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"So, do you have any idea why Ilya and I called you in today?" - Harris asks the entire room of buffed up hockey players who would rather be anywhere else in the world right now than on a media training/meeting in the middle of their summer off.
But, no. This was Ottawa Centaurs, new and improved Centaurs. The most powerfull and supportive team in the entire NHL league apparently. Full with emotionally inteligent, a bit geeky, nerdy but ultimately green flag guys the entire league has ever had.
And Hayden Pike was there for some reason. Snuggled between Luca Haas and Shane at the table, looking like a deer caught in headlights wondering how the hell he got there.
Well, it was all Ilya's fault actually.
Hayden and Jackie were visiting for the summer with kids after the hockey camps for Irina foundation were finished in both Ottawa and Montreal. They were supposed to leave for the cottage in two days when both Harris and Ilya called the entire team for an impromptu meeting, dragging Hayden with them.
"It will be good for you, to see what a team without assholes looks like." - Ilya says opening the back door of his car for Hayden to enter. Hayden the entire time rolling his eyes and huffing in discontent.
"Ilya." - Shane threatens.
"What? I am not wrong. He'll maybe learn a thing or two."
"Ugh, please stop being an asshole. You two finally started liking each other." - Shane groans opening his own door.
Ilya knocks on Hayden's window which he rolls down with murderous glance in his eyes. Ilya smirks.
"We like each other, don't we Pike?"
"I guess. Kinda."
"See. Nothing to worry about moya lyubov'. Come on, we need a meeting to get to." - Ilya rushes Shane in the car and gets into the drivers seat himself.
"And you won't tell us what's this all about?" - Shane buckles up his seatbelt looking at Ilya.
"Nope. You'll find soon enough." - Ilya smirks again. Shane shifts nerviously in his seat.
"Does it have something to do with the foundation? Because if it does we need to call my mom and..."
"No. Not foundation but Yuna will be there also."
"She will be?" - Shane scrunches his eyebrows. Ilya shrugs his shoulders again and connects the car on the main road.
"Mhm, just a quick visit. She'll meet us there." - he continues nonchallantly.
"For the record, I still find it super weird that Yuna likes Ilya more than you Shane." - Hayden huffs from the back seat. Shane laughs.
"I think everyone in my family, including me, loves Ilya more than we love me."
"Hey, that's no true. I love you." - Ilya extends his hand over the console and takes Shane's hand bringing it to his lips so he can kiss it dearingly. Shane blushes.
"And I'll never get used to ... That." - Hayden mutters from the back seat again.
"Did you say something Pike?" - Ilya looks over at the rearview mirror to look at Hayden, his eyebrows shooting over his sunglasses and Hayden just sinks deeper into the seat like a scolded child.
"No."
_
Now, they were all crammed up on one side of the table facing Ilya and Harris who were standing in front of a white board and a tv screen, looking like Christmas came early this year. Troy was the only one sitting next to them at his computer, smiling knowingly and preparing whatever it was they prepared for this meeting. Yuna was in the corner of the room with a notebook in her lap taking notes and observing quietly.
Shane lifts his eyebrows towards his mom but she just cocks her head and points them to Ilya to signal to listen carefully. Shane just sighs and focuses on his husband who is almost but jumping on the heels of his feet.
"So, anyone? No ideas? Come on guys, you can be better than that." - Harris pokes at the team for a beat looking around the room.
Eyes darting from Hayden trying not to be visibly cling onto Shane, to Luca Haas looking hilariously nervous like Ilya summoned them all up to give them an impromtu test which will determine if they're worthy enough to stay with the Centaurs.
Coach Wiebe and Hayes were sharing a bag of gummy worms, both wearing similar hawaiian t-shirts and borderline done looks on their face. It was summer, they weren't on the job anymore, sue them. They wanted to have some fun. And fun for some reason included snapping of the heads from the gummy worms.
Everyone in the room looked at the coach waiting for an explanation but he just shruged his shoulders.
"Don't look at me. I'm on vacation. I'm just a wind in this room. Passing through and drifting along." - Wiebe just leans deeper in his chair taking another gummy worm and biting into his head.
At that both Ilya and Harris start laughing.
