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Shane definitely didn’t set out to get drunk on a random night in the middle of the season.
He was planning on finishing his game, having dinner by himself, and then going to bed early in preparation for Ilya’s visit tomorrow. It’s been weeks since they’ve seen each other, so he was very much looking forward to having a couple of days together.
These plans changed quickly when Rose texted him the minute the game was over - a loss to New Jersey - and asked if was free.
He normally would’ve wanted to just sleep off the loss, but she made a very compelling case: she had just been stood up by the guy she was seeing, he had just lost to a shitty team, and they both deserved a fun night. Plus, it was rare that they were in the same city these days.
Within an hour, she’s over at his apartment with a bag full of supplies to make drinks, and within another hour, Shane’s had two of them.
“These are so fucking good,” Shane comments as Rose pours him a third cocktail - it’s some dangerously delicious and strong concoction that has him tipsier than he’s been since the summer.
He knows he really shouldn’t be drinking, especially more than one, during the season, and definitely not on an empty stomach, but he’s been so engrossed in Rose’s story about the co-star she’s been hooking up with that he hasn’t even thought about food. Or how drunk he’s getting.
“I know, right?” Rose laughs, sipping her own drink. “Anyways, I’m done with him. For real this time. Plus, as soon as we wrap, I’m gonna be filming in London for the next few months, so there’s no point. And that guy I met in Paris last summer has been, like, begging me to come visit.”
“God, your life is so exciting,” Shane remarks.
“Please, I’m not the one secretly dating my arch rival,” Rose smirks. “Speaking of Ilya, how are you guys doing?”
Shane’s face feels warmer all of a sudden, and he’s not sure if it’s the alcohol or the blush creeping onto his cheeks.
“We’re really good,” he admits. “I still can’t believe he moved to Ottawa for me, but it’s so nice having him closer. We’re still apart a lot, but when we’re together…”
“It’s a twenty-four-seven fuck-fest, I assume?”
“Rose!” he exclaims, totally scandalized - although it’s not entirely inaccurate. “It’s not-I mean, there is a lot of that, but-“
“Shane, oh my god, I’m teasing,” she laughs, setting down her drink and tucking her legs up under her on the couch. “I’m so happy you’re happy. Still in shock that it’s Rozanov, but he’s super hot and completely in love with you, so I get it.”
Ilya and Rose have only met once, when she visited the cottage last summer, and they got along pretty well considering how jealous Ilya once was of her.
“He is super hot,” Shane agrees, leaning back against the pillows with a smile. “But he’s actually really sweet, too. He doesn’t let a lot of people see that side of him, but he’s - fuck, Rose, he’s just like the best person I know.”
Rose lightly kicks him with one leg. “I would take some offense to that if you weren’t so incredibly down bad for this man.”
“I’m not…” Shane begins to say, but his increasingly red cheeks give him away.
“You’re blushing just thinking about him!”
“It’s just, um, Asian glow,” he insists, though he knows that’s not entirely true from the way his heart is thumping in his chest.
He’s already wondering if Ilya will still be awake for a FaceTime once Rose leaves - tomorrow feels so far away right now.
“Right, sure,” she rolls her eyes, taking another big sip of her drink. “I’m ordering a pizza. I’ll get one with the gross cauliflower crust so it fits your diet, but we both need to eat something.“
Shane can’t really argue with that. He definitely doesn’t want to be hungover tomorrow, during his limited and precious time with his boyfriend.
Less than ten minutes later, his phone buzzes. He hopes that it’s Ilya texting, but it’s just a notification that someone entered his buzzer code.
“I guess the pizza’s here already,” he says, brow furrowed in confusion. “That seemed really fast, right? I’m not just drunk?”
She laughs. “Two things can be true, Shane.”
When there’s a knock on his door a couple of minutes later, Rose hops up to get it. Shane grabs the remote to turn the music up a bit - it’s some pop playlist Rose put on, and he can’t remember the name of the song that’s on right now, but he knows that he likes it.
“Oh my god, hi!”
He sits up straighter when he hears Rose greet whoever is at the door - not the pizza guy, he assumes, given her tone of surprise.
His curiosity piqued, he gets up and walks over so he has a view of the front door.
Definitely not the pizza guy - it’s Ilya.
He’s still standing in the doorway, looking utterly irresistible in dark jeans and his winter jacket, his cheeks flushed from the cold.
He looks surprised to see Rose - just as she’s surprised to see him - but his expression shifts when he sees Shane, his face immediately softening.
“Oh my god,” Shane grins, feet moving in his direction on instinct before his brain can catch up. “You’re here early!”
