Chapter Text
“Dude….no fucking way, Roz.”
The locker room was still buzzing, music thumping low, guys shouting over each other, sticks clattering, someone laughing way too hard near the showers. The Bruins had won against Chicago, and the air was thick with sweat, steam, and post-game adrenaline.
Ilya was halfway out of the shower when he heard it.
Water still ran behind him as he stepped into the noise, droplets sliding down his shoulders and towel low on his defined waist. He hadn’t even made it to his locker yet when a cheer went up hoots, whistles, a chorus of oh shit.
“What?” someone yelled.
“Show him!”
“No way that’s real. He’s actually fucking crazy.”
Ilya frowned. “Why are we yelling.”
Cliff pushed through a couple bodies, phone held up like a trophy. “Because,” he said, grinning like he’d just won something, “TMZ just dropped this.”
A few guys laughed. Someone whistled.
Ilya took the phone.
It was him.
And across from him was….
Shane Hollander’s sister.
His Little sister.
The cheering got louder.
“No way!”
“Is that Hollander’s kid sister?”
“Roz, you’re insane.”
Ilya stared at the screen, expression unreadable.
Fuck….. he thought
~~
It had been eight months since the cottage.
Eight months since David had walked in at the worst possible moment. Since everything that had been private blew wide open. Shane coming out to his parents. Then later, coming out to his sister Akira.
She’d been angry at first.
Not because Shane was gay. Not even because he was in love.
Because he’d lied to her.
Not outright. not with words. But with omission. With lies and the assumption that she couldn’t handle the truth. Shane had always been protective, sometimes to a fault, and this time it had crossed into something sharper.
“So you’ve been fucking Ilya Rozanov for years,” she said slowly like she was testing the words in her mouth, “and you didn’t tell me.”
Shane swallowed. “It wasn’t—”
“Didn’t tell me,” she repeated. “Didn’t tell anyone?”
And then she started laughing.
It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t joyful. It was the kind of laugh that slipped out when something finally clicked into place and there was nothing else to do with it. She dragged a hand down her face, shaking her head, breath catching halfway through.
“Oh my God,” she said. “That’s what this is.”
Shane frowned, genuinely lost. “What?”
“All those years,” she went on “The excuses. The silences. The don’t worry about it looks. You weren’t being mysterious…..you were hiding.”
She looked at Shane then, really looked at him, like she was seeing the shape of the truth for the first time.
“From me,” she said quietly. “You were hiding from me.”
“That’s not—” Shane started.
“You didn’t trust me?” Her voice cracked just enough to give her away. “You could’ve told me. At least me.” She swallowed, blinking hard. “You knew I wouldn’t have cared. You know that, right?”
The words hung there, fragile and exposed.
Shane didn’t answer.
He looked down at the table, jaw tight, fingers curling slowly into the wood like he was holding himself in place. The movement was small, but it told her everything.
She stood before she could overthink it.
The chair scraped softly against the floor as she crossed the space between them and wrapped her arms around him. For a split second, he froze. Then his arms came up around her, like he was holding onto the only solid thing left in the room.
He hugged her like his life depended on it.
She pressed her forehead against his shoulder, grounding them both.
“I love you,” she said quietly, steady despite the ache in her chest. “And you know that.”
Shane’s breath shuddered.
“I know you were scared,” she went on. “I know you are scared. And yeah, you lowkey messed up.” She pulled back just enough to look at him. “But I’m your sister.”
A watery laugh escaped him.
“Even if we aren’t blood-blood,” she added, voice soft but sure, “you’re still my blood. You know that, right?”
Shane nodded into her shoulder, fingers clutching at the back of her shirt like he might fall apart if he let go.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
She hugged him tighter. “I know and I love you.”
They stayed like that for a long moment. Just breathing. Just family, imperfect and still standing.
Then she snorted.
“You know,” she said, pulling back just enough to look at him, grin already forming, “I always thought you were a little fruity. Hockey’s gay as hell.”
