Work Text:
“Thank you for picking me up,” Ilya said, and as he slid into the passenger’s seat of David’s car, he sighed at the cool air. Even though it was midnight, it was still sweltering. Ilya would have made a comment about boring cars, but he didn’t think David would appreciate it.
“Yeah, well, Yuna would have had my hide if I didn’t come and get you.” David gave him an amused smile as he pulled away from the curb. “You know you could have flown in tomorrow and had the same amount of time with Shane and gotten a good night's sleep.”
“I know,” Ilya played with his necklace. “But the bed would not be comfortable. The bed in guest room is comfortable.”
“The beds at the airport hotel are uncomfortable?”
“Yes,” Ilya usually loved chatting with David, but he was anxious to see Shane, which was the main reason he wanted to take the red-eye. “Very uncomfortable.”
“Hmm…well,” David started as he made a turn. “I need to stop and grab a coffee. Do you want anything?”
“I can come with. I have too much energy in me,” Ilya paused to think about his words. “I… am anxious.”
“Ahh…okay,” David nodded, and smiled as they hopped out of the SUV at Tim’s.
The roads were clear of traffic, and Ilya hadn’t meant to fall asleep. But two hours later, David shook him gently, and he blinked awake. He was so disoriented, Ilya thought he was still on the plane.
“Mmm…wait for seatbelt sign to go off,” he mumbled.
“Heh,” David chuckled. “No, son, we’re at the cottage.”
“Hmm? Oh, cottage,” Ilya stretched his neck and rubbed his eyes. He turned to say something, but the other man had already stepped out of the boring but nice car and was grabbing Ilya’s duffel and suitcase from the backseat. He hopped out as quickly as he could. What was with the Hollander men and not letting anyone carry their own bags?
Wait…
Ilya paused at the bottom of the stairs.
Did David call him son?
Ilya caught up with the other man in the house, just as he was opening the door to the guest room.
“You called me son?” Ilya asked as he placed a hand on David’s shoulder.
David paused and thought about it.
“I…guess I did,” he said as he flashed the other a smile and walked into the room. He set the bags on the floor next to the bed and turned on the bedside lamp. Ilya didn’t want to make a big deal about it. He hadn’t planned on any of this when he heard Shane was sicker than a dog and wished Ilya were there with him.
David must have seen the emotions playing over Ilya’s face as he walked over to him and placed his hands on his shoulders.
“Listen, Ilya, you love our son, that much is clear,” he started. Ilya could feel the back of his eyes burning. “I know you’re a good man, and I’m sure you’ll be a great one someday. Hopefully, Shane will make you an official part of our family. Regardless, you are always welcome in our home and with our family, okay?”
Ilya sniffed and nodded.
“Can I hug you?”
Ilya nodded again and blinked the tears out of his eyes as David wrapped his arms around him and squeezed gently. He now knew where Shane got his good hug genes because he could stay in David's or Shane’s hugs forever. Ilya hesitantly stepped out of the hug, and the other man kept his hands on his shoulders.
“Do you know where everything is? Towels and bathroom and Shane’s room?”
David said it so nonchalantly that Ilya almost didn’t catch it as he covered his mouth and laughed.
The older man shrugged as he said, “I’m not going to deny that you’re gonna sneak into his room and say hi. I just ask that you keep it PG. Yuna texted while we were driving back and said Shane’s fever broke, so I would recommend letting him sleep. Just like you should too.”
“Yes, thank you, sir,” Ilya sniffed and wiped his eyes.
David patted his shoulder and tsked at him for the sir comment.
“Goodnight, Ilya,”
Ilya sighed and went to the small attached bathroom to blow his nose. He considered taking a shower to wind down, but since it was – checks phone – three-thirty in the morning, his eyes felt like sandpaper, and his brain was mush, he decided that brushing his teeth and washing his face would have to do.