"Okay, okay. We won't keep you waiting, we're all aware how little time you all have with friends and family during the season. So, few days ago Ilya approached me with something and I thought it was the best idea he ever had since he got Anya."
"Hey there..." - Ilya mocks offense.
"Not untrue tho'. Your other ideas included reading hate tweets for Voyagers posted with hashtag #whoremembers on our page." - Troy deadpans still clicking on his laptop.
Harris pinches the bridge of his nose. Yuna snorts. Boodram and Dykstra high five each other.
"Was funny!" - Ilya lets out a loud laugh lifting his hand so he can give high five to the boys, stoping mid motion when he sees the look on Shane's face.
"No, it's not." - Both Shane and Hayden say in unison and for a second every head in the team turns around to see Hayden, completely forgetting that he was amongst them. Hayden tries to sink deeper into his chair, or teleport himself to Greenland.
Hayes was the first one to state the obvious.
"Not to be a party pooper but why is Pike here? I mean, I think you're a great guy and you are Shane's best friend but, you know... Enemy teritory and what not."
Hayden opens his mouth to answer but Ilya does it for him, for once all serious.
"I think he'll like what we had in mind. He might not be the best player but he is a good man."
Zane elbow punches Evan in the ribs and not so quetly says: "Did our captain just complimented Hayden Pike?"
"Weirder things have happened." - Evan just shrugs his shoulders and steals a gummy worm from Hayes eliciting few displeased sounds from his teammate.
"Ok. We waited long enough, what is happening?" - Shane was first to break.
"Ah, my man always asking proper questions." - Ilya smiles and Shane blushes on the spot. The entire team erupting in laughter. - "Anyway. I saw this video the other day how San Francisco did a charity thing on one of their games.
"The people in the crowd threw stuffed animals on the ice and all the money from the tickets went to a children's charity of some kind."
While Ilya was speaking Troy clicks through something on the laptop and then there is a video showing on the big screen behind Ilya and Harris of an insane amount of plushies on the ice and players jumping into them with a trending "weee weee" audio overlaped with the jumps.
The entire team lets out a little "Aaawwww" and glances back at Ilya whose smile could melt an insane amount of glaciers in that very moment. Shane wanted to crawl across the conference table and kiss him on spot.
He's pulled out from his thoughts when Harris starts talking:
"So, we thought hey that's an insanely funny, charitable and overall great idea to start a season with. So, we've thrown some ideas on the board the other day and made a plan." - he points to Yuna who stands up and hands the printed out sheets along the table. The entire team reading carefully what's written.
"And we would like your input into the idea." - Ilya says elbowing Harris to continue talking.
"Yes, ideas. We have some, but we need your help. It would be mid september, saturday night probably. Before the season starts of course but it could be an intro to one. Mrs Hollander here is of course the brain of our operation since she has experience on such scale." - Harris turns to Yuna and pulls on a little shy smile.
"That's really nice of you to say Harris, thank you." - Yuna says patting Harris on the elbow and his ears blush wildly. Until he met Yuna he was terrified of her knowing how much of a incredible manager she has been to Shane over the years. Now he was star struck that they had a real star in their team, THE Yuna Hollander.
"We will make two teams, probably inviting all the instructors from the hockey camp. Hence..." - Ilya points to Hayden.
"Me."
"Yes, but you like have so many kids and they will like this. Anyway. We thought that we will mix and match, we will invite some of the kids from the camps to play with us..." - Ilya flips to page number two on his sheet when the room explodes with shouts.
"Oh oh, I call Dylan in my team!" - Hayes lifts his hand like he's calling dibs. Boodram rolls his eyes.
"You can't call dibs on Dylan. How old are you, five?"
"Why not, I can. Can I?" - Hayes looks at Ilya who just smirks. He really loved these people.
"Then I want Andy." - Boodram snatches the entire bag of candy from Hayes's hands and hands the gummy worms to their teammates. - "Also, learn to share. Are you two high or something?" - he asks eyeing Hayes and Wiebe's weird behavior.
"Nooo, I want Andy!" - Dykstra yells.
Ilya looks at Harris and Troy who are smirking at each other, at the boys fighting over kids in their teams and handling gummy worms like they are a prized possesion and Hayden just looking around the room like he was thrown in some kind of alternate reality not knowing how to behave.