He throws his arms around Ilya without hesitation, tackling him with enough force that it makes even his strong, solid boyfriend sway a little bit as he hugs him back.
“Yes, wanted to surprise you,” Ilya murmurs into his shoulder. Shane nuzzles his face into his neck for a moment, even though his skin is cold. “Sorry, I did not know you had company.”
“No, don’t apologize!” Shane insists, pulling away from the hug to cup Ilya’s face and give him a long, passionate kiss. “I’m so happy you’re here. So happy.”
Ilya returns his affection, his hands resting on Shane’s waist, but his eyes still wander to Rose, who has taken a few steps away and is looking down at the ground to give them a bit of privacy for their reunion.
“Rose and I made last minute plans,” Shane elaborates. “She’s filming a movie here.”
Ilya narrows his eyes slightly as he examines Shane’s face, his expression shifting from concerned to amused.
“Are you drunk?”
“No!” Shane says quickly, but Rose’s giggle from behind him gives him away. “A little. I have two days off.”
“I know that, Shane, but that has never been good enough reason for you before,” Ilya laughs. “What is the occasion?”
“Well, Rose is in town, obviously, and we had a lot to discuss,” he gestures between himself and Rose. “Boy problems.”
Ilya’s eyebrows shoot up. “Boy problems?”
Shane realizes what he just implied and quickly shakes his head, his eyes wide.
“No, no, babe, I meant Rose is having boy problems,” he clarifies, trying to find the right words. “My only problem was I missed you. And losing to New Jersey, but mostly the missing you thing.”
Ilya continues to look at him with a mix of amusement and surprise, but he also pulls him into another quick kiss.
“I missed you too, lyubimyy,” he smiles, patting his cheek. “Let me take my coat off now, yes?”
Shane realizes that he hasn’t let him go long enough to do that since he walked in, and he nods sheepishly and takes a step back. He feels a bit dizzy all of a sudden, but he’s not sure if that’s from the drinks or the kisses.
“I’m just gonna grab my stuff and then I’ll get out of your hair,” Rose says when Shane’s attention turns back to her.
“You don’t have to,” Shane frowns. “The pizza isn’t even here yet.”
“You are having pizza and alcohol?” Ilya demands, dropping his bag at the bottom of the staircase and kicking off his sneakers. “Rose Landry, what have you done to him?”
Shane laughs, shaking his head. “It’s healthy pizza. Cauliflower crust.”
“Sounds disgusting,” Ilya teases, hanging his jacket on the back of a chair. He looks unfairly good in the plain black t-shirt he’s wearing, his biceps on full display as he leans back against the counter. “But yes, Rose, please stay.”
Shane is relieved that Ilya is on board with her staying, considering he’s probably tired and worn out from the week - he lost tonight, too, and also lost the last couple of games before that.
“Okay, I’ll stay for a bit,” Rose agrees. “Ilya, do you want a drink?”
“We’re having lemon drops,” Shane adds, holding up his own glass as he returns to the living area and motions for Ilya to join him. “They’re really good.”
Ilya looks at Shane’s glass, making his way over to the couch. “What’s in it?”
“Vodka, lemon juice, simple syrup…mostly vodka,” Rose grins.
Ilya shrugs, plopping down next to Shane and resting his hand on his knee.
“Sure, why not?”
Ilya thought his plan to surprise Shane was foolproof.
He had been planning on going home to get a good night’s sleep and leaving for Montreal first thing in the morning, but when he left the arena after the Centaurs’ fourth straight loss, he couldn’t bear the idea of going back to his empty house. He had to see Shane, to remind himself of why he moved to Ottawa in the first place.
So he quickly threw a bag together and left, knowing it was still early enough that Shane would probably still be awake when he got there. He would open the door and kiss him senseless and they would fall into bed together like they always do.
Instead, Rose Landry opens the door.
He likes Rose now, really, despite wishing just two short years ago that they would film the next five X-Squad movies in Australia or something so she would disappear from Shane’s life forever. He knows he doesn’t have to be jealous, considering they both know now that Shane is fully gay and would only have eyes for Ilya even if he wasn’t.
Her presence wouldn’t have bothered him if it didn’t mean his vision for the night was thwarted. He doesn’t get much time to dwell on that, though, before Shane is throwing his arms around him in a manner in a display of affection that is very unlike him given Rose is right there. It only takes a minute - and the taste of vodka on Shane’s lips - for him to figure out that his boyfriend is drunk.
