Chapter Text
Ever since Ilya had his… episode in the beginning of the season, Shane has wanted nothing more than to take him away. Go on vacation, leave the country, literally go anywhere that doesn’t have someone invested in hockey within a 50 mile radius.
Hayden has been aware of their Spain trip idea ever since Shane told him the story of what he found on Ilya’s computer when looking for flights. It never was a possibility to go during the season, but once Ottawa was knocked out of the playoffs, Shane started looking into it again.
Montreal was knocked out only a few days later. Hayden took that as his sign to also look into a trip to Spain. With Shane and Ilya. Hayden wants to go on a couples trip to a foreign country with Shane and Ilya. Shane is… fine, with this. Really he is. Ilya is not aware of the plan yet, Shane has been too afraid to tell him.
Hayden thinks it’s a great idea and that Ilya won’t be upset at all. He thinks, in his words, Ilya will be “thrilled.” Hayden is trying to pay for the whole thing which Shane keeps trying to refuse. Shane and Ilya combined make more than triple what Hayden does and it would just be completely unnecessary, but he is not giving up. He’s coming over for dinner tonight to tell Ilya the plan since Shane has been so hesitant to do so.
The doorbell rings a little after 7. Shane opens it to the 2 oldest Pike children running at him, Ruby and Jade each grabbing one side of him and pulling him into a hug. “Uncle Shane! Uncle Ilya!” They let go and run to Ilya who is standing in the kitchen. Hayden follows behind and closes the door behind them.
“Hey Hayd.” Shane hugs him, then notices the wide grin on his face.
“I’m so excited to tell him man, you don’t even know! This is gonna be great!” Shane really hoped Hayden was right. If he wasn’t, it would be like watching a child’s dreams be crushed. Hayden was so happy to be doing something for him and Ilya, it was so sweet.
“Yeah buddy, it is. Again thank you for this.” Shane smiles and pats his back, Hayden’s grin not leaving his face.
“Thank you for what?” Ilya comes from behind and places a hand on Shane’s waist. Jade and Ruby chase after him, Arthur has been hiding behind Hayden's legs the whole time. “Hello Hayden.” Ilya squats down and slightly raises his voice. “Hello Arthur! How are you? Good?” Arthur gently nods. “That’s good… I have ice cream in kitchen, do you want some?” A smile grows on Arthur’s face as he nods and slowly comes out from behind Hayden’s legs. “Great, follow me!”
“He shouldn’t have ice cream before dinner, Ilya.” Shane says.
“Is fine, right Hayden?
“Of course!” Hayden nods in agreement. “Ruby, Jade, you go too!”
Ilya looks at Shane with his I told you face, while Shane looks back at him with his asshole face. They all move into the kitchen, the kids now sitting at the counter with the bowls of cookies and cream ice cream Ilya has just scooped for them. “Dinner will be done in like 10 minutes, so, if you wanna talk now?” Shane ask.
“Talk about what?” Ilya questions.
Hayden’s face lights up again. “Come sit down, I have a surprise for you guys!” Ilya turns to Shane looking incredibly confused but also slightly entertained by the excitement in Hayden’s voice. Shane takes a deep breath as they sit down on the couch across from Hayden, hoping everything goes well.
“Okay so, I know you guys were thinking about going to Spain, but I know there were some… problems, and, and you couldn’t go then, so I thought I’d surprise you with a whole trip! I planned a whole week-long trip for everyone and I’m gonna pay for the whole thing!” Wait. Everyone?
“Whose everyone?” Shane asks.
“Well you guys, me and Jackie, JJ and his new girlfriend Rachel, and I even reached out to some of the Centaurs, for you Ilya! Wyatt and Lisa, Zane and Cassie, and Troy and Harris!”
Shane was not aware of this part of Hayden’s plan. He could handle a trip with Hayden and Jackie, they’re his two best friends. He knows Ilya could probably handle that too, no matter how much he would pretend he couldn’t.
This. This Shane is not sure he can handle it. And if Shane can’t handle it, he really doubts Ilya can. Shane can barely look at Ilya’s face, he has no idea what is going to happen. He slowly looks up to him and sees he’s actually… fine?
“That’s… thank you, Hayden. Is very kind of you,” Ilya smiles, though Shane notices he starts picking at the rubber band around his wrist. Not pulling, just touching. “Though you do not need to pay for us, that is very unnecessary. We appreciate it,” he looks to Shane in agreement, he nods. “But is unnecessary. Planning whole thing is enough already.”
“Are you guys sure? I mean I know you’ve had a lot going on, Jackie and I don’t mind really-“
“Don’t worry Hayd, we’re good. What have you planned so far?” Shane was trying to go about this as normal as possible. He feels bad being so anxious about this, what Hayden did was such an amazing thing. But, like he said, Shane and Ilya do have a lot going on, and he’s not sure if a surprise trip with 10 of their friends is going to help.
“Well everything is booked already, so you guys can just pay me back if you really want to, or if- if you really wanna change something we can do that. Whatever you want to do I’m good with! I want this trip to be perfect for you guys! Our flight there is on July 8th and then we come back on the 15th. I booked the hotel rooms, you guys get your own obviously, because, well, well I just got everyone their own,” Hayden continues to awkwardly ramble on about the details of the trip. Somehow his excitement turned into nervousness and he became a mess, going over all the activities and restaurants he researched.
It was actually really cute.
Aw. Hayden.
After they ate dinner Hayden gathered all the kids and went home. Ilya and Shane quietly cleaned up the kitchen together. Shane collected the plates from the table and brought them into the kitchen where Ilya is washing dishes. “Are you… okay, with all of this?” Shane places the dirty dishes into the sink from across the counter.
Ilya inhales. “I appreciate Hayden. He is very good friend, I know I don't say that often, but he is. But,” Ilya pauses. “This is a lot. A lot of people. JJ? Zane? Wyatt? Is weird. All of them together.”
“He was just trying to do something nice for us.”
“I know he was.”
“So… are we gonna go?”
“I mean,” Ilya hesitates. “We have to, no? It would not be nice to cancel. He seemed so excited.”
Shane nods in agreement. “Yeah, yeah you’re right.” Ilya looks down at the now clean dish he has numbly been scrubbing for their whole conversation. Shane walks around the kitchen island and wraps his arms around Ilya’s waist, still standing in front of the sink. He kisses his shoulder. “It’ll be okay. We’ll have each other, our friends. It might be a lot at first but, maybe it’ll be way better than we think, yeah?”
Ilya turns around, Shane’s body now pressing his against the kitchen sink. Ilyas wraps his arms around him and brings him into a tight embrace. “Yes, maybe.”
Ilya went to bed that night picking at his rubber band. Shane didn't say anything, as long as he was with Ilya he couldn’t do anything to seriously hurt himself. He hopes that they’re right, that it will be better than they think. It’s not fair to Hayden to go into this thinking it'll be terrible. Shane will have his two best friends, Hayden and JJ. Ilya will have some of his closest friends and teammates. Most importantly, they’ll have each other. Nothing can go wrong when they’re with each other and their loved ones, right?
Right…?