Ilya claps his hands to shut them all up and gets his captain tone out.
"Okay, okay calm down. So, you like the idea, yes?"
"Hell yes!" - they all say in unison, smiles all around.
"Will there be toys? The stuffed ones?" - Luca Haas asks shyly lifting his hand like he's asking permission to talk. Harris grins and turns the sheet on page number three.
"Yes! So, as Ilya already said there will be two teams. You will all play of course and we'll invite our usual Scott Hunter, Max Riley and Leah Campbell, Hayden of course, Benett, Ryan Price and JJ. Then the kids.
"All proceedings from the tickets will be donated to a charity of our choosing. Or several ones depending on how much money we get. Apart from the ticket everyone coming to the game will have to bring at least one stuffed toy which will be thrown on center ice when you finish the game.
"There will be donation boxes in the hall for everyone who wishes to donate money. We also thought about other donation stations for like books and school supply stuff, games maybe..." - Harris is reading through a comprehensive list when he gets interrupted.
"Comic books?" - Hayes' eyes go wide.
"Yes, comic books also. And..." - Harris continues almost rolling his eyes on the mention of comic books because Ilya has been bothering him to include it in the list because he knew Hayes would recomend it. Ilya hits him playfully on the shoulder winking at Hayes when Shane speaks up:
"Can we..." - he starts but then locks eyes with Ilya who lifts his eyebrows not knowing what Shane had in mind but gently encourages him to ask away anyway. - "Can we, I mean I speak on behalf Hollander - Rozanov part of the team - like double up the amount of tickets sold and also donate that money?"
There was a wave of 'ooh' and 'aaah' coming from the rest of the team, and Shane immediately folds into himself thinking that they'll attack him that no one else in the team has that much money to offer and that it's not fair to impose to everyone to do it also.
Yuna wipes a single tear from her cheek but stays quiet when Shane tries to backtrack still looking at the table afraid to look his teammates in the eyes.
"I mean, I don't expect you to do it of course but we have lots of money and it's for a good cause. We could also donate some therapy sessions within Irina foundation on a game for the audience or something..." - at that he looks briefly at Yuna who nods her head then lifts his gaze towards the rest of the team.
And they weren't mad or pissed and Shane felt like a huge stone just dropped from his chest. Ilya was beaming with pride while the rest of the team almost all but clapped at the suggestion, already offering new ones not lingering on the severity of what Shane just offered. He was relieved.
"Ah, yes! We could do like a bingo. Wait, no not bingo but like everyone who has a ticket gets a number and at the end of the night we pull out numbers from the helmet or something and give prizes - therapy sessions or personalized drawings, comic books..." - Dykstra snatches the gummy worm bag who was again in Hayes's hands and without a word hands it to Shane and Hayden, eyes not leaving Harris and Ilya.
Shane and Hayden share a 'is this a real life, why are they so nice' look and both take the candy from the outstretched hand.
"Rare comic book collection?" - Hayes says again and the entire team but Ilya groans.
"Dude, you have to stop talking about comic books." - Boodram whisper yells.
"Hey now."
"Yes, yes. I love that idea." - Ilya throws another unopened gummy worm bag at Hayes who gasps like a little child.
"Um, can we... Ugh, it's probably a stupid idea." - Hayden starts and Ilya cocks his eyebrow urging him to continue.
"Go on."
Hayden straightens in his chair, suddenly aware that everyone is looking at him and that tehnically he is in another team's conference room. He tries to shake the feeling of doing something wrong when he in fact wasn't doing anything wrong. He hated that the Voyagers mentality was halfway imprinted on him and tries shruging it off.
"Jackie has this friend who makes custom made baby onesies and she's been trying to sell the idea to Voyagers for ages to include it in the gift shop but the managment is..."
"Full of homophobic assholes?" - Ilya finishes, Hayden nods without the fight. Because once again, Ilya fucking Rozanov was correct.
"Yes. Her friend is in fact trans and they didn't want... Well, you know... Anyway, I could pitch her the idea of doing a limited series of custom made hockey onesies. It doesn't have to be team specific but could still have the entire idea of your team in mind." - Hayden finishes searching the faces of Ilya and Shane's teammates for dissaproval. Finding none he tries pulling up a little smile.