Shane laughed despite himself and shoved her lightly out of the hug. “You’re an asshole.”
“I’m deadass,” she said, hands up in surrender, still smiling.
He rolled his eyes, wiping at his face. “Unbelievable.”
“So,” she continued, completely unfazed, leaning back against the table like they hadn’t just emotionally gutted each other, “when do I get to meet the sexy Ilya Rozanov?”
She said his name in a horrible fake Russian accent
Shane groaned. “Please stop.”
“And I mean meet meet,” she added, ignoring him. “Not at some stupid hockey gala where everyone’s fake and pretending like they wanna be there. Mom and Dad got to meet him.”
“That was different,” Shane said weakly.
She stared at him for half a second.
Then she burst out laughing.
“Yoooo,” she said, bending forward with it, hands on her knees. Her curly hair covering her eyes as she laughs. “Imagine getting caught like that. Like what are you, fifteen?”
“Please don’t,” Shane groaned.
“No, no, because that’s funny as fuck,” she went on, still laughing. “Sneaking around and having secret hookups with your so-called rival? You’re a professional athlete with a whole Degrassi-ass storyline.”
“Can you not, Akira?” Shane snapped, but there was a smile tugging at his mouth despite himself.
She straightened, wiping at her eyes. “I’m just saying. All that secrecy.” She shook her head, still amused. “And you get exposed because you forgot to lock a door.”
“I did lock the door,” Shane muttered.
She pointed at him. “And yet. here we are.”
Shane groaned, dropping his head back. “I hate you.”
She grinned. “No you don’t. You just mad I’m right.”
There was a knock at the door of the cottage.
Shane and Akira both froze
“Is that—?” Akira started.
She was already smiling.
It was that stupid, happy grin. The one that always meant trouble. The one that, for reasons Shane absolutely refused to examine, reminded him way too much of some stupid Russian he knew.
Akira was already on her feet, practically bouncing as she sprinted toward the door. “I’M GETTING IT.”
“Akira—” Shane started, scrambling up after her.
She flung the door open with zero hesitation.
“Ilyyaaaaaaaaaa!” she yelled, dragging out his name like she’d known him her entire life.
Ilya froze on the porch, then let out a small, startled laugh despite himself.
Shane groaned somewhere behind her.
That night, over takeout and good vodka (of course) Ilya Rozanov gained something he hadn’t been expecting.
A little sister.
One who asked too many questions.
One who had absolutely no respect for personal space.
One who looked at him like he was already family.
And for the first time in a long time, Ilya let himself believe
~~
“Ilya, bruh, please come out to dinner with me. I haven’t seen you in forever.”
Her voice crackled through his phone, half-whiny, half-laughing. The exact same way her older brother Shane sounded whenever Ilya annoyed him on purpose and Shane pretended not to love it.
It must be a Hollander thing.
Ilya laid back against the hotel pillows, staring up at the ceiling, phone pressed to his ear. Boston lights glowed faintly through the window, the city already humming even though it was barely past six.
“You know I have a game tomorrow,” he said.
“And?” she shot back immediately. “You always have a game tomorrow. That’s not an excuse anymore so.”
He huffed a quiet laugh, shifting against the pillows.
The Hollanders were a determined family.
Even the adopted ones.
He’d learned that the hard way.
“Did you tell Shane?” Ilya asked.
There was a pause.
“Yeah, of course,” she said. “Haha.”
She was obviously lying.
“Oh my God,” Ilya said, laughing. “You’re just like your brother.”
“Whatever that fucking means,” she shot back.
Then, immediately, “Are you coming or not? Or do I have to suffer studying law all day with no food while my brother-in-law sits around and doesn’t hang out with his favorite sister-in-law?”
Ilya froze.
Brother-in-law.
The word settled somewhere warm in his chest, unexpected and dangerous. He stared at the ceiling for a beat longer than necessary, a small smile pulling at his mouth.
He liked that.
“…Okay,” he said finally, swinging his legs off the bed. “Send the address.”
