Work Text:
"David! We're out of dishwasher tablets!"
David Hollander puts down his copy of the New Yorker that he was reading with a sigh. "Again?" he calls back. "We just got a new box last week."
Yuna, his wife, emerges from their kitchen, drying her hands on her bright red apron. "I don't know what to tell you David. But we do need those tablets unless you want to wash all these dishes by hand. Will you drop by the store for a new box, honey?"
Nodding his head, David creases the magazine closed and stands, car keys grasped tightly in his grip. After a moment’s pause, he looks at her. “It’s two already,” he says quietly. “The local stores will be shut by now. But I could head downtown… see if there’s anything open.”
"Downtown?" Yuna frowns. "No, that's almost a 20 minute drive. Why don't you just drive to the cottage see if Shane has any to spare?"
David turns around to look at her. "The cottage? But Shane is having his silent retreat there." David pauses and then continues, "Maybe I will call and ask him to leave the tablets on the kitchen counter. I won't disturb that boy. He's working so hard, probably needs some time for himself."
Yuna smiles at him. "Alright, drive safe okay?" she sits down on the couch and picks up a sports magazine. David knows she'll be too engrossed in it to pay anyone any notice and smiles to himself. He silently lets himself out their door and starts his car, making his way to their family cottage.
It is barely a 5 minute drive but David still uses this time to ramp up the car radio to full volume and bops his head along to whatever music they're playing.
He reaches the cottage and parks his car in their smooth driveway. But before entering through the front door, he dials in Shane's number to call him, just like he promised Yuna he would do.
Shane doesn't pick up. David tries again, and then a third time.
Is he not home? David thinks to himself as he lets himself out of his car and through the front door of the cottage using his keys.
The first thing he notices is an extra pair of footwear on the shoes rack. David knows it's not Shane's as his shoe size is way smaller than that. Does that mean Shane has his friend over, David muses to himself, smiling a little. Shane barely has friends over, and definitely never in their cottage. David has always worried that his hyperfixation with hockey has maybe made his son a bit alienated from his peers.
David knows Hayden is a good friend to Shane but that man has his own family to look after and can't possibly have much in common with the perpetually single life of Shane. Other than him, David doesn't know of anyone Shane has introduced as his friend.
He walks into the kitchen and immediately halts. There's sounds of laughter from the dock, one of them definitely which belongs to his son. David smiles to himself a little and changes his mind about disturbing Shane. Now he definitely wants to meet the person who makes Shane laugh like that.
Besides, it seems that his 'silent' retreat is not too silent it seems.
David leans on the kitchen counter as his son and his friend walk up the dock with their towels around their shoulders. He squints his eyes to see their faces and immediately stops.
Is that-
No, it definitely is. David Hollander, father to the legendary hockey player Shane Hollander would know that face anywhere. It's kind of hard not to know the biggest arch rival of his own son, the person against whom his son had been pitted against since before their rookie season.
Ilya Rozanov.
David had no idea that his son was so close to him. Were they close? David still doesn't know. He (and the rest of the world) was always under the impression that his son hated the cocky Ilya Rozanov. He had certainly never heard a single positive thing about Rozanov come out of either Shane or his mom's mouth. But here they are, laughing together like best buds in their family cottage.
Did Yuna know about this? David's mind was a jumble of thoughts.
He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that the movement barely registers at first, until Ilya lunges forward, pins Shane against the glass door, and kisses him without warning. David watches in horror as his hands come up to cup Shane's backside, fondling him intimately.
It seemed like millennia before they break apart and Ilya, in the midst of smiling at Shane, looks over his shoulder and directly locks eyes with David. His smile drops.
Following his eyes, Shane whips his head around to stare at his father in horror.
Without thinking, David turns on his heels, stalks away from the room before letting himself out of the front door and getting in his car. The only thought in his mind was, I shouldn't be here. I really shouldn't be here.
David starts his car and drives down the driveway as fast as he could and doesn't look back.
It's only after he's put enough distance between him and the cottage does he take a deep breath and immediately regret running away. That was so rude, David thinks to himself in horror. He shouldn't have run out of there! He should have introduced himself to Ilya and talked with his son! Like a normal and loving father!
David had always known the possibility that maybe his son wasn't 100% straight. After all, he had certainly never introduced any women to either David or Yuna. And they were both completely fine with whatever their son's sexuality turned out to be!
All David truly wanted was for his son to be happy. And if it meant getting with his infamous and biggest arch rival, then so be it.
David pulls up in front of their house and lets himself in through his key.
"Did you get the tablets?" Yuna calls out from the couch. "Did you see Shane? How is he?"
"Shane...", David starts and stops himself. Should he tell Yuna? Would telling her mean breaking Shane's trust? Should he just keep his mouth shut and let Shane come to them himself?
But on the other hand, he is incapable of keeping anything from his wife.
"I saw Shane.. with someone", David tells her quietly. Yuna sits up quickly, the magazine in her hand, now crumpled in her grasp.
"What? Who?" Yuna demands. David sighs and sits down on the couch, suddenly very, very tired.
"It was..." David hesitates while Yuna stares at him expectantly. He tries to form words to explain what it was that he witnessed exactly before there's a gentle honk from their driveway.
"That sounded like Shane's car", Yuna says, rising from her seat. David heaves a sigh of relief, grateful for his son's wondrous timing.
His relief was short lived as Shane let himself through their front door, saying, "Hello? It's me. It's... Shane." As if they don't know their own son's voice, David wanted to laugh. Shane entered the room, with Ilya Rozanov in tow behind him.
He heard Yuna take a sharp inhale of breath, as they both waited for whatever Shane was about to tell them.
...