozanov has but if his particpation's been confirmed this far in advance…"
"Get me on the short list, Wes. I want to get in front of the producers and casting."
"What happened to not wanting to compete anymore?"
"I changed my mind. Besides, this is for a good cause. Just do your job; it's why I pay you."
"You got it, boss."