“HA!” she crowed. “Okay, texting you now. Hehehe.”
The line went dead before he could respond.
He tossed the phone onto the bed and stood, pulling on jeans, a hoodie, running a hand through his damp hair.
Dinner with his sister-in-law.
What could possibly go wrong?
And somewhere in the back of his mind, a quieter voice already knew better.
~~
TMZ EXCLUSIVE:
Is Ilya Rozanov Hooking Up With His Rival’s LITTLE SISTER?!
Boston just got a lot messier.
Sources tell TMZ that NHL star Ilya Rozanov was spotted grabbing dinner late last night with none other than the younger sister of fellow hockey star and longtime rival, Shane Hollander.
The pair were photographed leaving a downtown Boston restaurant together, laughing, leaning in close, and looking very comfortable for what Rozanov’s camp might want to call “just dinner.”
👀
Rozanov, 26, and Hollander, 26, have a well-documented on-ice rivalry that’s spilled into more than a few heated moments over the years. Now fans are wondering: is this a bold new romance… or a calculated shot across the bow?
And let’s be clear……this isn’t just any sister.
Akira Hollander, 23, was adopted into the Hollander family at just one years old and is currently living in Boston, where she’s attending law school. Sources describe her as smart, outspoken, and fiercely close with her older brother. Making this alleged connection even more eyebrow-raising.
Neither Rozanov nor the Hollander family has commented.
But the internet already has.
And it has thoughts.
Fuck… Ilya thought as he read the article.
He looked up at Cliff and tossed the phone back to him.
Cliff caught it, shaking his head. “Wow, Rozy. I get that you like messing with Hollander, but this?” He scoffed. “This is too low. Hooking up with his sister, man.”
“Adopted,” someone else added, reading over his shoulder. “Still counts.”
“Still absolutely counts the fuck,” Cliff said.
A couple guys murmured in agreement. One of them let out a low whistle.
“That’s personal,” someone said.
“That’s messy.”
“Hollander’s gonna lose his mind.”
Ilya finally turned back around.
“It wasn’t like that,” he said, voice even but tight around the edges.
Cliff blinked. “Then what was it?”
Ilya held his gaze for a second too long. “Dinner.”
A beat.
“Yeah, too low, Rozy,” Cliff said, shaking his head. “Too low.”
A couple guys laughed.
“That’s wild,” someone muttered.
Ilya snapped.
“IT WAS JUST DINNER, FUCK,” he yelled, shoving past them as he made his way to his locker.
The guys laughed.
Not all of them…but enough. Low, disbelieving, the kind of laughter that said no one believed him anymore.
“Yeah, okay, Roz.”
“Dinner my ass.”
Ilya didn’t turn around.
He yanked his locker open, and immediately he dug through his bag, through clothes and tape and chargers, already knowing…… already feeling….before his fingers even closed around his phone.
He pulled it out.
Notifications lit up the screen.
Missed calls.
Texts.
Too many of both.
And right at the top—
Jane.
Ilya exhaled slowly, staring at the name.
Yeah.
He was fucked.
Jane: i’m going to fucking kill you.
Lily: my baby is mad at me
Jane: i’m going to kill the both of you.
Lily: i love wen you do that.
Jane: why did you two go out together?
the boys are giving me hell in the locker room right now.
hayden’s pissed.
Lily: IT WAS AKIRA’S IDEA :(
Lily: and wtf is pike mad for?
Jane: BECAUSE AKIRA IS BASICALLY HIS LITTLE SISTER TOO.
Jane: do you understand how this looks
to literally everyone
Jane: EVERYONE THINKS YOU’RE FUCKING MY SISTER
Jane: i’m going to be sick
Lily: SHE CALLED ME HER BROTHER IN LAW.
Jane: don’t you dare type that like it’s cute.
Lily: she did tho……
Jane: i’ll talk to you later.
Lily: i’m sorry moya lyubov :(
~~
When Ilya got in his car, he tossed his bag onto the passenger seat and exhaled
His phone rang.