"Like fruits and rainbows?" - Troy adds with a smirk.
"Shut up." - Hayden crosses arms across his chest and everyone laughs, some of them pat him on the shoulder and not even three seconds later he's all smiley.
"No, no it's a good idea. We can do that. See Pike, you're contributing to the team. I would like to say that it would be an honour to have you on our team but you're neither fruity nor a good hockey player, so..." - Ilya lifts his hands like he's weighing something in them and makes a face teasing Hayden.
"Ilya." - Yuna and Shane say in unison and Ilya just sighs defeated.
"Okay, okay. Fine. Good idea Pike, we'll talk about it at home."
Few hours later they had an entire outline for the charity event in front of them. Or rather, charity week, planned ahead with to do lists and assignments for each of them. Yuna, Harris and Wiebe will oversee the entire process with Hayden, Shane and Ilya calling in favours with the players from other teams.
_
Shane was borderline impressed (and surprised) how close Hayden and Ilya got over the next week. Always talking hunched over the mountain of papers and printed out photos of something (baby onesies, he later found out).
They were at the cottage, Pike's joining them for a week before going off to Jackie's parents for the rest of the summer.
Jackie and Shane were in lounging chairs sipping on their drinks. A ginger ale for Shane and some flashy coctail Ilya made for Jackie, both looking at their husbands at the far end of the lawn arguing over something. Every once in a while Hayden would blush, try to stand up and leave but then Ilya would punch him on the shoulder and start their conversation all over again.
Ruby and Jade were kicking a lone soccer ball back and forth over the lawn in front of the house while the rest of the kids were napping inside. Baby monitor sitting by Shane's ginger ale can on the table showing them all snuggled up in the guest room with Anya sprawled next to them, guarding in their sleep.
"What do you think they're arguing about?" - Jackie asks Shane who diverts his gaze from the baby monitor to Ilya and Hayden and lets out a sigh.
"Beats me. Yesterday they fought about the colour of onesies. Jackie, last night I had to listen to Ilya for 45 minutes straight how diabolical Hayden's choice in colour is." - he rolls his eyes leaning back on the chair and Jackie snorts taking a sip out from her coctail.
"Hayden did the same thing. He asked me to ask you if Ilya is colour blind because he obviously can't see the difference in the colours."
"They are so deep into it." - Shane sighs again.
"But hey, at least they are getting along." - Jackie says and in that very moment Ilya is smirking at Hayden who has his finger up in Ilya's face.
"Or my husband is trying to flirt with your husband. Either way as long as they don't include us in the middle I think we'll be fine." - Shane flails his arm in the air.
"Aye aye cap... Well, you're not captain but you catch my drift." - Jackie winks at Shane who is rolling his eyes.
"Ugh, stop it."
"Do you miss it?" - she asks genuinely, tease dropped from her voice.
"Miss what?" - Shane asks taking another sip of his ginger ale.
"Being a captain?"
"Oh. I thought I would but I wasn't actually good at it to be completely honest..." - Shane starts but when Jackie tries to talk over him he continues - "No, I mean the tactics and game part of the hockey was fine of course but like being the captain thing, to motivate everyone, encourage them - those kinds of things. I wasn't very good at it, most of the time if not all of them it was all JJ and Hayden. I was the nerd, they were my hype buddies. So, I don't miss it. And Ilya is so good at both of those things it's infuriating.
"He knows both tactics and he takes care of his team, but like genuinely. I know that what most people see is his flashy personality but..."
"He's a sunshine in human form?" - Jackie smiles glancing at Ilya who is keeping the ball high up in the air while Ruby and Jade are reaching for it. Their girls adored him. Shane has that smittened look on his face that Jackie loved so much.
"I know it sounds corny but he is. Even when we lose he makes the night out of it. I don't know how he manages. After the game I'm wired out so much I can barely form a sentence, but he's there with Chiron and Anya and encouraging Haas or filming those videos for Harris. That's what real captain does, I could never do that." - Shane finishes at the exact time Ilya kicks the ball to an imaginary goal and yells how he missed before returning to Hayden.
"Well, that is true to a degree." - Jackie nods.
"And I kinda love him bossing me around." - Shane confeses and Jackie almost chokes on her coctail.