Any concern he has about that fact, like how completely out of character it is for Shane to drink during the season, is quickly pushed aside as he takes in Shane’s inebriated state. He’s looser than normal, more obvious about his feelings. The first one he makes clear is that he wants Ilya close, and he couldn’t possibly resist that request.
“Rose, tell Ilya about you-know-who,” Shane says once his friend has returned from making Ilya a cocktail in the kitchen.
He accepts it from her with a grateful nod and takes a sip - it’s sweeter than he would normally go for, but it’s good. And strong, hence Shane’s current state.
“Who is you-know-who?” he asks, looking at Rose. “Voldemort?”
Shane and his parents made him watch all the Harry Potter movies over Christmas break, stating that it was part of their tradition. Ilya had been ambivalent at first, having never watched them as a kid, but he ended up enjoying them quite a bit.
“No,” Shane laughs, squeezing Ilya’s leg. Every touch from him feels so good after weeks apart that he’s already somewhat regretting telling Rose she should stay. “Her co-star that she’s been dating.”
“He’s worse than Voldemort, honestly,” Rose says with an eye roll. “I don’t wanna bore Ilya, though.”
“No, is not boring,” Ilya insists, prompting her to go on.
She launches into a crazy story about her current love life that definitely has Ilya’s interest, though he is distracted by how Shane keeps getting closer and closer to him.
It starts with a hand on his knee, but before too long, his head is on his shoulder, and then he’s tugging on Ilya’s arm until he gets the hint and wraps it around him.
Eventually, the pizza comes, and Shane whines slightly when Ilya moves them from their cuddled position so they can eat.
“You have to eat, Shane,” he reminds him. “Or you will have hangover. Not fun.”
Shane grumbles something in agreement and eats a couple slices of his weird cauliflower pizza while Ilya and Rose eat the normal pepperoni one she picked.
They keep chatting and drinking until it’s after midnight. Shane’s slowed down on the cocktails at both Ilya and Rose’s suggestion, now drinking a ginger ale instead, and his bubbly, tipsy state has morphed into a sleepy and even more affectionate one.
They’re in the middle of a conversation about one of Ilya’s teammates when Shane shifts over so his legs are in Ilya’s lap and his arms are fully wrapped around his middle, his face buried in the crook of his neck.
He’s only seen him like this once before, after a dinner at his parents’ cottage early last summer. He would normally be the one driving home, but Ilya insisted he would do it that night so Shane could have a couple drinks after a stressful end of the season. This resulted in him falling asleep on Ilya’s shoulder during the car ride back to his cottage, and Ilya pretty much carrying him to bed.
“Hey there,” Ilya says with a surprised smile, rubbing his back lightly. “You are tired?”
“Nuh-uh,” Shane insists. “I feel good. Just wanna be close to you.”
Ilya considers pointing out that there’s not much closer they can get right now, but Rose beats him to it.
“And that’s my cue,” she laughs. “I’m calling an Uber.”
It takes Shane a moment to climb off Ilya’s lap, but he manages to get to his feet and pull Rose into a tight hug.
“Night, Rose, it was so good to see you,” he says. “Call me from London, okay?“
She squeezes him back before pulling away.
“Of course I will. Love you.”
She turns to Ilya to pull him into a quick hug as well, and he returns it happily. It’s been fun hanging out with her, despite any negative feelings he harboured for her in the past. And he knows she’s been a good friend and confidant to Shane, which is all that really matters.
“Bye, Rose,” Ilya says with a small smile. “Get home safe.”
The moment she’s gone, Shane turns back to Ilya with a slightly dazed grin on his face.
“That was fun,” he says, throwing his arms around Ilya’s neck and standing close enough that their noses are almost touching. “Did you have fun?”
“Yes,” Ilya says, steadying himself by grabbing Shane’s waist. He isn’t drunk, not by a long shot, but he might as well be when Shane is looking at him like this. “I always have fun when I am with you. And Rose is nice.”
“She is nice,” Shane smiles, rubbing his nose against Ilya’s for a moment. “Can I tell you a secret?”
Ilya nods, squeezing his waist lightly.
“Before you got here, I was telling her about how much I love you.“
He’s looking down at the floor shyly, as if they haven’t said this hundreds of times at this point. It still makes Ilya’s heart leap like the first time, though.
“Ah,” Ilya says, cupping Shane’s face. “That is good secret.”
“Mhm,” Shane agrees, melting into his touch. “And I told her you’re the best person I know. Probably my favourite in the world. And how sweet you are.”
Ilya suddenly feels a bit lightheaded, looking into Shane’s beautiful, adoring brown eyes. He can’t believe he’s lucky enough to be looked at like this by him. He must have done something very good in a past life, he thinks, if he somehow has earned the privilege of being Shane Hollander’s favourite person.