Akira
He swiped to answer.
“Hey,” he said.
“OMG Yaya, Shane is so mad. I’m scared.”
“I know he tex—wait. Who the hell is Yaya?”
“You. Anyway,” she said, half-laughing, half-panicked. “I’m sorry. I thought taking you somewhere small… nobody was gonna see you. I guess you’re too popular for your own good.”
“It’s okay, Akira,” he said slowly, exhaling through his nose. “I should be apologizing.”
“For what?” she asked, confused.
“For… letting this happen. For being so… visible. For TMZ. For everything,” he muttered, gripping the steering wheel tighter.
“No, no, Ilya, it’s ok. I forced you to dinner anyway. I hoped you told Shane that.”
“Yeah, I did. He laughed. Where are you? Did anyone say anything to you?”
“Yeah… my friend texted me mid-lecture and showed me the article. I thought I was gonna throw up. And when the lecture ended, everyone was looking at me like…”
Her voice dropped off, shivering with a mix of embarrassment and disbelief.
“My phone is blowing up. The DMs I’m getting are insane. Metro fans are calling me a traitor, and Boston fans are calling me ‘Princess Rozanov’… cute, not even going to lie.”
“I’m not even your princess,” she added, amused. “Shane is. But whatever.”
He huffed despite himself. “He’s gonna hate that.”
“Oh, absolutely,” she said, pleased. “I might tweet it.”
“Please don’t,” Ilya said quickly.
She laughed, soft and unbothered in a way that made him both relieved and more anxious.
“But this is gonna blow over, right, Rozy?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he said automatically. “Of course. It’ll be over by tomorrow.”
There was a brief pause on the line.
“…Right?” she pressed.
“Right,” he repeated, less certain this time.
~~
It was absolutely not over by tomorrow.
Not when sports talk shows picked it up.
Not when fans started digging.
Not when the nickname Princess Rozanov started trending.
Twitter had been going absolutely crazy.
Ilya had been up since six, phone burning hot in his hand, doom-scrolling like it might somehow get better if he just read enough of it.
It did not.
If Shane wasn’t going to kill him before, he definitely was now.
He scrolled.
@HockeyNightLive
so you’re telling me Ilya Rozanov took out Shane Hollander’s LITTLE SISTER for dinner and thought nobody would notice
Ilya groaned and dragged a hand down his face.
“That’s not even what happened,” he muttered to the empty apartment.
@neutralzonepod
Let’s be clear:
This isn’t about romance.
This is about power.
Dinner with your rival’s sister is a calculated move whether you mean it or not.
He scoffed.
Calculated.
He could barely calculate what he was eating for breakfast.
@MetroFaithful24
this isn’t cute this is disrespectful
there’s lines you don’t cross and family is one of them
Ilya’s thumb stilled on the screen.
“She is my family,” he thought bitterly. They just didn’t know it. Didn’t know anything.
@HollanderFanAcct
someone check on shane hollander
if i was him id be SICK
Yeah. That sounded about right.
@bruins4life
princess rozanov is the funniest thing boston’s done in years sorry
Reddit was worse.
r/hockey
THREAD: Is Ilya Rozanov crossing a line or just living his life?
Top comment:
If this were literally anyone else, nobody would care.
But because it’s Hollander? Nah. This is nuclear.
Reply:
imagine your biggest rival calling your sister “bae” in public. i would retire.
“I did not call her that,” Ilya said aloud, genuinely offended.
TikTok wasn’t any better.
POV: you’re a law student and accidentally start an NHL civil war
He looked through the comments.
princess rozanov supremacy
she did nothing wrong
free akira hollander
shane hollander about to commit a felony
Ilya dropped his head back against the couch cushion.
Somewhere in all of this chaos, Akira was probably laughing.
Somewhere else, Shane was definitely not.
And at exactly that moment, his phone buzzed again.
Incoming call: Jane.
Ilya stared at the screen.
“…blyat,” Ilya muttered under his breath.