Chapter Text
Shane and Ilya emerged from the cottage a couple. It took a lot of Shane panicking, through every facet of the journey, but luckily, Ilya is the nicest man he knows. He helped him through everything, it’s a side of him no one else gets to see but Shane. And since they both no longer want to deny themselves what they had been denying for so long, they began to enact their near 20 step long game plan to being together, publicly. Eventually. It’s a lot of steps.
Step One was getting Yuna to help kickstart the charity. Easy. Yuna also takes it upon herself to reach out to all of Shane’s brand deals, to let them know what the plan is and also about him.
Because Step Three (?) of the plan was that when Shane returned to Montreal in the Fall for the start of the season, he would tell his entire team and Voyageurs staff that he is gay. He didn’t release a public statement to the press, but both his agent, Farah, and Yuna warned him, it’ll take only a week before it gets around the league and therefore, go online. You can’t tell 30 guys and 25 staff members you’re gay and not have it get out. And that’s exactly how it went. Shane understood and preferred the dissemination of his sexuality to be a quiet slow process anyways. It whispered through the league, and he never denied it (that was Step Four), it just exists as a confirmed rumor. He couldn’t stand the idea of a press conference, or a coming out video, or kissing someone on the ice. It’s not his style. He wanted to concentrate on hockey, and on moving the needle on his long game plan.
Getting these first few steps completed delighted Ilya and Shane. Step Two had been for Ilya to sign with Ottawa over the summer and began his hockey career with the Centaurs. Just two hours away from Shane all year now. Everything was working out. There’s just one caveat Ilya didn’t consider when Step Four occurred.
That Shane is now presented to the world as the hottest ‘single’ gay man in all of Canada.
***
Ilya is acclimating to his new team. Ottawa, his new city. Shane, his new life.
Ottawa is certainly different than Boston. It’s a bit…lackluster. They are lazy, Ilya would think to himself. The whole vibe is different. Whereas Boston was fast-paced, loud, obnoxious, and brutal like Ilya was, Ottawa was chill, quiet, weirdly nice, and unserious in their approach of the game of hockey. The truth is, Ilya hardly cared. It was an adjustment no doubt, but he had just moved to Canada, with all the visa paperwork, new house, the charity set up, and him and Shane exploring this new relationship terrain, his mind was hardly on hockey anyways. He essentially wrote off his season as the adjustment period. But the guys on the team do seem nicer. He enjoys Wyatt Hayes, that man is sort of his speed. Luca is obsessed with being on the same team as Rozanov, which he finds funny. Bood is also a hell of a character that Ilya finds himself smirking at his jokes often in the locker room. And before you know it, Ilya finds himself, at the sacrifice of his hockey career, loosening up and being just a bit less intense. Love has changed him slightly, he thinks. Or Canada has. Ew.
A hockey schedule is still chaotic no matter what team you are on. Shane and Ilya see each other so much more than they ever have in the previous years but there are still periods and weeks that go by where they can’t meet up easily. And the relationship takes on that form of long distance that they both so achingly hated. Texts, facetimes, phone calls help but it certainly does make them miss each other. Maybe it’s a good thing….
***
SHANE SEEN LEAVING CLUB WITH VOYAGUERS AND MYSTERY MAN!
TMZ
That’s the article Ilya reads off twitter the morning after a game on the road while in Atlanta. He immediately clicks on it to see several photos of Shane, Hayden, and JJ leaving a bar. Not a club. Fucking TMZ. But there’s no denying it. There’s a random guy Ilya doesn’t recognize walking out behind, with a few snapshots of Shane speaking with him. The man is extremely attractive and Ilya’s throat tightens. It’s nothing. It’s a fan. Some guy taking his shot. It’s. nothing. Ilya begins rubbing his ear, then his cheek. He reads the article, which says nothing you can’t see in the photos.
Shane Hollander was seen walking out of a Montreal club with his two teammates and a mystery guy. Could this be a hidden romance? Maybe he’s pulling a Scott Hunter and has a local beau on the down low.
There are no photos that show where the “4” of them went. Just the few of Shane talking to this guy as Hayden and JJ seem to be fetching a cab. Shane looks nervous in the photo. Bored maybe. Probably trying to shake the guy off, Ilya thinks. It’s nothing. So why is Ilya frozen on his bed, staring at the photos.
Ilya has been frozen in his bed for 15 minutes when his phone rings.
It’s Wyatt. He rolls his eyes at it, lets it ring 3 times, then answers.
“Dude where the fuck are you, breakfast is killer down here. They just brought out a new pile of bacon!”
“Are you bothering me about breakfast?” Ilya says this very deadpan.
“Uhh, yeah??” Wyatt confirms as if this is very important.
“I don’t want breakfast.” He hangs up on Wyatt.
Ilya is gaining a reputation with the Centaurs as a bit of an absent Captain. In fact, they call him ‘Absent Cap’ pretty regularly. He doesn’t care. His phone rings again. It’s Shane. He immediately picks up, both his head off the bed and his phone.
“Ilya.” Shane says and Ilya immediately melts. He already knows why he’s calling. “I saw the article, did you?” Shane asks, seemingly knowing the answer.
“What article?” Ilya plays dumb but his tone indicates he knows exactly what article.
“Fucking TMZ, look, it was just some guy who tried to hit on me at the bar right before we left. We literally got up to leave and he just started talking to me. Began walking with us as we left. It was awkward.” He pauses, “Of course, TMZ didn’t share that we walked the opposite way from him.” Shane rants this entire story and Ilya feels like he breaths for the first time, which is ridiculous because it’s Shane. Of course, it was nothing. He already knew that, but being away from Shane did something to Ilya. It made him feel disconnected from him. Like he could slip away, find someone easier than Ilya. Shane is now an out gay athlete, and the hottest one at that. He could have anyone now. Anyone less complicated. Ilya breathed out again, in a calm exhale, but loud enough Shane heard it.
“Ilya…. Ilya?” Shane said his name so softly. “you know I love you.” and Ilya grinned like a lovesick fool.
“Da, I love you, and I know; saw the article, figured that’s what it was. I’m not-”
“Jealous?” Shane said with a slight tease in his voice. “Do you actually think I would ever-”
“No.” Ilya spurts out. That was a lie. He knew the likelihood Shane would cheat is slim to none, but he also feels that being with Ilya is harder than it would be with anyone else for Shane, and how enticing is easy? When this has been hard for so long?
“I’ll see you in, what two days?” Shane said, he sounded like he was beaming on the other end of this call and that made Ilya feel safe.
“Yes. Two.” Ilya can’t help but feel out of sorts. He doesn’t want to, but he does. “I love you” he says a bit desperately.
“Ya tebya lyublyu.” Shane says back and Ilya’s heart flutters. Maybe Shane likes difficult things.