"Shane, you did not just... Is this a foreplay for you two?" - Shane hands her a paper towel to wipe off the drink from her t-shirt.
"Maybe."
"Oh, you dawg!" - she playfully hits his arm and he blushes.
At that Hayden abruptly stands up from the chair crossing his arms and stomps inside the cottage with Ilya running towards him with colour patterns in both his hands.
"Dorks."
Both Jackie and Shane say in unison then toast with their drinks chuckling. They love their husbands so much.
_
"Rozanov is so good at this I want to punch him." - Hayden joins Shane on his couch in Montreal handing him a cold can of ginger ale.
"Or maybe kiss him?" - Shane sing songs knowing fully well how Hayden will react.
Which, he does. Eyes wide open and faint blush on his cheeks.
"Dude! I have a wife and I..." - he stutters.
"I'm just kidding Hayd, jesus." - Shane giggles.
"Ugh, you really do sound like him you know that?"
"Pot kettle, whatever. Anyway, what did he do this time?" - Shane takes the remote control and flips through the chanels finding something as a background noise. Hayden angles himself towards Shane and whispers:
"He just, he did everything perfectly. For the charity. And he's so good with kids. And, ugh it's getting exponentially harder to hate him. Last night he let Ruby and Jade do him a makeover, and he just sat there unbothered while they slathered make up on his face and did his hair. And then he spent hours playing in their little blanket fort, not even rolling his eyes once."
Shane narrows his eyes towards Hayden and asks with a smirk on his lips.
"You really hate it that you love him, don't you?"
Hayden sinks into the couch and folds his hands over his chest.
"I just... Ugh. Drop it. I'm fine, everything is fine."
"Can I tell you a secret?" - Shane nudges his best friend's shin with his foot. Hayden turns around with concern on his face but melts when he sees how blisfull Shane looks.
"Yes. Of course, anything."
Shane puts down the can on the coaster and starts playing with the strings of his hoodie.
"We're putting up papers for adoption and he's jittery. He thinks we'll not get approved. We're in the final stretch of approval, and your kids help. Ruby and Jade specifically so that's why..."
"That's why you're here in Montreal all the time? And I thought you just missed your best friend." - Hayden nudges back at Shane's shin and smiles. Eyes watering a bit thinking about how he might despise Ilya professionally but he will be a hell of a good father some day.
"Well, that too but you know... After everything I think he just needs little extra support and your kids adore him."
"Karma is really biting my ass isn't it?" - Hayden glances over at the kitchen where Ilya is helping Ruby and Jade prepare fruit bowls. He protectively hovers over them just in case they need any help but letting them do it at their own pace.
"He's really good at it tho'. Both of you I mean. You'll be the best dads ever you know. And if you need a letter of reccomendation or anything for the process just say the word."
Shane eyes sparkle and Hayden threaten to do the same.
"Thank you Hayd, I really don't know what I'd do without you."
"You probably wouldn't end up with Rozanov but what do I know."
"Jerk."
"Hey, if I wasn't pushing you to call Lily every five seconds you might've never..."
"So, what you're saying is that you're our matchmaker actually?" - Shane teases and Hayden groans.
"Ugh, when you say it like that."
_
The summer passed by in a flash considering all the work it eventually took to have everything ready for the charity event. An entire week before the game almost every establishment in Ottawa decided to participate in it and it was a city wide charity. From coffee shops and bookshops offering discounts in exchange for donations, to drive in donations at the stadium where people would bring clothes, school supplies and food. They even managed to pull several famous artists playing on random pop ups all around the town free of charge.
For a whole week Ottawa seemed like an explosion of radiating happiness, colours and overall good vibes. The players participated in book readings all over the city, reading children's books or reeanacting them with Troy and Luca Haas who were toddler magnets for some reason.
The entire team spent time in children's hospital with sessions of Luca drawing their favourite superheroes with their faces on generating quite a buzz on Ottawa Centaurs socials that there were suddenly tik tok montages of him drawing with a baby pink bow in his head surounded with smiley children and a #babygirl.
Ilya loved teasing him about it, he tried to school himself from all the blushing around his teammates.
He, in fact, did not succeed in those efforts.