“You are going to ruin my bad boy image, Hollander,” he says, barely above a whisper, because he doesn’t think he can say anything more sincere than that right now without crying.
“Sorry,” Shane says sheepishly. “It’s true, though. You’re such a good person, Ilya. And you’re so kind and funny and smart and - fuck, sorry. I’m rambling.”
He hasn’t been praised like this - not for his talent or looks or achievements, but for his personality and his heart - in longer than he can remember. Maybe not since his mother died.
He swears he does not blush, but his cheeks do suddenly feel warmer.
“No, is very nice to hear,” Ilya says, his voice still low. “Thank you, sweetheart. You are all of those things, too.”
Shane smiles again, but this time Ilya only sees a flash of it before he’s being pulled into a kiss. It’s more intense and sloppier than he was expecting, with Shane diving right in with his tongue and his hands already wandering under Ilya’s t-shirt. Shane’s palms feel warm on his skin, sending shivers up his spine.
It’s not long before Shane is straddling him on the couch, both of their shirts off, grinding against him in a way that ensures Ilya won’t last long after so much time spent apart.
“Ugh, you’re so hot,” Shane groans in between kisses. “Why do you have to be so hot?”
“Why is that a bad thing?” Ilya chuckles, still swept up in the moment but unable to ignore how entertaining drunk Shane is. “You benefit most from your boyfriend being hot, yes?”
“It’s bad when you’re not here and I see you on TV and I can’t have you,” Shane sighs. “Your stupid Nike commercial came on in the gym last week and I almost died. Hayden laughed at me.”
Ilya laughs again, making Shane pout at him like an angry toddler. He knows the exact ad Shane is talking about - the one where he’s shirtless in a locker room, pretending to get ready for a game while also looking as sexy as possible.
“Sorry about that, lyubimyy,” he murmurs, kissing Shane until his pout disappears. “I know this feeling. You have more brand deals than anyone in the league, I think. I saw your face on huge billboard in Toronto before our last game there. Was very distracting.”
Shane grins, seemingly pleased that this is a mutual struggle for both of them.
He dives in to kiss him again, and Ilya really can’t wait any longer to take this further. He can feel Shane growing hard against him, too, so he gently shifts him off his lap. They could continue here, but he suspects they’ll both pass out as soon as they’re done, and he would rather do that in Shane’s comfortable bed.
“Upstairs,” he murmurs with a soft kiss.
Shane nods, eagerly following Ilya up the stairs without letting go of his hand once.
When they reach the bedroom, he gently pushes Shane down onto the mattress, helping him pull off his sweatpants, and kisses him firmly before reluctantly pulling away.
“I need to use the bathroom,” Ilya says, “I will be very quick, I promise.”
Shane groans again, but he lets him go and watches him hungrily as he makes his way into the ensuite.
Ilya keeps his word, peeing and washing his hands as quickly as possible, but by the time he returns, Shane is already completely out.
He’s only disappointed for about half a second before he’s overwhelmed with affection again, taking in the sight of his adorable boyfriend sprawled out across the bed and smiling even in his sleep.
He gets to have him for the next two days, and falling asleep next to a drunk, passed out version of Shane is still far better than falling asleep alone in his house Ottawa.
Ilya quickly takes off his own jeans before climbing onto the bed. As carefully as possible, he manoeuvres Shane’s sleeping form so he can pull the covers over him, and then takes off his socks since he knows he hates sleeping with them on.
Somehow, Shane doesn’t wake up through all this jostling, but he does make a sound of displeasure when Ilya moves away again to turn off the light.
He’s back at his side a second later, snuggling up to him under the covers, and Shane immediately throws an arm and a leg over Ilya’s body so they’re basically as close as possible.
“Goodnight, moya lyubov’” Ilya whispers, savouring the feeling of having Shane in his arms like this. It doesn’t ever seem to get easier sleeping apart, not now that he knows what the alternative is like. “Sladkikh snov.”
Shane murmurs something unintelligible in response, and Ilya kisses his forehead.
He will probably be hungover tomorrow, Ilya thinks, based on how infrequently he drinks like this and the amount of sugar in those cocktails, but he’s glad that he allowed himself to have fun tonight.
And Ilya’s very glad that he came - not only because he got to witness those tipsy displays of affection, but because he will be here to bring Shane Advil and make him breakfast in the morning.
He also thinks Shane will let him skip the morning workout he usually initiates in favour of them cuddling in bed all day, which will be an added bonus.