The sun was bright and warm on his face as Ilya slowly woke up. He felt heavier on one side and looked down to see Shane cuddled up on him, snoring softly on his chest. He drew in a deep breath and smelled the soap that the other liked to use, and smiled. He supposed he would take a shower after being sick and sweaty.
“You came,” Shane’s voice was gravely.
“Mm..not yet,” Ilya smirked. “Maybe soon. Probably not.”
Shane snorted and turned his head to kiss Ilya’s chest.
“Of course I come. You are sick. You are my boyfriend, and a boyfriend takes care of their boyfriend.”
Shane looked at him with amusement.
“That’s a lot of boyfriends.”
“Yes. But I’m your only boyfriend, correct?”
“Of course,” Shane peppered his chest with kisses, and Ilya squirmed, his hardness rubbing on Shane’s hip. Shane groaned and sighed. “I’m still not feeling well.”
“Is okay,” Ilya stretched his neck to kiss the top of the other man’s head. “I’m here to take care of you so you can be one hundred percent.”
“Thank you. I love you.”
“Ya tebya lublyu,”
Shane sighed again and lay his head back down on Ilya’s chest. Ilya gently scratched at Shane's head, and soon they were both asleep.
After waking two hours later, Shane and Ilya spent the day playing board games and chatting. Shane napped most of the day, and Ilya and Yuna doted on him.
That evening, as Ilya and David cleared the table, Ilya couldn’t help but overhear Shane asking Yuna if he could move Ilya into his room. He heard Yuna say yes and did an internal fist pump. Ilya finished cleaning the kitchen, and David brought out the vodka and poured a little over ice in two glasses. He nudged Ilya’s glass and attempted a Russian toast.
“Za drúzhu!”
“Za drúzhu!” Ilya answered as tears threatened to fall. He was going to be dehydrated by the time he was done with this trip.
They drank.
“That was…very good,” Ilya said. “Better than Shane’s attempts.”
David laughed aloud before finishing his vodka. He placed a hand on Ilya’s shoulder. “Thank you for loving my son. I couldn’t ask for a better man, Ilya.”
“Mr. Hollander, if it is your purpose to make me cry this whole visit, then you have succeeded.” Ilya wiped his eyes as David hugged him again.
“Ilya, please call me David,” he paused. “I have no right to ask you to call me dad, so I won’t. But at least call me David.”
Ilya nodded because he was too choked up to speak.
David was smiling solemnly when they parted as he grabbed a paper towel for Ilya to blow his nose and wipe his eyes.
“I will try to do that,” Ilya finally said after he took the paper towels.
“That’s all I ask, son,” David patted him and started to walk away. “Oh, and let Yuna beat you in Rummy once in a while.”
Ilya laughed through his tears. “Da, yes, I’ll do that.”
He watched as David left the room and blew out a breath. He turned to the sink and rinsed his tear-stained face.
Family.
Ilya had never had a stable one, much less a good one. And now he was thrust into his boyfriend's family, and they welcomed him with open arms. He wasn’t sure what to do with all of the emotions that were ping-ponging through his head, but Ilya definitely needed to make an appointment with his therapist.
Ilya went to the guest room and gathered his things to move over to Shane’s room. He wasn’t as neat as Shane, but he didn’t fling clothes to the corners of the rooms like some of his teammates did in hotel rooms.
When he walked over to knock on Shane’s door, he heard singing. He carefully leaned into the door to listen to what kind of cute song Shane would have his mother sing to him, and his knees almost buckled.
Yuna was singing ‘You are my Sunshine’ to Shane, and Ilya had to cover his mouth to keep from sobbing aloud. He breathed hard through his nose as he closed his eyes and suddenly could hear his own mother singing softly by his bedside.
Ilya slid down the wall and landed hard on his ass, but he didn’t notice; he was sobbing so hard. His knuckles were white from clenching them so hard, and his jaw hurt from grinding his teeth. He could hear his mother’s sweet voice singing to him, trying to get him to go to sleep. He always fought so hard to stay awake, afraid to miss something, afraid to miss seeing more of his mother.