JJ, Scott Hunter and Hayden suprise dropped in schools and playgrounds playing basketball with the kids.
Ryan Price and Fabian hosted several fairy themed music sessions in children's bookstores where Fabian played on his violin and kids dressed in costumes, listening to his heavenly notes and twirling around.
Even Rose and Svetlana stopped by.
Together, Shane observed.
Rose participated in drama classes with Troy and Haas and Svetlana always stood closely, all smitten and filming the entire thing.
When the day of the game finally came everyone was in such good spirits that their energy could power an entire city of Ottawa for a whole year.
The baby onesies sold out in the matter of minutes with promise that they will be included in the gift shop as soon as possible. They were in various pastel colours with a small Ottawa Centaurs logo on the back and unique variations of animals native to the region playing hockey on the front.
The stadium was packed, with adults and children perched on their knees all holding various plush animals watching hockey legends play side by side with future generations in their all new jerseys and pride tapes over their sticks.
The game was not a competition but a hilarious party on ice, filled with friendly banter and showing off.
In the end Ilya's team won with just a goal over Shane's which made Shane almost groan over the microphone because of a bet the team made just before the game even started. Whoever wins needed to pick up the winners for the prizes and had to announce it with the most enthusiasm managable.
So, there was Shane blushing. Center ice. Taking out numbers from an improvised giant hockey helmet tub and announcing it over the microphone while the entire crowed cheered for him making him smile. Then Ilya embraced his shoulders and with a loud mwah, heared over the microphone, kissed him on his temple.
The entire crowed erupted in laughter and whistles and giggles once again. Ilya took the microphone out of Shane's hands and lifted his arms to calm down the crowd.
"Thank you. Thank you. I know you love me. I love you too." - he winks at the camera who catches both the wink and blushing Shane rolling his eyes. - "But I would also like to thank you for supporting our cause for the past week. You were all amazing. I'll try not to make this about myself but when I first came to Ottawa I never thought that we will have this amazing crowd and people who support us who we actually are.
"These are scary times and I... We... Hope that this family we built together. The joy, the support, the sunshine will always be with you. Without the people in our lives we would," - he stops choking mid sentence looking back at his entire team who is proudly looking at him, even Hayden raising his thumbs in support - "We would not be here. So, hug the ones you love, talk with them and just be there for each other. And if you don't think you can talk to anyone you know we're always here to hear you out."
Ilya finishes with tears in his eyes when Hayes skates towards him hugging him and stealing the microphone.
"And now, the thing you've been all waiting for. Throw. In. The. Plushieeeeesss!" - Hayes screams like he's announcing a wrestlers match and everything erupts in colour.
The plushies are thrown, every colour, shape and sizes filling the rink in an absurd amount of short time. There are streamers being blown up from somewhere, music blarring from the speakers. Someone pushes Ilya towards the bed of stuffed toys, he grins and follows his team who is now jumping in and out of mountains of bears and birds and rabits, Harris following them along filming everything.
Ilya looks around from the pile of extremely pink, purple and blue teddy bears where he landed and sees Shane giggling at Hayden who was stuck under another plushie mountain while hundreds of new ones dropped on his body, trapping him underneath.
Shane looks around and catches Ilya's gaze smiling widely. Gives Hayden the hand to stand up then punches JJ and Hayden and moves his head to follow him and jump on Ilya.
Not even a second later Ilya is seriously considering on divorcing Shane for ambushing him with JJ and Hayden when all of a sudden the entire team pilles up on him.
This is it, Ilya thinks. This is what's all about.
Friends. Family.
Sunshine.
_
"Hey, there you are." - Shane finally finda Ilya in their locker room. Curls slightly damp from the shower, tying off his sneakers. Ilya lifts his gaze and immediately smiles.
"Hey. Ah yes, Harris needed me for a debrif. Everything okay moya lyubov'?"
"Mhm, just have something for you. That's all." - Shane says coyly with his hands behind his back and a smirk on his lips.
Ilya cocks his head and studies Shane for a second.
"Hm, you are aware that for... That ... You have to wait until we get home, yes? We have the donor dinner and..."
"I know, it's nothing like that." - Shane says still extremely confident which intrigues Ilya furthermore. - "Choose a hand."