“Ilya?”
Yuna’s voice broke into Ilya’s spiral. He looked up and found her squatting at his side, her hand on his shoulder.
“Ilya, what’s wrong?”
“I…I…” Ilya was hiccupping now, and he was pretty sure dehydration was setting in soon if he kept crying.
“Oh, sweetheart,” she swiped at his tears and stood as she held out her hand to him. “Come, let’s get you cleaned up, and you can talk to me, or not. It’s up to you.”
Ilya sniffed and looked up at her dumbly. He was surprised Yuna wanted to be around him at all. But, she only looked at him with love and maybe a smidge of pity, but he was used to that.
He grunted as he stood, and she walked him down the hallway to the bathroom. It seemed a bit lavish for a cottage, but the bathroom at Shane’s cottage was gorgeous with its clawfoot tub and rainfall shower that perplexed Ilya at first. But Ilya was still stuck in his own mind, running his mother’s singing voice over and over in his head, watching her as she took his hand and begged him to sleep-...
“Ilya,” Yuna said softly.
Ilya’s mother’s voice stopped on an echo in his head, as his focus snapped to Yuna. Her hand rested on his arm as she held up a wet washcloth and gestured at his face. “May I?”
Ilya sniffed and nodded. “Da, pozhaluysta,”
Yuna carefully took his face in her hand and wiped his tears. He leaned into the warm cloth, soaking up all the comfort he could.
“I hope to learn Russian someday,” she started. “I’d like to communicate in your native tongue.”
Ilya cleared his throat before speaking. “Do you…speak Japanese?”
“I know enough to communicate with my parents and other relatives,” Yuna shrugged.
Ilya studied her as she hummed and finished cleaning his face.
“Shane is pretty, like you,” he drew in a sharp breath before pursing his lips.
Yuna smiled and chuckled. “He is pretty. Thank you.” She held his face and rubbed his cheek with her thumb. “I bet your mother was beautiful.”
Ilya blinked rapidly to curb the tears.
“Oh god, I’m sorry,” She placed the washcloth over his eyes, and he sighed.
“She was beautiful,” he cleared his throat again. “She sang that song to me for bedtime.”
“Ahh…” She said, coming to a conclusion, and paused, choosing her words carefully. “Shane wanted me to sing it to him. He says it makes him feel better, and it’s comforting to him. I’ve been singing it to him since he was a baby.”
“Can…can I hug you?” Ilya whispered.
“Oh, honey, of course,” she smiled warmly and opened her arms, and he stepped in.
He hummed in contentment as she rubbed his back, and they stayed like that for a while before Shane’s voice interrupted them.
“Everything okay in here?”
Ilya and Yuna separated as Ilya watched Shane. His hair was disheveled, and he was dressed in boxers and a t-shirt, and Ilya fell even more in love with this man.
God, when did he get so disgusting?
When he saw Shane Hollander’s freckles close up. That’s when.
“Just…bonding with your boyfriend,” Yuna waved her hand and hung the washcloth. Shane frowned at his mother as she kissed Ilya on the cheek. “Goodnight, sweetheart.”
“Thank you, Yuna. Dobroe nochi,” He smiled, and she nodded at him. She turned and walked over to her son, kissed his cheek, and told him good night. “And don’t stay up late. You need more rest.”
Shane gave his exasperated, but happy smile. “Yes, Mom. Love you.”
“I love you, too, honey,” she said before she walked out of the bathroom.
Ilya and Shane stood and watched each other. It felt like the first time they had sex – a kind of standoff.
“Come here,” Ilya said as he stepped forward.
“No, you come here,” Shane answered as he shot into Ilya’s arms.
Ilya felt a piece of his soul slide into place as he wrapped his arms around Shane, his sunshine, his heart.