"What?"
"I have something for you behind my back. Choose a hand."
Ilya thinks for a second then lifts his index finger and gently goes over from Shane's left shoulder all the way down to his fingertips. Shane shudders, Ilya smirks.
"Left."
And then Shane produces a box from behind his back, neatly wrapped with a yellow bow on top. Ilya looks at him like he didn't expect this. He thought Shane was just messing with him. He looks at the gift then at Shane, who was still smiling, then back at gift.
"Come on. Open up." - Shane nudges Ilya's sneaker with his own.
Ilya opens up the package and there are two baby onesies, the one specially designed for the event but the logo of the imaginery team has a lily and a loon on it. Ilya scrunches his eyebrows then looks back at Shane.
"There is something else, underneath." - he says quietly, measuring his words. Ilya sees a piece of paper and unfolds it.
And in less than half a second dozens of emotions over through his face. When he finally looks up at Shane he's crying. Shane is crying too.
"We're getting a baby?"
"Yeah. Twins actually and I..."
At that Ilya lurches from the bench and tackles Shane to the ground kissing him all over the face. Shane laughs then Ilya joins and they both cry in each other's arms, embracing each other.
Then suddenly the door opens and someone groans.
"Not this again guys." - Ryan Price lets out but Shane and Ilya look at him like he's the best thing they ever seen that night. And Ryan takes a step back blush creeping up on his neck
Shane and Ilya stand up from the ground and approach him pulling him into a tight hug. He stands there frozen for a second not knowing what's happening.
"You, um... Okay? You haven't been drinking, right?"
Shane and Ilya start laughing histerically but then the rest of the team enters the locker room, sees them hugging and all join in no questions asked. Everybody hugging and laughing, nobody knowing exactly why. Ilya kisses Scott Hunter on the forehead, Scott rolls his eyes and Shane blushes.
Then, after a second or two Shane nods and Ilya clears his throat.
"We are happy to tell you that the Centaurs hockey team will be expanding by two new teammates soon."
The entire locker room drops in silence. Everyone eyeing each other with disbelief in their eyes. Was someone getting fired? The season is starting in less than two weeks. Only Hayden, JJ, Shane and Ilya seem to be on the joke because the next thing that happens is that Shane and Ilya both lift onesies and place them on their chest with a knowing smile on their lips and the gasps around the room explode in cheers.
"No way, Hollzy? Roz? A baby?" - someone says. Hayes probably. The noise was borderline unbereable, but happy.
"OMG THAT BABY WILL BE A HOCKEY PRODIGY!" - Leah and Max yells louder than the rest of his team.
"Holly shit, everyone needs to retire this instant. That kid will start playing while they're still in diapers." - Dykstra smashes his hand between Shane's shoulder blades.
"Is that the reason you spend all your time with Pike's kids over the summer?" - Harris smiles through question.
"Hey now!" - Hayden mocks offense.
Everyone is speaking at the same time but neither Shane nor Ilya care. They all have the same smile on their faces.
Then Shane finally says:
"It's twins actually. Two girls and yeah, you guys will be the best uncles in the world to them."
At that the entire crew starts crying.
"Damn it Hollzy, who would've known you're such a sap." - someone says and people are hugging him once again.
"Damn Hollander, you're making me cry." - Scott Hunter adds and pulls Shane into a hug stopping the entire team for a beat to just stare at the two most controlled people in the league openly express their emotions in front of everybody they care about.
When they separate someone ruffles their hairs. Ilya drapes his hand over Scott Hunter's shoulders and Harris takes a group picture for their team's chat.
"What?" - Shane asks Ilya in the midst of all yelling catching his eyes glued to his face. Ilya takes his face in the palms of his hands and drops the gentlest kiss on Shane's lips.
"Nothing. Just, happy. I love you."
"I love you too." - Shane says back and pulls Ilya into a hug, letting Ilya nuzzle up in his neck. - "You'll be an amazing dad." - Shane adds and Ilya hugs him tighter.
"You too moya vselennaya."
Shane laughs into his curls and holds Ilya tighter.
"Hm, what does that mean?"
"My Universe." - Ilya whispers but Shane pulls him abruptly from his neck and kisses him passionately in front of everyone without a single care in the world.